Crushed

by Amity Hope

  Reece was standing there, kicking his shoes off. His arms full of…Cleo took a minute to evaluate the situation. He had a huge vase full of multi-colored tulips in one hand, two pizza boxes and something that looked suspiciously like a bakery box tucked into his other arm.

  “Friends can celebrate birthdays with friends,” Reece informed her before she could barrage him with protests. “It’s allowed.”

  Cleo stood for a moment with her mouth open. She couldn’t think of a single thing to say, neither in protest nor appreciation. He leaned in and landed a kiss on her cheek as he handed her the flowers.

  “Happy birthday,” he said. He hadn’t said anything to her in class. She’d figured he’d either forgotten or just didn’t care.

  “Thanks,” she managed. She looked at Luci who had another huge full-faced smile.

  “Surprise!” she giggled. “Did you think we wouldn’t have a party for you?”

  “We?” Cleo asked, suddenly feeling panicked. “Is your dad coming?”

  The smile fell from Luci’s face and landed in a frown. “No. I reminded him yesterday. He said he had something important to take care of tonight.”

  Right. Cleo nodded. What he meant was that if he stayed home he might be expected to actually acknowledge her birthday. And then he might be expected to provide a present. Or a cake. Or heaven forbid, simply say the words happy birthday. Too much to ask for, she supposed. So he just stayed away like always. Cleo was not disappointed. She was relieved.

  She didn’t mean to look at Reece but she did. His eyes told her that he knew exactly what just went through her head.

  Then his eyes flickered downward. She could tell for the first time he realized she was wearing one of his old t-shirts. She had a pair of denim cut offs on as well but the shirt was so big it almost covered her shorts completely. She felt herself start to blush as he gave her a small, questioning smile—complete with eyebrow twitch—but he didn’t say anything.

  “Cleo is staaaaarving,” Luci informed Reece. “She just said so.”

  “Well, then, Cleo should eat,” Reece said as he winked at her.

  Luci was already pulling plates out of the cupboard and Cleo realized she’d taken out three. Reece saw her eying them up. She realized she may have been frowning because she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to feel about this. Actually, she knew how she was supposed to feel. She was supposed to feel like she wanted him to go.

  She didn’t feel that way at all.

  “I’m staying because Luci already told me I had to,” Reece said somewhat smugly.

  Cleo tugged Luci’s hair even though she was busy pouring lemonade. “So who planned this?”

  “We both did,” Reece told her as he and Luci shared a look.

  Cleo crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently. She raised her eyebrows as she waited for a better explanation. Her lips twitched because she was trying not to smile.

  Reece started laughing at her as he opened the pizza boxes.

  “I heard Emma say she was busy, before class yesterday. So I thought I’d call to check with Luci to see if she had any ideas.” He shrugged and continued to smile. “She told me what to bring and when to be here.”

  “I just told him pizza and a cake. I didn’t tell him to bring flowers. Those must be his idea.” Cleo glanced at Reece long enough to see his cheeks redden. Then to Luci who smirked at her as she stuck a finger full of frosting into her mouth. “I told him to have the writing done in pink but he didn’t,” she said with a disapproving frown.

  “That’s because pink is your favorite color,” Reece pointed out. “Cleo’s is turquoise.”

  Cleo scooted over so she could inspect the contents of the box Luci had just stuck her fingers into. A red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting; Happy 18th, Cleo written in turquoise.

  Her mom had always made her a red velvet cake for her birthday. She had mentioned it to Reece last year, after her birthday had passed. It had been the only year that she didn’t have a red velvet cake. From out of nowhere she felt tears wanting to fall. Both because she missed her mom and because she was so touched that Reece remembered.

  His face suddenly crumpled in concern. “Was the cake a bad idea?” He took a step forward as if to hug her. But she held out the flowers she was still grasping like they were some type of shield. “Was that too much?”

  She shook her head. “No it was perfect.” She took a breath and made herself smile. “This is all perfect but you really shouldn’t have. Thank you.”

