Down the Rabbit Hole (2 page)

“You don’t have to talk.
Just grab a beer, park your butt against a tree and act broken
hearted. I guarantee at least one hot chick is going to try to
console you by cramming her tongue down your throat. Just don’t let
Naomi see you. I’m already in enough trouble.”

Frankie wrinkled his nose
and frowned. “I’m not going to start drinking just so I can make
out with some random fan-girl of yours. And get off my
bed.”

Jonathan grinned and started
bouncing again. Heather was the perfect bait. All Jonathan had to
do was set the hook and reel him in. “Just smile and nod your head
while they jabber at you. It’ll be good practice. For when you go
out with Heather.”

“Do you really think
H-Heather w-would go out w-with me?”

“Why wouldn’t she? You’re
almost as good-looking as I am.”

Franklin rolled his eyes but
his grin was so wide it looked like it hurt. “We’re identical, you
moron.”

There was a small parking
lot at the trailhead that meandered past the old McKnight mine, but
it was already full. Jonathan didn’t want to park on the side of
the road so he pulled in behind Rich Blanchard’s souped up Dodge
Ram and cut the engine.

Franklin said, “You can’t
park here. You’re blocking three cars.”

Jonathan set the emergency
brake and said, “I can park wherever the hell I want.”

“You know who owns that
truck, right?”

“Quit whining. Rich isn’t
going to want to leave before we do. In fact he’ll probably get so
drunk he won’t be able to find his truck before
daylight.”

“And if you want anyone to
believe you’re me; quit saying ‘hell.’ I don’t swear.”

“Okay,
Mom
… it’s no big f—”

“Hey!”

“—
freakin’ deal.”

Jonathan laughed and hopped
out of the Land Rover, slamming the door behind him. “Keep your
chin up and head straight for the keg—”

“I already told you, I’m not
going to drink.”

“Then grab a beer out of one
of the coolers—”

“I said I’m not—”

“Calm down. I didn’t say you
had to drink it. Just hold it and pretend to take a sip
occasionally. Can you do that?” Jonathan’s patience was wearing
thin.

“Okay, but remember the only
kind of beer you can drink is root-beer.”

Jonathan was definitely
going to need a couple of real beers if he was going to get through
the next hour without popping Franklin in the mouth. He’d just have
to be discreet about it.

About twenty people milled
around the bonfire in front of the mine. Another half-dozen or so
jostled each other to get to the keg. Music blared from someone's
portable audio system. It was amazing what you could do with a car
battery, an amp and a couple of speakers. The thump, thump of the
heavy bass reverberating in Jonathan’s gut lifted his mood. He had
to remind himself not to move to the beat as they walked up the
trail. Franklin could dance as good as anyone, but he never did it
in public.

That needed to change.
Jonathan punched Franklin’s shoulder. “Loosen up, bro. Try to
relax. You’re supposed to be excited to be here.”

Franklin huffed and rolled
his eyes.

They were about half-way
between the parking lot and the bonfire when Naomi and her current
top three friends spilled out of her Prius. Great. How was he
supposed to talk to her with those three hanging around? They
openly dissed him in front of Naomi, then came on to him behind her
back.

Jonathan turned to Franklin,
hoping he could enlist his help to distract Naomi’s friends for a
few minutes, but he should have known better.

Franklin was already
twitching. Jonathan lowered his voice and spoke out of the side of
his mouth. “Go grab a beer and pretend to drink it … now.” He
stepped in front of Naomi then dropped his gaze to his feet.
Franklin would never have the courage for direct eye contact with
any girl, much less a hottie like Naomi. “H-h-hello, N-Naomi. H-how
are y-y-you?”

She stopped and did a little
double-take. “
Franklin
?”

Jonathan chanced a quick
glance at Naomi’s face. She curled her upper lip back so far it
practically touched her nose. What the hell was her
problem?

“C-can I t-talk t-to you for
a m-minute?

She made that
half-grunt-half-coughing noise in the back of her throat that she
usually reserved for thespians and members of the chess club. “What
are you doing here?”

