by Judy Corry
Jess browsed until he found a kit of pastels with forty-five different colors in it.
“This should keep her happy for a while,” he said as he tucked it under his arm and pulled me toward another aisle.
As we left the pastels I spotted a white wool coat outside the store.
It couldn’t be.
I pulled Jess behind a corner so Kelsie wouldn’t spot us.
“What are we hiding from?” Jess leaned in close, his voice low and suggestive. “We can’t make out right here. Give me an hour and I’m yours for the rest of the day.” He winked and nuzzled into my neck, kissing me there.
“Jess.” I braced my palms against his chest and gently pushed, but he didn’t budge. I shot my gaze around to see if anyone in the store could see us. Jess may not care about PDA, but I didn’t want to get caught. He was making his way toward my lips when the white coat came into view again.
I pushed Jess away, making him lose his balance for a second. His eyes, which had been dazed, instantly focused once he saw who stood next to us.
“Kelsie?” It was like déjà vu.
“Hey, Jess.” Kelsie smiled sweetly, seemingly unbothered by what she’d seen. So much different from the last time. “Hi, Eliana.” Her smile remained, but there was a hardness in her eyes.
“What are you doing here?” Jess asked. I couldn’t help but notice that he took a step away from me.
“Shopping, of course.” She raised the bags in her hands. She must have been to at least five stores already. “Just getting some last-minute things for the ball.”
I inspected the bags more closely, trying to guess what they contained. My stomach clenched when I spotted a bag from a lingerie store.
“That’s an awful lot of stuff for one evening.” Jess's eyes widened when he took in the bags.
Kelsie tapped one hand on his shoulder. “It’s not all for one night, silly.” I wanted to gag at her attempt to be cute. It was nauseating. “You remember there are also a bunch of parties to go to before.”
What? He would be with her for more than one night?
Jess pursed his lips. “I guess I forgot.”
Kelsie’s gaze slid to me. “Typical guy. I don’t know how they survive without us.” If she was attempting to commiserate with me, she wouldn’t have the satisfaction of having me return the gesture. It was ridiculous how she was acting, like she’d never texted any of those horrible things to me. Was she always so fake?
Of course she was. This was Kelsie: the queen of duplicity.
How did Jess not see through that before?
Could he even see through it now?
“Anyway,” Kelsie continued talking to Jess. “Your tux should be ready for pick up on the twenty-seventh.”
“I already have a tux.”
“Not one with tails. Escorts only wear tuxes with tails. Remember? We went over this weeks ago.”
Kelsie reminded Jess of a few more details before leaving with one of those fake smiles flashed my way.
Jess raised his eyebrows after she was gone. “That went surprisingly well. Maybe the whole debutante ball won’t be so bad after all.”
I scoffed. “She’s putting on a show for you. When you’re not around, her other side comes out.”
Confusion formed on his face. “What do you mean?”
I’d been trying to keep it to myself, not wanting to add to the drama. But now I had to tell him. I peeked around to make sure no one in the store was listening.
“She sent me a bunch of texts.” I then told him what she’d written me.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” He looked angry.
I shrugged and pretended to be interested in the row of watercolors. “I blocked her. I figured it wasn’t a problem anymore.”
“Do you think she was telling the truth about your dad and another woman? Should I try to ask her about it at the ball?”
“You still want to go with her?” How could he go with her after hearing what she’d done?
“What? No!” He ran a hand through his hair. “I have to go.” Jess grabbed my hand and led me toward an aisle with different kinds of paper. “I can’t leave her hanging a week before the ball. It’s my fault she doesn’t have anyone else to go with.”
I felt like I’d been punched in the gut.
Kelsie was still the only one whose feelings mattered. She’d been a beast to him the whole time they were dating, but because he hadn’t broken up with her at the right time, she was the one we should all feel sorry for?
“As soon as this dumb ball is over with, we’ll never talk about Kelsie again.” Jess looked at me softly and covered my hand with his.
