by Gail Haris
Trent looks around and then whispers, “Noah got in touch with me. He saw my truck in town and texted. Wanted to make sure you were okay.”
I wasn’t so sure about the last part of his sentence. I’m not so sure if he means Trent, himself, wanted to make sure I was okay or if Noah wanted him to make sure I was okay for Noah’s sake. I give him a tight, closed mouth smile. I didn’t have enough courage to talk to them, but Noah did. He did it knowing they hated him, and it might cause trouble for himself. Feeling completely awkward now, I decide to change the subject. The only thing I can think of to change the subject is Rachel.
“Um, Rachel keeps asking about you. She asks almost every day if I’ve heard from you or if you’re coming home or if you’re going to the homecoming game.” He closes his eyes, shakes his head and walks out. Alrighty then.
With Trent gone, I close my door and lock it. Not because I’m worried about Eric anymore, but because I’ll have Cindy’s journal out. Before I begin reading, I go get my secret phone out of my bag. It took a lot of guts for Noah to message Trent. He did it on my behalf. The least I can do is tell him I appreciate it.
Me: Thank you. I’m fine. Eric got kicked out of the house by Trent.
I put it back in hiding. I snuggle under the covers and begin reading.
April 5
I told my sister that I’m moving to Colorado. She didn’t take the news well. But she finally accepted when I told her after the miscarriage, divorce, gossip, and my downward spiral of a life—that I needed this move. Which is true! I need a fresh start for me and my baby. Olivia is not going to be subjected to all my past sins. I leave tomorrow. I’m nervous but also excited. Here’s to a new chapter in my life.
April 6
Luck is finally on my side! As soon as I left the airport I stopped at a diner for breakfast. They were hiring! They hired me immediately on the spot. I begin tomorrow. And get this, the woman working there knew of a place for rent in a nice neighborhood. The house is small but it’s just going to be two of us living there. I need to work for at least two weeks and then I think I’ll be able to ask for a few days off to go back for Olivia.
Hopefully I’ll make enough in tips right off to go get supplies for Olivia. Andrea wants to throw me a baby shower, but I’m hoping to have the baby before then.
I don’t know how I’ll lie to Andrea about Olivia’s age since she’s already born and I’m claiming to be pregnant now. I’ll just have to play it by ear. Besides I don’t care what she thinks. All that matters is that I get Olivia.
WHEN I GO DOWNSTAIRS FOR breakfast in the morning, I’m greeted with a plate full of eggs. There’s a little sticky note next to the plate that reads, “Eat Me.”
I look over to a grinning Landon. Melissa sets a plate full of ham next to the eggs on the table. “You need your protein for the big game.”
Richard is already fixing himself a plate, but he stops to wink at me. I give Melissa a tight hug and then join Richard at the table. Trent, Landon and Denise all come into the kitchen shortly after.
“So, I hear I’m not the only one that’s athletically gifted,” Trent says through a big smile as he sits next to me.
“Yeah, I hear that Landon is quite fast and Denise is awesome at basketball,” I tell him before shoving a forkful of eggs in my mouth.
He laughs, “But what I heard is that you’re a beast on the soccer field.”
I blush. “Well, rumors spread like wildfire. Also, the more dramatic the better.”
He pats me on the shoulder with a chuckle and we all focus on our breakfast.
Landon and Trent get in the Jeep, while the rest of us get in the Lexus. Once we arrive at the soccer field, everyone wishes me luck as I race off to join my team on the field. Some of my teammates are already doing stretches, so I drop my gear by the bench and go join them. As I’m sitting on the ground while holding my toes with my legs straight out, I spot the Wallace family in the bleachers. My heart leaps to my throat. I look around to find the Randall family. They’re at the concession stand chatting with other people. I look back to the Wallaces, and we make eye contact. Aunt Andrea looks as though she’s about to cry. I wave, and they return the wave. Noah gives me a thumbs up, along with a goofy grin. I see the Randalls making their way to the bleachers. Thankfully, they go to the opposite end. I don’t have any more time to worry about those two families crossing paths because the referee comes on to the field. I’m surprised to find out Coach is going to let me start the game.
