With that he stormed out, leaving Carly to ponder what had just happened. She laid her head on the remaining pillow and contemplated whether or not there was actually some truth to Travis’s words. She sighed heavily. No matter how far away he was and how rarely they communicated, Jake was still very much a large part of her life.
Chapter Seventeen
The driveway was filled to capacity with cars parked at every angle, with some even littering the front lawn. Masses of people were piled inside the house, and several were crowded around the swimming pool in the backyard. The music blared loudly, seeming to shake the two-story house to its core. Carly ambled down the staircase and searched among the boisterous crowd of partygoers for any sign of her boyfriend. She finally spotted him standing with a group of young men near a beer tap.
“Hey, lover,” she purred, gently wrapping her arms around him. She reached up and planted an innocent kiss on his lips.
“You smell like beer,” she murmured into his ear.
Travis grinned and planted a kiss on her forehead. He looked at her then and noticed the guilty expression on her face.
“What’s going on?” he asked, looking at her with sudden curiosity.
Carly innocently shrugged her shoulders and looked away for a moment, then turned to face him once again and blurted out, “I invited Amanda to the party.”
Travis’ face fell, and for a moment his levity mutated into disgruntled consternation.
“I’ll keep her away from you,” she said, trying desperately to placate him.
Travis seemed to think about it, and he finally acquiesced.
“As long as you do something special for me tonight,” he said. He winked at her suggestively. The other young men laughed at the indiscreet remark. Carly jabbed his arm in retaliation. She then made her way outside and waited on the front porch for the twin, who pulled alongside the curb several minutes later. Carly waved at Amanda, as well as at the girl walking next to her.
“It’s about time you guys showed up,” Carly teased.
“Yeah, yeah,” Amanda replied.
She followed Carly into the festive depths of Travis' house, and the girls pushed their way through. Carly couldn't fathom how Travis was able to squeeze all of these people inside. Amanda somehow was able to grab a can of beer before all three bounded up the stairs to the second floor - where things were much calmer. She led them into the upstairs den, but thought better of it when she found it occupied by a couple in the throes of passion. She quickly shut the door.
“Uh, let’s go to the master bedroom instead.”
Once there, they gathered on the bed and started the CD.
“We probably won’t be hearing any StoneLief songs downstairs,” Carly sighed with disappointment. Amanda shot her friend a puzzled look.
“Why?” the twin asked.
“Because Travis has this rule that no StoneLief album is ever to be played in his presence,” Carly replied.
Amanda snorted sardonically, shaking her head in the process.
“It’s so obvious,” she said, taking a quick swig of her beer before continuing. “Your boyfriend is jealous of Jake.”
Carly sighed and replied, “Yeah, that sounds about right. I even told him he was, and he laughed at me like I was crazy.”
“What guy wouldn’t be jealous of Jake,” Sarah interjected, staring dreamily into space. “Jake is so hot.”
Carly eyed the girl. This was the second time she had hung out with her. Amanda had met her in a class at the community college. They sat next to each other and had stricken up conversation after both became confused about the lesson. Carly's initial impression had been that the girl was a bit needy and much too agreeable. It seemed she tried her best to fit in by pleasing everyone and by conforming to the opinions of those around her. Carly sometimes wondered if she had any opinions of her own or if she just melded with her current surroundings. She reminded Carly of a lizard, with its tendency to camouflage itself according to its environment. Apparently, Sarah had been a student at Lakeview High at the same time Carly and the others had been there. But Carly could not remember ever crossing paths with the girl. Sarah definitely wasn't Amanda's type, and Carly predicted the friendship wouldn't last after the summer semester. Amanda would grow tired of her.
“Are you crushing on Jake?” the twin asked.
Carly waited in anticipation of what Sarah had to say in response.
“Um, I…I,” Sarah stammered, looking uncomfortable with the sudden topic of conversation.
“It’s okay. No one is going to persecute you. I promise,” Amanda cajoled.
Sarah relaxed a little and then said, “Yeah, I’ve always had a crush on Jake. Even in high school. I don’t think he even knew I existed, though. I always figured if he hung out with someone who looked like you,” Sarah pointed to Carly, “then why would he want to involve himself with someone like me.”
