Everything You Want

by Like, Macyn

  “No. I think they’d really like you.”

  She bit her lip as one corner turned up in a smile and looked down at her welcome mat. “Okay. Sounds fun.”

  She said yes. She said yes.

  “Great. I’ll meet you out here around noon, okay?”

  She nodded, and went back to unlocking her door.

  I waited until I was inside my apartment to express my excitement. I hoped she didn’t hear me as I jumped up and down and whooped quietly in my kitchen.

  Sunday crawled by. Monday morning I woke up with a huge smile on my face. I was going to introduce her to my friends. This went against every rule I had set myself after the Becca fiasco, and I couldn’t have cared less.

  It was already around ten o’clock in the morning, so I set the coffee to brewing and took a quick shower. When I walked back to the kitchen my cell phone was buzzing on the counter. I checked the screen and my stomach turned. Call it a twin thing, but I had a feeling I was not going to like that call.

  “Hello?” I said, trying to keep the edge out of my voice.

  “Kieran.” Kiera’s voice was a hoarse whisper. She sounded like she’d been crying for hours.

  “Are you okay?” I asked. When she didn’t answer right away, I knew something awful had gone down. “Kiera,” I said, no longer able to keep the sharpness out of my voice.

  I heard her inhale a shaky breath. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  “And Skylar?”

  “He’s fine, too. Can you come get me?”

  “Yes, where are you? Are you still in New York?” I’d be on a plane in the next second if it were possible.

  “Yes, but we’re about to board a plane.”

  I didn’t want to ask, but I had to know. “Where’s Rob?”

  “He’s with Kiley.”

  I blanched. “Kiley?”

  “Yes.”

  Kiley. I’d known her forever. She had been my sister’s best friend since grade school, and the drummer in Rob’s band since senior year of high school. As much as I hated Rob, I had expected this from him. But I couldn’t put into words what I felt for Kiley at that moment. I’d thought she was better. Kiera had trusted her. I had, too.

  “Okay. Listen, just get on the plane, and when you land, I’ll be there.”

  “Thanks. I’ll see you soon.”

  “Kiera, you deserve better than this.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Don’t do that, Kiera.”

  “I’ve got to go.”

  “Okay. I’ll be there.”

  “I know.”

  I ended the call and set my phone on the counter, my lips pressed in a thin line. I breathed in deeply through my nose and sighed. I hated that my sister was hurt, but I couldn’t think about that too much or I really would hop a plane and go find Rob. Her best friend, of all people. I swallowed. I was going to have a word with Kiley. Not that she’d answer my call. No matter. I’d borrow Ollie’s phone. I’d tell Rob what I thought about him, too, once I’d calmed down. I wouldn’t have to disguise my number with him, though. Rob would pick up. He had no shame.

  I snapped up my phone and dialed Shannon to tell him I wasn’t going to make it to his barbeque. Truthfully, I did probably have time to make a brief appearance, but I didn’t feel like a party, nor did I want to risk being late to the airport. Kiera didn’t need another man to let her down.

  “You’ve got to pick up Kiera? Why? Is she okay?”

  Shannon and Kiera used to be good friends, too, before she moved to New York with Rob’s band a few years ago. After that she kind of lost touch with everyone but me.

  “She will be,” I said.

  “Okay. Well, bring her on out later, if she feels like it.”

  “I don’t think she will, and besides, she has Skylar with her.”

  “Okay. Tell her I’m thinking about her.”

  “Thanks.”

  I clicked the end button and shoved the phone in my back pocket. I grabbed my keys off the side table by the door, dreading what I had to do next. I pulled the ponytail holder off my wrist and tied my hair up.

  I knocked on Marissa’s door. It took her a minute to answer. When she finally did open the door, she was wearing a short pink robe and her hair was piled on her head in a messy bun. She looked amazing. If I wasn’t furious with my brother-in-law already, now I was livid.

  “Hey, you’re early.” The smile on her face said she wasn’t sorry about it either. Stupid, stupid Rob.

  I leaned against her door facing and sucked in my bottom lip, looking at her welcome mat, trying to think of what to say.

