The Last Thing She Saw...

by Laurel Veil

  Mr. Hanks looked at me. “Noelle, can you please help our guest?”

  “Sure.” I took the battery from her and had her follow me.

  She was impressed that I found the size she needed. Or at least she pretended to be. Either way, it made me feel good.

  A little while later I punched out. “See you tomorrow,” said Mr. Hanks.

  I told him goodbye and went to my car. I felt such a sense of accomplishment. I had a job and I was driving. I couldn’t wait to get home and see Lady and Rascal. And since it wasn’t too late, maybe I could see Nolan for a little while too.

  It was almost dark when I pulled into my driveway. Rascal and Lady must’ve recognized the sound of my car. They were going nuts on the back porch. “I’m hurrying guys,” I called out to them. I almost dropped my keys when a man got up from the front porch swing. I knew instantly that it wasn’t Nolan.

  19.

  “Look at you,” said the man. I contemplated running to Nolan’s house and screaming for help the entire way. “You got a job.”

  How’d he—oh, I was still wearing my apron.

  “I wasn’t expecting you to be so grown-up.”

  Did he know me? “Who are you?” Just as I asked the question, I saw Nolan step onto my grandma’s property. He was close enough to hear but remained unseen by the man.

  “Has it been that long?” He came down the steps.

  “Jason?”

  “Jason?” He clutched his chest. “You’re breaking my heart.”

  “Dad seems inappropriate.”

  He was quiet for a moment. “I talked to your mom earlier. She told me about your grandma and that you were staying here now.”

  I didn’t respond. It felt like I was looking at a ghost. So many years had gone by without even a phone call. He was dead to me.

  “I saw that she’s living with Rick. I knew him back in the day. He was a piece of shit then, I’m sure he still is.” Rick was turning out to be just that, but I wasn’t about to tell him. My dad was just as bad if not worse. What a hypocrite. “I came here thinking I would try to get back together with your mom.”

  His words made my skin crawl. He was the last thing my mom needed in her life. “Well, she’s with Rick now, so . . .”

  “Like I said. He’s not good for her.” He looked at the house. “I was thinking maybe I could stay here with you for a while. You know? Just until I get on my feet.”

  “Yeah, that’s not happening.”

  He chuckled. “Your dear old dad took a bus all the way here to see you. You can’t tell me no.”

  He wasn’t taking me seriously. Years of disappointment and pent up rage began surging through me. Who did he think he was? I took a deep breath and did my best to make my voice sound steady and strong. “You need to leave now, or I’ll call the police.”

  He laughed again.

  “I’m very serious. You’re trespassing.”

  When he realized I meant it, his face turned to stone. Slowly, he went back up the steps to the porch. I thought for a moment he was going to push his way into the house. My heart started pounding and Nolan, though still unnoticed by my father, stepped closer. My dad bent over and grabbed something. It was a duffle bag. He slung it over his shoulder and came back down the steps. “I’ll see ya around,” he said.

  It felt like a threat and I shivered. Nolan waited until he was out of sight and then rushed to me. I threw my arms around him. “I’m so glad you were here.”

  He held me tighter. “We better go tell Lady and Rascal that everything is OK now. I told you they’d make good watchdogs.”

  As we played with the puppies, I told him all about work. “And my boss’s name is Mr. Hanks. I still can’t believe it.”

  “What?”

  “That I have a boss!”

  He shook his head and grinned. “I promise, that’s going to get old.”

  A knock at the door startled us. “Do you think it’s my dad?” I whispered.

  Nolan jumped up. “Wait here.”

  A second later, I was relieved when I heard Nolan’s mom’s voice. Lady and Rascal ran to greet her and I followed. “Puppies! How are you, little cuties? Here Nolan, take this.” As soon as her hands were free, she scooped them up.

  “Supper’s here, Noelle,” said Nolan.

  Mrs. Masters had made a large pot of chicken noodle soup. “Thank you,” I said.

  “You’re welcome. So how was your first day?” she asked as she continued to play with the pups.

  I gave her an abbreviated version and then invited her to stay and eat.

  “I already ate with Gary. That’s for you, and Nolan too if he’s hungry. I have to be getting back. I have a long day tomorrow.” She noticed the envelopes I had stamped and lying on the counter. “I see you already paid your bills for this month.”

  “Yes.” I smiled proudly. Nolan’s mom had gone with me to get a checking account after Grandma died. She’d shown me how to fill out a check and how to manage the bills too.

  “Good job! You’re ahead of me this month.” She smiled. “I’m going by the post office in the morning. If you like, I can drop them off for you.”

  “That would be great, thanks,” I said as I handed her the envelopes.

  “You’re welcome, honey. And congratulations on your job.” She looked at Nolan. “Not too late. It’s a school night.” He nodded and she left.

