All American Boys

12. Young Wild American

All American Boys

Chapter 12: Young Wild American

I thought long and hard about what Shoshana had said. About how she knew more than I even expected. She brought up Rosalina Garcia.

Just like how my sister brought it up when Rosalina disappeared.

Nobody seemed to care when she disappeared. That it was what 'girls like her do'. That people with a shade of brown like her growing up in a town like Bethany probably never valued education. That they were all lazy and sought to ruin themselves in every possible way they could think of. That they were all irresponsible parents who brought up irresponsible children. In essence, nobody batted an eye.

Except my sister. And once she found out it was all Hugh Crawford's doing, they had to stop her by any means possible.

I never expected for this Pandora's box to be opened again, especially considering how hard Hugh Crawford tried to nail it shut. But at least I knew Shoshana was also aware of it, unlike the rest of this town. At least someone else believed that Alicia wasn't that greedy, envious and vicious woman that everyone made her out to be.

I liked Shoshana. And I guess one of the upsides of hanging around with Cyril was that I got to see her more often. I guess amongst the so-called inner circle, she and Emily were the only ones I could trust.

I still thought of Hayden from time to time, but knowing that he was married to my sister, I realised that any infatuated feelings I had for him had all but vanished. Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate him, but now that I realised how deep their love was for one another, I felt bad for even thinking I had feelings for Hayden at one point. Or maybe I just had feelings for someone else now.

I haven't managed to talk to Isaac for the rest of the week, so I had to settle for the weekend. In school, Cyril took every opportunity he could to stick by me. It was sweet, but it was also kinda annoying. He was always asking me if I needed anything, and my answer would always be some version of no, of course with added pomp and flattery.

"Oh, you shouldn't trouble yourself," or "It's fine, that's so sweet of you!"

Of course, pair that with a sweet smile or a tilt of my head and the young man's cheeks would go red. I mean, truth be told I didn't hate him, but I didn't have the same feelings for him. Well, he was nice, sweet and considerate, and he had a pretty attractive face and physique. Maybe if he wasn't Hugh Crawford's son I might've given him a shot, but that was how it is.

Truth be told, I didn't know how to feel about him. A part of me felt bad for stringing him along like this, but another part of me felt like I had to. It wasn't just about wanting revenge. It was for my own protection.

I finally managed to get a hold of Isaac after he had been ignoring my texts for days. I told him that we needed to talk. He told me he'd pick me up at 6 in the evening on Saturday.

For a moment I was confused, didn't Hayden say he didn't have a car? Whatever, I thought to myself, there wasn't any need to question that anyway. A chance to finally talk to him was all that I could ask for.

On Friday after class had ended, Cyril had asked me if I was free on Saturday. I told him I wasn't and I felt a bit bad watching his face sink. He asked me again if I was free on Sunday, after church. I told him I was, and now I had two dates back to back.

Well, I wouldn't go ahead and count my chickens regarding Alex, but I was hoping it could be a date. And hopefully not us yelling at each other.

"So now you're going out with both of them?" Emily asked as she paced around in my bedroom, that Friday after school. "Gosh, Alex, didn't know you to be much of a player."