  “Something wrong?” she asked, her forehead creasing.

  “Yeah, I, uh, I’ve got to cancel. I’m really sorry. Something came up. Some family stuff. And I’m…I’m really sorry.”

  I finally looked up. She was frowning, and there was concern in her eyes.

  “That’s okay,” she said, a halfhearted smile pulling up one corner of her mouth.

  “I’m sorry,” I said again, and turned to walk away. As I turned, she reached out and lightly placed her hand on my shoulder. I sucked in a breath, her touch sending tremors through my chest.

  I glanced back at her.

  “I hope everything turns out alright,” she said, the worry etched on her face almost driving me over the edge. How could she be that concerned about me? She barely knew me.

  I tried to smile, but couldn’t make my lips obey. “Me too,” I whispered, and then walked down the stairs without looking back, her fresh, sweet scent following me the whole way.

  Stupid, stupid Rob.

  Chapter 9

  Marissa

  I was surprised at how disappointed I felt. I wasn’t mad at him. The look on his face told me that it was something unexpected, something that couldn’t be helped. Still, I had really been looking forward to it.

  I sighed and took the clip out of my hair, shaking it out. No use in straightening it now. I collapsed on the couch and clicked the TV on. Within seconds Tulip’s head was on my lap, Oatmeal was wrapped around my shoulders and George was nestled on top of my feet. I couldn’t help but smile. At least they were happy I was staying in.

  I flipped through channels until I found a movie to watch and then I went to the fridge and pulled out the pitcher of sweet tea. I poured myself a glass, reached in the cookie jar and grabbed three of the oatmeal raisin cookies I’d made the night before, and went back to the couch.

  I watched the rest of the movie, before I decided I could stand to be a little more productive. I’d cleaned the whole apartment top to bottom yesterday, and given myself a pedicure and a manicure. I’d already made cookies last night, and the TV was no longer taking my mind off the fact that I wasn’t at Kieran’s barbeque, the only real social function I’d been invited to in months. I needed to make a pie. A blueberry pie. Not for me, of course. I already had enough cookies to last me all week. This one would be for Betty. It would keep me busy for a while and give me an excuse to go down there and chat later.

  I pulled out my tattered old cookbook and flipped to the apple blueberry pie recipe I’d wanted to try out. I was pretty sure I had all the ingredients. I busied myself in the work and tried not to think about Kieran and how much I’d been wanting to spend time with him.

  A few hours later, when the pie was finally baked and cooled, I started down the stairs. Surely Betty was home. The woman hardly ever left her apartment. I didn’t think she’d make plans for the holiday. She might miss one of her Soaps.

  I knocked on the door. I was surprised when it swung open a few seconds later. It usually took Betty a minute to get around. When I saw the figure standing in the doorway I almost dropped my pie.

  “Camden.” I said, a little breathless.

  “Melissa? What are you doing here?” he asked, his brows knitting together.

  I glanced down at my pie, embarrassed. “I was just bringing this down for Betty.”

  “You know Grandma?”

  “Yeah, I live upstairs
.”

  “Oh, yeah? Come on in.”

  He moved aside and I squeezed past him into the small apartment.

  “Grandma, look who’s here,” Camden said. “Melissa brought you a pie.”

  “Who’s Melissa?” Betty asked, looking up from where she sat in her recliner. “Oh, you mean Marissa. Hello. What did you bring me this time?” she asked, and then looked at Camden. “I think she’s trying to make me a diabetic.”

  I laughed. “I promise you, I’m not. I’m just a compulsive baker, and you’re the only person I have to share it with.”

  “I know. I’m just teasing you. You know I love it when you bring me goodies. So Camden,” she turned to her grandson, “how do you know Miss Marissa?”

  “Marissa and I work at the bank together,” he said, placing extra emphasis on my name. I blushed.

  “Oh, I didn’t know you two worked at the same bank. Marissa, I guess I never asked the name of the bank you work at. Five hundred banks in this city and you two work at the same one. What a coincidence,” Betty said, setting the pie down on the table and unwrapping it.

