Marissa and Randy had started dating during her senior year of high school, right after she had broken up with Daniel. At first it was just a way to distract herself from her pain, but Randy was a bad boy. She’d quickly started doing a lot of bad things with him, and it didn’t hurt that he was tall, dark, and gorgeous. She became dependent on him just as much as she did the lifestyle he led. That was the only time she got to feel numb. They had broken up the summer after she graduated high school, after she caught him having sex with her “supposed” friend Tara at the graduation party. Drunk, high, and upset, she’d retaliated, doing something she never thought she’d do: she’d slept with someone she cared very much about, using him for the night, and that wasn’t okay in her book. She had finally had enough of it all, but with their past, like any addiction, she knew they’d somehow end up back together. That’s why she ran. She wasn’t going to let that happen.
The very thought, even after twenty years, still sent chills down her spine. She’d loved the guy once upon a time, or at least she’d thought so, but she, along with the rest of her world, knew he was no good and she would never go anywhere in life as long as he was in hers. But he had a way of getting to her; a way no one could ever understand, not even her. It was an addiction—maybe to the excitement, maybe to the rebellion, and just as hard to quit as the drugs. She ran for her life at the first chance. Marissa didn’t allow herself to stop and think and obsess over the decision she’d made to leave. She just left and never looked back. Even though she missed her friends, she knew it had been the right choice.
Marissa had thought all of that had changed forever, that she would never have to look back again. But some part of her knew this day was inevitable. Pamlico County was her home and despite her past, it was where she always felt like she belonged. She had grown and changed through the years. So now she was happy to be back home as a new person—someone she liked and worked hard to create. Just as long as she avoided those old ghosts.
Mindlessly walking with her coffee in hand, she stopped when she reached the old Gothic historic Episcopal Church. She craned her neck to look up at the sharp arches, and her gaze rested on the huge clock tower at the very top. She looked around the grounds. On one side was a very old cemetery with weathered head stones scattered about and massive oak trees eclipsing the entire area. On the other side of the chapel was an outside cement pulpit with six cement benches in front of it. It had been built with the church hundreds of years ago for outdoor ceremonies on warm summer days. Marissa always thought it was so beautiful and unique for the area, looking more like a menacing pagan altar rather than part of a church. Marissa turned from the area and looked back toward the cemetery. She didn’t have any family buried there and people didn’t even get laid to rest there anymore, at least not for the past hundred years, but it was a special spot for her nonetheless. That was the very spot where Daniel had sworn his love to her for the very first time, a few months after they started going out during their junior year of high school. He’d kissed her underneath the oak trees, with their ever present sage moss hanging low over their heads like mistletoe. He’d told her he loved her, and swore they would be together forever. She knew she loved him too even after such a short time together, but the emotions had burned too raw in her throat for her to get the words out. Others might think that the scene was inappropriate for a declaration like that, but Marissa thought it was perfect and romantic and one she’d never forget.
Marissa’s phone vibrated in her pocket. She jumped, her vision of the past broken. She fished out her phone and pressed the green button on the screen to accept the call.
“Hello?” she asked into the phone.
“Marissa Lou? Umm, sorry, Marissa.”
“Yes, this is she.”
“Hey, it’s Jess. I was hoping this was the right number. We were all a little tipsy the other night when you gave it to me.”
Marissa laughed. “Yes, we were. What’s going on, Jess? How are you?”
“I’m good, just on my lunch break. I wanted to see how your interview went.”
Marissa walked back onto the sidewalk to continue her stroll. “It went great,” she said excitedly. “I was actually thinking of calling you girls to see if you wanted to do dinner or something so I could tell you guys about it.”
Jess paused for a minute before responding. “I think that would be great. What day do you want to get together?”
“Soon, actually. I’m leaving in a few days to go back home.” She still wasn’t sure when she wanted to go back home, but she wanted Jess’ answer to leave it up to chance. Marissa was always a firm believer in signs from the universe.
“Oh, okay. I will call Katie and see what she has going on tonight.”
“That would be wonderful. Let me know what you guys want to do. I know it’s kind of last minute, but I don’t have any plans for today.”
“’Kay. I will.”
“Thanks, Jess. I’ll talk to you soon,” Marissa said before pressing the red “End Call” button.
She was proud of herself. The interview really had gone well. They had all but handed her an id badge and key. She had to pat herself on the back for that. Hopefully, if everything went as planned, she would be a North Carolina native again in a month, and she was beyond excited.
Chapter Four
At six o’clock in the evening, Marissa pulled up to Katie and Daniel’s house in Kennels Beach. She was somewhat disappointed Katie had suggested they all go to her house for dinner. She’d wanted to dress up and have a night out at a restaurant, but she was thrilled to see the old neighborhood and that made up for it. As much as everything had changed, at least it was one thing that remained the same. It was almost completely untouched and beautiful, just the way she remembered it, even though there were a lot more houses crowding the area these days. It did, however, unnerve her some to find out that Katie and Daniel bought her old house beside Katie’s parents’ house. It was the house she’d called home for most of her childhood. The house where, when they were seventeen, she had made love to Daniel for the first time after one of Becca’s parties. Marissa’s parents had gone out of town for the weekend. That was Becca though and Marissa loved her for all that she was, even when she was getting them into trouble, which happened pretty often. She didn’t like the idea of Katie and Daniel making love and creating memories there.
