Tangle of Strings

by Ashley Farley

  “You went through quite an ordeal yesterday. How do you feel?” Faith pressed the back of her hand to Annie’s forehead as though checking for fever.

  “Numb. Like I’m floating on a life raft in the middle of the ocean.”

  “That’s the morphine,” Faith said. “You’re pretty banged up.”

  “Can you be a little more specific? I can wiggle most of my fingers and toes. Except the ones on my left hand. I guess that means I’m not paralyzed. What’s wrong with my arm?”

  “It’s not your arm,” Faith said. “The problem is with your shoulder. The doctors aren’t certain about the extent of the damage. They’re gonna do an MRI this morning to determine whether you need surgery. Aside from that, you have a couple of broken ribs, a two-inch laceration on your forehead, and a concussion to go along with it. The plastic surgeon who sewed you up has assured us you won’t have a scar.”

  Annie was almost afraid to ask, “Anything else?”

  Thea laughed. “Isn’t that enough?”

  “There’s always a risk for internal bleeding,” Faith explained. “But that’s looking less and less likely with each passing hour.”

  Phew! Annie thought. Maybe the pregnancy test came back negative. Or maybe she’d imagined the whole exchange with Mike in the ER. She was on heavy-duty painkillers after all. Or maybe he’d honored her wishes and hadn’t broken the news to Faith yet. Which meant she might still be pregnant. “Where’s Mike?”

  “He wanted to stay with you, but I insisted he go home after his shift and get some sleep.”

  “Did you stay here all night?”

  Faith smiled. “Of course. I wasn’t about to leave you alone. I went home for a few minutes earlier to get some of your things.”

  “What about Bitsy? Don’t you need to take her to school?”

  “She spent the night with a friend. She doesn’t know about the accident yet.” Faith turned her attention to Thea, who had been inching her way toward the door. “Speaking of school, aren’t you going to be late?”

  “Probably. I should get going.” Thea tugged on Annie’s big toe through the blanket. “I’ll text you later.”

  “Wait a minute.” Annie’s eyes traveled the room. “Where’s my phone and my purse? Did anyone get my stuff out of the car?”

  “Hmm. That’s a good question.” Faith opened the door to the wardrobe. “They aren’t in here. I don’t remember anyone saying anything about your belongings last night. I’ll get Mike and Eli to check on them for you.”

  “I’m off, then,” Thea said, with a half wave. “Since you don’t have your phone, I’ll stop by after school on my way to work.”

  Faith crossed the room to the doorway and stuck her head out into the hallway for several seconds. She turned back around, pulling the door closed behind her. “Annie, honey, there’s something I need to talk to you about.”

  Annie braced herself. Here it comes.

  SEVEN

  Cooper

  Cooper dragged himself out of bed after the third snooze cycle and lumbered down the hall to the bathroom. He splashed cold water on his face, then raked his fingers through his unruly copper mop, brushed his teeth, and ran his electric razor over his cheeks. Returning to his room, he dressed in jeans and a gray flannel shirt. He gathered his books and computer from his desk, and stuffed them into his backpack. He slashed through the block for yesterday’s date, February eighth, on his Duck’s Unlimited calendar. Six more months, give or take a few days, before he left for college. If he could ever decide on a college. There were so many factors to consider. Disappointing his parents. Being separated from his twin brother. Getting as far away from Annie as possible.

  He found his mother in the kitchen serving up pancakes with a spatula. Her dark hair was pulled back on her neck, and despite the early hour, her lips were painted the color of ripe plums. Cooper wondered if his friends’ mothers put on lipstick before they brushed their teeth in the morning.

  “When did you get home?” he asked. His mother spent much of the week in Charleston where her interior design firm, JSH Designs, was based. The JSH stood for Jacqueline Sweeney Hart, his uber-sophisticated mother who had always been somewhat of an enigma to him. She reminded him of the fragile model boat that sat on the shelf in their living room, the family’s cherished possession that he and his brother were allowed to look at but never to touch. Cooper’s grandmother, Lovie Sweeney, had commissioned a professional to replicate the commercial fishing boat his grandfather, Oscar, had fished from every day of his life until his passing nearly seven years ago. His mother and her sisters, Sam and Faith, had drawn straws to determine who would keep the model of the My Three Gulls, named after Oscar’s three daughters.

