“WE WEREN’T ACTUALLY DOING IT,” said Taylor in an offhanded way.
DJ had waited up for her, determined to read her the riot act before she went to bed. “Yeah, right.” DJ socked a throw pillow and then tossed it to her bed.
“Fine, if that’s what you want to think…sure, we were doing it, DJ. We were just going at it like a couple of sex-starved—”
“Shut up,” said DJ. “If you can’t be honest, just shut up.”
“So, you believe me?” Taylor looked surprised. “That we weren’t really doing it?”
“No, I didn’t say that. I just don’t want your bull.”
“Believe what you want,” said Taylor. “You will anyway.” She pointed to DJ’s Bible now. “I wonder what that book says about judging people, or misjudging them as the case happens to be here.”
DJ didn’t say anything. She wasn’t sure what the Bible said about judging, although she’d heard Rhiannon say it was wrong. In fact, tonight when DJ and the others had sat around the living room trashing Taylor’s character and plotting against her, Rhiannon had refused to participate. She’d said it was wrong, and then she’d gone to her room.
“Do you even want to know the truth, DJ? Or are you going to be one of those Christians who make it up as they go along?”
“What would you know about being a Christian anyway?” demanded DJ.
Taylor laughed. “Oh, you’d be surprised.”
“I’m sure.”
“Fine,” said Taylor. “I’ll tell you what your fat green Bible says about judging, DJ. It says ‘Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.’ Matthew seven verses one and two.”
DJ blinked. “How can you possibly know that?” She grabbed up her Bible and tried to find where that section might be so that she could prove Taylor wrong, but she didn’t even know where to begin.
“Here,” said Taylor. “I’ll show you.” She took the Bible and opened it, turned several pages, and then stopped where the page was marked with the bookmark and sticky note. “Hey, it looks like you were already reading right here. Guess it didn’t really sink in.” She shoved the Bible back at DJ now, pointing to a section that was a little way past where DJ had just read this morning. Not that the bit about being nice to her enemies had done her much good.
DJ slowly read the sentences that Taylor had pointed out, and although the wording was slightly different, she could tell the meaning was the same. It basically said that if you judge others, you would be judged too. DJ peered at Taylor curiously. “How did you know that?”
“What difference does it make?” Taylor sat down in the window seat and picked up her magazine.
DJ closed her eyes and rubbed her temples.
“Something wrong?” Taylor asked.
“Yeah,” said DJ, “you seriously make my head hurt, Taylor.”
Taylor snickered. “Yeah, I get that a lot.”
“Okay,” said DJ, determined to try this again. “Tell me the truth, Taylor, if you and Bradford weren’t doing it, why did Eliza and Rhiannon say that you were? Why would they lie?”
“Because they did catch us in a pretty heavy make-out session.” She shrugged. “I suppose it was possible that we might’ve taken it further if we hadn’t been interrupted…but I don’t really think so. I actually think it would be rather tacky to have sex in the backroom of Bradford’s mom’s gallery, don’t you think?”
“Well, of course, I’d think that. But I’m not you, Taylor. Sometimes you seem to have the corner on tacky.”
“Thanks a lot.”
“Can you deny that you’ve had your tacky moments?”
Taylor almost smiled. “Okay, you’re right. I suppose I have lacked discretion from time to time.”
DJ sighed loudly. “Do you have any idea of how badly you’ve hurt Rhiannon?”
“Me?” Taylor frowned. “Like I did this all on my own? What about Bradford’s role? Or Eliza for that matter. I mean, what was she doing snooping around the back of the gallery like that? What was she trying to prove anyway? Rhiannon wouldn’t have been hurt if Eliza hadn’t been butting her nose into places it didn’t belong.”
“They were looking for Bradford.”
“And so they found him.”
“With you.”
“So, that makes the whole thing my fault—and my fault alone?”
“I don’t know…” DJ shook her head. “Sometimes when I talk to you, it’s like I can’t even think straight. You have such a gift for twisting things.”
“Or maybe I just show you some different angles.”
“Right.” DJ pulled up her comforter now. “I’m tired. I’m going to bed.”
“You’re going to bed mad, aren’t you?”
“Maybe. What’s it to you if I’m mad? Don’t I have a right to be angry?”
“I guess you don’t know what the Bible says about that then do you?”
“I’m supposing you do.”
“That’s right. ‘Do not let the sun go down on your wrath.’ Ephesians four verse twenty-six.”
“You are a total enigma, Taylor.”
“Why, thank you, DJ. That’s one of the nicest things you’ve said to me.” Taylor removed a pair of white satin pajamas from her drawer. “But are you going to bed angry or not?”
DJ considered this. “Not.”
