Be Mine Read online

  Eden couldn’t believe what she was seeing. That was her boyfriend, and another girl had her hands on him like he was hers. That was so wrong. Even though Eden wanted to run across the cafeteria and shove that girl away from Keith, she didn’t. Instead, she found her cell phone and calmly sent Keith a text message, inviting him over to her house after school. She watched as he reached into the pocket of his letterman jacket and pulled out his cell phone, checking the screen.

  What Keith did next horrified Eden.

  Instead of texting her back, Keith closed his phone, returned it to his pocket, and walked out of the cafeteria with the girl. Not only was her arm still wrapped around his waist, but Keith had an arm wrapped around her shoulders. The girl smiled up at Keith and snuggled up against him as they walked away.

  Staring at the two of them, Eden blinked back tears. She hated to admit it, but it looked like her boyfriend had found himself a new girlfriend.

  “So do you think my party should have a theme?” Claudia asked Natalie as they walked home after school. “I’m thinking since next week is Valentine’s Day, I should play that up. Lots of pink and red decorations. Lots of chocolate desserts. Maybe even a chocolate fountain! Wouldn’t that be yummy?”

  Natalie nodded. She knew her opinion really didn’t matter. Claudia always did what she wanted to do.

  “Maybe I should make everyone dress in red, and if they’re not in red, I won’t let them in.”

  “Do you really want to play fashion police the entire night?”

  Claudia thought about it for a second. “Good point. Maybe I’ll tell all the girls that I’m the only one allowed to dress in red for the party.”

  Natalie knew if Claudia did that none of the girls would dare disobey. Crossing Claudia was like being sent to Siberia. You would be frozen out of all social events once she got the word out to her friends.

  For the second time that day, Natalie wondered why Claudia enjoyed being so mean. Was it a power thing? Did she feel she had to be this way? Was she afraid that if everyone wasn’t scared of her, they wouldn’t be her friend? Although, realistically, were the other girls Claudia hung out with her friends?

  Natalie liked to think that she and Claudia were friends. She listened when Claudia had problems and tried to help her out when she could. They certainly spent a lot of time together. During the summer they went to the beach and Claudia’s parents’ country club. They went shopping together in Manhattan, saw Broadway matinees, went to concerts, had sleepovers, hung out at the mall, borrowed each other’s clothes, and discussed guys. In the beginning, Natalie had loved hanging out with Claudia. She’d been fun! But lately . . . lately Natalie just wasn’t liking Claudia.

  She knew she couldn’t say anything to her. No one dared to criticize Claudia. But maybe she could discuss the situation with Eden and see what she thought.

  Natalie felt closer to Eden than she did to Claudia. Eden was more real and grounded. True, she was a girly girl, totally into shopping and hair and makeup and guys, but Natalie felt that if she were ever in a crisis, she could depend on Eden. Eden was the one who always brought over her homework when she was out sick. Eden was the one who had come with her to the hospital last month to visit her grandmother after she broke her leg and helped her parents plan her Sweet Sixteen surprise party last summer. She couldn’t keep track of all the nice things Eden had done for her since freshman year. If she ever had a problem and needed to talk it out, all she had to do was pick up the phone or send a text and Eden was there.

  Thinking about Eden made Natalie realize that she had to call her later. At lunch, she could see that something was bothering her. At one point it looked like she was crying, but Eden had reassured her that she wasn’t. Something had gotten into her eye, she quickly explained. Before Natalie could ask her anything else, Eden had dashed off to the bathroom. Natalie hadn’t seen her the rest of the day and she hadn’t been waiting with Claudia after school. She hoped she was okay.

  As Natalie and Claudia walked toward Natalie’s house, a young woman in her late twenties came running out of the house next door. It was a Victorian three-story that was identical to Natalie’s house, although her neighbors still had their Christmas decorations up. Bright-colored lights were strung across the front porch and Santa and his sleigh were still positioned on the front lawn. At the sight of Natalie, the woman waved and hurried over.

  “Natalie!” she exclaimed. “You don’t know how glad I am to see you!”

  Natalie smiled at the petite brunette. “Hi, Lisa! What’s up?”

