Half-Moon Manor

by Darcy, A. J.

  “I know,” her cousin drooped. “I wish you could tell me who I’m supposed to be with.”

  Closing her eyes, Olivia cursed the teenage obsession about being in romantic relationships. She had witnessed many times what that lonely feeling and just settling for somebody to fill that void could do to a person.

  “Nobody right now,” she whispered in response. “You are supposed to figure out how to love yourself for exactly who you are and not because of some perceived characteristics that others might find attractive.”

  Winnie just blinked at her.

  Olivia hated to find out how her cousin would react if she ever found out that Olivia was the reason that Michael and Sophia had gotten together.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The Present - October

  For a couple of weeks, Olivia and Henry cautiously watched Winnie watching Michael and Sophia. The drama auditions were quickly approaching and the friends could not determine if Winnie had even looked for a monologue, gotten one assigned, or went to get one approved. The Drama Queen was being dramatic and not in a productive, on-stage kind of way.

  “Winnie needs to be distracted!” Henry had insisted.

  “It still isn’t right!” Olivia protested. It was the same argument that they already had several times before.

  “She is busy pining away while Michael dates Sophia.”

  “At least her name isn’t Viola,” Olivia smiled. Henry blinked. “Twelfth Night?” No response. “Shakespeare?” Still nothing. “Cheesy romantic comedy with that actress - what is her name? – in the movie remake of Twelfth Night about the girl that dresses as a boy so that she can play soccer?”

  “Didn’t watch it.”

  “Well…”

  “I don’t care.”

  “It isn’t a perfect fit anyway being I’m Olivia and she’s not.”

  “Stop trying to distract me!”

  “Stop trying to make everything around me off-center! Things are almost exactly the way that they are supposed to be and we don’t need to change that!” Olivia was about ready to throw a book – probably Twelfth Night – at Henry’s head.

  “Winnie, who is your cousin and one of my closest friends, is miserable!”

  “As she needs to be right now! She needs to mourn.”

  Sticking her head into Olivia’s room, “We can hear you downstairs,” Victoria calmly stated. The teenagers apologized before she disappeared back downstairs, a slight waddle developing.

  “We’ll have to move her downstairs soon,” Olivia thought aloud. “Not yet,” she concluded.

  “How do you do that?” Henry asked for the millionth time, still slightly in awe over his best friend’s talent.

  Olivia stared at him wearing her best poker face, “Magic.” Without waiting a beat, “And you need to trust it.”

  “I do trust it.”

  “If you did then you would respect the fact that pairing Winnie with Jonathan will end up in chaos.” She knew that Henry would not drop his hare-brained idea for long. She liked that he was worried about her cousin, but that did not mean that she had to like it.

  It was these little moments of jealously that would cause Olivia to stumble for a moment before returning to her mindset; these pesky emotions surrounding Henry was something she decided that she would tackle closer to her eighteenth birthday. Good thing she had less than a year before she had to deal with her world shifting.

  “I don’t see how.”

  “None of us do! That’s the problem! But he is not the right person for her; he isn’t even interested in her.” Olivia protested to deaf ears.

  “I don’t even want to know how you know that.”

  She kept quiet about Jonathan asking her out a few weeks ago. She found herself keeping things from Henry far more than she liked, but this was something that she would rather forget about. There was something about Jonathan that she did not quite like and she could not figure it out. Instead, that event and his existence was something she would rather not think about.

  She did not want to ruin one of the few male friendships that Henry had; the more time he spent with other people meant the more time she had to help her mom and spend getting to know Weston.

  The more time Henry spent with other friends meant the less she had to think about how her feelings towards him were not quite as ‘just friends’ like they were before she moved into town permanently.

  “I can’t believe that both Winnie and Henry canceled,” Olivia grumbled as they went to find some seats.

  She knew why Winnie canceled. Her cousin suspected Olivia of matchmaking. Olivia had warned Henry that it was a bad idea. She told him that Winnie and Jonathan would never suit. Did he listen? For once he did not. It was the one time he actually refused to listen to her advice.

  “I’m okay with it,” Jonathan shrugged, putting him arm around her shoulders. “Popcorn?”