  “Are you going to tell your parents about my dad?”

  “I was planning on it.”

  “Please don’t. I don’t want them to worry, and besides, they might get weird about me being over here alone. I like our arrangement.”

  “They’ll just make you stay at my house.” He grinned. “I kinda like that.”

  “I wish they’d let you stay the night here.”

  “I like that even better.” He playfully kissed me. “Seriously though, if you’re going to be coming home later now, turn the porch light on so it’s not so dark when you get here.”

  “OK.”

  “I think I should talk to my dad about getting you more outdoor lighting and a fence too. It’ll make things safer, and you’re going to need a fence for the dogs anyway.” He noticed my grin. “What?”

  “I like when you take care of me.”

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  Nolan stayed late the next night. He was leaving with his dad in the morning for their camping trip. My brain knew I’d survive without him, but my heart was aching. We were in the den. The TV was on but I wasn’t watching it. My head rested on his chest, and I could hear every beat of his heart as he stroked my hair. I could’ve easily fallen asleep, but I didn’t dare. I didn’t want to miss a second of the time I had left with him. “Do you want me to come see you in the morning right before we leave?”

  “Aren’t you guys leaving at like five?”

  “I can if you want me to.”

  “You’re sweet, Nolan. But you’re going to be busy. Don’t worry about it. I’ll be OK.” He pulled me even closer and I wondered if I really would.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  Nolan was the first thing I thought of when my eyes opened. I peeked out the window just to make sure his dad’s truck was gone. It was. That meant they were gone. I felt my stomach tighten. I took a deep breath and exhaled. It was only for a few days.

  At work, Mr. Hanks had me put items out in the cosmetic department. It was my favorite department to stock. I loved handling the makeup the best, but I got to display nail polish and hair products too.

  “Hey, I’m Amy.” I looked up to see a girl about my age wearing a red apron too. My first coworker. I didn’t think the pharmacist or her assistant actually counted as coworkers. Amy had long, fluffy, orangey-red hair that matched her freckles. “We go to the same school. I’m a junior.” She pushed her glasses up so they were no longer resting near the tip of her nose.

  I pointed to my name tag. “Noelle. Sophomore.” I smiled.

  She gave me a funny look. “Hey, didn’t you know that girl who got kill
ed?”

  I started going through a box so I wouldn’t have to look at her anymore. “She was my friend. I don’t really like talking about it.”

  “That was sick, you know. Her mother.”

  “Yeah.” I focused on setting out the hair spray and making sure all the bottles were lined up with their labels facing the front.

  “I almost knew her.”

  “Whattaya mean?” I asked, not really paying attention.

  “She came here to get an application. She even came back for an interview.”

  “I didn’t know that. I guess she didn’t get hired because she didn’t have a car.”

  Amy shrugged. “Mr. Hanks is watching us now,” she whispered out the side of her mouth. “I’ll talk to you later.” I nodded. “Hey, what are you doing tonight?”

  “Why?” I asked.

  “We should go hang out at Ace’s. If we’re going to be coworkers, we might as well get to know each other.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Think about it,” she said before taking off to the back.

  Throughout the afternoon, Amy would come up behind me and in a different accent say things like, “Excuse me, ma’am, can you help me find the adult diapers? I think I might shit myself” or “Do you know where I might find the jumbo condoms?” She was weird and goofy and the harder I tried not to laugh, the harder she tried until I finally had tears coming from my eyes.

  When we walked to our cars at closing, she tried one last time to convince me to go to Ace’s. “It’s Saturday. It’s spring break. It’s going to be packed. It should be a lot of fun.”

  I thought about Nolan. I knew I was going to go home and think about him all night. Amy was hilarious. She was just what I needed. “OK. I have to go home first. I’ll meet you there.”

  “Seriously?” She bounced up and down the way Dani used to. “I’ll meet you there in about an hour near the patio.” I nodded before getting in my car.

  It was dark when I pulled into the driveway. I’d forgotten to leave any lights on like Nolan had asked me to. “Hey there!” I jumped. It was only Nolan’s mom. She was calling out from her porch. “I saw your headlights and just wanted to say hello. Did you have a good day?”

  “I did. Thanks,” I yelled back.

  “Did you want any supper?”

  “I’m Ok. Thanks though.”

  She waved. “Good night.”

  “Good night,” I said just before she closed the door. I was grateful she didn’t ask me what I was doing tonight or if I wanted to come over. I didn’t want to tell her I was going to a club, because I didn’t want her worrying about me.

  I flew into the house and went straight to Lady and Rascal. “I promise you guys we’ll spend all day together tomorrow.” I didn’t bother getting ready. I wasn’t trying to impress anyone anyway. I spent the little time I had letting the puppies run around in the backyard.