I nodded, wiping at the moisture trying to fill my eyes. “I hope not, because I really don’t like her.”
Jess squeezed my hand. “I’ll use the time with her to my advantage. I’ll find out what she knows about your dad, and then we’ll be done with her.”
Christmas Eve was much quieter than it had been in years past. Knowing my mom and Uncle Peter wouldn’t put much effort into the holiday, I pulled together the best meal I could with my limited cooking skills: cranberry chicken, microwaved broccoli, and instant mashed potatoes. For dessert, I made a simple chocolate trifle from an online recipe. I was actually quite proud of how it turned out. Maybe Jess's skills were rubbing off on me.
Things with my mom were getting better, and it did seem like she was trying to quit drinking. Uncle Peter was true to his word and hadn’t brought booze home since our conversation. So dinner went surprisingly well. Uncle Peter and Mom talked about things they did growing up. For the first time since moving in, it seemed like we were kind of like a family. After dinner, she even stuck around to watch our traditional movie, Charlotte’s Christmas Dream. It wasn’t the usual Christmas Eve I’d grown up with, but my mom had been sober and we didn’t fight the whole evening, so it was a good night.
Jess left for New York City a few days later. Kelsie had tried to get him to go down a few days early with her and her family, but when he found out he would be sitting around until the debutante’s cocktail party on the twenty-eighth, he opted to drive himself. I didn’t like thinking about Jess spending so much time with his ex-girlfriend, especially one who seemed to want him back. I couldn’t understand why she would want him back after he’d left her the way he did. Maybe she was trying to get back at me? Or was I reading into everything? I hated how much Kelsie was messing with my head.
Jess hurried home the day after the ball and picked me up before going to his house. I was excited to have so much time with him before he went back to Cornell in a couple of weeks. After seeing he had passed all his finals, he decided to give pre-med and Cornell another chance.
Jess looked exhausted when he knocked on my door after his three-and-a-half hour drive.
“How did the ball go last night? Was it weird being with Kelsie again?” I asked when I climbed into his car. He’d texted me most of the time that he was gone, but he hadn’t been able to text me during the actual ball.
“It was okay. Kelsie was nice enough, I guess.”
I waited for more but he left it there.
He furrowed his brow. “Are you asking for, like, a play-by-play or something?”
“I wouldn’t mind it.”
He drummed his finger along the steering wheel as we waited at a stoplight on the corner by the high school I almost had to attend. “Well, first off, I asked her about what she’d said about your dad, and it turns out she was lying about the whole thing.”
“She never saw him with another woman?”
“No.” The light turned green, and Jess pulled through the intersection and headed up a hill.
I was quiet for a moment while I processed this, watching the trees drooping with heavy snow as we passed them. Should I be happy or sad that Kelsie lied? I didn’t know. I was happy because he might not have cheated on my mom. But sad because it still left me clueless as to what happened with my dad and why he left.
&n
bsp; I decided to change the subject back to the ball before I could wonder about my dad longer. I’d already exhausted myself so many times speculating about what he might be up to. “Was the dinner any good?”
Jess nodded. “Yeah.”
At $17,000 a table, it had better be so delicious that even the most proper of debutantes couldn’t resist licking her plate. “What did you eat?”
“Um, a beef filet with some sort of sauce and potatoes. You would have loved the dessert, chocolate raspberry something.”
“Oh. Sounds yummy.” I couldn’t help but think that with his newfound love of cooking he would have paid extra attention to the fine food. “What did Kelsie’s dress look like?”
He seemed to think for a moment, his eyes intent on the road as he wound through the slush-filled streets. “White…fluffy?”
“Did you have to dance with her all night?”
A dark look passed across his face, but it was soon smoothed away by one of nonchalance. “We danced once or twice, but I was able to pass her off to her dad and other guys most of the night.”
