Enlightened

by Samantha Britt

  “Oh.” Darcie’s disappointment came swiftly, but she quickly composed herself. “I appreciate that. I really do.”

  “So you will join us?” He sounded hopeful.

  “I totally would, but I already made plans with my dad for tomorrow,” she lied. “Next time.” The sensitive teenager honestly felt awkward with the idea of intruding.

  “Okay,” Kevin replied. “I’ll see you sometime after. Maybe we can drop by your place after the movie? I’ll have Marie text you.”

  “Sounds good. Talk to you later.” Before Kevin could respond, Darcie ended the call. She made sure to turn off the sound before dropping the phone in her lap. She attempted to resume reading, willing her heart-rate to return to normal.

  “Trouble in paradise?” a masculine voice interrupted the silence.

  Darcie looked up from the book in her hands. The stranger across from her returned her gaze, waiting for her reply.

  She blinked. “Excuse me?”

  The man gestured to the phone in her lap. “The phone call. You seemed excited by it at first, but towards the end your body language changed.”

  So much for thinking he wasn’t paying attention.

  “Usually means there is trouble in paradise,” he finished.

  Darcie figured out what he meant and quickly shook her head. “No. No trouble in paradise. That was just a friend.”

  “Good.”

  “Good?” Darcie tilted her head.

  “Good you aren’t having trouble in paradise,” the attractive man explained, revealing a blinding, white smile.

  Not knowing what to say, she gave an awkward shrug and picked up her book again.

  “You look familiar,” the stranger continued, once again pulling Darcie from her reading. “Have we met?”

  Unsure how to handle the situation, she looked up and examined the man. “I don’t think so.” There was no way she would ever forget seeing that face.

  “How odd.” The man grew pensive as he continued to stare at her. It seemed like he was trying to place where he’d seen her. Darcie shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

  “I’m Thane.” The stranger stood up, leaned over, and extended a hand. “Nice to meet you.”

  Thane, she repeated in her head. Not a typical name.

  Not knowing what else to do, she leaned forward and shook his palm. “Darcie.”

  Thane tilted his head. “Darcie? That is an interesting name.”

  Not as interesting as yours.

  “My mom had a thing for Mr. Darcy,” she explained, trying her best to not seem awkward. “She wouldn’t let me being a girl stop her from naming me after him.”

  Thane laughed. “Well, good for her. I think Darcie is a nice name. Very unique.”

  “Thanks,” she smiled, feeling a little more at ease. “Did you recently move here?” Darcie might have been gone for two years, but Brunswick was a small town. Marie would have mentioned if a hunky stranger moved in during her absence.

  “I’m visiting,” Thane revealed, moving to sit back in his chair. “Here for the lobster and all that.”

  “Not usually the most popular time of year for tourists,” she pointed out. The winter months could be brutal.

  “I also have work,” he provided.

  Darcie nodded, running out of conversational pieces. “H-how are you enjoying Brunswick?”

  “Very much. The city has its charm.”

  “I agree.” Darcie’s phone vibrated. She looked down and read a text from her dad. He was asking about her lunch plans. Knowing the professor, he hadn’t made it away from his computer to eat anything yet.

  “Sorry,” Darcie didn’t know why she was apologizing. “I have to go.” She stood and started gathering her things. “Nice meeting you. I hope you continue to enjoy your visit.”

  Thane stood and gave her a slight nod. “Thank you, Darcie. Maybe I’ll see you around?”

  With an awkward wave, Darcie walked past him and towards the main entrance of the library. She chanced a quick glance back and saw he had returned to reading in his chair. She observed the back of his head for a moment before quickly turning back around.

  That was… unusual…

  * * *

  “Dad,” Darcie called, pushing open the front door with her hip. She used her butt to swing it wider to fit the large pizza box through the door. “I’m home. I brought food.”

  “In here,” her father called from the room down the hall. Darcie walked to the kitchen to unload her arms before moving towards the study.