“Jonathan’s
been so depressed since you b-broke up with him.
If you w-would j-just t-talk to him—”

Naomi interrupted him with a
cruel laugh. It was nothing like the musical giggle that always
warmed Jonathan’s heart. She tossed her hair over her shoulder with
a flick of her hand and looked down her nose at him. He hardly
recognized her. It was as if someone had transformed his Disney
princess into a monster. She actually sneered at him. “How the hell
did that cheating, scumbag brother of yours ever talk you into
this? Did he threaten to st-st-steal your t-t-teddy
b-b-bear?”

Jonathan’s world shattered.
No one made fun of Franklin’s stutter. No one. Not even hot
ex-girlfriends. Did she treat Franklin like this whenever Jonathan
wasn’t around? He glanced over his shoulder. Franklin was leaning
against a tree with a goofy grin on his face, staring into the
fire. If he’d heard Naomi’s mockery, it would have devastated
him.

She needed to be taken down
a notch or two. And Jonathan knew just how to do it. “Jonathan told
me I could have one of his rejects tonight. I was hoping Harleigh
would show up, but since she didn’t, I guess you’ll do.” He sighed
and grabbed her hand. “Come on. I have a sleeping bag in the back
of the Rover.”

Naomi jumped back and hissed
like an angry cat. Her friends giggled and snorted behind their
hands. She was still spluttering incoherently when Jonathan turned
his back on her and walked away. It was time to sneak into the
mine, snag a couple of beers, and light up the blunt hidden in his
pocket.

When Jonathan came out of
the mine, he found Franklin in the middle of a crowd of drunks,
chugging beer out of a clear plastic cup. Jonathan should have been
happy Frankie was loosening up, but it pissed him off. Franklin was
the good twin. He was on track to serve a mission, go to BYU, meet
a nice girl, marry her in the temple and start popping out kids as
fast as they could make ‘em.

Franklin crushed his empty
cup then belched half the alphabet. The idiots around him howled
with laughter, but Jonathan didn’t think it was funny. In fact, it
killed his buzz. Was he that disgusting of an animal at parties? It
was something to think about, but right now, he needed to save
Franklin’s sorry ass before he did something really
stupid.

By the time Jonathan worked
his way through the crowd, Franklin had another cup of beer in his
hand.

“I think you’ve had enough
to drink.” Jonathan tried to pry Franklin’s fingers off the cup
without spilling it all over both of them.

“Oh I don’t think so
Frankie
, I haven’t had
nearly enough. In fact I think it’s high time you joined me.”
Franklin laughed and punched Jonathan’s shoulder.
“
High time
… get
it?”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it.”
Jonathan grabbed Franklin’s arm and whispered, “What the hell do
you think you’re doing?”

“Hey! Tyler,” Franklin
leaned back and lifted his hand in the air, index finger extended,
as if he were trying to signal a waiter. “Get a brewski for my
alter-ego here would ya?”

Jonathan didn’t know what
had changed Franklin’s mind about drinking, but he wasn’t about to
ruin his immaculate reputation. Besides, Franklin was already
plastered, so Jonathan would have to drive them home. “Are you too
drunk to remember my vow to never so much as taste
alcohol?”

Franklin swayed on his feet.
“You need to lighten up. Live a little before you die.”

Jonathan grabbed Franklin’s
shoulders to keep him from stumbling into the fire. “How many beers
have you had since we got here?”

“Hmm … I’m not shlure.”
Frankie turned to Tyler and cocked his head to the side. “How many
beers have I drunk…? Drank…? Drink-ded…?”

Tyler held up three fingers
and shrugged.

Jonathan rolled his eyes. He
would
not
be this
plastered after just three beers.

Franklin belched a cloud of
beer-scented gas in Jonathan’s face then giggled like a
girl.

Jonathan wanted to
bitch-slap him until he followed Franklin’s gaze to the crushed
cans of nonalcoholic beer hidden in the side pocket of his suede
jacket. Wow. This was just an act? Jonathan leaned in and
whispered, “You’re not really drunk?”