  “Late last night, after you’d gone to bed.” She placed a plate in front of him. “I just received some disturbing news.” She slid onto the chair next to him. “Aunt Sam called. Did you know Annie was in a car accident yesterday afternoon after school?”

  “Yeah. Some of my friends were texting me about that. I had to turn my phone off so I could finish my art project.” Cooper forked off a bite of sausage and stuffed it in his mouth. “She’s okay, right?”

  Jackie folded her arms on the table and leaned in closer to him. “Her car overturned on Main Street, Cooper. She’s lucky to be alive. She has a concussion, a significant laceration on her head, a couple of broken ribs, and a crushed shoulder that will likely require surgery.”

  “That doesn’t sound good,” he mumbled. He couldn’t bear to think of Annie in pain. It hurt too much to think of her at all these days. He reached for the syrup. Eating would help take his mind off the whole situation, at least for a little while.

  “I’m surprised you’re not camped out at the hospital. Did the two of you break up?”

  “Not officially, no.”

  Jackie placed her hand on his arm, preventing him from taking another bite. “I’m warning you, son. I’m quite fond of that girl. Don’t you dare hurt her.”

  “Geez, Mom. I’m fond of her too. Obviously.” That was the problem. His feelings for Annie scared the hell out of him.

  She released his arm. “I hope you mean that. Because, considering the dynamics of this family, an ugly breakup between the two of you could cause friction.”

  He hung his head. “I’m aware.”

  His mother got up and returned to the stove, ladling out another batch of pancakes for his brother. Sean made them late for school nearly every morning. Most days, Cooper was tempted to leave him, to teach him a lesson. But as he well knew, his brother would march straight back upstairs, crawl in bed, and hide out in his room for the rest of the day. He couldn’t do that to his brother. He wouldn’t let Sean get in trouble for skipping school. Instead, he let Sean’s bad habits control his life. When they were little, maybe eight or nine years old, they’d discovered a giant clam while on vacation in the Caribbean. They had broken the clam in two and each boy had taken one of the shells, stashing it amongst their treasures as representation of their unique bond. Cooper didn’t want to be a half anymore. He wanted to be whole.

  He set his fork down on his plate, the untouched chunk of sausage stuck to the tines. His appetite had vanished, not that he’d had much of one in recent weeks. His life was so screwed up. But as much as he wanted to rush over to the hospital and see for himself that Annie was okay, he knew his sudden reappearance in her life would only make matters worse. He thought about how he had ignored her for the past month, and about the hurt he’d observed on her face when he passed her in the hallway at school without stopping to speak. He couldn’t very well show up at her bedside and say, “Sorry, I’ve been an ass, but everything’s okay now,” when it wasn’t.

  He pushed back from the table and walked his plate to the sink. He scraped the remainder of his breakfast down the disposal and placed the plate in the dishwasher. Returning to the breakfast room, he hoisted his backpack over his shoulder and said to his mother without so much as a glance in her direction, “Tel
l Sean I’m waiting for him in the car.”

  Cooper inserted the key in the ignition and prayed the engine would start. He and Sean had saved their money from working summers at their family’s seafood market to buy the 1991 Land Cruiser. They regretted that decision nearly everyday. The Cruiser had swag. No doubt about it. But something was always broken. This week the heat wouldn’t work. He dialed the thermostat up on the off chance hot air might circulate through the vents. His father had talked about buying them a new car, something reliable, to take to college. One more thing they would share. One more thing that bound him to his twin.