The first half of the game is intense. It’s a more competitive game than what I’m used to. The team we’re playing against is from a town that is just a few miles from our town, and even if I hadn’t already been warned, I would’ve immediately picked up on the bitter rivalries they have between each other. By halftime, I’m dripping in sweat but I feel great. I’m proud of myself because I know I had some good tackles. I’m still nervous about whether or not Coach will let me play the second half, though. I’m the newest member on this team with only two weeks’ worth of practice. I really want to play, but I know it isn’t fair to let me keep playing. I drink my Gatorade and pace around the bench. I’m too worked up to sit. Coach comes to stand in front of us and goes over everything we did right and wrong. She points out the other players’ weaknesses and which ones we need to guard better. She calls out everyone’s name that needs to get back out on the field, and I’m shocked when I hear her call mine out. I don’t hesitate. I’m back in the zone.
The second half is more grueling than the first with more fouls and more determination from each side. A defender on the opposing team comes after me as I’m about to cross the ball in the goalie box. As the ball leaves my foot and rises into the air, she gives me a powerful kick in the shin, causing me to go down. Before the referee even finishes blowing his whistle, I’m back up. I want to go after her because I know that was deliberate since the ball had already left me. She gets a yellow card and we get a penalty kick. I tell Coach I’m still good to play; no way am I letting them take me out. The penalty kick scores us another goal, which ties the game. The other team is pushing hard for another goal, but I keep blocking and kicking the ball back to their half of the field. I kick hard enough to pass the ball across the field to Tara, who is standing in front of the other team’s goal. Then, she only has to turn around and kick it in the goal. This is how we scored the majority of our goals in practice, and it works here, breaking the tie and putting us up by one. There are only minutes left in the game. The other team pushes hard but never gets past our defense, until the final seconds of the game. One girl manages to break through and charges. I’m chasing after her and so is one of my other teammates. She kicks. Thank God Jennifer, our goalie, leaps into the air and catches the ball, taking a hard dive to the ground. When I hear the referee blow the final whistle, I almost want to cry. We all run at each other, hugging and jumping up and down.
As I’m jumping up and down, I feel a firm pat on my back. I turn around and find Uncle Brad smiling at me. I throw my arms around him. He pulls away quickly and looks around. Aunt Andrea comes up and hugs me so tightly that I can hardly breathe.
I return the hug with as much enthusiasm. “I’ve missed you so much!”
She pulls away and looks around also. “We have to go. They can’t see us over here behind the crowd. But the team is about to scatter. I love you sweetheart.” She gives me another hug and a kiss on the cheek.
She holds my chin between her thumb and index finger. “I’m so proud of you! You played one helluva game. Love you, Luv Bug!”
“I guess I should’ve been more worried about Eric. You’re pretty damn scary and aggressive,” Noah says.
I wipe some sweat from my forehead before it gets into my eyes. “I can be,” I breathe out.
“Noah, c’mon. We don’t want any trouble for Olivia. Especially after her big win. You were the main reason you all won, sweetie. You celebrate today.”
Noah chuckles at his mom. “She’s your biggest
fan. You want to get an autograph real quick?”
“Noah Wallace. I said let’s go.” Aunt Andrea is visibly panicked. She’s right, though. No good can come from the Randalls seeing them with me.
Noah gives my arm a gentle squeeze as he turns to walk away. “Good game. See ya Monday.”
They hurry off, lost amongst the crowd of other people. I look and see that the Randalls are on the other side of the team searching for me —except Trent. He sees me and probably saw the Wallaces as well. We make eye contact, and he grabs Melissa’s arm. She gives him her attention, and he points to me. He could’ve told them earlier where I was, but I’m so grateful that he didn’t. They come rushing toward me cheering.
“Way to go! Atta girl! I’m so proud of you!” they all cheer.
Richard wraps an arm around me, “I’m taking you out for lunch. Let’s go to a Taste of Tuscany. It’s a nice Italian place.”