  “No thanks,” she declined while removing his arm and trying not to think about the amount of salt he had insisted on putting on the popcorn. He did not even ask if she wanted or even liked salt on her popcorn.

  She had a feeling it was going to be a very long night and the buzzing in her head was already creating a headache.

  Henry paced the diner in front of the booth were Winnie was sitting with some of her theatre friends, “What do you mean you canceled?”

  Some of her friends rolled their eyes and went back to ignoring Henry. Winnie did not have that luxury. “One, Olivia was right when she told me I needed to take some time for myself. Two, Jonathan is interested in Olivia; he’s not going to go on a date with me.”

  Henry’s face blanched, “What?”

  One of the girls in the booth giggled, “It was so funny when she shot him down in the hallway two weeks ago. He did not want to take no for an answer and Olivia went into this huge dramatic monologue about why people should respect the wishes of others. I wish I had caught what play that was from.”

  “It could have been a movie. Did you see the online videos that her old school posted? That girl can act. It must run in the family.”

  The girls discussing Olivia’s acting chops faded into the background as Henry wondered if that was why Olivia had refused to let him set Jonathan up with Winnie. And why she never told him about Jonathan asking her out.

  She normally told him everything.

  Olivia almost did not see Henry pacing back and forth on her porch until after she had pulled into the driveway and gotten out of the car.

  Biting back the curse words that wanted to spill out, “You canceled!” Olivia hissed. “How dare you cancel on me and not tell me that you were canceling! I had to sit there, in the dark, fending him off while trying to remember not to eat the extra salted popcorn that was sitting between us. Have you ever eaten extra salted popcorn? It’s like drinking salt water!”

  “Jonathan asked you out?” Henry growled. “Were you going to tell me?”

  “It didn’t matter. I shut him out and thought that it was the end of it. I did not want you to cut out one of your few male friends because he did something stupid like ask me out. You need to hang out with other people when I’m not around.”

  Still pacing, “Is there anything else you haven’t told me?”

  “I told Michael how to get Sophia to say yes when he asked her out.”

  Henry stopped and looked down. Olivia still had not set a foot on the porch steps. “What?”

  “His class ring is supposed to be around her neck,” Olivia whispered. “He was wondering about my talents and I told him just to get him to leave me alone. I told him that his class ring was supposed to be worn by Sophia; well, at least until the end of the year and that if he offered it to her then she would stop ignoring him.”

  “Why would you do that to Winnie?”

  Closing her eyes, Olivia pushed back against the static that was rattling around in the back of her head. “You don’t know what it is like to know where things belong and to not be able to do a thing about it!
The static in the back of my head is never-ending and for a moment just telling Michael that one little detail offered me a tiny bit of relief!” Plopping down on the top step, “It would be as if you found a radio station on your mp3 player that was only static, turned it down on low, wore one ear bud, and walked around like that all day. Only I can’t take the ear bud out. Sometimes the static is louder, sometimes softer, sometimes it is just barely non-existent as if only one or two things are out of place, but it is always there, even when I’m sleeping.”

  Henry silently sat down next to her.

  “So I gave Michael some advice that would also get some of this static to quiet down for a moment. It was extremely selfish of me and I’d rather not it get out that I’m capable of matchmaking, but…” she leaned her head against his shoulder.

  “…that moment of relief is addictive,” Henry supplied, pulling her into him.

  “Yes,” she breathed, thankful that Henry understood. “That’s why acting is like a pain killer; things are exactly where they belong and I don’t notice the noise in my head.”

  They sat there in companionable silence for a while, his arm around her back and her head resting on his shoulder.

  “Auditions are next week. Nervous?” Henry finally asked, deciding to sort of change the subject and continue with the line of conversation about drama and acting.

  “Always.”

  “I saw Winnie at the diner with some of her theatre friends; they seemed excited to be able to see you perform in public. They were telling me about your old school posting the videos of your past performances online.”

  “Shh. Can we just look at the stars?”

  And they did.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Weston paced back and forth as he glared a little at the high school junior that was waiting impatiently on the front porch of Half-Moon Manor. This kid was not Henry; he approved of Henry. No, this beady eyed kid was the oldest son of the biggest playboy from Weston’s sister’s high school years. He did not care for how this boy was sniffing around his only daughter.

