by Debbie Civil
Chapter 21
Daniela
I’ve done what Jake said. It is difficult, but Carmen isn’t to blame for this. Chelsea is the one who threw herself out of a limo. She’s so selfish. How could she put Peter through something like that? I’m sitting across from him at the table and all I can see is sadness.
“Are you hungry?” I ask. He shakes his head.
“It’s difficult to eat,” he confesses. Part of me wants to wrap my arms around him and tell him that everything’s all right. Despite it all, we aren’t friends. I barely know the guy.
“How long has it been since you ate?” Peter has just recovered from having cancer. The last thing his body needs is to be neglected.
“Two days,” he reluctantly mutters. I curse, get to my feet and run toward the lunch line. I buy orange juice, a tuna fish sandwich and a bag of cookies and hurry back to him. Peter frowns when I plop the tray in front of him.
“Eat,” I hiss. Because he doesn’t like confrontation, the guy begins picking at his food. I inwardly smirk and sit down. Chelsea must have had her fingers wrapped around him. Thinking of her hurts. I can remember the day like it was yesterday. First we found out that Amy had been murdered. Minutes later, two detectives had come by the apartment to explain things to us. They would be staying with us until it was confirmed that the perpetrator had stopped killing people. Uncle Kenny had called to tell us the bad news about Otis and Vincent. But he assured us that everyone was fine. Eliza, Carmen and I had jumped into the rental to be reunited with the family. Twenty minutes later, Uncle Kenny called about Chelsea. I had pulled over and threw up all over the ground. Eliza had cursed and punched the car. But Carmen’s reaction was quiet. She jumped into the passenger’s seat and told us that we had to go see Chelsea. I think that’s when I started blaming her. As we drew closer to Gately, my anger strengthened. It only got worse when Carmen refused to see her. Eli and I have been taking turns sitting by our broken friend’s bed side. I may not have much of a connection with Chelsea. We only knew each other for a month and a half. But a kinship was formed when she stuck up for me after Malcolm ditched me after our first fight.
“How are you?” he asks me between bites of his sandwich.
“Tired,” is my automatic response. It seems that all of us are exhausted. I’m not a Philips, and nor will I ever be. But this family is my family. On countless nights, my mother has had to comfort Bianca as she wept. Uncle Kenny is emotionally distant and spends more time golfing.
“Me too. I can’t seem to get a goodnights rest.” Peter’s haunted brown eyes tell the real story. He is constantly replaying what Chelsea did. Part of me wants to go back to her room and scream at her. Why did she do this? Why couldn’t she see that she had something to live for? Why toss yourself out of a Limo because someone says something mean to you? Why give someone that power over you? But I don’t. No matter how irritated I am at Chelsea, she isn’t going to hear me.
“How’s school?” I ask. It’s a stupid question. Peter is the perfect child. He is going on and emerges himself in activities. He visits Chelsea on weekends. That’s probably the only time that he has for her.
“I aced my AP Calculus exam,” he says with forced cheer. I want to laugh at him for the effort he’s making. It’s obvious that Peter doesn’t care about a pointless mathematics exam. Chelsea is the only thing that matters. But he won’t say that. Peter may be a friendly guy, but he doesn’t share much about himself.
“Danny,” Mrs. Philips calls. Chelsea’s mother is pale and haggard looking. I give her a gentle smile as she sits down beside us. She folds her hands and rests them on the table.
“Would you like something to eat?” I ask her. Judging by her look, she doesn’t want a thing. But I know that the woman has not eaten. For the third time this hour, I’m in the lunch line and this time, I buy a cheeseburger, a yogurt, and a bottled water and bring it over to her. She smiles gratefully and starts eating the yogurt.
“Any news about Chelsea?” Peter asks. The hope in his eyes makes me want to punch him. But, I don’t. Instead, I look around at the dwindling crowd, wondering what Shelly did after she followed Eliza outside.
“Well, the doctors don’t know anything yet. But I’m not going to give up on her,” the woman announces. Her eyes are filled with fire. I’m glad for it. Had it been up to Chelsea’s father, the plug would have been pulled by now. I heard them argue about it in the cafeteria last week.
“Kate, you heard the doctors, she isn’t going to wake up,” Ian had said.
“I can’t give her up, Ian. She’s my baby,” the woman had cried.
“It’s not about you, Kate. It’s about Chelsea. Why are you forcing her to live a life like this?” She didn’t respond to her husband. Instead, Kate had grabbed her coffee and stood. That was when we made eye contact and I followed her to another table.
“There’s always hope,” Peter says as he munches on a cookie. Ian picks this moment to sit with us. He doesn’t eat cafeteria food. He has a subway bag. I want to glare at him because unlike us, his eyes are clear. He doesn’t bother saying hi to us. I was told that Mr. Philips has always been an introvert.