  She peeked into the messy room before stepping into the open doorway. “Hey, Dad.”

  “There you are,” her dad greeted with his back to her, continuing to type on his laptop. “How’s my girl? What did you do today?”

  Darcie resisted rolling her eyes. He knew she was at the library.

  At least, he should have known. She told him when she left that morning.

  “I’m fine. I found some interesting books at the library. What are you doing?”

  “Finishing up an email to a colleague back in Greece. I’m asking him to send me copies of a certain chapter from one of the books in his collection.”

  Work… go figure.

  “I brought pizza. We should eat before it gets cold.”

  “You go ahead and start. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  Darcie shook her head and returned to the kitchen. She took two slices for herself before placing the box of pizza in the oven. Knowing her father, he would be at least thirty minutes.

  She grabbed the remote and turned on the television. She mindlessly watched an episode of the latest crime show while eating her pepperoni pizza. When she finished, she grabbed one of the library books from her backpack and continued reading where she left off.

  Forty-five minutes later, her dad emerged from his study. Without asking, he walked towards the oven to retrieve his lunch. They both knew the routine.

  Grabbing a tray, her father sat beside her on the couch. “What are we watching?”

  “Crime Scene Investigators.”

  “Mind if we watch something else?” She handed over the remote and was unsurprised to see her dad immediately turn to the History channel.

  Professor Abernathy did not watch the History channel for any scholarly pursuits. The channel was his version of crappy reality T.V. The alien news pieces were the middle-aged man’s favorite.

  “What does the rest of your day look like?” he asked when the show on deep-sea fishermen went to commercial. “Anything fun planned?”

  Usually, Darcie’s response to the typical questions would be, “No. Just hanging around the house.”

  Her Saturdays, along with every other day, were not full of fun activities.

  However, that Saturday was different. It was the day she planned to join Marie and Josh at the twenty-one and up club.

  “Nothing until this evening,” Darcie responded, trying to sound normal. “I’ll be going over to Marie’s tonight.”

  “That sounds nice. Is her brother back from school yet?”

  “Not until the morning,” she said while ignoring the tell-tale flutter in her abdomen.

  Her dad nodded towards the television. “Those are some good kids. I’m glad you kept in touch with them.”

  “Me too.” Darcie did not know what she would do if she didn’t have Marie as a friend. Her life would be one hundred times more boring–if that was even possible.

  “Well, make sure you have fun,” her father surprised her by saying. He even managed to remove his brown eyes from the screen and focus on her. “It’s not often you leave the house. I want you to enjoy yourself.”

  Darcie stuttered, “Th-Thanks, Dad. I will.”

  “Will you be spending the night with Marie?”

  She nodded. The girls figured out their story after the meal at Joe’s. The club did not close until 3 a.m., and it would be suspicious if Darcie returned home at such a late hour.

  “Alright. I won’t wait up for you then
.”

  The reality show came back on, and that was the end of the conversation. Darcie almost wished her father would ask more questions to make sure his teenage daughter wasn’t doing anything suspicious. She didn’t know if the lack of interrogation stemmed from complete trust in her, or complete indifference.

  She knew the last thought wasn’t fair.

  Growing up, the only family Darcie knew was her father. Both of her parents were only children, meaning she had no cousins or any family remotely close to her in age. She did not have a relationship with any grandparents.

  Her paternal grandparents died before Darcie was born, and her mother’s family lived overseas. She was seven the last time she saw her maternal grandparents, but the free-spirited travelers seemed uninterested in keeping in touch with their only granddaughter.

  Once her mom abandoned them, John Abernathy was the only family Darcie had, and she never felt a lack of love or affection from her single father.

  However, as she got older, Darcie realized just how out of touch the professor could be when it came to raising a teenage daughter. Thank goodness she had Marie and her friend’s mother to guide her through the pre-teen years.