Marissa got out of her car and stared up at the house in front of her. She knew she was at the right address, but the house looked so different. The exterior had been painted a softer shade of gray, and the lazy wooden porch around front had been replaced with a huge white framed screened-in wraparound porch. That wasn’t even the start to all that had changed over the years.
There was now an extra floor, making it an impressive two-story house. It almost towered over the majority of the other houses lining the street. Marissa had silently wondered if that was done as a kind of metaphor. A rub-it-in-Marissa’s-face kind of thing. Katie had won. She got the boyfriend and the popularity and now she had her house too, which she seemed to have made into some kind of grand declaration of her stature. Marissa shook the thought out of her head. She and Katie were once best friends, and they were older now, more mature. Whatever happened in the past, no matter how hurtful, should just stay there so she could recapture all the things she once loved.
Slowly, Marissa walked up the cobblestone walkway and opened the screen door leading onto the massive porch. When she noticed two white rocking chairs sitting side by side, with a small table in-between each set on either side of the door, she smiled and felt guilty about her previous thoughts. The four of them had often talked about how they would sit in their rocking chairs when they were older, drinking cold beer while the kids played together in the yard.
She rang the doorbell, listening to it chime. A tall teenage boy answered the door. She stared at him for what seemed like forever. She knew he was Daniel Jr., or D.J., but by God he looked exactly like his father at that age, even
more so than in his pictures.
“Hi, I’m Marissa. Are your parents home?” she finally asked, somewhat breathless.
“Yes, ma’am. Come on in,” he said in a deep southern accent.
Marissa followed him inside, where he led her to the living room. Katie, Becca, Jess, and her husband, Steven, were sitting around on assorted furniture sipping wine and laughing at whatever was said before she came in.
“Yay! I’m so glad you’re here,” Katie said, standing up and walking toward Marissa. She gave her a tight squeeze.
“Am I late?” Marissa asked, prying herself from Katie’s grasp and looking around the room.
“Not at all. They got here a little early. Dinner will be finished in a few minutes,” Katie said.
Marissa couldn’t help but stare at D.J. spellbound as he disappeared through a swinging door which led into the kitchen. As soon as the door closed behind him it opened again, and an older version of him walked out holding two glasses of red wine. Marissa stared at him, frozen, unable to breathe as he walked up to her. He put an arm around Katie’s waist and handed Marissa a glass of wine.
“Hi, Maris. You look good,” Daniel said, staring into her eyes.
Marissa looked away, pretending to observe the décor in the living room, trying to hide her rosy cheeks. “Thank you. Same to you. The house looks great, by the way.”
“Thanks to these,” he said, holding his hands out to her.
“You did all this?”
“Yep,” he said proudly.
***
Katie looked between them and could sense the tension, which in turn made her feel uncomfortable. She had been worried ever since she saw Marissa at the high school reunion. Back when they were in high school she didn’t worry about Marissa or Daniel remembering that they once shared something special. She had been too young and naive at the time to think those sorts of things, especially after Marissa moved away. Out of sight, out of mind. But in the past few years she often wondered if Daniel regretted his decision to leave Marissa for her. Even worse, what if she, herself, regretted it? Her life did not turn out the way she thought it would and sometimes she felt resentful for it.
She shook off the thought and grabbed Marissa by the hand. “Come on. Let’s sit and talk.”
“Yes, Marissa, sit your petite fancy city girl ass down right here and tell us your good news already,” Becca said, patting the cushion on the couch beside her.
Marissa did as she was told.
As soon as she was seated, Becca threw both arms around her, pulling her into a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
Marissa laughed and patted her arm. “Well, I should hope so. It looks like you are going to be seeing a lot more of me in about a month.” She looked around the room as if waiting for some kind of reaction. All eyes were on her. “Surprise,” she said, sounding nervous.
“Are you serious?” Becca asked.
“Yep, my interview went great and although it is too soon to hear anything, I can pretty much guarantee that the job is mine.”
Katie sat down in one of the chairs and just stared at Marissa, frozen. If Marissa moved back, she would have to face her own reality and she didn’t know if she was ready for that yet.
After Marissa’s big announcement, everyone began to speak at once, congratulating her, but when she turned to Katie, Katie realized she must resemble a deer in head lights. She blinked rapidly and smiled quickly. “That’s wonderful, Marissa. I’m so happy for you.”
“Thanks,” Marissa said, sounding awkward. She turned to look away from Katie, but when she did Katie noticed she caught Daniel’s attention. He looked confused and quizzical.
***
By the time dinner was over and everyone was full, the awkward moment seemed to have lifted, leaving everyone cheerful and chatty again. All four women took their glasses of wine and walked out onto the porch to enjoy the summer night air, while the men stayed inside, allowing them their time together without distractions.