“Ian,” Mrs. Philips greets. When they lock eyes, the atmosphere becomes heated. Peter and I glance at one another. Neither of us want to be here. I’m about to suggest that we go to visit Chelsea when Mr. Philips speaks.
“Peter, is it?” he asks.
“Yes sir,” Peter responds. Chelsea’s father laughs quietly to himself.
“Well, it’s good of you to visit my daughter. But how long will you keep this up for?” he asks. Kate looks horrified.
“Ian.”
“No, Kate, let him answer. I want to prove a point.”
“As long as she’s alive, I’m coming to see her,” Peter declares. I can tell that he can’t stand Mr. Philips.
“No, that’s not how it’s going to work, son. You will visit Chelsea until you realize that she isn’t waking up. You will feel guilty about it, but you will date other people. Then, she will die, you’ll go to her funeral and you will live happily ever after,” his voice is becoming louder. Not this. Please, let their not be another outburst. The staff probably wants to ban us from this cafeteria. Peter shakes his head and stands.
“If you actually cared about what I did, I would take your advice. Since you are nothing but a prick, screw you,” Peter says and all of us gape after him as he walks away. I am truly shocked because that boy has never cursed in his life. I know that for sure. Kate wipes at her tears. Ian on the other hand looks regretful. I don’t say anything. I stand and walk out of the cafeteria, leaving the couple alone.
Since I have nowhere else to go, I go into the elevator and press level one, which goes to the garage and rest against the wall. This has been dramatic, that’s for sure. But part of me is glad that Peter has showed anger. He’s always so easy tempered. Even after Chelsea had been loaded into the ambulance, his sobs were quiet, not loud and ferocious. That’s what uncle Kenny told my father anyways. I had overheard that conversation as well. But that time, I hadn’t been caught. I get out of the elevator and walk over to my Honda, prepared for the long drive back to Connecticut. For the last four Saturdays, I have taken to driving down to visit Chelsea, going to lunch, then driving back. Malcolm and I haven’t been seeing each other. He’s extremely busy working and hasn’t been able to see me. It’s fine. I had hoped that we could develop something serious. However, he has other plans. After what happened with Mat, my heart is just too emotionally exhausted to deal with anything else.
I slide into my beautiful car and put the key in the ignition. I’m about to take off when my phone rings. It’s Malcolm. After glaring at the display for a moment, I answer the call.
“Are you close?” He gets to the point and never bothers with hello.
“I’m in Gately,” I respond, trying not to get my hopes up.
“Do you want to meet for dinner?” So he wants to make plans last minute? It’s very nice to know t
hat I’m an afterthought.
“What fell through?” I ask, knowing that my answer will definitely be no.
“Nothing. I have a day off today,” he says, clueless to what I’m feeling. I look out the window to see a couple walking over to a ford beside me. They are holding hands. They are smiling, which means that they got good news. It makes me think of Chelsea. Will I look like that when she wakes up? Will Malcolm be holding my hand? Maybe it will be another boy? I’m eighteen and am definitely not naïve enough to think that I’ve found my soul mate. It takes years of dating to find that special someone. That means that I desperately need to break it off with Malcolm before my midterms come up. I don’t want to be distracted.
“I’ll meet you,” I say. If I’m ending things, it has to be face to face. Malcolm suggests that I stop by his house since no one’s home. I feel relieved since I’m breaking up with him. He wouldn’t be spending any money on me. I don’t even have to wait until dessert. So it’s all planned out then, break up, home, dinner, then bed.
After pulling into the driveway, I slide out of the car. The lawn is nicely cut, a potted plant rests on the step of the front porch. I’m slightly hesitant about going in. He’s a nice guy and… Stop it Danny, you need to rip off the bandage before it becomes too difficult. I suck in the cool fall air and mount the porch and ring the bell. The door opens and Malcolm who is wearing a black t-shirt and blue loose fitting jeans smiles wide at me. My stomach flips and I know that I’m in trouble. Come on Danny, just walk in, tell him you need to talk, and break his heart. No, don’t look at it like that. I smile at Malcolm and follow him into the house. As soon as the door closes behind me he wraps his strong arms around me and I suddenly feel like I’m home. His heart is beating under my face and his scent wafts into my nose. I wrap my arms around him and squeeze tight. It’s amazing how one hug can convince me that this may be worth something. He releases me and presses a gentle kiss to my lips.
“Hi,” he greets with a smile.
“After not seeing you for two and a half weeks that’s all I get?” I complain. He smirks and kisses my forehead. He laughs.
“Come on, let’s eat,” Malcolm says and I follow him into the dining room. I pause in the doorway, in shock. The table is set for two and candles are lit in the center. Since Malcolm can’t cook, a box of pizza is on the table. “My man, a chef,” I say as I sit down beside him. He’s even gotten a pizza that’s half anchovies and half pepperoni. I laugh and he smirks.