  “Yes, it is,” I agreed, looking down at the tile. “Anyway, I just came down here to drop that off. I’ll see you later, Betty.”

  “Alright. Thanks for the treat.”

  “You’re welcome. It’s my first time making that one. Let me know how it turns out.”

  I turned to leave. I was halfway up the stairs when I heard Camden call after me. I walked back down. He was standing at the bottom, waiting for me. “I was just heading out. Have you eaten yet?”

  “No.”

  “Would you like to come with me? I hate to eat alone.”

  I bit my lip. Camden was asking me out on a date. Sort of. I had wanted this for the past three months, so why was I hesitating? And why was I thinking about Kieran? That was silly. There was nothing between us, was there? Not really. There were times when I thought he was sending me a more-than-friends vibe, but it could’ve been my hopeful imagination. I didn’t even know if I wanted that from him, yet. Yes, he was beautiful and yes, I liked spending time with him, and yes, I was still fantasizing about being wrapped up in his arms during the storm, but that didn’t mean I wanted to be with him, right? And just because he’d asked me to a barbeque didn’t mean he wanted to be with me. If he did…we’d take it from there. It didn’t mean I couldn’t go out with Camden tonight.

  I smiled. “Sure. Let me grab my purse.”

  Chapter 10

  Kieran

  It was after dark when we drove into the apartment parking lot. Kiera had left in a rush and barely packed anything. We had to make a stop at Babies R’ Us to pick up all of Skylar’s supplies, and then Walgreens so Kiera could buy her personal hygiene stuff. After that, I took them to the mall so that Kiera could pick out some clothes, but she wasn’t interested. I ended up picking out and buying her three outfits, while she pushed Skylar’s stroller around in a daze. I swung by her favorite burger place on the way in, but she wouldn’t order, so I ordered for her. The bag sat in her lap as she stared out the passenger window.

  “Kiera, we’re here,” I said softly.

  She started and the greasy bag jostled in her lap. “Oh, yeah, sorry.” She slid out of the car and opened the back door, unbuckling Skylar from his car seat.

  “I’ll get him,” I said. “I’ll get everything. You just take the food and go upstairs. You remember which one it is?” I asked, handing her my keys.

  She nodded, and started slowly towards the stairs.

  Skylar was asleep. I unattached his seat from the base, grabbed a few of the shopping bags, and followed behind Kiera. Once we were inside, I sat Skylar’s carrier down in my bedroom floor and shut the door behind me, so that we wouldn’t disturb him. He’d had a long day.

  When I walked back out in the living room/kitchen area, Kiera was sitting at the table, the bag in front of her, untouched. I walked over to her, pulled the cheeseburger out of the bag and unwrapped it, and sat it in front of her. I pulled out the little sack of fries and set them next to the burger. Kiera stared at the far wall.

  “Do you need ketchup?” I asked.

  “No.” She shook her head.

  “Kiera. Please eat something. I know you didn’t eat anything on the plane.”

  She picked up a fry and placed it in her mouth. I watched her chew slowly, then swallow. “There. Does that make you feel better?”

  “It does. I bet it makes you feel better, too.”

  She shrugged. “They do have good fries.”

  I grinned at her. “Yes, they do. Good burgers, too.” I nodded at the untouched cheeseburger.

  Kiera sighed and picked up the burger. She took a huge bite. And another. And another, until the entire burger had disappeared.

  “IDIOT!” she yelled, through the last mouthful.

  I made a face and cocked my head towards the bedroom. I didn’t want to shush her, but my nephew needed rest.

  “Sorry.” She bit her lip. “I’m just such an idiot,” she whispered.

  “Hey, no, you’re not. He’s an idiot. And Kiley’s an idiot, but you’re far from it.”

  “I am. I should’ve seen it. Why did it take me so long?”

  “Stop doing this to yourself, Kiera.”

  “What else am I supposed to do?”

  “Eat. Sleep. Take care of yourself. We’ll figure everything else out in the morning. I’m going to get the rest of the stuff from the car, okay?”

  She nodded.