  Lisa Barnes was Natalie’s next-door neighbor. She and her husband, Stan, and their four-year-old daughter, Bonnie, had moved in last fall. Natalie had babysat for Bonnie twice.

  “My babysitter canceled on me and I was wondering if I could ask a favor. I have to take my mom to a doctor’s appointment and I really don’t want to take Bonnie with me. With it being flu season, the last thing I want to do is expose her to a waiting room full of germs. Could you watch her for me? I shouldn’t be very long. An hour, two tops.”

  “Sure!” Natalie didn’t even have to think about it. She loved kids and hoped to become a nursery school teacher after college. One reason why she loved little kids so much was that they didn’t judge you. They saw what was on the inside, rather than what was on the outside.

  “You’re a lifesaver!” Lisa squealed, giving Natalie a hug and racing back inside.

  “I thought we were going to talk about my party.” Claudia pouted as Natalie followed after Lisa.

  “We can still do that.”

  Claudia wrinkled her nose, like she had smelled something bad. “I don’t do little kids.”

  “Bonnie’s a sweetie.”

  “She isn’t one of those rug rats that has a runny nose and grubby hands?” Claudia skeptically asked.

  “You’re going to love her. Trust me. She’s an angel!”

  Bonnie had turned into a devil.

  When Natalie first walked in the door, Bonnie came running over. She was an adorable little girl with two pigtails and a scattering of freckles across her cheeks, wearing pink overalls and a pink turtleneck. Before Natalie even had a chance to take off her coat, Bonnie had given her a hug. Natalie had hugged her back, inhaling the scent of Johnson & Johnson’s baby shampoo, peanut butter, and Magic Markers. Then Bonnie had wanted to give Claudia a hug. Natalie couldn’t help but giggle as Claudia knelt down and allowed Bonnie to wrap her arms around her.

  “So soft!” Bonnie had squealed while pressing her face against Claudia’s cashmere sweater.

  “And expensive,” Claudia had said while awkwardly trying to pull away from Bonnie, who had her in a death grip.

  “You’re pretty,” Bonnie had said, giving Claudia a big wet kiss.

  “She’s gotten a little clingy lately,” Lisa whispered into Natalie’s ear as she sneaked into the kitchen to use the back door. “She hates when I go anywhere without her. She might give you a little bit of a hard time, but she’ll get over it. Hopefully this phase isn’t going to last much longer.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Natalie had reassured Lisa as she watched her walk out. “Bonnie and I are old friends. I’m sure we’re going to get along fine.”

  At first they had. Bonnie had taken Natalie and Claudia into her playroom and shown them her dolls. Instead of giving them names, Bonnie gave each doll a number. “This is Seven, this is Eleven, this is Forty-Four,” Bonnie explained. Then she dropped the rag doll she was holding and her eyes widened with fear. It was like she had suddenly realized something. First she looked at Natalie. Then she turned to look at Claudia. After that, she looked around the playroom, frantically searching for the person she now knew was missing. “M-M-Mommy?”

  “Mommy had to go run an errand,” Natalie said. “She’ll be back soon.”

  As soon as Natalie said those words, Bonnie’s lower lip started to tremble. “No Mommy?” She ran out of the playroom, screaming at the top of her lungs. “MOMMMMEEEEEE!!!!!”
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  “That was the right thing to say,” Claudia stated sarcastically.

  “How was I supposed to know she would freak out?”

  Natalie hurried out of the playroom and found Bonnie struggling to open the front door.

  “Don’t cry, Bonnie,” she begged, wrapping her arms around her and moving her away from the door. “Mommy will be back soon.”

  “MOMMMEEEEEEEE!!!” Bonnie wailed, tears streaming down her face. “I WANT MY MOMMEEE!!!!”

  Bonnie broke free of Natalie’s hold and began jumping up and down, stomping on the floor, screaming at the top of her lungs. She was having a full-force temper tantrum.

  Claudia pressed her hand over her ears. “Sorry, Nat, but I told you I don’t do rug rats. That screaming is driving me crazy. I’m gone!”

  And with those final words, Claudia grabbed her coat and hurried out the front door, leaving Natalie all alone.