“Katie, I can’t believe you guys bought my old house. I almost didn’t even recognize it,” Marissa said, taking the rocker to the left side of the door beside Becca.
“When it went on the market it just seemed right. My parents were getting older and they like having the kids nearby. I hope you don’t mind all the changes we made.”
Marissa thought about her answer for a minute before responding, “Not at all. It really does look great.”
“Thanks. We loved it the way it was, but as the kids got older we needed more space. The whole top floor is ours and the kids rule the bottom floor, or so they like to think.”
Marissa was silently relieved to hear that they were being intimate in an area added on rather than where she used to live.
They fell into a silence which seemed to last forever, each person lost in their own thoughts. Marissa was lost in a sea of thoughts, watching the ever present heat lightning dance across the night sky. Becca spoke up, interrupting the peaceful moment. “We should do this every weekend.”
“What’s that?” Katie asked.
“Everyone getting together like this. I’ve missed it.”
“It’s not like you don’t live horribly far away, Becca. Vanceboro is less than an hour away,” Katie said matter-of-factly.
“I know, but it never felt the same when we weren’t all here together,” Becca said, playfully cutting a look at Marissa.
“I agree,” Marissa said, turning from Becca to look at the others. “We used to be thick as thieves, and we promised that we would be doing this very thing at this very age. But it’s been twenty years, and nothing. A lot of time has passed.”
“I like that idea. We should meet up more often,” Jess said, smiling wide.
Katie looked at all three excited faces. “Hell, why not? Just as long as it isn’t at my house every weekend. I do not have time to be cleaning up after everyone.”
They all burst out laughing and promised to compromise. Marissa excused herself and walked back into the house to use the restroom. As soon as she walked into the house, she could hear the manly laughter of the husbands coming from the living room. She quietly turned in the opposite direction and headed toward the restroom.
When she was done, she opened the door and came face to face with Daniel, who leaned against the wall in front of the restroom with his arms crossed across his chest. His dark-eyed stare bore into her, making her remember her dream. Her heart beat uncontrollably in her chest, and heat pulsated through her feminine areas. In the silence, she studied his face. He looked exactly the same, with dark full hair, a tan well-muscled body, and eyes that had the ability to see right through her, with the added bonus of facial hair. “So, you’re staying?” he finally asked, looking her in the eyes.
“Yes,” Marissa said, breathless. “You don’t mind, do you?” she asked teasingly, even though she felt so nervous she didn’t know how she wasn’t shaking.
After a few torturously silent seconds he pried his stare away from hers, uncrossed his arms, shoved his hands in his front pockets, and looked down at his feet. “It’s really good seeing you again, Maris,” he said before walking away.
“You too, Daniel,” she managed to croak out, but her mind screamed, Yes!
Chapter Five
Ever since Marissa had blown back into town for their high school reunion with her stylish, flowing blonde hair, beautiful, youthful looks and her ever present air of superiority, Katie had been on edge. Marissa’s body was still perfectly toned too, maybe even more so than when they’d been in high school. She was untouched by age or child birth, and topped off with polished designer clothes. Katie didn’t look much different. Her long, natural, dark brown hair was still glossy without the slightest sign of graying, and even though she had had two children her body was far from damaged. That might be one of her advantages over Marissa. Having children helped to plump her in all the right places, and along with helping her husband with the construction business, her body was curvy but had b
een kept toned through the years. But the comparison was still enough to make Katie feel sick to her stomach.
Marissa would most likely get that job at the hospital in New Bern as well, which would be great. She missed her old friends, but it only added to her high accomplishments and made Katie feel like Marissa was still better than her. Katie always envied Marissa. Marissa was living the life Katie always wanted, although she didn’t realize just how much until recently. Plus, she would never admit that to anyone else. She hated the thought and the feeling of jealousy, but it plagued her nonetheless. She had only dated one guy her whole life, married directly after high school because she had been pregnant, and then a second baby had arrived shortly after. She was deeply rooted to this town, with no signs of leaving anytime in the near future. The thought weighed on her after seeing Marissa, and it was paralyzing. Her friend was living the life she should have had. They literally switched roles in high school. She often wondered how her life would have turned out had she and Daniel not fallen in love. He was with Marissa back then, after all. He and Marissa had had plans to get married and have babies, and Katie was going to go away to a major university and have an exciting life with a serious career, dinner parties, and traveling, but she couldn’t help herself. Maybe this was her punishment for stealing her best friend’s boyfriend. She deserved to be punished. No matter how much Marissa tried to hide it, Katie always knew that it hurt her deeply. It must have.
She tipped back her glass of wine, the second of the night, and watched Daniel from the corner of her eye. He got up from the couch and ascended the staircase toward their bedroom. Katie didn’t move from her spot in her chair, but instead pretended like she was too caught up in her romance novel to notice him. Not that there was much to pretend. With their busy schedules, they rarely went to bed together anymore, and it was even more rare that they were intimate. This just happened to be one of the few times she ignored him on purpose. The thought made her sad. Daniel was an amazing guy and a great father, but the fire between them was long gone.
Hometown Girls: Reunion Page 3