“Well, that’s good.” I sighed, feeling a light, airiness drop over me. We were finally done with Kelsie.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The Brooks’ annual New Year’s Eve party was something I’d looked forward to every year, and this year promised to be another great event. Mrs. Brooks had stopped me on my way out the other day and handed me a personalized invitation. “How’s your mother?” she’d asked kindly, and we talked for a minute—nothing too heavy, just small talk, but she was really nice. Maybe she was finally okay with me dating her son. Or maybe I was wrong about her preferring Kelsie. Either way, I felt lighter and more hopeful.
When I showed Mom the card, she decided to come too. She stopped moping around the house right after Christmas. Maybe that dinner we had together as a “family” had shown her that someone still cared about her: me. I needed to try to do more things with her in the future. Even if my dad never came back, there was still hope for my mom’s and my relationship.
Mrs. Brooks greeted us at the door when we arrived.
“Come in,” she said, beckoning us in. “What a surprise. I didn’t know if you’d be able to make it,” she said to my mother. I couldn’t tell if her smile was genuine or forced, but she invited us in all the same.
“Thank you for the invite,” Mom said, her voice coming out slightly strained as she tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear. “I wouldn’t miss it.”
We walked into the brightly lit entryway of the Brooks’ home, music floating down the hall from the living room.
“Let me take your coats,” Mrs. Brooks offered. We handed her our coats and she disappeared into the music room before leading us down the hall.
The great room was bustling with all of our old friends and neighbors. Mom gripped my arm as she took in the scene. I didn’t think she’d seen any of her friends since we’d moved away from the neighborhood. Her shaking fingers told me she was nervous.
“It’ll be fine,” I whispered to her. “They’ll be excited to see you.”
She nodded and smoothed a hand down the front of her dress.
“You look great,” I said. And she did. She wore one of her favorite dresses from back when she and my dad attended a lot of parties like this. It was a floor-length black dress, with a lace overlay. It didn’t fit quite as perfectly as it had a year ago, because of the weight she’d lost, but it still looked good on her.
“Annette!” a voice called from across the room. A tall woman with ultra-toned muscular arms was taking huge strides in our direction—Mrs. Hillyard. When she reached us, she wrapped my mom in a tight hug. “It’s so good to see you, Annie. Oh, so good to see you.” She pulled away and held my mom at arm’s length, looking her over.
Once she recovered from the lung-crushing embrace, Mom smiled. Mrs. Hillyard was like the neighborhood mother and would help her feel comfortable with her friends once again. My mom would now be okay at the party and I could hang out with my friends without worrying about her for the rest of the evening.
As soon as I saw my mom being taken into an old group of friends, I went to find Ashlyn and Jess.
“Hey.” Jess gave me a hug when I made it to their theater room. “I was wondering when you’d get here.”
“I wanted to make sure my mom was okay before I came back here.” I pulled back and peeked around the room, finding that it was just us. “Where’s Ashlyn?”
Jess sat down and patted the spot next to him on the reclining loveseat. “Luke got home from his trip early and asked her on a special surprise date. She told me to apologize for her skipping out on us…but I think she was excited about not being a third wheel.”
I shrugged and plopped down next to him on the cushion. “Third wheel? It’s not like we never used to hang out just the three of us before.”
“Yeah, but now I think she feels like she’s in the way.”
“In the way of what?”
A smirk lifted his lips as he put his arm around me, pulling me against him to whisper in my ear. “Stuff that would be awkward for us to do when she’s sitting right next to us.”
Electricity ran down my spine, and I smiled when he pressed his lips below my ear. I made a play at pushing him away, but my heart wasn’t in it at all.
After a few kisses, I pushed myself back. “Is Ashlyn weirded out by us?”
“Of course not.” He waved the thought away. “She thinks we’re so cute together.” It was amazing how well he could mimic his sister’s voice. He took my hand in his and started the movie we’d planned on watching.