  “Not true,” Reece said. “It’s totally necessary. You deserve a whole lot more, Cleo.”

  Before she could comment Luci began asking about the pizza.

  “Veggie for Cleo. Sausage, black olive for you and me. Just like always,” Reece said as he handed Cleo her plate. Then he got one ready for Luci. Luci had brought the lemonade into the living room already. They followed her and she plopped herself down in her dad’s recliner, leaving the couch for Reece and Cleo. She gave Cleo an innocent look and Cleo tried not to roll her eyes at her.

  When they were almost done eating, Luci started eyeing up Reece.

  “Is Cleo going to be your girlfriend again?” she asked.

  “Reece already has a girlfriend,” Cleo quickly informed her before she had to hear Reece say the words.

  Luci gave him a look that said she was not pleased.

  “Is she as pretty as Cleo?” Luci demanded as she set her pizza down. She was all business now.

  “Not even close,” Reece said before Cleo had a chance to say anything. He was looking at her as he said it. His eyebrows shot upward as if he was daring her to refute him. “And also, we broke up.”

  “So why can’t Cleo be your girlfriend again?” Luci pushed.

  Cleo was afraid to hear the answer to this. Reece just gave a small shrug. “Sometimes things just don’t work out.”

  She gave him a thankful smile and Luci started talking again.

  “Can you still be friends?”

  Cleo said, “Sure” the same moment Reece said, “Definitely.” Luci gave them both a smile, appeased at last.

  Then she yawned theatrically. “You were right. I need to start going to bed earlier so I’m not so cranky for you in the morning.” She went over and kissed her sister on the cheek then leaned over to give Reece a hug. “I should probably go to bed now.”

  Cleo saw Reece trying to fight off a smile.

  It was barely after seven but Luci gave them another fake yawn and headed off to her room. “Good night!” she called over her shoulder.

  They both called “goodnight” back and Reece started to laugh. It started out quiet but then he couldn’t help himself and really started to laugh, which made Cleo laugh.

  “I’ve told you how much I love that little drama queen, right?” he finally asked. He was still grinning

  “Yeah, you have.”

  “I really miss her,” he said. But before she could comment—which was good because she had no idea what to say to that—he hopped up. “I’ll be right back.”

  She heard the front door open. A few minutes later he came back. He was holding a gift wrapped box and a gift bag.

  She was already shaking her head. “Reece, you got me flowers.” Tulips, her favorite, which of course he knew.

  “They were just for decoration,” he tried to argue. “This,” he said as he held out the gift bag, “is from my mom.” He had an odd look on his face and he bit the inside of his cheek. Cleo didn’t move to take it.

  He tossed himself down next to her again and sighed hugely. “Turns out we had a big misunderstanding, Mom and I.” He went into a lengthy explanation of a conversation they’d had the week before.

  Cleo honestly didn’t know what to say. Or what to think. She had always blamed his mom a little for what happened. But maybe she’d really had no part in it.

  She opened the gift. It was an enormous gift basket stuffed full of gourmet food items. Boxes of breads, muffins, desserts, soups, spices a
nd a cookbook for quick and easy meals.

  Reece was blushing adorably. “I happened to mention how you take care of your family. That you do all of the cooking and that you always say how terrible you are at it.” He shrugged at his explanation. “I hope I wasn’t out of line.”

  “No,” she said, surprised that his mom had gotten her such a well thought out gift. “This is perfect.” She made a mental note to send his mom a thank you card. Not something she normally did. But not exactly something she normally had a reason for, either.

  He gave her a shy look. One that she hadn’t seen since they’d first started dating and handed her the box. “This one is from me. I wanted to get something I knew you’d like. But I knew you wouldn’t want anything too personal,” he admitted with a shrug.

  She took the small box from him. She found an iPod Touch inside. “Reece,” she started as she tried to hand it back to him. “This cost way too much.”

