Searchlight (Crystal 1)

Chapter 11

When Crystal got home, Jamie’s and Trixie’s cars were parked in the garage area, alongside her mom’s BMW. Her dad wasn’t home yet.

Crystal made her way to the back of the house. Everyone would be in the kitchen. Her mom would be preparing dinner and her friends would be staring at her in awe as they chatted with her.

She found Caleb in the back yard, building something as usual. This new project looked like a miniature house. She used to tease him about his passion for woodwork, but over the past year he’d gotten really good at it, and had even started calling himself an architect. The sound of hammering filled the air, along with the smell of adhesives and sealants. A large piece of paper, his blueprint, lay on the ground.

His head appeared over the top of the house as Crystal neared. “Where were you last night?”

Crystal didn’t stop. “Long story.”

“I know you weren’t out with a guy. I told mom and dad so, but they were still mad anyway.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

His brow wrinkled. “Are you okay?”

Crystal forced a smile. “Yes. Thanks.” She entered the house and found her mom and her friends in the kitchen.

Her mom shot her a glare before turning to the oven. Jamie and Trixie tactfully remained silent.

“Hi, mom.”

Lexi put on an oven mitt and removed a pizza from the oven. “Your father and I will speak to you when he gets home,” she replied shortly. “Where have you been?”

“I went to the beach.”

Lexi set the pizza on the table. She smiled at Jamie and Trixie. “Help yourselves.” She turned an icy stare onto Crystal. “The beach. How nice, especially for somebody who is supposed to be grounded.” She flounced out of the kitchen.

Crystal leaned against the wall. Trixie eyed her long skirt with disdain. Jamie pointed at a bouquet of fresh roses on the kitchen table. “From Juda.”

Juda! Crystal groaned internally. He would have been waiting for her yesterday. She was supposed to go out with him tonight, too, to a wedding. That wasn’t going to happen. She couldn’t go out with him and pretend to be all happy and sweet after her ordeal last night. She just wanted to tell her mom and dad and then curl up in bed to sleep, and let her parents worry about what to do.

Crystal moved to the table and looked at the tag on the flowers. For beautiful Crystal, from Juda.

“He was waiting outside school for you today,” Jamie told her. “He asked where you were and I said I didn’t know. He seems sweet.”

“Roses are a bit much,” Trixie said.

“I think it’s nice,” Jamie replied. She settled into one of the chairs at the kitchen table and helped herself to a slice of pizza. “So, where were you last night? Your mom called me at ten asking if I know where you are.”

“Me, too,” Trixie said.

“I said I don’t know where you are,” Jamie continued. “She called me again at eleven to see if you’d gotten in touch with me, then again at midnight. What happened? Did you go somewhere with Juda? Did he do a Grayson and you got mad, hence why he felt the need to get back into your good graces with a pretty bouquet of roses?”

Crystal really didn’t want to talk about what had happened with her friends. It was her parents she wanted to talk to. “I’ll call you guys later,” she said, not looking at either of them. She didn’t want to hurt them, but she needed her space right now.