  Cooper’s mother had been disappointed when he’d declined his early decision offer to attend her alma mater, the University of Georgia. A big southern SEC school was a better fit for Sean, who was all about fraternities and football. Contrary to his brother, Cooper was more interested in his academics. His passion for graphic design was a recent discovery. He was just beginning to explore his many options. He hadn’t decided whether he wanted to go into design, marketing, or web development. His top choices for schools were in Savannah, Richmond, and New York. Only a two-hour drive from Prospect, Savannah was too close to home. Too close to Annie. While the best jobs in marketing and advertisement were located in Manhattan, a boy from a small inlet town in South Carolina would be fish bait for the big players in a large northern city. VCU seemed like the perfect solution. Richmond, similar to Charleston in its history and traditions, was far enough from home without requiring travel by plane.

  He’d applied to all three schools, but he wouldn’t hear from any of them until March. The waiting was torture.

  Cooper blasted the horn, settled back in his seat, and wrapped his coat tighter around him. He had no clue what to do about Annie. He’d fallen head over heels for her the first time he set eyes on her at his Aunt Faith’s wedding last June. She was the kind of girl he always imagined he’d marry. Wholesome. Resourceful. Compassionate. But his hopes and dreams for the future had changed. He no longer wanted to be a doctor like his father. And Prospect suddenly felt confining. Although he would miss the outdoors. He’d always imagined teaching his children to hunt and fish and love the water like his father and grandfather had taught him. Maybe he was going through some kind of phase. Maybe his newfound obsession with digital illustrations wasn’t the pathway to a successful future. His art and photography teachers claimed he had potential. The techniques he’d learned from them had made his work stronger. But his true talent had yet to be tested.

  The back door banged open and Sean hurried around to the passenger side. He dropped his backpack on the floorboard and buckled his seat belt. “Dude. When did it get so cold?” Sean said, blowing into his cupped hands.

  “It’s February. What do you expect?” Cooper said as he put the car in reverse. “Thanks to you, I’m going to be late to art again.”

  Sean play-punched him in the arm. “Lighten up, man. We’re on senior slide. Our grades this semester don’t matter.”

  “They matter to me.” Cooper turned the Land Cruiser around and took off down the winding tree-lined driveway.

  “What’s with the bad mood, bro?” Sean snapped his fingers. “Oh, that’s right. I heard about Annie. How does one roll a car on Main Street? The speed limit’s like thirty-five through there. Unless, of course, she was speeding. One of my friends who saw her said she was flying down the road. Do you think she was speeding? She wasn’t seriously hurt or anything, was she? Have you talked to her? I guess not, since y’all are broken up. Y’all are broken up, aren’t you? I haven’t seen you together in like a month.”

  Cooper couldn’t help but laugh at his brother’s marathon mouth. “Dude, you just asked me like four questions in one breath.”

  “Sorry if my brain thinks twice as fast as yours. Let me ask them one at a time so you can understand. Was Annie seriously hurt?”

  “She has a concussion, two broken ribs, and a messed up shoulder,” Cooper said. “She’s pretty damn lucky, if you ask me, considering her car flipped over.”

  “Was she wearing her seat belt?”

  “I’m sure she was, knowing Annie. She won’t drive out of the driveway without putting it on.”

  “Question number two.” Sean held up two fingers. “Did y’all break up?”

  “Not officially, no.”

  “But it’s in the works?”

  “I don’t know,” Cooper said. “I guess.”

  Sean crossed his arms over his chest. “Who wants out, you or her?”

  Cooper kept his eyes on the road. “I can’t speak for her.”

  “So you’re the one causing the problem. Are you crazy, Coop? The two of you had a good thing going. Annie is like seriously hot. You’re not gonna find anyone better.”

  “I’m not looking for anyone better.” Cooper waited for traffic in the oncoming lane to clear before making a left-hand turn. “My feelings for Annie haven’t changed. My feelings about everything else in my life have.”

  Sean placed his hand over his chest. “That includes me. For whatever reason. Don’t think I haven’t noticed. You and I haven’t hung out together in months.”

  Cooper snuck a quick glance at his twin. Sean’s face had grown serious. A rare expression for the fun-loving guy.

  “It’s not you, Sean. It’s me. We’re getting ready to go off to college. Everything is changing for us. The decisions we make now will affect the rest of our lives.”

