"Me, too," Dad said as they sat down to eat.
"Okay," Kyle said weakly, wondering if he could convince Faith to pretend to be his girlfriend for their sake. He made sure to keep his mouth full for most of the meal so he wouldn't have to say anything else.
Chapter Ten
Faith
Faith picked at her dinner, still burning with the humiliation of being caught ogling Kyle while he worked. God, he probably thought she was the most stupid girl he'd met. There were days when she thought he might be right. And today had been a real winner.
But those arms. Who wouldn't stare at a guy like that attacking greenery with a spade like a knight with a sword? Good gracious … Kyle's biceps alone were living proof there was a God, and that She loved the world.
A chuckle rose in Faith's chest, making her choke on her lasagna. Dad pushed her water glass toward her, while Mom stared anxiously to make sure she was still breathing. She waved them both off. "I'm okay."
"You scared me," Mom said. "Ever since you choked on that grape-"
"I was seven." Faith smiled fondly at her. "You can recover now."
"You know Mom-she'll never waste a chance to fret over her babies." Winking, Dad rose and took his plate to the sink. He paused, peering out the window. "What on earth happened in the yard?"
"Oh! I hired a young man to fix it for us. For the luncheon," Mom answered. "He's a hard worker."
"I'll say," Faith murmured.
Mom shot her an amused look. "I know it looks bad now, but I have a good feeling about this kid. He really seems to know what he's doing. I had to make him go home, otherwise I'd bet he'd still be out there working."
"You know him, Faith?" Dad asked.
"Not well," she said, not wanting to spoil Kyle's job by telling her parents about his reputation as Suttonville's resident bad boy. "I didn't even know he did lawn work until today."
"Uh-huh," Mom said, smiling down at her plate. "But you certainly know now."
Dad turned to stare at them. "What do you mean?"
"Oh, nothing." Mom carried her plate to the sink and kissed Dad on the cheek. "Just that he proved his green thumb today."
As they headed out of the kitchen, Faith heard Dad ask, "But how do you know? All I can tell is that he's really good with a shovel."
"I think he'll surprise us," Mom said, her voice fading as they went deeper into the house.
No doubt about that. Was the kitchen warm, or was it just her? With a sigh, Faith washed the dishes, then hurried upstairs. She wanted to text Vi, but hadn't been brave enough to look at her phone. When she did, she almost choked for real.
Sixty-two notifications.
Hands shaking, she opened Snapchat. There were forty-two from guys on the football and track teams, all of them more vile than the next, and some even included pictures a ten-gallon jug of brain bleach couldn't erase. Angrily, she started unfriending every guy Cameron might call "friend." It wouldn't stop them, but she wanted them gone for however long it worked.
Twenty of the other messages, mostly texts, were from girls asking if it was true, letting her know they'd seen Cameron with Holly, or expressing sympathy-some of it fake, some of it real. It was enough to make her want to hurl her phone across the room.
Instead, she called Violet.
"Hey," Vi said. "You okay?"
"No." Faith gulped down air to keep from crying. "That utter, complete douche nozzle."
"Girl, don't put down douche nozzles like that. Call him what he is-a rancid piece of shit."
Faith managed a laugh. "I love you."
"I know." Violet sighed. "Any thoughts on how you're going to play this?"
"No, not thoughts. Action," she said, determination welling up in her chest. "I worked out a deal with Kyle Sawyer today."
"Kyle Sawyer, the man-whore bad boy? Skateboarder, street racer, troublemaker … that Kyle Sawyer?" Violet sounded utterly shocked. "Where in the world did you find him?"
"My backyard." Faith told her all about her encounter. "Vi, he's hotter than the sun and has a rep darker than the devil's. This is going to drive Cameron in-freaking-sane."
"No doubt, but … are you sure?"
"Yes, absolutely. He was nicer than I expected, and has his own problem with Cameron. It's the perfect arrangement."
Violet burst out laughing. "Hell, yes, it is! Okay, here's what we need to do-because a story isn't going to cut it. You need to talk him into taking you to Dolly's one night this week. The two of you, sitting on the hood of that badass Charger, sharing a shake and whispering in each other's ears? That will light up the rumor mill like nothing else in the world."