  I stepped out of the apartment and went back down to my car to grab the rest of her things. The pack n’ play was still in the trunk, and Skylar was going to need that to sleep. When I reentered the apartment, Kiera was still seated at the table, but I noticed the fries were gone.

  “I can help you with that,” she said as I opened the box.

  “I got this. You go take a shower, okay? You can borrow some of my pajamas.”

  She nodded and went into the bathroom.

  I had the play yard set up in no time. Kiera came out of the bathroom wearing one of my ratty old high school t-shirts and a pair of gray sweatpants that hung off her slender frame. As she began helping me unpack some of the shopping bags, we heard movement in the other apartment.

  “Is that her?” Kiera asked.

  I nodded, opening a set of play yard sheets.

  “What do you think she’s doing?”

  “Baking.”

  “At this time of night?”

  “Yeah, it’s sort of how she winds down, I think.”

  We were silent for a minute. Kiera pulled out one of the shirts I bought her and looked it over. “This is cute. Thanks.”

  “No problem.”

  We heard shuffling in the next apartment and I smiled.

  “You really like that girl, don’t you?”

  “I guess. I don’t really know her well,” I said, not looking up from the slim mattress I was attempting to cover with the tiny sheet.

  Kiera let out a sharp laugh. “Kieran, we’re twins. I know you don’t think you can lie to me. You never could. I’ve got twinstinct or whatever.”

  I didn’t say anything, just gave her a halfhearted smile.

  “Are you ever going to ask her out?” she pressed.

  “Actually, I did. Well, not really. I just asked her to go to this barbeque thing Shannon was having.”

  “Did she say yes?”

  “Yes.”

  “Alright! How did it go?”

  “Um, it…didn’t.”

  “She canceled?”

  “No, I did.”

  “Why would you do a stupid thing like that?” Her eyes widened as it hit her. “Shannon’s barbeque. It was today, wasn’t it? I ruined your date.”

  “It wasn’t a date.”

  “I ruined your date!” she repeated, tears filling her eyes. “I’m the worst sister ever. Why do you even put up with me?”

  “It wasn’t a date, and you’re the best sister ever. It’s probably for the bes
t anyway. I was getting too close. You’re right. I do like her, a lot. Too much.”

  “That’s good, though.”

  “No, it’s bad. You know how I feel about…”

  “About what? Relationships? Just because one girl screwed you over a million years ago—”

  “It’s not just that. I mean, look at you.”

  She flinched.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean it that way.”

  “Yeah, you did. It’s okay. I know what you mean. My marriage exploded. But I’ll be okay, I hope. Eventually.”

  “You will.”

  “Yes, and so will you. Kieran, you can’t keep living your life this way. You can’t take two bad examples and think that that’s just the way things are. You need to believe there’s something better for you out there. I do. For me, and for you.”

  “How?”

  “I just do.”

  I swallowed and leaned back on the couch. My sister had just had her relationship blow up in her face and here she was telling me to believe in something better. She was so strong.

  I sat there for a long moment thinking about what she’d said. Why was I so scared? What happened to me wasn’t near as bad as what Kiera was going through, yet she was the hopeful one. Something was wrong with me.

  When I finally looked up, Kiera was fishing through the kitchen cabinets. She looked over at me. “Hey, where’s my tea?”

  Chapter 11

  Marissa

  Working with Camden was nice. I thought it might be weird since our sort-of date the night before, but it wasn’t. If anything, that had made it better. He was funny and sweet, easy to talk to, and he smelled delicious. The work was easy enough to pick up on, too. I knew I’d have it down in no time, but I wasn’t quite ready to have Camden stop training me yet. I needed some distraction from the female voice I kept hearing in the next apartment last night.

  I really didn’t have a reason to be upset. Like I told myself before, it wasn’t like Kieran and I had a thing. I had thought that maybe we could, but I must have been wrong because I had heard a woman’s voice inside his apartment all through the night. I was pretty sure there was a baby, too. I didn’t think it was his baby, but maybe it was. I didn’t really know very much about him. He did say he was having a family issue.