  Even though his lack of knowledge could be frustrating, Darcie couldn’t be too upset with him for it. It was obvious the middle-aged man tried his best. Besides, he was supposed to have a partner to help him.

  Naturally, Darcie’s mind roamed to the subject of her mother. As always, she wondered what could have possibly happened to cause the woman to abandon her husband and only child.

  Didn’t maternal instinct make such actions nearly impossible for women to take?

  If the issue was her marriage, shouldn’t she have tried to take her child with her?

  The thought immediately sent a pang of sadness through her chest. She glanced at her dad, staring attentively at the screen. She couldn’t imagine growing up without him.

  Darcie forced the troubling thoughts from her mind. She would never come up with an acceptable reason for her mother’s abandonment. There was no acceptable reason.

  Her dad laughed at something an actor said. She couldn’t help but smile as she watched him enjoy such a ridiculous show.

  The truth was, no matter how much it hurt to be abandoned, Darcie would not have traded her life with her dad for anything.

  3

  The house’s maroon door opened as Darcie carefully walked up the icy driveway. “Ow, ow,” Marie cat called to the thin blonde, who was no doubt blushing from her friend’s antics.

  “Sshh,” she hissed, glancing around at the surrounding houses to make sure no one heard Marie. She didn’t want any of the neighbors to see her current outfit. “Do you know how hard it was to sneak out looking like this? Stop drawing attention to us.”

  If Darcie was being honest, it really wasn’t that difficult to leave her house unnoticed. But had her dad not been glued to his laptop, she was sure he would’ve had objections to the ensemble.

  Marie made a point to look around. There was no activity around them. “Oh yeah, everyone is looking. Come on people, take a look at Darcie in a mini-skirt.”

  Finally reaching the door, she pushed past her friend into the cover of the house, shivering from the cold. Marie laughed and closed the door.

  “Chill out,” her friend instructed with amusement. “No one saw you.”

  Darcie glared at her friend and pulled down on the tight, black skirt. She was unsuccessful in lengthening it.

  Marie saw the motion and frowned. “Stop it. You look great. You wear shorts that are shorter than that skirt all the time.”

  “Yes, but this is different.” Darcie felt so much more exposed in the skirt than any of her running shorts.

  “You look great, I promise. You will fit right in at the club.”

  Knowing her friend would never let her change outfits, Darcie forced herself to try and deal with it. She straightened and adjusted her tucked-in blouse. The flowy top was made of a light blue material, and it lessened the scandalous nature of the outfit. She could not have handled wearing a tight top and a tight skirt.

  “Where are you girls going tonight?”

  Darcie’s heart skipped a beat at the sound of the familiar voice. She turned and looked up the stairs. Kevin walked down towards them. His eyes were assessing and, based on his expression, appreciative of what he saw when he examined her. She tried her best to fight off the blush.

  Thankfully, Marie addressed her brother’s question. “We’re going to a friend’s birthday party. We will be out late. Don’t wait up.”

  It was clear from Kevin’s doubtful expression that he didn’t buy the story for a second, but he restrained calling his sister out on the lie. “Just be safe,” he instructed first to his sister, and then to Darcie.

  “Hi, by the way.” Kevin stepped towards her and wrapped her in a hug. Not anticipating the embrace, Darcie’s arms were pinned under Kevin’s, resulting in her giving him an awkward pat on the back. “Long time no see.”

  Kevin released her, but remained close in front of her. “How have you been?”

  “Good.” The word came out breathless. “You?”

  Kevin’s smile grew. “I’m great. College is great,” he paused, his eyes roaming her face, “but it is nice to be home.”

  Darcie didn’t know what to make of his gaze. She opened her mouth to reply, but Marie interrupted.

  “Alright, you two can catch up later. We’re going to be late.” Marie grabbed her friend’s hand and pulled her away from her brother. “Remember, don’t wait up.” The girl continued to pull her out of the door.

  “Be safe,” Kevin called from the doorway. Darcie looked over her shoulder. The light from the house shadowed his outline.