Faith picked at her fingernails. This wasn't a mistake, was it? "I'm not sure a drive-in is a place he'd consider going. Too … high school."
"Maybe, but everyone's going to be hanging out there for ice cream this week. Tell him it's a good place to start a rumor and I bet he says yes."
She was right about that. Dolly's was the hangout when there wasn't a party going on. Kyle might think it was lame, but Violet had a point. "I'll ask him tomorrow."
"Ooh, can I come over? I want to inspect the merchandise."
Faith laughed. "Why not? He already knows I'm spying on him."
"I want to meet him, make sure he's not a freak," Violet said. "Getting a gander would be a plus, though."
Doubt sank into her bones and she flopped back on her bed, arm flung over her eyes. "Do you think I'm doing the right thing?"
"What was that text from Michael?" Violet's voice was hard.
Frustration filled Faith's chest again, a hard, burning kernel. She needed to grab her courage with both hands and see this through. "Good point. Okay, rabid affair with a bad boy it is. See you tomorrow?"
"Yep, I'll be there around noon."
"Better make it one-I have church."
"Oh, of course. Your parents would never let you forget that."
Faith stared up at her ceiling, wondering if God was watching. "It's not too bad. I kind of like going."
"Better you than me," Violet said. "I'd go up like dry kindling if I crossed the threshold."
"That's because your life is more interesting than mine."
"Heh, not for much longer."
Laughing, they ended the call and Faith turned on the "do not disturb" feature on her phone to stop the notifications for the night. She wrapped a quilt around her shoulders and sat up to stare out the window. The little bit of light from the back porch glowed across the yard, highlighting the holes in the ground. Kyle had thoroughly destroyed the backyard. Would he destroy her reputation that thoroughly, too? And if he did, was it going to make things better or worse?
Faith rolled her ankles, stretching out the tendons and muscles. She'd looked forward to graduation and NYU for so long, but had wanted to enjoy senior year. Now, though, she'd give anything for it to be over, and that sucked.
She sat up straighter, glaring at her reflection in the window, strands from her bun falling in wisps around her face. Maybe working with Kyle was a mistake, but no matter what happened, she was going to make Cameron wish he'd never opened his mouth.
Sunlight streamed through her window, and Faith groaned. She'd been having a weird dream about a giant pair of tap shoes chasing her around the studio, but it hadn't been bad enough to wake her up. What time was it? She dug her phone out from under her pillow. Eight thirty? They didn't have to leave for church for two hours. Why the heck was she awake?
A motor rumbled to life outside. Groggy, Faith stumbled over her dance bag on the way to the window. Kyle, holding what looked like a chain saw and wearing safety glasses, was attacking the pile of branches in the corner of her backyard. Mesmerized, she watched him wield the saw, his forearms taut and straining.
"Faith?" Mom called from downstairs. "You awake? Dad wants to leave early and grab doughnuts on the way to church."
Um, yeah. Church-not drooling over boys with chain saws. "Okay!"
Footsteps sounded on the stairs, and Faith raced back to her bed, landing just before Mom opened the door. "Did the noise wake you?"
"It did, but I needed to get up and do my stretches anyway. I've got a lot of dancing ahead of me with the musical."
A little smile twitched at the corner of Mom's mouth. "Don't you usually do those on the back porch?"
Their back porch, screened in with a smooth painted hardwood floor, was the closest thing to a studio in the house. Blushing, she looked down at her quilt. "Yes. Do you think I'll be in his way?"
"Oh, probably not." Chuckling, Mom turned to go. "But do the poor boy a favor. Wait until he puts away the saw. I don't want to be responsible for any lost limbs."
Faith rolled her eyes as soon as her mother closed the door. Was she that obvious? No … she couldn't be. Still, blushing every time Mom asked about Kyle was probably a dead giveaway that she had a little crush.
And that's all it will be, right? Sighing, she pulled a clean leotard, tights, and shorts out of dresser. That's all it had to be. They were in the business of revenge. Nothing else.