  “Get over here you two,” I had to say more than once. They were very interested in a thicket of bushes in the back corner of the yard. I let them play as long as I could and then put them on the back porch with plenty of food, water, and some new chew toys I’d gotten at the pharmacy. I made sure the screen door was locked and then went inside to use the restroom. As I was leaving, I flipped on the front porch light. “Be back soon puppies,” I called out before locking the door.

  Amy was right. It was packed. I couldn’t even find a spot in the lot and had to park down the street. With so many people crammed into one place, it took forever to make my way to the patio. “Hey girl!” said Amy. She threw her arms around me like we were the best of friends and she hadn’t seen me in ages. “I hate to admit it, but I’m surprised you showed.”

  I pretended to be more offended than I actually was. “Why Amy, I’m hurt.”

  She laughed. “You didn’t seem real thrilled about coming. That’s all. I’m glad you did.”

  Despite the noise, Amy and I managed to talk quite a bit and laugh even more. She was smart, and she noticed little details about people and had a way of making fun of them without seeming cruel.

  No one asked Amy to dance and the couple of times I was approached, I politely declined in favor of talking to her. I could tell she really appreciated that I chose her over some random strangers. It was a no brainer, but she seemed to think I was great for doing it. When fast songs played, we went on the dance floor and danced with everyone else. It was the most fun I’d ever had at Ace’s.

  “Hey.” I turned to see Autumn. She’d been crying.

  “What’s the matter?” I asked.

  “Kayne. He’s being a dick.”

  “What happened?”

  “He just broke up with me.” She rolled her eyes with disgust. “At a club.”

  “What? Why?”

  “He’s bored with me and there are just too many new girls here he can’t resist.”

  “Oh, uh, this is Amy,” I said.

  “Hey,” said Amy. “I’m sorry about everything.”

  Autumn tried to smile.

  “This is Autumn, by the way,” I said.

  “Her sister,” said Autumn. I was stunned. I was her sister now? “Look, I hate to crash your party, but do you think you could give me a ride home?” That explains why we were sisters tonight and not half-sisters.

  “If you need to go, I totally understand,” said Amy. “It’s getting late anyway.” Amy was just an all-around decent human being.

  Before leaving, Autumn and Amy made a trip to the restroom. While they were gone, I bumped into Kayne. “Hey,” he said. When I didn’t say anything, he asked, “What’s your problem? You’re not turning into your sister are you?”

  “I was actually having a great time, Kayne. But I have to leave now because Autumn said you broke up with her. She’s upset and I have to take her home.”

  “Did she tell you I broke up with her because she has turned into a complete psycho?”

  “Whatever,” I said.

  “I’m not kidding. She was nuts before, but she has gone full-blown—”

  “You better go,” I interrupted. “She’s heading this way.”

  “I’m telling you. There’s something wrong with her.” He then took off in the opposite direction of Autumn. Good riddance, I thought.

  We walked Amy to her car so she wouldn’t have to walk alone. “Well, I’ll see you at school, or work. Whichever comes first,” I said.

  She laughed. “I had fun. We’ll have to do it again.”

  “Definitely.”

  I listened to Autumn gripe about Kayne all the way to her house. He sounded like such a jerk I couldn’t understand why she hadn’t been the one to break up with him. “Well, thanks for the ride.”

  “Sure.”

  “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  “OK,” I said just before she closed the door even though I didn’t believe her. It was probably better if she didn’t. She probably only wanted to whine to me about Kayne.

  I was glad when I finally pulled into my driveway. It had been a long day. I was exhausted and ready to crawl into bed with my puppies. I was just about to get out of my car when I realized how dark the porch was. I’d left the light on though—hadn’t I?

  20.

  I sat in my car and mentally retraced my steps. I knew that I had left it on. I tried to convince myself that the bulb had probably just burned out. But the whole time I was picturing someone shattering it and hiding on the porch. Or maybe they simply loosened it so the light would go off but there wouldn't be any broken glass to give them away. I would just assume that it had burned out and then they would attack me. My heart was beating in double time now.

  I got my keys ready and slowly approached the door. Lady and Rascal were barking louder. I needed to hurry before they woke up Nolan’s mom. I jiggled the knob. It was still locked so I guessed that meant no one was hiding inside. I reached up and gently twisted the bulb. It wasn’t loose—it hadn’t been tampered with. I removed it from the socket and gave it a gentle
shake. The tinkling of the broken filament was like music. It had simply burned out after all. I exhaled a deep sigh of relief.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  I woke to the phone ringing; it was Autumn. She told me that her mom and stepdad were going out of town that evening and invited me over. Since her mom wasn’t going to be there, I told her I’d come.

  I catered to Lady and Rascal all day and did some laundry and some light housekeeping as well. Just before dark I showered and headed over to Autumn’s.