Unexpected Arrivals

by Stephie Walls

  “I’ll come by when I get out of practice, okay? Say five thirty or so.” I grabbed my uneaten lunch, stuffed it into my backpack, and waited for her reply with Neil standing over my shoulder. Never in my life had I felt the need to sucker punch him, until now. I was having a hard time holding back today.

  She glanced up at Neil and then to me. The tiny nod she gave me only served to cause my fist to ball at my side. My best friend wasn’t acting any differently than either of us always did, but it crushed me to hurt her in the process. I didn’t stop it. I got up and hoped I could make it up to her after school.

  When we were out of earshot, I punched him in the arm so hard it almost knocked him off balance. “What the fuck, Neil?”

  “You can’t be serious about her? She’ll never fit in with our friends.”

  “Then maybe it’s time to find new friends. Jesus. You were such a dick.”

  “She called you James. Is she your mom?”

  “Hey, asshole. That’s what I told her my name was. Hard for her to know differently when she’s been in the school all of four hours, and the town about eight more than that.”

  “Who cares?”

  I stopped in my tracks. Neil halted in front of me. I’d only had a handful of defining moments in my seventeen years, times where one instant changed my life, and this was one. “Dude, both of her parents died last week. Cut her some fucking slack.”

  “Ahh, a charity lay. I get it, Carp.”

  And just like that, the fist that had been balled at my side since I’d gotten up from my seat landed on his right cheek. The fight erupted faster than I realized what had happened. I saw red, and my best friend met my right hook. When we were finally separated, I glanced back to the corner I’d last seen Cora, but she was gone. And my vantage point from the principal’s office didn’t offer me another glimpse of her before the final bell.

  Thankfully, Neil and I had only been given detention and weren’t suspended, but that hadn’t sat well with the coach. Even though the administration had been lenient, Coach Howard was not. He didn’t hesitate to bench us both until after Christmas break.

  ***

  It was almost six by the time I pulled up to the Chase mansion. The lights burned brightly throughout, but there were no cars in the driveway. I didn’t have her phone number, so I hadn’t been able to let her know I was running late. When I knocked on the door, it took ages for someone to finally answer it. I’d been expecting hired help, so it came as a shock when Cora greeted me.

  “Hey.” She had yet to meet my eyes, and instead, stared at my feet.

  I lifted her chin and noticed the red rim beneath her lashes and the bloodshot look around her irises. “I’m sorry I’m late. I didn’t have your number to call.”

  “It’s okay.” She swiped her tongue along her lips, and I traced its movement until it disappeared back into her mouth.

  “No, it’s not.” Running my hand through my hair, I tugged on the roots in frustration. “I got in trouble at school and then with the team. I came as soon as they let me out. I haven’t even been home.”

  “I know. I saw.”

  Fuck. I’d hoped she’d left the cafeteria when I’d gotten up, and she’d missed the shitshow between Neil and me. “It’s not a big deal.”

  “Look, I appreciate you trying to be nice, but I don’t want to come between you and your friends.”

  I chose to ignore that comment. “Are you ready?”

  Her eyes grew wide, and she glanced around and then back at me. “For what?”

  “The beach.” I didn’t wait for her to turn me down. “Do you need to tell your grandparents you’re leaving?”

  “They’re not here. No one is.”

  I stopped myself from asking the obvious. There was no way in hell this girl should be alone after what she’d been through in the last week, but who was I to judge? Maybe they’d gone to the store—although, that thought made me laugh. I doubted the Chases did any of their own shopping.

  Instead, I snatched her hand. She pulled back just enough to grab the handle and close the door behind her. The Chase property sat directly on the beach. We just had to walk around the massive home to the back and out to the sand. The sky had grown dusky, although a slight bit of color still clung to the horizon just above the water. It would be dark soon, but there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and the moon was full.