  Eden’s eyes were red and swollen.

  She had been crying in her bedroom for the last half hour after getting a text message from Keith telling her that he was breaking up with her.

  A text message!

  He didn’t even have the guts to break up with her in person. How cold could a guy get?

  After her last class, Eden had waited by Keith’s locker but he never showed up. She wanted to talk to him about what was going on between them. Correction. She wanted to talk about what was not going on between them. And who was the girl she had seen him with at lunch? He owed her at least that much, didn’t he?

  After waiting forty-five minutes for Keith, Eden finally gave up and came home. But the entire time, she had been wondering where he was and it had driven her crazy. Because all she could think about was that girl. What did she have that Eden didn’t? What made her so special that Keith wanted to be with her instead?

  Seconds after she walked through the front door, she had gotten Keith’s text.

  She still didn’t understand why he was breaking up with her.

  All his text message had said was: IT’S OVER.

  Eden reached across her bed for another tissue to blow her nose. As she did, the doorbell rang. Eden’s heart began pounding. Could it be Keith? Was he having second thoughts? Maybe he was coming over to apologize and ask her to take him back. If that were true, what would she do?

  If Chase had done this to Claudia, she knew exactly what Claudia would do. She would make Chase grovel before taking him back.

  But she wasn’t Claudia and she didn’t like playing games.

  If Keith wanted her to take him back, she would!

  Eden raced down the front staircase and flung open the front door. When she saw who was standing on the porch, the smile on her face disappeared.

  It was Claudia.

  The last person she wanted to see.

  What was she doing here? She was supposed to be spending the afternoon with Natalie. Now she was going to have to tell her what had happened.

  Claudia instantly noticed her blotchy face and tears.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked as she walked inside. “Why are you crying?”

  “Keith broke up with me,” she sniffed.

  Back in her bedroom, Eden told Claudia the entire story. When she was finished, Claudia had a stern look on her face.

  “You can’t let him get away with this!”

  Eden knew that Claudia was all about getting even and settling the score, making sure no one took advantage of her. But that wasn’t Eden. It took too much time and energy to hold a grudge. She tried to treat people the way she wanted to be treated. If they didn’t, she moved on.

  She wished Natalie were sitting across from her. Natalie would know what to say to make her feel better. And she’d give her advice about what to do.

  Eden crumpled the tissue in her hand, tossing it into the wastebasket by her desk. “It’s over. Done with. Time to move on.”

  “But don’t you want to know why he’s breaking up with you?”

  Eden waved her cell phone in Claudia’s face. “Ever since I got his text message, I’ve been calling him. I’ve sent my own texts. He won’t answer.”

  Claudia rolled her eyes. “That’s so typical of a guy.”

  “What am I supposed to do if he won’t talk to me?”

  “You make him talk to you,” Claudia insisted.

  “How?”

  “You confront him. If he wants to break up with you, he has to do it in person.”

  Eden looked at Claudia like she was crazy. “Get dumped twice? I don’t think so! Once was painful enough.”

  “Then at least give him a piece of your mind. Don’t let him off the hook so easily. You think I didn’t see him in the cafeteria today with his new girlfriend? I did!”

  “Why didn’t you say anything?”

  “I didn’t want you to feel bad.”

  Eden was stunned. This was so unlike Claudia!

  “After all, what is this? The fourth guy who’s dumped you in the last six months?” Claudia didn’t wait for an answer. “Not that I’m keeping track. Maybe you should get some relationship books from the library. It could help you avoid making the same mistakes. Obviously, you’re doing something wrong with every guy you go out with.”

  Eden couldn’t believe what she was hearing! She had thought Claudia was trying to make her feel better. Instead, she was being critical! The way she always was!

  “Pay attention to Chase and me,” Claudia said before Eden could say anything. “We’re the perfect couple. That’s why we’re going to be voted Most Romantic at the Valentine’s Day dance next week.”

  Eden hated to admit it, but Claudia and Chase were the perfect couple. They’d been together forever. What was their secret, and what was she doing wrong? Why did the guys she went out with keep dumping her? She was a pretty girl and guys were always asking her out on dates. She’d gone out with four different guys since September. Why didn’t anything last beyond a month? Was she unlovable? Was that what it was?

