Blind Loyalty by M J Marlow (ereader for android .TXT) 📖

be allowed to act as your adviser in this matter, my dear,” Miss Dearborn replied. “Just remember you are only sixteen. Aidan Murphy is not the first boy who will want to kiss you before you are grown and ready to marry. But you remember what matters and do not let them talk you into situations you are not ready for.” “You sound like a mother,” Joanna smiled at the woman. She caught a look of regret on the woman’s face. “I’m sorry,” she said as she felt the sadness in her teacher. “I didn’t mean to say anything inappropriate…” “No, Joanna,” Miss Dearborn broke in; “you didn’t say anything wrong. I was just remembering something.” She got a faraway look on her face and then shook her head. “Past is past.” She looked at the clock. “You need to be moving if you’re going to make your next class.” Joanna thanked the woman again and went to her locker to get her books for study period. She found a seat in the library and Sarah joined her there. Her cousin was looking very uneasy and quite a bit guilty. Joanna knew Aidan had talked to her then and she was angry with him for that. If he had hurt her cousin, she would never forgive him. “I thought you understood about Aidan and I, Joey,” Sarah said as she looked at her worriedly. “He isn’t really my boyfriend.” Joanna started to protest and Sarah held up her hand. “If you like him, then he’s yours. I won’t be hurt if you two are together. Honest!” She looked across the room at Terrance ‘Trance’ Danvers, Glory’s twin brother. “I have my eye on someone else.” “Trance?” Joanna choked as she saw the expression in Sarah’s eyes she had seen in Aidan’s earlier. Sarah liked Glory’s brother? She looked at him again and realized he wasn’t ugly. He had golden blonde hair like his sister and his eyes were a blue gray. But he hid them behind thick-rimmed glasses and he was always stuttering around girls. Since he was the president of the Chess club and in the higher Math courses with her, she knew he was smart. “I like,” Sarah nodded and practically purred. She turned to Joanna. “So you see, dear little cousin, there is nothing standing in the way of your being with Aidan.” She kissed her on the cheek. “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll make a move.” Joanna watched as Sarah walked across the room and sat down next to Trance. The nerd turned bright red as she smiled at him. He was a handsome boy, being Glory’s twin, but very shy and retiring. He wasn’t used to having pretty cheerleaders hitting on him. She heard someone come up beside her and looked up to see George standing there. He had a single flower in his hand, a pink carnation. “Someone told me these were your favorites,” he said as he held it out to her. He smiled as she took it from him and sat down next to her. “Have you given any more thought to my offer?” “Aidan and I have been working very hard, George,” Joanna replied. “You can’t really expect me to want you near me after what you tried?” She felt his hand on her knee and she moved her leg away, shaking in anger. “You touch me again…” “And I will break your arm,” Aidan hissed as he came up behind George and ‘helped’ him out of the chair. “Trying to steal my partner, Jensen? That’s low,” he continued as he took the seat he’d forced the other boy out of; “even for you!” George stormed off and Aidan turned to look at Joanna. She was pale and shaky. “Are you all right, Joey?” “That’s the third time he’s asked me to be his partner, Aidan,” Joanna told her friend. She did not tell him that George had actually attacked her the last time he had asked her. “Why is he so eager to make the change?” “Because your cousin won’t let him pull any of his nasty little tricks on her,” Aidan said simply. He saw her bite her lip and knew she was upset. “Don’t worry. He can beg all he wants. Just ignore him.” He looked at her seriously. “Unless you want to change partners.” “You care what I want?” Joanna smiled. “Of course I do,” Aidan looked at her funny. “We’re friends, aren’t we?” She nodded and he got out his French book and smiled at her. “I’m having a little trouble with the vocabulary this chapter, Joey. Could you help me out?” “Of course, Aidan,” Joanna nodded and they spent study hour actually studying. He did not try to touch her or kiss her or push her in any manner and she was very happy with him. He certainly knew what he was doing when it came to her. It was nice having someone around who considered her needs before his own. “Are you this smooth with all the girls,” she asked as they got their books together at the end of the hour to go to their next classes; “or is this consideration just for me?” “Joey,” Aidan looked stricken. “You make me sound like a philanderer.” He saw that she wanted the truth. “I admit I’ve dated several girls in the past few years, but I have never been dishonest with any of them. And I have never wanted to be with any girl as much as I want to be with you.” Aidan froze as a hand clamped down on each shoulder. He looked up to see Patrick and Ryan standing behind them. As ever they were dressed in identical clothing, long sleeved white shirts, black leather belts with the same buckle, and dark jeans and black leather boots. It was as if they were daring people to try to tell them apart. They were the handsomest boys in school, Joanna thought; and they