“Jake’s a nice guy. He would have talked to you,” Carly said.
“Really?” Sarah asked, wide-eyed. “Do you think that when you see him again you can introduce us?”
Carly laughed, but not at Sarah's request. She doubted Jake would be coming to Clanton anytime soon. Carly explained, “I’d love to, if he’d ever call me.”
Amanda looked surprised at this.
“You mean to tell me that Jake hasn’t been calling you?”
Carly shook her head in response and said, "Last time I heard from him was probably about a month ago.”
“Well,” Sarah began, pulling a magazine from her tote bag, “this is probably why.”
Sarah laid the magazine down on the floor and began flipping through the pages.
“There,” she said, pointing at the glossy page. “According to this, Jake’s band is going on tour. They’ll be stopping in Cleveland close to the end of their North American tour. I was wondering if you guys would go with me. Maybe we can even get VIP passes to go backstage.”
“That bastard! Why didn’t he tell me he was touring?” Carly said aloud.
“Yeah!” Amanda mimicked Carly’s irritation. “No wonder he hasn’t been calling you. Looks like he’s been busy playing around with Ms. Paulina Berredo, that Brazilian supermodel.”
“What?” Carly gasped.
Amanda pointed to the next page, where there were several photos posted of celebrity sightings. There, in the middle photo, was Jake walking next to a stunningly gorgeous young woman. Her eyes remained fixed on the image. She could feel a sizzling heat rising within her, accompanied by a stinging feeling of betrayal and jealousy. She forced her eyes away from the page and gritted her teeth before stating, “I need a freaking drink.”
Carly grasped the magazine and shot up from the floor. Amanda and Sarah followed her downstairs and into the kitchen. She was rummaging through the refrigerator when she felt someone pinch her in the rear. She turned quickly, almost dropping a wine cooler on the floor.
“Since when do you drink?” Travis asked. His breath reeked of beer. She could tell he was inebriated.
“I’m just a little distraught, that’s all,” she retorted.
He looked at her hand just then and swiped the magazine away from her.
“What's this?” he asked, flipping through the pages. His hand stopped abruptly and he eyed the content of a page.
“I get it,” he said, the anger rising in his voice like hot bile. He lifted the magazine above his head to show everyone the picture of Jake, and he shouted for all to hear.
“My girlfriend is in love with Jake Harmon!”
Several people started laughing.
“You hear me? She wants to fuck him more than she wants to fuck her own boyfriend!”
Several more people joined in on the laughter, and she could have sworn she heard an inebriated male voice yell, “My girl wants to fuck him too!”
Amanda took note of Carly’s distraught expression and reacted with a protective instinct. She approached Travis and jumped up to swipe the magazine out of his
uplifted hand. He turned then and saw the twin’s fuming expression. He spared no time in telling her that she was no longer welcome in his house.
“I didn’t wanna be here anyway,” Amanda snapped, sneering at him.
Before the twin had a chance to vacate the house, Carly stomped up to her boyfriend and said in the most ferocious tone Amanda had ever heard her docile friend use, “If she goes, then I go too.”
Before Travis had a chance to utter a single word in protest, Carly grabbed her purse and followed the twin out the door.
Chapter Eighteen
Outside, the rain gushed in heavy and steady sheets, and every patron who entered the bar was completely drenched.
“I guess rain won’t keep them away,” Sandy remarked. She gathered a round of shots and put them on her tray.
“That’s good,” Travis declared from behind the bar as he prepared a rum and coke. “Business is always good.”