“So, you forgive me?”
“Don’t push it.” DJ pulled the comforter over her head and groaned as if in severe pain. But she could still hear Taylor laughing after she went into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Was it possible that DJ was rooming with the devil?
The next morning, DJ wanted to sleep in, but Inez knocked on her door at eight thirty to inform her that Mrs. Carter was waiting for her downstairs.
“Car shopping,” said Taylor as she stretched sleepily. “Do I still get to come along?”
DJ frowned at her. “You really want to?”
“Sure, why not?”
DJ figured she couldn’t exactly uninvite Taylor. Besides, her grandmother might expect her to come. So, without really talking, they got ready, went downstairs, had a quick breakfast, and then rode to the neighboring town of Borden. The weather was changing; clouds were rolling in off the ocean, and it felt as if rain was in the air. Hopefully, it would hold off until the guys’ soccer match was over this afternoon.
“You are certainly quiet this morning, Desiree,” said Mrs. Carter as she stopped at a traffic light. “Is anything wrong?”
“Just tired,” said DJ from the backseat, which she had nabbed in order to avoid having to make small talk with her grandmother. Taylor had been stuck in that role, and DJ had been trying to catch a nap. “That first week of school after lazing around all summer…I would’ve liked to have slept in today.”
“Well, this is something we need to take care of,” said her grandmother. “I didn’t want to put it off for another week.”
“Where are we going anyway?” asked Taylor.
“The general recommended a car dealer to me,” said Mrs. Carter as she drove through the business district. “An old friend of his. He promised to give me a good deal. The place is called Farnsworth Auto.”
After a few minutes, Taylor spotted a sign, and Mrs. Carter pulled in to a good-sized car dealership. And before long they were looking at a variety of large and unimpressive cars. DJ’s grandmother seemed to be under the impression that bigger was better—not surprising considering she drove a boat of a car. But every car that interested her looked like something that should belong to an old lady. And the salesman was no help since he only encouraged her.
DJ cringed as they looked at a Lincoln Town Car. “That is way too big,” she told her grandmother. “And I’ll bet it gets lousy gas mileage.”
“I was considering it for myself,” said Mrs. Carter as she ran her fingers over the shining chrome. “I would give you my older Mercedes.”
DJ tossed Taylor a look that was meant to say, help me!
“Excuse me, Mrs. Carter,” said Taylor as she stepped forward. “Do you mind if I ask why you’re considering these rather large luxury cars for Desiree?”
“For safety, of course,” said Mrs. Carter.
“Safety…” Taylor nodded as if mulling this over. “But did you know that just last year, Consumer Reports said that Honda Civics are the safest cars for teens?”
“Really?” Mrs. Carter looked impressed. “How did you know that?”
“Because my parents were going to get me a car, and my mom did the research, and that’s what she decided was safest.” She smiled at the salesman now. “I’m sure you have access to Consumer Reports in your office, don’t you? We can go online and get all this information easily.”
He nodded, but his expression wasn’t convincing. “You know, I do believe the young lady is right about that, Mrs. Carter. And I just happened to get in a sweet little 2006 Honda Civic as a trade-in only last week. Would you like to have a look at it?”
“And Hondas get great gas mileage,” said DJ, although she wasn’t positive, but it seemed a safe bet.
“That’s right—up to forty miles per gallon,” said Taylor.
“Really?” Mrs. Carter nodded. “Well, let’s see this car.”
It turned out to be a light blue, four-door sedan, complete with a sunroof. DJ actually liked it, especially after seeing the old lady cars, but she was afraid to get her hopes up. The salesman showed them all its features, focusing on the car’s high safety ratings.
“This is just the kind of car that my parents would’ve gotten for me,” said Taylor.
“It looks comfortable,” said DJ, for lack of anything else to say.
“And it matches your eyes,” said Taylor with a wicked grin that only DJ could see.
“Would you like to take her for a little spin?” asked the salesman.
Mrs. Carter glanced at the sign on the windshield with the price posted. “Is this the correct price?” she asked the salesman.
“Like I told you, ma’am, we post our prices at Farnsworth’s, and we don’t play games. What you see on the ticket is what you’ll pay for the car.”
“But it’s so much less than the other cars we looked at.”
“It’s an economy car, Mrs. Carter. It’s supposed to be cheaper.”
Her grandmother smiled now, and DJ knew it was a sealed deal. Even so, they took it for a test drive, and both she and Taylor tried it out. They all agreed that it was a good little car. And before noon, it was purchased, and DJ and Taylor followed Mrs. Carter home in it.