  He wouldn’t take it. “I know you wanted one. I had the money for it.”

  “You’re allowance?” she asked. She didn’t mean for there to be an edge to her tone. But she didn’t want anything that could be tied to Landon.

  “No,” he said. “I worked all summer. I spent my money.”

  “You worked?” The fact that he’d spent his own money on her and not money given to him by his parents, by his dad, made all the difference.

  “Yeah, all summer at—”

  Luci’s door flew open. “I can’t go to bed yet!” she announced. She marched back out of her room. “I forgot to have cake. And I forgot to give you your present.”

  Her present turned out to be a book. This wasn’t a shock considering that she was always trying to get Cleo to read more. But she simply didn’t have the time. She would try to squeeze in the romance she’d given her, just to make Luci happy.

  Minutes later they were standing in the kitchen. Luci was poking eighteen candles, courtesy of Reece, into Cleo’s birthday cake. “Make a wish,” she commanded after Reece had all of the candles lit.

  Cleo didn’t hesitate. She inhaled and as she blew out the candles she glanced up. Luci was standing with her back resting against Reece. His hand was on her shoulder. His eyes were on Cleo. The expression in them caused the dull ache of missing him to return and she had to look away.

  They ate their cake and Luci put herself to bed again. Cleo was sure she wasn’t sleeping this early. She was probably reading a book. She and Reece made small talk and the evening was nice. It was comfortable and it felt so right. The last thing she wanted was for Reece to leave which was exactly why she needed to make him go.

  She didn’t mean to sigh. It just slipped out.

  “This was great,” she told him.

  “But?” he asked.

  “I need to get some homework done.” That, actually, was the truth.

  “Okay,” he said as he got up. She followed him to the entry way and waited for him to get his shoes back on. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said as he opened the door. She nodded her head but then he stopped and turned back around to look at her.

  Without really meaning to, she found herself wrapped up in a hug. His arms tightened around her and he took a deep breath. As if he was trying to breathe her in, to make her a part of him again.

  “Sorry,” she managed to say when she realized that she was making the hug awkwardly long. She backed up, just a bit.

  “I’m not. I’d be happy to stand here all night,” he said. He made no move to let her go. She tilted her head back and looked into his eyes, instantly realizing how dangerous this was. “Cleo, can you tell me how I can make things right? Can you tell me what I did wrong?”

  She shook her head. She could tell he was getting frustrated. He thought she was blowing him off without an answer. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You were perfect.”

  “Then how do two perfect people turn into such a disaster?” he softly questioned.

  She couldn’t answer that so she settled her head onto his chest once more. Now she was the one breathing him in and he smelled like he always had. Like his body wash or his cologne or a combination of the two. Whatever it was, he smelled like Reece. Like comfort and safety and memories. She reminded herself this was not a good time to cry.

  “Cleo?”

  She looked up at him again. The way they were looking at each other conveyed everything their words couldn’t anymore. She knew he was dying to kiss her. And she wanted him to. Her gaze slipped to his lips for a few seconds too long. When she looked back up, she knew he knew what she was thinking.

  As he tilted his head toward hers and his lips parted just a bit, she threw her head back, out of his way.

  “Did you kiss Mia today?” she blurted out.

  His head snapped back like she had slapped him.

  “Did you?” she swallowed down the horrible feeling that was clogging her throat. She had not kissed anyone since Reece and he had kissed Mia. Maybe right before he showed up at her door. As much as she loved his kisses, suddenly she didn’t want him to touch her. She tried to back away but his arms were still tightly around her.

  “No,” he firmly replied. “I meant what I said to Luci. We broke up on Friday.”

  She shook her head. “I ran into her Saturday. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t think the same thing.”

  An expletive slid from his lips. Cleo thought it was because he’d come to his senses as he released her.

  When she backed up, she saw Paul standing in the screen door and he was furious. Reece must’ve seen his reflection in the mirror opposite.

  “You better go,” she told him.