  Sean threw up his hands. “I get it, bro. We can no longer be halves. Time to become whole.”

  Cooper smiled. “I hope that doesn’t mean we’ll no longer know what the other is thinking.” He would miss this intuitive awareness he shared with his twin. The way they finished each other’s sentences. The way they craved the same foods at the same time. The way they recognized when the other one was hungry or hurt or tired, oftentimes before the other twin realized it himself.

  “There’s no we about it. I can read you like a cheap novel. You, on the other hand, have no idea what I’m thinking.” Sean looked away and stared out the window. “You’re not being fair to Annie. You need to tell her how you feel.”

  Cooper pulled in behind the line of cars waiting to get into the student parking lot at Prospect High. “I can’t very well break up with her now, while she’s in the hospital.”

  “So instead, you’re gonna let her lie there in that hospital bed, worrying about what she’s done to make you push her away? Be fair, Coop. Annie is more than your girlfriend. She’s family. If you’re not careful, you’ll be dealing with the wrath of Aunts Sam and Faith.”

  Sean was right. He’d rejected Annie for weeks. She’d have to be deaf, dumb, and blind not to suspect their relationship was ending. And she was none of the above. She was an amazing person who deserved to be treated with respect. Bare minimum, she deserved an explanation. So what was holding him back? Breaking up with Annie meant she’d be available to go out with other guys. Since neither of them had ever been in a relationship, the logical side of him understood they should date other people before they made a lifetime commitment. The selfish and irrational side, the part that encompassed his heart, couldn’t bear the thought of her kissing another guy.

  He’d marry Annie tomorrow if only he could figure out the rest of his life.

  EIGHT

  Eli

  No matter how hard he tried, Eli could not get Thea Bell out of his mind. She was so young and pretty, with so much life ahead of her. And she seemed like a genuine, sweet girl, unlike her brothers. Thea reminded Eli of Flora, determined to remain positive despite the hardships they encountered. Why did some folks have to fight their way through life when others had it so easy?

  Poor Flora, barely in her forties and stricken by the worst kind of diabetes, the type that claimed limbs and caused kidneys to fail. Working at The Grill had contributed to her obesity and complicated her medical condition. A year ago, when she could no longer keep up with her work, Al Carter, the manager at The Grill, had been forced to
let her go. He had given her a generous severance package. As far as Eli knew, that was unheard of in the restaurant industry. He assumed that that money was long gone and that Flora was currently collecting unemployment.

  The challenges Flora dealt with at home did little to alleviate her stress. Her two sons, Thea’s older brothers by at least ten years, were the reasons she was destined for an early grave. Flora had pleaded with Eli, time and time again, to help her sons. “They good boys at heart. They just need a little guidance.” Flora and Eli both knew that wasn’t true. Tyrone and Willie were her sons. Naturally, she wanted to believe the best about them. But the Bell brothers were pure evil. They’d beat up on an old lady if they thought they could get something out of her.

  Eli hadn’t seen the Bell brothers in several months. He’d heard rumors that Tyrone and Willie had left town. Which is why he’d been so surprised when Thea had mentioned they were still around. Which is why he nearly choked on his tuna fish sandwich when he saw them slumming outside the Minute Mart not twenty-four hours after he met their baby sister in the emergency room. A gnawing feeling in his gut warned him that this next with the Bell boys would not end well.

  He stuffed the rest of the sandwich in his mouth and removed his binoculars from his center console. He was parked in front of the public library directly across the street from the convenience store, and had a clear view of the brothers. When a female—attractive, late twenties, sandy hair, and curves in all the right places—approached the entrance to the store, Tyrone stepped in front of her to prevent her from opening the door. When she tried to go around him, he stepped sideways, blocking her path. They shuffled back and forth several times, a modified side-step dance. She planted her fists on her hips and mouthed something to Tyrone that Eli couldn’t hear. Tyrone took a step toward the woman, shortening the space between them. When he placed his hand on her waist, she brought her leg up and kneed him in the groin. Tyrone doubled over in pain. Despite his closed window and the distance between them, Eli could hear the wounded man’s string of expletives.