The Cheater (8 page)

Jill drank the water and grew calmer, though her eyes still were red rimmed. “Carter,” she said, “what were we doing with those guys?”

Carter stared at the floor. She couldn't meet Jill's eye.

“Carter—” Jill insisted.

“I'm really, really sorry, Jill,” she said. “I never thought it would turn out so badly. I had no idea …”

Her voice trailed off. What could she say? She was so ashamed. She had put her friend in danger.

I should have known it would be dangerous, she thought. Adam has a gun. He's blackmailing me. He doesn't care what happens to me. And he's capable of anything. I know that now.

But how could she tell Jill the truth—that Adam had threatened to reveal Carter as a cheater if she didn't do what he wanted?

Jill would never forgive her for using her this way. And why should she? Carter knew that she would be furious if Jill had done the same thing to her.

“Carter, I still don't understand,” Jill said. “I know there's some reason why you wanted me to go out with Ray. I know that there's something between you and Adam. What is it? You owe me an explanation.”

Carter knew she was right—she owed Jill an explanation. But Jill wouldn't get one—not the real one, anyway.

“Jill, I'm really sorry. I—I lost a bet with Adam. This date was the price I had to pay. I should never have gotten you involved—”

“What bet?” Jill asked.

What bet?

“It's so silly I'm afraid to tell you,” Carter lied. Then she thought of something.

“I bet him he couldn't beat Richard in the tennis match last weekend,” she said. “I thought it was a sure thing—you can understand why.”

She glanced at Jill. Was Jill buying it? It was hard to tell.

“The important thing is that I had to follow through with it,” Carter went on. “The date, I mean. And I was afraid to go by myself. That's why I wanted you to come with me. Jill, will you ever forgive me? I promise, nothing like this will ever happen again!”

Jill put an arm around her friend. “I know you didn't mean for all that to happen,” she said. “You were in as much danger in that horrible club as I was. Of course I'll forgive you.”

The two girls sat quietly in the kitchen, hugging each other. Carter heard the refrigerator click and start to hum. She held her friend tighter. It scared her to think how close they had come to disaster that night. It terrified her to think that she had almost gotten her best friend hurt.

Adam, she thought angrily. He's taking this thing too far—
way
too far.

She was furious at him. But she was even more furious with herself for letting him control her so completely. Whatever he had asked, she had done.

But no longer.

That's it, she thought. The end. No more blackmail. I've had enough.

Jill stood up to get another glass of water. “I feel better now,” she said. “I think I'm ready to go home.”

Carter walked Jill to her ear, which was parked in front of the house. She apologized again, over and over.

At last Jill said, “Stop apologizing, Carter. I know you're sorry. I know you didn't mean for anything bad to happen. So let's forget about it.”

Carter smiled and nodded. Jill was being so nice about the whole thing. It only made Carter feel worse.

Carter waved as Jill drove off. Then she went back into the house.

She rinsed Jill's glass and put it in the dishwasher. Abruptly the phone rang.

Carter glanced at the clock. It was after midnight. Could it be some kind of emergency for her father?

She picked up the receiver. “Hello?” A high-pitched voice whispered, “You were with Adam tonight, weren't you? Weren't you?”

It was Sheila.

Carter was too stunned to speak.

Sheila said, “You don't have to answer me, 'cause I know the truth. I know what's going on between you two.”

“Sheila, nothing's—”

“Don't lie to me, Carter! I know you're a big liar. I don't even want to hear what you have to say. You just listen to me.

“Adam can't keep any secrets from me. I know everything he does. And I'll find a way to keep you and Adam apart—
for good.”

“S
o, how'd it go with your grandparents on Saturday?”

Dan and Carter were walking down the hall at Shadyside High Monday afternoon, on their way to advanced math class. Carter was dreading it.

Dan smiled. “It was nice. Boring, but nice. It was my grandmother's birthday. She's seventy.”

“Seventy. Wow.”

“What did
you
do on Saturday night?”

Carter swallowed hard. “Me? Oh, I was with Jill”

She didn't have time to say more than that, to her relief. They had reached their classroom.

Dan and Carter went in. Dan sat next to Carter, and Carter sat next to Jill. Adam wasn't in his seat.

Jill gave her a funny sort of smile. Carter gave her one back.

Mr. Raub closed the classroom door. A second later it opened again. Both Jill and Carter looked
up. Carter saw the dread she was feeling reflected in Jill's face.

It was Adam. Last one in, as usual.

He cast a smug glance toward Carter and Jill. Both girls quickly turned away. Adam loped to his seat in the back of the room.

Carter felt Dan's eyes on her. Had he caught Adam's glance? Did he wonder what it meant?

When class was over, Carter let Dan and Jill go on ahead of her. She walked slowly down the hall, sure that Adam would approach her.

He did.

She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to face him. He opened his mouth to speak, but she spoke first.

“Adam, I've had enough,” she said in a low voice. “Our little arrangement is over. From now on, you're going to leave me alone. Do you understand?”

Then, nervously, she waited for his reaction. Would he burst into a violent rage? Would he walk away?

He stayed calm and didn't look the least bit rattled.

“You're right about one thing, Carter,” he said. “Things just aren't working out between us, are they? We do need to change our ‘relationship.'”

Carter didn't know what to say. Why was he acting so agreeable? What was he up to?