  Reece nodded and just as Paul was walking into the house, he stubbornly pulled her into him. He wrapped her in another hug as he placed a kiss on her forehead.

  Cleo pulled away in time to see the two of them glare at each other. Once Reece was outside, Paul slammed the door shut behind him. There were few other times she had seen him so angry. He turned his glare around at her and his face was crimson with fury.

  “Cleo!” He shoved his palms into her shoulders hard enough to lift her off her feet. Her body slammed into the wall. She’d barely slid down onto the floor when his boot connected with her stomach and then flew back into her thigh twice before he walked away.

  Chapter 17

  “Cleo!”

  She had been right, Luci hadn’t been sleeping. She came running out of her room, a terrified look on her face. She knelt down next to Cleo. She was crying but trying to keep the volume turned off. But the pain in her stomach bloomed and spiraled outward with an intensity that was making her ill.

  She heard Paul in the kitchen, slamming things around. She was terrified he’d see the flowers and shatter the vase that they were in.

  Luci was wiping the hair off of her face. She was whimpering Cleo’s name over and over again. Cleo managed to get to her feet for Luci’s sake. Paul came back out holding the white bakery box. He threw the rest of her red velvet cake at her. His aim was off and some hit her bare thigh. Most of it splattered as it streaked down the wall and landed on the floor in a messy heap.

  In that moment she was inexplicably more upset about the cake than she was about what he has just done to her. The cake that symbolized her mother’s presence and Reece’s love and Paul managed to destroy that as well.

  Just like he had destroyed almost everything that had ever been important to her.

  “Stop it!” Luci screamed at him.

  “You don’t tell me what to do, little girl!” he screamed back at her. For the first time ever, he raised his hand to strike at her. Cleo managed to step between them. His fist collided with her shoulder, knocking her to her knees once again. Luci fell with her. She was sobbing hysterically.

  “You are ruining everything!” he yelled as he towered over her.

  He stopped to glare at her. She wasn’t so sure he wasn’t going to kick out at her again. She cowered backward, toward Luci. She managed to squeeze her safely between herself a
nd the entry way wall.

  “It was just a birthday h-hug. That’s all. I swear,” she managed to try to explain despite the hitching sobs.

  “He should not even be here!” he roared. “And that looked like more than a hug!”

  She didn’t know what he thought he saw from his vantage point. But she knew what he couldn’t have seen. He couldn’t have seen more than a hug and the kiss on the forehead. Because that’s all there had been. The fury in his eyes showed his fear that there had been more.

  “It wasn’t!” she told him. “I didn’t…I didn’t know he was going to be here tonight.”

  “Liar!” he roared.

  “It’s true!” Luci jumped in to defend her. Though she had no idea what the conversation was really about. “I invited him. Dad! I told you that last night! Cleo didn’t know!” she wailed.

  Paul seemed to need a while to absorb this. Finally his hatred swung back to Cleo. “I should kick you out right now. This is the thanks I get for letting you stay here?! I should kick you out tonight,” he repeated. “Then where will you be?”

  “Do it,” she said with far more bravado than she felt. “If you cut me off from Luci? There will be nothing stopping me from going back to Reece. Then where will you be?” she grated out.

  His hard glare drilled into her but his jaw remained clenched.

  He knew she was right. She’d won this round.

  She could see his hatred, emanating off of him. It was heavy in the air, heavy like the smoke from the charred hamburger. Thick and ugly. He moved toward her again. Before Cleo could stop her, Luci blocked his way. He stopped himself, visibly gathered some composure and backed off.

  “You can’t make Cleo leave!” Luci cried. She looked confused and horrified. Cleo was sure it had never crossed her mind that this could be a real possibility. “You can’t!”

  “I can,” he told her in a hard voice. “And if she doesn’t fix this mess she just made, I will. And you can thank her for her selfishness when you never see her again.”

  Luci let out a sob.

  Paul swung back around and out the front door. It slammed behind him.