A few minutes later, the screen on Jess's phone, which was sitting on the other side of me, lit up. I peeked at it, curious, and saw he’d been tagged by @cornellkelsie in a photo that she posted on Instagram.
It’s probably just pictures from the debutante ball.
A minute later his screen lit up with the same thing.
By the fourth or fifth time, I was so annoyed that I picked up his phone and handed it to him. “Here. It keeps lighting up.”
Jess took the phone, looked at it, and frowned. He swiped his finger across the screen, opening his Instagram app, to look at the picture. I only saw the picture for a second before he pushed the lock button and shoved the phone between him and the couch.
“What was it?” I asked.
“Oh, nothing important.” His knee bounced.
I hoped a picture of him dancing with Kelsie wasn’t important.
A few minutes later, the yelling began.
“You think you’re so much better than me, don’t you?” The irate voice of my mother sounded through the door, immediately stealing my attention away from Jess's phone. “I still own that home, you know!” Pause. “I could move back in there any day if I wanted to.”
I sat up and scooted away from where I’d been cuddled up on the couch with Jess. “I better go check on my mom.” My cheeks burned flaming hot. Had she been drinking? I thought she was doing better.
“D-do you want me to go with you?” Jess asked, readying to stand.
“No. It’s okay, I’ll probably be right back.” I slipped down the hall and stuck my nose around the corner to see what was going on. She couldn’t be that drunk already. We hadn’t been here long enough for that…unless she was already buzzed before we got here and had hid it from me. She’d always been good at that.
Mom was standing in the middle of the room. One arm waved in big arcs, as she pointed and yelled at Mrs. Reyes. “I never liked you anyway. I don’t know why I pretended to. I saw the way you looked at Paulo.”
“How dare you speak to my wife like that!” Mr. Reyes said, his champagne sloshing over the top of his glass as he stepped forward.
“Don’t pretend to be all innocent,” she spat. “I know all about your open relationship.”
Mr. and Mrs. Reyes’ jaws dropped at my mom’s accusations.
Mom took another swig from her glass and spoke to the crowd, �
��How many of you have been approached by these two to go on their special couples’ weekends?”
Mrs. Brooks rushed through the crowd, set two hands on my mom’s shoulders and whispered something in her ear. When she tried to maneuver Mom out of the room, my mom yanked herself away, tripping on her own dress. She would have landed on her face if Mr. Hillyard hadn’t caught her.
I heard footsteps on the floor behind me. I glanced back to see Jess about halfway down the hall. Not thinking, I sped into the crowd, my eyes trained down on the floor to avoid looking any of the guests in the eye, and grabbed my mom’s arm with two hands.
“We need to leave.” I tugged on her.
“Don’t treat me like a child, Eliana!” she yelled, trying to jerk herself away from me, just as she had to Mrs. Brooks. But my grip was firm.
“You’ve said enough. We need to go.” I spoke in a low voice, hoping to get her out of here quietly.
“LET GO OF ME!” Mom slapped my cheek, so hard tears shot to my eyes. But I didn’t let go. Why was this scene so familiar? Why were we doing this again?
“No.” I worked hard to keep my voice steady, but it shook despite my best efforts and the tears were threatening to topple out. “You’ve had enough for one night.”
I was thankful when Mrs. Hillyard took my mom’s other arm and helped me drag her out of the room.
“Eliana. Wait.” Jess gripped my arm before I could collide into him. “Let me help.”
“No, it’s okay. Mrs. Hillyard’s helping us.” I couldn’t look at him. I didn’t want to see the sadness, or pity that might be in his eyes now that he knew what my mom was like. Now that he knew she was a drunk.
I was so sick of people feeling sorry for me. So sick of feeling this way.
“We’ll be fine. Stay inside where it’s warm,” I gasped, working hard to hold in the sob bubbling in my throat.
He didn’t move.
“Please,” I pleaded at him through the tears in my eyes. “I need to do this without you.”
Jess slowly dropped his hand, and I hurried my mom out to the car.