As soon as we get back home, I go upstairs to get ready for my shopping adventure. It’s a bit of a struggle to get up the stairs since I’m so full from the restaurant. Definitely my favorite place to eat. I take a quick shower, and instead of blow drying my hair, I put it in a braid. I choose a light grey sweater dress and boots to wear for the trip. Melissa told me the mall is in the next town a few hours away but it’ll be worth the drive.
The mall is two stories tall and filled with high fashion stores. I check the prices of every item before I even consider taking it off the rack. Denise, on the other hand, grabs anything that catches her eye. Melissa assures me to try on anything I like, but I can’t in good conscience take anything over two-hundred dollars to the fitting room. That makes this a very difficult task. If this was prom, the prices wouldn’t bother me as much. Denise grows impatient with me so she begins picking out dresses for me. Our styles are different in the sense that she likes to show skin, and I’m much more conservative.
The dresses she picks out for me are lovely and stylish. Melissa sits on a couch and admires each dress we try on. Denise decides on an off-the-shoulder, black and white mini knit dress. It’s very fitted with contrast, pleated trim and long sleeves with flowy bell cuffs. The dress reminds me of a retro, 60s style that I would look ridiculous in. However, her petite frame and confidence pulls it off. I almost choke when I glance at the price tag. The dress is almost four-hundred dollars. Why? It’s not even a full dress. Not to mention, the dress is cute but rather plain —no bells or whistles. There’s no bling. I can’t figure out why this dress costs so much. She seems to love it, though.
When I’m in the dressing room, I decide to not even look at the tags. Melissa and Denise picked out the dresses, anyway. All the dresses are gorgeous. One catches my eye, in particular, because I see the tag has a red sticker so that means its marked down. I didn’t think a store like this offered sales. There it is, though. Original price was three-hundred forty-seven dollars and now down to a measly two-hundred seven dollars. This is the one I’m getting. I say a silent prayer that it fits before trying it on.
The dress is a black mini-dress with a smocked, off-the-shoulder neckline; however, it’s a little too mini for my taste. I do love the golden embroidery and threading against the black fabric. The top embroidery wraps around the entire dress. It has a vintage, elegant style and almost gives the appearance of a nude look behind the black lace. Thankfully, the dress fits like a glove. I walk out of the dressing room, and they both give praise. Denise suggests I wear pumps with the dress, but I find a pair of black heels that I adore. However, after checking the price, I all but throw the shoes down. Melissa already spotted me eyeing them, so she purchases them anyway.
Denise asks me, “Why are you so weird about prices?”
“Weird?”
“Yeah, it’s not that big of a deal. You have to have a new dress and shoes for Homecoming. So why are you being weird about Mom buying them?”
“I don’t have to have shoes that expensive. There’s shoes just as pretty, only cheaper.”
Denise rolls her eyes. “Cheaper price means cheaper quality. They may look pretty but your feet won’t after hours of dancing.” Then she speaks in a softer tone and leans closer to me. “Just let Mom spoil you a little. Enjoy it. She does.” A huge smile spreads across her face. “I know I do!” She takes the bags of merchandise and does a little dance.
Am I being weird? If I’d grown up the same way as Denise, would I be more like her? Or would I still be more price savvy and a conservative shopper?
Melissa thanks the sales clerk again and then turns to smile at us, “My beautiful girls. You’ll make these dresses look good. Whew. All that made me work up an appetite. Shall we?”
Denise loops her arm through mine and leads me out of the store. “Let’s go eat!”
WHEN WE ARRIVE BACK TO the house that evening, Denise and I join Landon and Trent in the den.
“Why don’t you guys ever sit in the living room?” I look around and notice this room is not nearly as grand as their living room.
Trent is leaning back with his feet on the coffee table flipping through the channels. He doesn’t take his eyes off the television as he says, “It’s too stuffy and so much open space. We can relax in here.”
I can’t argue with that. I prefer this room myself. He stops flipping through the channels when he finds an action movie. We all sit together in a comfortable silence watching the movie. After a while, Denise yawns and heads upstairs.