Carly nodded in agreement as she thought of all the good tips she’d already earned this evening. Travis looked at her with a smile. He was grateful they had been able to work things out. He would have been filled with deep regret if he had lost Carly over some stupid remark inspired by pure drunken stupor. He had known the next day after the party that he would be able to find her at Amanda’s house, and so he had made the trip over there. At that particular time he had swept aside all of his dislike for the twin in order to focus on the more important matter of winning Carly back. He had arrived at Amanda’s house with a bouquet of red roses and a beautiful diamond tennis bracelet he had purchased at a jewelry boutique along the way. Luckily for him, Carly had been the one to answer the door. He had immediately crouched down on one knee and begged for her forgiveness. At first, she eyed him pensively, the anger still swirling in her dark eyes. But it had helped immensely to convince her to take him back when he fervently admitted to her he had acted like a complete jerk. She took him back. It had been several weeks since their disagreement. She looked at him now and admitted to herself that she could, indeed, allow herself to fall completely in love with him.
She wiped down the countertop as more and more patrons entered the bar. As she went to fetch a basket of mixed nuts, she heard the telephone ring. Travis moved to answer it.
“Carly, it’s for you,” he said.
She placed the nuts on the counter and went to retrieve the receiver.
“Who is it?” she asked him while covering the phone with her hand.
No one usually called her at work, so she was a bit surprised that she had a personal call. Travis shrugged sheepishly because he hadn’t even bothered to ask who it was. Carly removed her hand from the mouthpiece and then retreated to a secluded corner of the bar for some privacy. She immediately recognized her mother’s voice on the other end of the line.
“Carly, sweetie, I have some bad news,” Lydia said meekly.
Judging by the tone of her mother’s voice, Carly instinctively knew that something was seriously wrong. She could feel her heart rate quicken.
“What’s wrong, mom?” Carly asked.
“There’s been a terrible…” Lydia started, though she was unable to finish.
The apprehension in Carly’s stomach transformed into a nauseating sickness.
“What’s going on? Just tell me,” Carly beckoned.
After a heavy sigh, Lydia continued. “It’s Jake’s father. He passed away this afternoon.”
Carly stood still as the shock spurred by her mother’s words consumed her. Poor Jake, she thought to herself.
“I found out from Mrs. Harmon this afternoon. She’s in the process of making funeral arrangements right now. I’m going to spend some time with her tomorrow to help her. She’s really not taking this too well,” Lydia continued in that same meek tone.
Carly asked the question that was burning in her mind.
“What about Jake? Does he know?”
Lydia responded in the affirmative.
“Mrs. Harmon told me he’s already on his way to Clanton. Apparently, they had to postpone some of their shows so he could be here. Actually, he should be here now. Have you heard from him?”
Carly stated that she hadn’t, which concerned her.
“I’m coming home,” she said.
“I’ll see you when you get here,” Lydia replied.
Carly hung up the phone and then dialed Amanda’s house number. Amanda answered the telephone after a mere two rings. The twin sounded as if she was in complete shock. She had heard the news from her own parents.
“Poor Jake,” Amanda said softly.
“He’s in town. I haven’t heard from him and that really bothers me. I think we need to go find him,” Carly said.
Amanda agreed wholeheartedly.
After Carly and the twin had agreed to meet in a couple of hours, Carly hung up the phone and went to go find Travis. He was in the process of preparing a round of Tequila shots when he saw her approach.
“Travis,” she said, interrupting him, “I need to talk to you.”
He nodded. She waited until he had finished preparing the shots and then accompanied him to the office.
“What’s up?” he asked, closing the door behind them.
Carly halted momentarily, still somewhat in shock. She sighed, then said, “Jake’s father…I just got a call from my mom and she told me he died early today. I'm going to need to take the rest of the night..."
Travis’ face clouded over, and he sighed with obvious frustration.
“Why is it that when it comes to Jake, you’re always willing to drop everything?” he asked. “The guy hasn’t even bothered to contact you in months. Why are you so damn worried about him?”
Carly couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She had expected a sympathetic response instead.
“His father just died!” she reiterated aloud. “And no matter what, he’s still my friend!”
Travis furiously crossed his arms and the words spewed forth in a clear, menacing tone.
“If you go, Carly, don’t bother coming back.”
She felt the deep, emotional hurt at his biting words, and she fought back budding tears.
“I can’t believe you’re being so cold about all of this.”