“Good thing you’ve had your license for a year,” said Taylor. “Otherwise you wouldn’t be able to give anyone rides.” The man who did the paperwork on the car had also given the girls the lowdown on the law regarding teen drivers, reminding them that they weren’t to use cell phones while driving and telling them how many passengers they were allowed to have.
“I wonder how long Eliza has been licensed,” said DJ as she turned onto the highway. “Maybe she’s not supposed to have passengers—”
“I say, don’t ask, don’t tell.”
DJ focused her attention on driving now. Not that she wasn’t a good driver, but knowing this was actually her car made her want to be extra careful. “It really is a nice car,” she said. “Thanks for helping to talk my grandmother into it.”
“Sure.”
“Was it true? What you said about safety and everything?”
“You think I’d make something like that up?”
DJ considered this. “Maybe…”
Taylor laughed. “You really do think I’m evil, don’t you?”
DJ didn’t answer that.
“For your information, it was true. My parents were going to force a Honda Civic on me, while all my other friends were driving cool cars.”
“Cool cars?” DJ wondered if this meant her car was an uncool car.
“You know, like Lexus, Audi, or even Eliza’s Porsche. And I told my mom that I’d settle for an Eclipse Spyder, which is like half the price of a Porsche, but pretty cool-looking just the same. Well, she checked out the safety ratings and said, ‘forget it.’”
“Oh.”
“But this car is okay for you.”
DJ nodded. She knew that was probably a slam. It felt like a slam. Still, she felt determined not to let Taylor spoil this. DJ had her very own car. Her first set of wheels. Woo-hoo!
After they got home, DJ showed her car to Casey and Rhiannon, both of whom seemed impressed. Then she offered to take them for a ride.
“No thanks,” said Rhiannon.
“Come on,” urged DJ. “We’ll open the sunroof and—”
“I’m working on a project,” said Rhiannon. “You guys go ahead and go. I’ll take a ride some other time.”
So DJ took Casey out and—although the clouds were still gathering—opened the sunroof, and the cool air whooshed through the car.
“Wow,” said Casey, “This is so cool. We won’t need to rely on your grandmother now. And no more walking home after volleyball.”
“So, how’s Rhiannon doing?” asked DJ as she slowed down to drive through town.
“She’s pretty bummed, although she tries to act like she’s not.”
“I wish there was some way to cheer her up or fix this.”
“After Eliza’s failed attempt, I think we should all just back off.”
“Yeah, I know. What a mess.”
“I just wish there was a way to get back at Taylor.”
DJ remembered what Taylor had said last night. “You know, it’s not really fair to blame Taylor for the whole thing. I mean, Bradford is involved too. No one forced him to get involved with Taylor.”
“Yeah, right. Taylor, the witch, probably put a spell on him.”
“Come on,” urged DJ. “Bradford is a big boy. He knew what he was doing.”
“Wait a minute,” said Casey suddenly. “What’s up with you anyway, DJ? Have you gone over to the dark side?”
“No, of course, not. But I just think there are two sides to everything.”
“How about when Taylor was going after Conner,” Casey reminded her. “Did you see two sides then?”
“Maybe not…”
“And Rhiannon and Bradford had been together a long time.”
“Well, to be fair, they’d been friends. It had only started to get serious just recently.”
“Still, it was wrong. Taylor is selfish and evil and just plain mean.”
“I’m not saying that Taylor was right. I’m just saying that maybe we all need to ease up…move on, you know?”
“You have gone over to the dark side.” Casey scowled. “Taylor’s already got you in her back pocket, doesn’t she?”
“No, she does not.”
“Why did she go with you to get this car?”
“Because my grandmother invited her.” DJ turned back toward the house now. If Casey wanted to argue, their little joy ride was about to end.
“But you could’ve said no. You could’ve refused.”
“Have you met my grandmother?”
“You just wimped out.”
“Fine, whatever. But for your information, Taylor was actually quite helpful with getting this car. Mrs. Carter had her eye on a Cadillac.”
“Eew.”
“Exactly. Taylor pointed out that a Honda Civic was a safe choice for teen drivers. She totally convinced her that it was the best car, and my grandmother believed her.”
“Was it a big lie?” asked Casey as DJ pulled in front of Carter House.
“I don’t think so.”
“But it might’ve been. For all you know you’re driving around in a death trap.”
“I doubt that.”
“But you don’t know, and your problem is that you’re buying into her, DJ. You are starting to trust Taylor, and that scares me!” Then Casey opened the door, hopped out, and ran into the house.
DJ leaned her head against the steering wheel and wondered how she could possibly survive the entire school year with all these girls who always seemed to be at odds with each other. Then she sat back up and smiled. Well, at least she had this little getaway car. Now, that was something!