  We both left our shoes behind her house and embarked on the evening. Cora didn’t try to talk, and neither did I. I was perfectly content holding her tiny hand in mine, wandering the shoreline. I’d walk all the way up the Gulf Coast if she’d stay with me. When the sun had set completely, and the moonlight was all that lit the path, I finally took the chance on a conversation.

  “Where was everyone tonight?”

  “My grandparents left this morning for Prague. They’ll be back in a couple weeks.”

  “What about the staff? I doubt they leave that place unattended.”

  “Most went with them, I think. Honestly, James, I’m not sure. When I got up this morning, there was a driver waiting to take me to school, a stack of cash and a credit card on the counter, and their itinerary.”

  I squeezed her hand, wondering just how lonely she truly was. The rest of us lived the same sort of life: drivers, cooks, maids, and allowances to tide us over while our parents ran around the world doing God knew what, leaving us to raise ourselves. I just couldn’t understand anyone doing it after such an upheaval in her life.

  “So you’re alone in that enormous house?”

  “It’s not so bad. At least this way I don’t have to talk to anyone. I don’t have to pretend everything is okay. If I need to yell or cry or laugh uncontrollably, there’s no one to stop me.” She didn’t let go of my hand. Instead, her grasp became a little tighter with that statement, as though she were afraid she might drift away if she let go.

  “Have you eaten dinner?” I knew she hadn’t eaten lunch, and from the sounds of it, there had been no breakfast, either.

  “I’m not hungry. I’m doing good not to be a blubbering mess.” Cora offered me a pitiful excuse for a smile, or maybe it was a grimace—either way, it was to pacify my need to comfort her.

  “Were you close to your parents?” It was a tough topic I had to tread lightly around. If I pushed too hard, she might break down, and my hope was to get her to open up and share something she loved with me.

  Her lips tilted up and then parted into the most stunning smile I’d ever had the pleasure of witnessing. The happiness reached all the way to her eyes, and even in the darkness of the night, I could see the vivid green almost glowing with love.

  “They were my best friends. We were very close.” She hesitated before saying anything else, and I waited. “I was supposed to be with them on that flight. I’d begged to stay home to see Coldplay in Manhattan. They’d reluctantly agreed to leave me alone for the first time. Well, as alone as a teenage girl can get with people always in the house.”

  I’d heard of things like this before, where fate intervened, although I’d never known anyone who’d been on the receiving end of it.

  “I think my mom knew—well, not knew. Like a premonition that something was going to go wrong. I just think she thought it was going to happen to me. She left her assistant, Faith, behind to escort my friends and me to the concert. Faith got the call on our way home. She tried to keep it together until after we’d dropped everyone else off, except I could see it in her eyes, written all over her face. Even though she worked for my mom, she loved her, too. They were super close. When she finally broke the news, her soul shattered with mine. I think leaving her was worse than leaving my friends and my house and my school. She’s been around as long as I can remember.”

  “Did she live with you guys?”

  “Practically. Faith tried to get temporary custody of me, but she didn’t have the money to fight my grandparents, and since my parents’ will hadn’t specified who got custody, I went with my next of kin. So here I am.�
�

  “Jesus. That’s awful. Have you talked to her?”

  “Not since the funeral. It’s wrong; I should want to reach out to her, return her calls. It’s just that she’s a painful reminder of all I had to leave behind.”

  “I’m glad you’re here with me.” It was stupid, but I didn’t have a clue what else to say. I’d never lost anyone close to me, and I wasn’t close to my parents and probably never would be.

  She stopped with her feet at the edge of the shore and let the water roll over her toes and up to her ankles. The glow of the moon highlighted her natural beauty and made her appear almost angelic. When she stared up at me, I couldn’t stop myself from pulling her in. I needed to protect her, to comfort her, to ease her pain. Yet all I had to offer was a hug. Cora came willingly, wrapping her arms around my waist, her head resting on my chest. She was tiny in comparison, and somehow, I hoped that the difference in our size offered her reassurance.