Landon’s phone dings. He spends a few minutes texting someone.
Finally, he leans over and lightly slaps Trent on the chest. “Hey, can you cover for me, man?”
Trent crosses his arms and narrows his eyes. “Depends.”
His brother spreads his arms wide open and grins. “C’mon brother, just cover for me. I won’t be out too late.”
Trent doesn’t respond right away. He rubs his chin, mulling it over. Landon’s knee starts bouncing up and down as he stares at him. Growing impatient, Landon leans back and lets out a grunt. “Man, I’ve covered for you. You did crazy shit while you were a senior —worse than anything I’m wanting to get into. I guarantee it.” He leans forward and emphasizes each word, “Guaran-freaking-tee it.”
Trent rolls his head over toward him. “Who are you running around with tonight? And where?”
Landon runs his hand down his face. “You’ve gotten so uptight this year.” He sees the seriousness on Trent’s face and holds his hands up. “Alright, fair enough. I’m going out with Eric and the guys. I think Rachel’s parents are going to be out of town, so some of us are going over there to chill.”
For the first time, they seem to remember I’m still in the room.
Landon looks over to me. “Wanna come with? Travel further into the rabbit hole little Alice?”
Eric’s going to be there? That’s a hard no for me. I shake my head and feign being tired.
“Sure? You can hang out with Rachel.” A thought occurs to him, and he turns back to look at Trent with a mischievous grin. “Or maybe you want to hang out with Rachel.”
Okay, clearly there is something between Rachel and Trent.
“I feel out of the loop. It’s probably none of my business, but…what’s the deal with Rachel?”
Trent gives nothing away and casually replies, “What do you mean?”
I laugh and look at him like it’s obvious. “Um, she asks about you all the time. You avoid any topic that has to do with her. And just now, Landon clearly implied you might want to spend time with her. Something is going on.”
Landon looks amused at Trent, who is uncomfortable. We sit in silence until Trent realizes nobody is willing to budge. He clasps his hands. “Alright,” he nods his head up and down, “you want to know what happened?” He looks back and forth between us. “Here’s why I’m more uptight and concerned for you, Landon.” He points a finger at me. “Take note as well, Sarah.”
“Last year, while home visiting, I went to one of the house parties. I was careless and drank too much. It’s not l
ike it was the first time or anything. But, this time was different because I did sleep with Rachel.” He bows his head and rubs his forehead. He groans and then continues, “It’s not like it was my first time sleeping with someone. It certainly wasn’t my first time sleeping with someone while drunk. It was, though, hers. I…” he takes a deep breath and looks at us, “I didn’t know she was a virgin. She seemed so…she didn’t give any signs…shit I don’t know. I didn’t realize it until we’d finished.”
Landon, clearly disgusted, shakes his head. “Shit man, I didn’t know that part of the story. Well, I only heard rumors that y’all hooked up. Neither one of you ever confirmed nor denied it. And afterwards?”
Trent’s eyes are full of regret. “I was drunk! I was a complete and total dick. I got mad at her for not telling me because I wouldn’t have slept with her. Even if I was drunk, I would’ve had enough damn sense to not go there. Then she told me that she loved me.” Trent looks as though he’s about to throw up. “It got crazy. She started spewing all kinds of feelings, loving me for years, and finally we were together. Then I realized that she was sober. I-I didn’t know she had a crush on me. I thought we were both on the same page that it was going to be a casual hook up.”
Landon looks pissed at this point. “We’ve known her forever. How did you not know she was obsessed with you? Is that what you think I’m doing? Unlike you, I’m not a total ass.”
Trent rolls his eyes at Landon. “Like none of us screw around with friends?”
I’m mortified. My friends didn’t sleep with each other. This seems weird and gross to me. Maybe I am too uptight, but I can’t imagine a life of casual sex. However, it seems that incident changed Trent. Landon seems so upset with his brother for how he treated Rachel. I wonder if he has a thing for her. Interesting.
“Anyways, thanks for the advice. Don’t be a dick, got it. Are you going to cover for me or what?” He gives his brother a hard look.