  “Bye, Darcie,” he said the words so quietly, she wasn’t sure she actually heard them.

  Before she could think of a response, Marie was pushing her towards the Toyota Corolla and jumping into the driver’s seat. Marie backed out of the driveway like a madwoman. Kevin stood on the porch and watched as they drove away.

  Darcie’s heart did not resume a normal beat until they drove out of sight.

  * * *

  The loud music gave Darcie a headache.

  The unwilling teen followed Marie and Josh as they weaved their way through the crowd, feeling the bass push against her skin as the trio passed a speaker. She resisted the urge to cover her ears.

  Josh stopped by a tall table with four stools. Instead of sitting, the three teenagers stood and looked out into the sea of people.

  “Isn’t this great?” Marie shouted over the music, leaning closer to Darcie. “I’m glad the IDs worked.”

  She nodded and yelled back, “Me too.” The club’s muscular bouncer barely took one look at the fake IDs before letting Marie and Darcie in. She was surprised, fully expecting her evening to end in the back seat of a police car. While she didn’t enjoy the blaring music, the reserved blonde figured it was more agreeable than jail.

  “Having fun?” Josh leaned in, putting his head between her and Marie. Darcie didn’t miss the flash of irritation cross her best friend’s face.

  “Tons,” Marie replied. “Why don’t you go get us a drink?”

  Darcie’s eyes widened. “Drinks? No way.”

  “Relax, Mom,” Marie rolled her eyes. “I meant a soda or something. We need to have something in our hands to blend in.” Her friend gestured toward the crowd in demonstration.

  Slowly, Darcie realized what Marie meant. Nearly every single person in the club had a beverage in hand, including the people dancing against one another on the dance floor. She watched multiple liquids slosh and land on bare legs and the ground.

  Josh quickly agreed, eager to please his girlfriend, and made a bee-line for the bar. Marie’s demeanor instantly lightened.

  Darcie watched her friend give a flirtatious smile to a stranger across the room and shook her head. “Why don’t you put Josh out of his misery?” The poor guy had been gone for ba
rely ten seconds.

  Marie exhaled and turned away from the cute stranger. “I know I look like a jerk right now, but this is harmless.” She gestured between herself and the across-the-room flirting. “I like Josh, but we aren’t going to be together forever. I don’t want to hurt his feelings, but I also don’t know how to end it.”

  Darcie leaned against the table, straining to hear what her friend said.

  It really was too loud.

  “Sooner would be better than later.” She gave a pointed look at the guy still smiling at Marie. “It isn’t fair to string Josh along.”

  A lull in the music occurred, relieving some of the pressure in Darcie’s ears. She sighed in relief. Marie looked like she was about to say something, but was distracted by something behind her friend.

  Darcie rotated and noticed two attractive men heading right towards their table–one leading the pair with a purpose as the other trailed behind.

  Not in the mood for conversation with intoxicated people, she was in the middle of figuring out a way to make them turn around when she recognized one of the men.

  It was the guy from the library–Thane.

  Darcie pushed off the table and gave the newcomer a kind smile as he took the last steps to the table. “Hey,” she greeted. “Thane, right?”

  Marie’s head snapped to Darcie, completely taken aback by her friend’s greeting.

  “You remembered,” Thane grinned. “Nice to see you again, Darcie.” Marie’s head continued to swivel between her and the stranger as she tried to figure out how her friend knew him.

  “You too,” she returned genuinely. Remembering her manners, Darcie turned and motioned toward her friend. “This is Marie. Marie, this is Thane.”

  Thane extended a hand. “Pleasure to meet you,” he said to Marie, gently shaking her hand in greeting.

  “N-nice to meet you.” Marie stuttered, clearly thrown by the interaction occurring before her eyes. The knowledge made Darcie grin; it was hard to make Marie speechless.

  “Let me introduce my brother,” Thane said as he released Marie’s hand.