  For the second time that day, I’d experienced another one of those moments, one that would alter the course of my life. With Cora in my arms and the ocean kissing our feet, my heart fell, our souls collided, and I’d found the love of my life. At seventeen and a junior in high school, serendipity—no, fate—had delivered the missing piece of my rib in the form of Cora Chase.

  2

  James

  There were definite benefits to having clout, not only in school, but in Geneva Key in general. Once I’d decided Cora Chase owned my soul that night on the beach, it had taken a matter of days for the student body at Harbrook to fall for her as well. She’d even captivated my best friend once he’d spent time with her and got over the changes. Cora was magnetic, and she had a personality that drew people in once she let down her guard.

  Cora had only been in school two weeks before we were out for Christmas break, and in that time, it was no secret that the five-foot-three-inch Yankee had me wrapped around her little finger. And by the time we returned after the new year, we were a solid couple everyone stopped to admire and tried to befriend. She joined the track team in the spring and shined like the star I’d known she was from the moment I’d met her. The other students quickly figured out she was a force to be reckoned with in the classroom as well. This girl had it all. And there wasn’t a soul on campus who didn’t either envy me for having her or wish they were her. A year ago, that would have fed my ego, yet a few weeks with Cora and that part of me dissipated.

  I wanted to be better for her, she needed a soft place to land, and I was determined I would be that security in her life. In order to do so, my pride had to take a back seat to her needs. Neil had been the only person who continued to keep his distance. All he saw was her changing me, although he didn’t recognize what she did was make me a better person. Cora dulled my hard edges. She loved the things about me no one else saw: the way I listened when she talked, my ability to be silent when she needed company, my need to show her how special she truly was. It didn’t seem like much at the time, but for a girl who’d just lost both of her parents and had a tumultuous relationship with her new guardians, it was huge.

  For the first time in my life, I breathed for someone else. My heart pumped to fuel my body to make her day better. She gave the same in return. There was nothing about our relationship that was one-sided. As soon as Neil recognized that and realized Cora wasn’t going anywhere, he got on board and fell for her just as hard as everyone else who ever came into contact with her. Despite the tragedy she’d faced, Cora had a smile that won over rooms. She was friends with people in the band, on the varsity track team, and in the debate club. Her acceptance had no limits, and truth be told, she made Harbrook a better place to be.

  Our senior year, I found myself sitting with people at lunch that I’d gone to school with for a decade and didn’t know their names. That was Cora’s style—she never wanted anyone to be excluded. Everything about her was beautiful—inside and out.

  “Have you decided on a college, Carp?” Jordan was one of the many people Cora had made friends with when she first got to Geneva Key, and they’d become close since.

  This was a sore subject between Cora and me, and I hated for people to ask about it when the two of us were together. “The University of Kentucky and the University of North Carolina both offered me a basketball scholarship.”

  Cora, Jordan, Neil, and I all sat together during study hall. Having finished our homework, we had nothing better to do than chit chat. Unfortunately, this topic occupied the minds of most seniors in Geneva Key—we all wanted out. Cora hadn’t applied to the same schools I had, and we now had to make the choice of one following the other or try the long-distance thing.

  “Are you going to take one of them?” Jordan kept digging, though her curiosity was innocent.

  “I’m not sure. They’re both good schools with great basketball teams.”

  “Except he can’t live without Cora within arm’s reach.” Neil’s sarcasm grated on my nerves, and I shot him a glare to demonstrate just how irritated I was.

  The bell rang before the discussion could get heated. Neil knew I wouldn’t put up with his shit where Cora was concerned. She was my world, and if I had to give up a scholarship, then I would. I didn’t need it anyhow. My parents had plenty of money and didn’t give a shit where I went to college as long as I went.

  I kissed my girlfriend goodbye with a quick peck on the lips and parted ways, then Neil and I headed to our next class together.

  “You’re too young to be making decisions based on a girl, Carp.”

  “Says the guy who has never gotten laid.” I rolled my eyes without looking at him.