“I've been thinking it over, Carter,” he went on. “And I don't think we should go out again.”

She was too wary to feel relieved. This was what she wanted—but there had to be a catch.

“I'm glad we agree,” she said carefully.

“You know, the little service I performed for you—I think we both know what I'm talking about. It was pretty valuable, right? I mean, most people would pay a lot of money for it. Yet you got this valuable service for free. That's not fair, is it?”

She said nothing.

“I figure taking an important test like that—and getting good results—it must be worth at least a thousand dollars.”

So that was it. He wanted money.

She couldn't believe it. She was angry now, and she let him know it.

“Listen,” Carter said, trying not to speak too loudly. “You offered to take that test for me. You told me that all I'd have to do was go out with you once. I've done much more than that now—
much
more. But no matter what I do, it's not enough. How much longer is this going on?”

Adam casually studied the lines in his right hand. “It can stop whenever you want, Carter,” he said. “Of course, I'll have to tell your father everything….”

Carter's muscles tensed.

He had complete power over her. If she didn't do what he wanted, he could ruin her life.

“Look,” she said angrily, “I'll give you the money if you promise to leave me alone!”

“That might work,” he said. “Give it a try.”

He walked away slowly, casually. She stared after him, burning with anger and frustration.

Where would she get a thousand dollars? she wondered glumly as she walked to her locker.

She pulled open her locker door and glanced into the mirror inside. There was a flash, then a sparkle.

That was it.

She touched a hand to her left ear. The diamond earrings. She'd have to sell them. She had no choice.

She took the earrings off and put them in an envelope. If only she had the box with her … But this would have to do.

After school she took a bus to the Old Village. There were some antique shops there. Carter remembered going once with her mother. Mrs. Phillips's stepmother had died and left her some jewelry, most of it “not to my taste,” as Carter's mother had put it. She'd taken the jewelry to a shop on Antique Row and sold it.

Now Carter clutched the diamond earrings her father had given her and scanned the four antique shops in front of her. She tried to remember which one she'd gone to with her mother. That was the one she
didn't
want to go to now. She didn't want to take any chances that her parents would find out. And she didn't want anyone to recognize her.

Bentley's was the shop her mother had gone to. Carter chose the one farthest away from it. It was called Corelli's Antiques.

A little bell rang as she pushed the door open. A tall old man stood leaning over a glass counter. Behind him Carter saw a wall full of antique clocks, all set to the correct time and ticking and whirring noisily.

Carter approached the glass counter.

“Hello, miss,” said the old man, straightening up and smiling. He had a slight Italian accent. “How may I help you?”

Carter opened the envelope and let the diamond earrings fall into her palm. She held them out to the old man.

“Someone gave me these earrings,” she said. “But I already have a pair like them. I was wondering how much I could get for them.”

The old man studied her face. Does he suspect something? Carter wondered. Maybe he thinks I stole them.

She glanced away, pretending to be fascinated by a marble statue of an angel. When she turned back to the man, he was examining the earrings through a jeweler's loupe.

“These earrings are of fairly high quality,” said the man. “I suppose I could give you seven hundred dollars for them.”

Seven hundred. That wasn't enough. And Carter knew her father had paid closer to three thousand dollars for them.

She shook her head. “I know they're worth a lot more than that.”

The old man sighed. “All right,” he said. “Nine hundred.”

“Fifteen hundred,” said Carter.

The old man laughed quietly. “No, my dear. One thousand dollars. That is the most I will pay.”

The man's expression was firm. Carter knew he wouldn't go any higher. She bit her lip.

“All right,” she said. “One thousand dollars.”

The old man took the earrings and slowly counted out ten hundred-dollar bills. She stuffed the money into the envelope that had once held her earrings. Carefully tucking it into her backpack, she went home.

She spent the rest of the afternoon in her room, trying to do her homework. But she couldn't concentrate.

She took the envelope full of money out of her backpack and opened it. She held the money in her hands, staring at it.

A thousand dollars. She was holding a thousand dollars in her hands. And she was about to hand it all over to Adam.

For what?

For a good score on her achievement test. For helping her get into Princeton—maybe. For making her father happy. For keeping it all a secret.

Was all that worth a thousand dollars to her?

It was. It was worth a thousand dollars, and a lot more.

*   *   *

Her father was late coming home from work. He was usually late these days. He couldn't leave the courthouse without being mobbed by reporters and photographers and curiosity seekers. The Henry Austin case was heating up.

So, the Phillips family ate dinner later than usual. The judge felt that it was important for the family to have that time together. He demanded that Carter and her mother wait to eat with him.

That night Mrs. Phillips didn't call Carter to dinner until after eight o'clock. Carter was starving by then. She hurried downstairs to the dining room.

Her father was already seated at the head of the table. Carter went over to him and kissed him hello. Then she took her place.

“How's the case going, Daddy?” she asked.

Her father frowned. Carter noticed how lined his face was.

“It's going well, I suppose,” said the judge. “The prosecution's case is very strong.”

“All the papers say they think he'll be convicted,” said Mrs. Phillips. “He sounds like a terrible person. I think he actually
enjoys
hurting people.”

“Yes,” said the judge. “The facts that have come out of this trial are very troublesome.”

He sighed. The stuffed fish was served, and Carter began to eat.

“Why don't we talk about something else,” said
the judge. “How's the Spring Fling coming along?” He turned to his wife.