were her brothers. She was really quite proud to be their sister. “You’d better not be leading our little sister astray, Aidan Murphy,” Patrick said sternly. “We’d really hate to have to hurt you,” Ryan added. He put his arm around Joanna’s shoulders. “So, Joey,” he smiled down at her; “is he forgiven?” “The jury is still out on that,” Joanna told them; “but the judge is leaning towards clemency. Especially since he just saved me from the foul advances of George Jensen.” She saw her brothers look of shock. They turned towards Aidan and he nodded. “You wouldn’t really have hurt him?” “You’re our sister, Joey,” Patrick told her. He began to set his plans for the ‘talk’ he would have with George Jensen. “It’s our duty and our honor to protect you from philanderers.” “But Aidan is our friend,” Ryan continued. “We really would have hated to have to hurt him for trifling with you.” He heard the bell ring. “Trigonometry, here we come.” He held his arm out to Joanna. “Shall we, little sister?” Joanna giggled and grabbed her books. She had transferred to the Trigonometry class from Mr. Dunne’s Algebra class last week and been delighted to find her brothers and Trance Danvers were in that same class. She smiled at Aidan as she threw the carnation in the wastebasket. “Keep playing the protector, Aidan,” she said to him as they left, “and the verdict may be quite favorable.” Aidan smiled and watched her move off with her older cousins, chatting about the Trigonometry lesson they were about to have. She was such a pretty thing; he smiled as he turned to go to his French class. He was so distracted by thoughts of her that the teacher threw up her hands and ignored him for the rest of class after Aidan said he thought French was a waste of time on such a lovely day in perfect French and then fell silent and stared out the window. “Murphy!” the Phys Ed teacher snapped at him in the next period when he missed the ball while he played goalee in the soccer game. “Get your mind back on the game!” Aidan looked at him as if he were coming out from under a spell. “Whoever she is, think of her in your free time! You’re supposed to be stopping the balls coming at you, not collecting them.” “Sorry, Mr. Horn,” Aidan nodded and got his mind back on what he was doing. That lasted to the end of the period. But as soon as he had left the gym, she was back on his mind again. Classes were over and it was time for practice and he made a quick stop before he headed out to the field. He saw her sitting with the other girls on the bleachers. She looked up as someone said something and smiled at him warmly. He felt like someone had just hit him in the chest with a brick. “Hey, Joey! Ready for a practice run?” “Warm up first, Aidan,” Glory snapped at him. She did not like the way he was looking at Joanna Leighton. She had been hoping he would notice her this year. “It’s not like you to be late for practice.” “I had something I needed to talk to Patrick Jeffries about, Princess,” he shrugged. “Important business regarding the Homecoming Dance.” He saw Joanna look at him in question and he nodded. She blushed as he held his hand out to her. “Come warm up with me, Joey. We need to talk.” Glory watched them walk off together and she was livid. How dare that little child get in her way! Aidan was supposed to be hers! But if the rumors were true, he had been mooning over the dark-haired girl all day. How could he let himself be led around by the nose by an inexperienced girl? She watched them together and had to admit they fit. She couldn’t dislike Joanna; there was not an ounce of falseness in the girl. Glory let her anger go and admitted defeat. There were other boys in this school, she thought as her mind turned to other conquests; one of Joanna’s brothers, for example. She saw them with the football team on the other side of the field and she smiled. Yes. One of those gods would more than make up for losing Aidan. “Sarah,” she called her friend over. “Do your cousins have dates for the Dance yet?” “That pair of backward bumpkins?” Sarah laughed as she began stretching. “Of course not. They’ll probably go stag like they usually do. Why?” She glanced up and saw the look in Glory’s eyes and knew. “I’ll help you net one of them on one condition.” Glory nodded, and Sarah did not hesitate. “Help me with your brother.” “You actually like Trance?” Glory laughed, ready to joke about it. Then she saw that Sarah was serious. “All right, Sarah,” she held out her hand. “A brother for a cousin.” She looked at them again. “Patrick,” she decided. “He’s a lot more fun than Ryan.” “If you can pick him out,” Sarah smiled at her friend; “I will help you rope him in.” They went over to the football team who all went to attention as the two pretty girls approached. They behaved themselves, however; given that one of them was the cousin of the co-captains of their team and the other was the queen of the school. “Cousins, front and center.” Patrick and Ryan came over and she stepped back. “All right, Glory. Tell me.” Glory smiled and looked at the identical twins. They weren’t wearing their numbers on practice uniforms so she was missing that clue. But she had been watching them for years and she knew the differences. Patrick’s hair was just a shade darker and Ryan’s eyes were a bit greener. So she walked around them, smiling as she ran her eyes over them