Page 19 of Something Like Summer
“What? Allison’s dadcalled?”
“Late last night. Afteryou called and said you’d be sleeping over. He asked if I knewwhere you two were, and, well …”
Ben didn’t need her tofinish. The sinking feeling in his stomach told him all he neededto know.
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Chapter 7
Lunchtime couldn’t comequick enough on Monday. Despite calling Allison at least threedozen times Sunday evening, Ben had been unable to reach her. Thephone only rang and rang, not even the answering machine pickingup. Unless she had entered into a six-hour conversation withRonnie, which seemed unlikely, her phone had probably been takenaway, or maybe her private line had been canceled.
Ben’s apprehensionincreased as she failed to appear at their usual place in thecafeteria. Usually she was there waiting for him, since her thirdperiod class was much closer. Finally, ten minutes into the lunchbreak, she arrived looking haggard and stressed.
Ben stood and embraced her,clutching her as he let loose a string of clumsyapologies.
“What are you talkingabout?” she demanded once he had pulled away.
Ben confessed his guilt inbeing a key factor in her getting caught.
Allison waited until he wasfinished and waved a hand dismissively. “I would have gotten introuble anyway,” she said as she sat down. “My dad was waiting forus in the driveway.”
“No!”
“Yes! He’s completelypsycho. I even had Ronnie drop me off further down the street, butnot far enough I guess.”
Ben slid his Twinkie overto her as a gesture of peace, even though it was clear she wasn’tangry with him. “So your dad spotted you getting out of Ronnie’scar?”
“Yeah. He was sitting inthe middle of the driveway in a fold-out chair, drinking his whiskylike it was going out of style. He sat there waiting for me for whoknows how long.”
“So what did hedo?”
“Well, luckily I saw himrunning down the road in time to tell Ronnie to take off. Hemanaged to get out of there before my dad caught up with him, buthe did throw his whisky bottle at his car. Hit it, too.”
Ben sat in a stunnedsilence, taking in this news. Allison’s dad had always been a bitloony, but he seemed to be getting worse every year.
“Did it jack up Ronnie’scar?”
“No. I just saw him asecond ago and he said it was fine. It’s the first that I’ve talkedto him since it happened. Dad smashed the hell out of my phone inthe process of grounding me.”
“So…” Ben hesitated, notwanting to ask if she and Ronnie were still dating. It wouldn’t bethe first time her dad managed to scare away one of herboyfriends.
“I don’t know what hethinks of it all,” Allison sighed miserably. “He seemed okay.Concerned more than anything. He’s in my last class, so I’ll have abetter chance to talk to him about it then.”
Because Ben skipped sixthperiod to take care of Tim, he didn’t have a chance to catch upwith her after school. He didn’t hear anything else about it untilthe next day. Allison didn’t show up at lunch at all, conjuring theworst case scenarios into his mind. As psychotic as her dad mightbe, so far he had never laid a hand on Allison. Sometimes Benthought it was only a matter of time before he did. With less thantwo years left before college, he hoped that she would be freebefore anything like that ever happened.
To his great relief,Allison was waiting for him outside fourth period choir. Hisreprieve didn’t last long when he saw how panicked sheappeared.
“You have to help me,” shesaid, grabbing both his arms.
Ben’s mouth went dry. “Whathappened?” he rasped, feeling certain that his worst fears had cometrue.
“Ronnie is coming over.”Her eyes searched his, questioning if he understood the fullimplications. “Tonight!”
“Wait, you invited himover? Why would you do that?”
“No, I didn’t invite him!Are you insane? He invited himself!”
Ben pondered this for amoment before understanding what was going on. “He’s doomed.” Hecouldn’t help but laugh as he said it. Ronnie’s intention wasobviously to introduce himself to Mr. Cross and possibly getAllison ungrounded. The gesture was noble, if notsuicidal.