“Of course not.”

The man deserved an Oscar
for his role as
Drunk and Obnoxious
Jonathan McKnight.

“If you spill even one drop
of that nasty fake beer on my coat, I’ll kill you.”

Tyler coughed into his fist
and said, “Heather’s here.”

The sound of bell-like
laughter floated up from the trail.

Franklin froze then started
backing away before the girls were even in view. “I’m gonna
puke.”

He bolted into the bushes
like a frightened deer.

Heather jerked her head back
then squinted her eyes and leaned forward. “Was that Franklin
McKnight? Is he drunk?”

Shit.
Time to intervene. “H-h-hey H-Heather, I’d like t-to talk to
you as s-soon as I m-make sure J-Jonathan’s okay. He’s had a little
too m-m-much to drink.”

Jonathan held his breath to
make his face turn red and hoped that would convince Heather that
she had the boys mixed up.

“Of course, do you need any
help?

Tyler smacked Jonathan on
the back “I’ve got it covered. You go talk to Heather while I make
sure your drunken brother doesn’t fall down a mine shaft or
something.”

“Um … okay.” Jonathan
swallowed loudly and rubbed his palms on his jeans as if they were
sweaty. Franklin wasn’t the only one with acting ability. “D-do you
w-wanna g-g-go somewhere t-to talk?”

Heather lowered her gaze and
peeked at him from under thick lashes. She was actually sort of
cute. Jonathan grabbed her hand and led her back down the trail,
away from the fire and the crowd. He didn’t want an audience in
case this blew up in his face, so he waited until they were out of
everyone’s line of sight to turn his full attention to
Heather.

She stared at their linked
hands and grinned. “So … what’s on your mind, Franklin?”

“I… uh… yeah, well… I was
w-wondering if you w-would go to H-h-homecoming with me?”
Jonathan’s voice cracked when he said ‘me’ but Heather didn’t seem
to notice — or maybe she just didn’t care. The way her eyes lit up
when she smiled changed her whole face. Why hadn’t he noticed her
before? Maybe because she’d never smiled at him. She was more than
just cute. She was adorable. And perfect for Franklin.

She stepped forward and put
one trembling hand on Jonathan’s chest. “I would love to go with
you.”

Jonathan smiled, flashing
his dimples.

Heather rose up on her toes
and slipped her hand behind his neck and tugged.

Oh, shit. What do I do? If I
pull back, it’ll hurt her feelings. But I can’t kiss her. She’s
Franklin’s girl.

Heather made the decision
for both of them. Jonathan kept his mouth closed and his eyes open.
The snap of twig alerted him that someone was close. He pulled away
just as Franklin stepped around the bend. He didn’t say a word. He
didn’t need to. The look of betrayal in his eyes said it all. He
shook his head then stepped off the path, giving Jonathan and
Heather a wide berth.

Jonathan grabbed Franklin’s
shoulder as he passed. “Wait. I can explain.”

Frankie jerked out of
Jonathan’s grasp then ran down the trail.

“Where do you think you’re
going?” There was nothing down there but the parking lot. Shit.
Frankie was going home. Without him. Jonathan didn’t like leaving
Heather alone on the trail, but he needed to straighten things out
with Franklin.

She should be fine as long
as she went back to the group around the fire.

“Heather, sweetheart, I need
you to go back to the party and find your friends. Stay together
and stay away from Rich and his group. I need to see what’s up with
that crazy brother of mine, but I’ll be right back.”

He’d forgotten to stutter,
but Heather just nodded her head and started walking back up the
trail.

Jonathan was about halfway
to the parking lot when the hair on the back of his neck stood on
end. Two guys were pulling a very drunk girl off the trail into the
bushes.
Not cool.
Jonathan had no idea who the guys were, but either they’d
heard about the party and decided to crash it or they just stumbled
on to it and decided to take advantage of the opportunity — and the
intoxicated girl they were half-carrying-half-dragging between
them.