He said nothing in response, so she left. He didn't even try to stop her. She stormed out of the building. When she got to her car, hot tears began to flow down her cheeks. Slowly, she managed to pull out of the parking lot. She wiped at her tears as they blurred her vision. Before she could pull into her parent’s driveway, she saw Amanda’s car already parked alongside the curb. She checked herself in the rearview mirror to make sure her eyes weren’t red and puffy anymore, and then she walked quickly up the walkway and entered the house. The first thing she saw were her parents and Amanda sitting in the living room. They were trying to preoccupy themselves with a movie, but she could tell it wasn’t working. A somber mood clung about the house.
“Has anyone heard from Jake yet?”
From the looks on their faces, Carly was able to surmise the answer to her question.
“Mrs. Harmon said she doesn’t know where he could be,” Lydia answered.
“I think I know where he might be,” Carly said.
Amanda turned to look at her and, judging from the expression on the twin’s face, indicated she knew exactly what Carly was thinking.
Shortly thereafter, they left the house and headed up Winchester Road on foot.
“Man, we haven’t been up this way in a long time,” Amanda marveled as they turned onto Lemmonwood Street.
“Yeah,” Carly replied. A strong sense of nostalgia swept through her as they trekked down that familiar path they had taken so many times as kids. Carly could see herself as a little girl running down the street with a catcher’s mitt in her right hand and a dirty old baseball in her left. She saw her dark pigtails trailing out behind her as her little feet carried her along, the enthusiasm lighting her little heart-shaped face. She could see Jake as a child, waiting for her severa
l feet ahead with a baseball bat in his hand and a worn-out Rangers cap on his head. He was beckoning her to hurry, so she ran faster to catch up with him. She then saw his gaze shift past her, and she turned to see the twins approaching. Amanda was beaming with eager anticipation, and Aaron was trudging along with a frown on his face. The female twin's disheveled ponytail bobbed from side to side as she raced ahead of her brother. Carly couldn’t help but smile to herself as the images of their childhood played themselves out in her mind. Before she knew it, she and Amanda were standing in front of the old baseball field. It still looked as it had always looked in the past, except for one notable difference. It looked a lot smaller now. They moved across the field, looking all around for any sign of their friend. Even though she took the time to thoroughly scan the wooden bleachers flanking the field, Carly instinctively knew they would not find him there. Her intuition forced her to keep walking. They descended three short steps and stopped just short of the entrance to the dugout. There sat Jake, his head leaning against the concrete wall with his eyes closed. They waited a few seconds before calling out his name. He slowly opened his eyes and turned to face the both of them.
“Jake,” Carly said, biting on her lower lip.
“Hey,” he said in a mellow tone.
Gingerly, Amanda and Carly moved to sit on either side of him on the bench. Without so much as a single word being uttered between the three of them, Carly and Amanda moved to capture Jake in a long, warm embrace that seemed to last forever.
* * * *
The funeral was held that Sunday. Roy and Aaron had both flown in on Saturday night to attend. Jake had delivered a brief eulogy, for he had been unable to finish as he started to choke on his words. An unusually large number of people had filled the church that morning and then gathered at the Clanton Memorial Cemetery afterwards. A cornucopia of flowers surrounded the large gravesite, and a large procession of people dressed in black attire formed a circle around the grave. Mrs. Harmon threw a red rose on the coffin as it was slowly lowered into the ground. Jake stood next to his mother, who at one point lost her composure and ended up weeping on her son’s shoulder. He comforted her by putting his arm around her and whispering something into her ear. Carly watched him from where she stood. She could tell he was trying to remain strong for his mother, but she could still see the hurt in his eyes, and it absolutely killed her. Tears filled her eyes. Lydia reached into her purse to produce several napkins, which she gave to Carly to dab at her eyes. Just then, Carly heard a vehicle approaching. She turned to look and saw a white van pulling into the cemetery parking lot. Several individuals in plain clothes got out of the van and stepped to the rear, where it looked like they were retrieving equipment from the back of the van. She squinted her eyes to try to get a better look at what they were carrying. She let out a horrified gasp as she figured out the purpose of their unexpected presence. She turned to her mother and whispered, “There are some photographers here.”
The Road to L.A. Page 16