  Eden could feel tears welling in her eyes again. She reached for another tissue and blew her nose.

  She didn’t know what to do.

  All she did know was that she was going to be alone on Valentine’s Day.

  That thought made her cry even more.

  “Bonnie, please stop crying. Please,” Natalie begged. “If you stop crying, I’ll buy you any toy you want.”

  Natalie hated resorting to blackmail, but what else could she do? Claudia had been gone for twenty minutes and Bonnie was still crying and showing no signs of winding down. Where did she find the energy?

  Natalie had tried everything to get Bonnie to stop crying. She sang, she danced. She offered to put on her favorite DVDs, play with her toys, bake cookies. Nothing worked. Bonnie just kept crying and crying, running from room to room and screaming at the top of her lungs. She was like one of those car alarms that wouldn’t turn off!

  What if someone walking by heard Bonnie crying? She didn’t want them to think she was hurting her. And whoever said toddlers went through the Terrible Twos had never dealt with Bonnie and the Terrible Fours!

  Natalie wished she wasn’t all alone. How could Claudia have left her? Duh! Dumb question. Because that was Claudia. The only person she ever thought about was herself. Eden never would have left her alone. Eden would have stayed and tried to help calm Bonnie down. Instead, she was all alone with no clue about what to do! This was crazy! She couldn’t let a four-year-old defeat her!

  Then Natalie heard it. The sound of the doorbell.

  Natalie raced to answer it. Anything to get away from Bonnie and her tears.

  She opened the front door and as she did, the crying stopped.

  “Uncle Leo!” Bonnie happily shrieked, running across the front hall and throwing her arms around the legs of the teenage guy standing on the porch.

  Natalie recognized Leo Barnes. Everyone at North Ridge High knew who Leo was. Overweight Leo was known for his huge appetite and huge size. He wasn’t flabby fat — he didn’t jigg
le when he walked — but he was fat and could stand to lose some weight. He definitely had a big belly, although he didn’t have a double chin. He had a mop of crazy brown curls on his head and gold-flecked green eyes.

  Leo would eat anything if someone dared him to. Last semester someone had offered him twenty dollars to eat a whole can of sardines. He had.

  Natalie often wondered what Leo went through. Even though Leo had a bunch of friends at North Ridge High, a lot of students laughed at him behind his back. They called him the Human Garbage Disposal and Mr. Jelly Belly. They asked if he had his own zip code or if he needed to buy two seats when he was on a plane.

  If the barbs bothered him, Leo never let it show. He always had a smile on his face and was ready to help someone out if they needed his assistance. Every Christmas he volunteered as Santa Claus in the children’s wing of the local hospital.

  Natalie never laughed at Leo or made fun of him. Her heart went out to him because she knew exactly what he was going through.

  “Hey, peanut! What’s up? What’s with the tears? Big girls don’t cry. Is Natalie not being nice to you?”

  “How do you know my name?” Natalie asked in surprise.

  Leo rolled his eyes. “Everyone knows your name. You’re one of the popular girls from school. Unlike me, who’s unpopular.”

  “What’s unpopular?” Bonnie asked, wiping her runny nose across her sleeve.

  Leo lifted Bonnie into his arms and gave her a kiss on the cheek before putting her back down. “Something you’ll never be!”

  “I didn’t know you were Bonnie’s uncle.”

  Leo squeezed Bonnie’s nose with two fingers and hid it behind his back. “Oh no! I stole your nose!”

  Bonnie giggled as she touched the tip of her nose. “No, you didn’t, Uncle Leo. It’s still here.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Leo turned to Natalie. “My brother Stan is married to Lisa. She gave me a call on my cell phone a little while ago. She was worried you might be having some problems with Bonnie,” he said, putting his fingers back on Bonnie’s nose before pressing his mouth to her belly and making a farting sound. Bonnie instantly erupted into a burst of giggles. “I can see she was right. Someone was being bad!” he scolded. “Tell Natalie you’re sorry for crying when Mommy went away.”