Free The Wrong Path_Smashwords by Vivian Marie Aubin du Paris Page A

out.
    She wanted to thank him for the ride—to apologize to him—but the words didn’t come out. After a hesitation, she climbed out of the car and slowly shut the door, watching as the black car zoomed off.
    She opened her locker just as the last bell rang. Students came pouring out of the classrooms, filling the previously empty space. She felt strangely lost in the sea of people, more isolated than she had ever felt before. Wasn’t this why she said nothing when following Claire around? So that she wasn’t alone?
    Almost on cue, Claire appeared, flanked by Mary and Claudia. “Where have you been all day?” Claire demanded. “People are going crazy talking about you.”
    Annabelle lowered her head. “I know…”
    Claire held up a hand in a “stop” motion. “Don’t worry. I set them straight. Everyone knows that those… vermin that crashed the party were responsible.”
    Annabelle’s head shot up. “What?” she asked, startled.
    Claire was smiling as if she expected an outpouring of appreciation. “Someone even called the cops on them and they got busted. The police checked out their lockers and hauled them out of here.”
    “I heard there was practically a pharmacy in Frankie’s locker,” Claudia added smugly. “He’ll be in juvie forever with that.”
    Annabelle felt her head swim. She was going to throw up. She felt as responsible as if she had made the call herself. And it was her fault, wasn’t it? The rumor had been about her, and to defend her Claire had placed the blame on Will’s friends. Claire had been trying to be a good friend to her, and Annabelle was grateful to her… but now it was Annabelle’s fault Will’s friends were going to juvenile hall.
    “Hey.”
    She felt an arm slide around her shoulders, and looked up into Trevor’s concerned face. “Hi,” she greeted, a little breathlessly.
    “I was worried about you when I couldn’t find you earlier… Are you okay?”
    She melted, relieved. She should have gone looking for Trevor when she had been upset. Trevor would have made her feel better. “Yeah. I’m okay. Are you?”
    He nodded and sighed, smiling tiredly. “Will’s friends got arrested earlier for doing drugs on campus… I’m trying to figure out if he did, too.”
    She wanted to reassure him that he hadn’t, but she couldn’t make herself say the words.
    “Well we’ll leave you two love birds alone,” Claire declared loudly, drawing their attention. Annabelle smiled weakly at her. Claire held up her fingers into the shape of a phone. “Call me, sweetie. Love you!” She smiled at Trevor. “See you later, Trev.”
    They bid them goodbye, and then she, Claudia, and Mary were gone, the hallway separating for them as they walked.
    Trevor flashed a smile and leaned against the locker beside hers. “Ready to go?” he asked.
    She nodded, grabbed her backpack from her locker, and was delighted when Trevor took it from her. He really was a gentleman. His chivalry continued out to the parking lot, where he held open the passenger door for her and shut it behind her before going to his own door.
    He was more silent than normal as they drove, so she forced herself to speak. “I’m sure Will’s fine.”
    He looked over at her quickly, then smiled weakly in appreciation. “I hope so… My mom really can’t take hearing more bad news about Will.”
    She hesitated. “Do you really think Will’s behavior has that much affect on her?”
    Trevor nodded immediately. “Will’s her baby. She can’t understand why he can’t just behave and stop acting like a little kid. He was always a little bit of a trouble maker, but now he seems to be doing whatever he can to cause her as much stress as possible. And with the doctors warning us that she needs to be kept calm…” He sighed.
    “Maybe he’s just so upset about your mom that acting out is his only way of dealing with it?” she suggested uncomfortably.
    Trevor laughed softly. “I wish that were true. But