“I knew that you would get it,” he cheers. I take a slice and lay it down on my plate. He does the same.
“I really need to learn how to cook,” he remarks. I raise a brow.
“It’s not necessary. Your mother will do all of your cooking for you,” I note. He grins.
“Not when I go to UCONN,” he says and something weird happens. My heart skips a beat. What does Malcolm mean about transferring to UCONN?
“What?”
“I’m going to UCONN for the spring semester,” he says softly. A sharp stab of fear lances through me. This is too fast. He can’t possibly be going to UCONN for me. We have just begun dating.
“Why?” It’s a dumb question but I have to ask it.
“Because, I decided that you and I deserve a real chance,” Malcolm says. I look down at my pizza, suddenly not feeling so hungry anymore. Oh goodness, he means that this is serious. We were supposed to break up.
“Oh,” I say. Malcolm sighs and turns my face so that we are facing one another.
“What’s wrong Danny?” his soft question makes me feel sick.
“I didn’t know that we were serious,” I confess. He shakes his head.
“You told me you loved me,” he manages to say. Malcolm’s open expression has closed off and he drops his hands from my face.
“I do. But I thought that I could get over it. Malcolm, we’re teenagers,” I argue. He looks confused. I don’t blame him. My logic is even confusing me.
“Why would you need to get over how you feel about me?” he asks.
“I…” This isn’t going easily. I thought that I could forget about Malcolm. Unfortunately, it isn’t going to happen. He’s going to my college. If I run into him… If Dominic runs into him.
“What’s wrong?” His question is asked in an intense way. Malcolm hasn’t been hurt before. He’s dated, but nothing serious. I may be the one that stains his heart. It isn’t fun to think about. But it has to happen, because I can’t get distracted.
“I’m with someone. I’m sorry Malcolm. I haven’t had time to tell you,” I quickly say. He closes down and doesn’t show any emotion. It would be much easier had he cussed me out. Instead, he calmly picks up a piece of pepperoni pizza and continues to eat.
“How long have you been seeing him?” he casually asks.
“Two weeks,” I reply. He sighs and nothing else is said. Malcolm continues to eat and I stare at him and memorize every inch of his lovely face. Let’s face it, Dominic is no Malcolm. He isn’t going to soothe the ache that’s building in my soul. He doesn’t even make me smile. I only started dating him because he asked. We will probably be over by Christmas. I wonder if I’m going to be over Malcolm by then. Suddenly the door bangs open and someone runs into the house. Malcolm stands and my heart quickens. Is it a burglar? Nope. Eliza runs into the room, tears streaming down her face. She jumps into Malcolm’s arms and he holds her as she sobs uncontrollably. I’m a little pissed at her for punching Tia. But it isn’t time to talk to her about that.
“Where’s Nathan?” she cries as soon as she’s able to pull away.
“He’s at work,” he response. My friend glances around, sees the candles and the pizza and abruptly stops crying. She giggles hysterically.
“Oh, pizza, that’s great! Did I interrupt a date?” she asks.
“No, it’s just dinner amongst two friends. Danny’s boyfriend Dominic wouldn’t be happy if this was a date.” Eli stops laughing and her mouth pops open.
“You didn’t?” she hisses. I frown at Eli.
“What?”
“Carmen is never going to speak to you again.” My heart stops as I remember that Carmen has a crush on Dominic. How did I forget that? Crap.
“Eliza, this is none of your business,” I hiss.
“Oh, and what about Malcolm? How could you do that to him? You talk to me about being careless and stupid. But I never did something so selfish.” There’s something that I’ve never seen in Eliza’s eyes before, rage. Her entire body is shaking with it. I’m caught off guard and don’t know how to feel about her being so angry. It’s out of character for her. I’m not sure how to respond.
“Calm down, Eliza. Carmen isn’t going to care,” I soothe.
“I’m not going to care about what?” Carmen asks as she slowly enters the living room. Her face is full of curiosity.
“I’m sort of dating Dominic Oliver.” Her gentle face falls and it’s replaced by hurt. Eliza quickly wraps her arms around her and I feel even more broken then I did before. Malcolm is just eating his pizza as if my life didn’t just break apart. Peter enters, his eyes going from Eliza, to me, to Danny.
“You know, you’re right brother,” Malcolm declares. “You did pick the better girl. This one couldn’t even be faithful to me for a month.’ Peter’s friendly eyes turn dark with anger. Yup, are bonding moment is over.
“What’s wrong with Carmen?” he asks Malcolm.
“She cheated on me with the coveted Dominic Oliver,” Malcolm announces. Jake strolls in at that very moment, his face showing relief at finding me. He too stares at the girls and Malcolm is quick to broadcast my shame. He sighs.
“Geez sis, you’re vicious. You already punched the girl. You had to break her heart to?” That hurt more than anything. I stand, grab my keys and fly out of the house before anyone can see my tears.