  “Dude, do you have any idea how much pussy you will be abandoning if you two go to school together? I get this is great in Geneva Key where there are no options, but you’re a fool if you let that girl dictate your life.”

  I stopped and stared at him like he’d lost his damn mind.

  “Don’t look at me like that. I’d say that to any guy about any girl. If she’s it, she’ll still be it after college when you’ve had a chance to enjoy freedom.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about, Neil? It’s not like I have parents breathing down my back, or hell, even a chaperone. I certainly wasn’t a fucking virgin when I started sleeping with her. You don’t get the connection because you’ve never felt it. I don’t have a desire to be away from her.”

  “That’ll change.” His matter-of-fact tone pissed me off.

  “No, dude, it won’t. I don’t care if my dick never meets the warmth of another pussy. She’s it for me.”

  “You’re an idiot.”

  Neil was once again saved by the bell signaling the start of our next class. By the time the period was over, my anger had calmed and he’d forgotten about the conversation entirely. And when I saw the inky hair and bright smile of the girl I loved, I no longer cared.

  I stopped at her locker while she exchanged books. Cora closed the metal door, and instantly, her hands met my hips, her body pulled into mine. She stared up through the fourteen-inch height difference and waited for my lips to touch hers. This was her MO—she did it every time she saw me. I probably should have been embarrassed by her affection and my need to reciprocate it, but I never was. I loved showing the world who I belonged to, and I refused to ever let distance stand between us.

  I escorted her to our last class of the day. After, I knew what was coming. I couldn’t avoid the conversation. We neared a time we’d both have to make decisions, and it couldn’t be put off any longer.

  “You coming over?” she asked like it was really a question. Her refusal to assume my time belonged to her only served to keep me interested.

  “Of course. Anyone going to be there?”

  “Is anyone ever there?” Her chest heaved in frustration.

  Cora had made a life in Geneva Key, even though she felt slighted by her grandparents. She never came out and said she would have been better off with her mom’s friend Faith in White Plains after her parents
passed away, but I knew she thought it. Losing that relationship had almost been as hard as losing her parents. Her grandparents had insisted she live with them, the only problem was that they only maintained a residence in Geneva Key; they didn’t actually live there. All they’d done was ensure she was alone without any adult supervision—not that she’d needed it—or guidance, which she craved.

  She hadn’t shared a lot about Gwendolyn and Owen Chase with me. Her father had written his parents off when Cora was just a baby, and whatever had happened in the family left an indifferent taste in Cora’s mouth. Her grandmother tried to connect with Cora, but Cora remained loyal to her father and the legacy he’d left behind. She was never rude—she just wasn’t inviting.

  I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and pulled her to my chest to kiss the top of her head. While she missed having adults around, it didn’t bother me in the least. “I’ll follow you home. I don’t have any homework, so I’m free for the night.”

  “Good, me too.” She released me, took my hand, and together, we left Harbrook.

  I expected her to launch into a persuasive speech about school in the fall, but to my surprise, when we got to her house, she just led me to her room.

  Cora dropped her backpack by the dresser and turned to me. Her tiny hand fisted my shirt and pulled me in before closing the door behind us. Her lips turned up in a coquettish grin that drove me wild, and I knew instantly what she was after. She didn’t waste any time. Long fingers wrapped themselves around the hem of my T-shirt and started to lift. She wasn’t tall enough to get it over my head, though all she had to do was start the ball rolling, and I’d take over. I reached between my shoulder blades and tugged the shirt off. With each inch of skin I exposed, her hands roamed further.

  The warmth of her touch sent chills up my arms and down my back. She knew what she did to me, and I think she secretly enjoyed being able to bring a man twice her size to his knees. Her soft lips peppered kisses all over my torso, teasing me with a hint of tongue. Cora normally took her time, enjoyed foreplay, stretched things out, yet today, she was more interested in getting down to business. The button on my jeans came undone, and the zipper broke through the silence of her bedroom as it was lowered. She hooked her hands into the waistband of my boxer briefs and slid them, along with my jeans, down to my ankles.