  Pausing, he briefly wondered if this was how Mr. Whitmore felt when he started to come around to spend time with Victoria.

  “Can I help you?” he finally growled.

  “Is Olivia home?”

  “I hope so,” Weston glared some more. “We have a father-daughter date.”

  This caught the boy off-guard. Apparently not everybody was aware of the news and rumors that had circulated for years among the brave town gossips. Stumbling over his words, he finally settled on, “Can I speak to her for moment?”

  Victoria’s entrance kept Weston from replying. “Jonathan, are you here again?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Olivia has already told you everything that she wants to tell you. Henry has told you everything Olivia wants want to tell you. I have told you everything Olivia wants want to tell you. Don’t make Officer Greene repeat what we all have told you. Go home. If Olivia wants to speak to you she will talk to you at school.” Looking over her shoulder, Victoria smiled at Weston before returning to blankly stare at Jonathan.

  It took a few minutes for Jonathan to get her hint. Weston was about ready to reach for his gun. He was not actually going to use it. Henry was starting to cross the yards separating the two houses. Victoria calmly rested her hands on her belly and continued to show a lack of any emotions towards the uninvited guest.

  Once Jonathan finally left, “Has this happened often?” Weston asked.

  “All week,” Henry answered. “Olivia talked to him on Monday. She tried to ignore him on Tuesday but he just sat on the porch swing until he had to go home for supper. Wednesday I had a talk with him…”

  “Yesterday I did,” Victoria added, interrupting Henry. “Dad was sitting on the swing and he was cleaning his old hunting rifle at the time.”

  “She hasn’t been able to leave the house ever since he started camping out on the porch. I’m afraid it’s my fault.” Henry looked worried.

  Olivia came skipping out of the front door and interrupted their impromptu meeting, “Are you ready to leave?” She was excited about being able to leave the house for the first time in a week. Jonathan would certainly leave her alone with her father present.

  Victoria let out a long breath as Henry returned to his house and Weston and Olivia left for their date. She knew that after their date Weston would hang around in the house order to try to get back on her good side.

  But right then, her relationship with Weston was the least of her worries. They were good, or at the very least heading towards that direction.

  She was more concerned over Jonathan’s obsession with Olivia. It seemed like people found themselves drawn to or obsessing over her daughter. For the millionth time, Victoria wished that her mother was still around so that she could discuss these troubling thoughts that were beginning to form and develop.

  Could people be drawn to Olivia because she could, accidentally, make their lives better? Did they instinctively know that she could help them find what was misplaced or missing?

  For the first time Victoria worried that her daughter’s talent was more problematic than her own tendency of spacing out at the worst possible moment.

  “Thank goodness you are a boy,” she whispered. “Weston will make a much better father figure than your own biological father.” Smiling, “I’m just not going to make it easy on him for a little while longer.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Standing in front of her aunt was not her biggest concern; the fifty or so students who were sitting in the theatre waiting to watch her audition were her biggest concern. These were the people who had never seen her perform before, outside of online videos, and were not fully aware of what she was capable of doing.

  Picking out her monologue was not a problem: she had a book she normally referenced for that. She had spent a week deciding on the perfect monologue to memorize and actually learning it instead of temporarily committing it to memory. She had spent a week with Winnie and Henry constantly asking her what she was planning on using for the audition.

  Nobody thought to ask about where Olivia was getting her monologue from and if her aunt had given the okay before she ever decided to learn it.

  Olivia also knew that Jonathan would be in the audience listening. Jonathan who did not understand her message when she told him that dating him was not going to happen and she had only gone out with him that one time as friends, especially since Winnie and Henry had both canceled on them. He had laughed when she told him what her favorite movies were and that she favored books to movies. Jonathan who was out there dead center in the audience and glaring daggers at Henry because that is exactly where Jonathan – or to be more exact his backpack - was supposed to be: glaring at Henry five rows behind Henry and Winnie.

  “Ready when you are,” Aunt Melissa instructed.

  Against the darkness of the theatre, Olivia looked directly to where Jonathan was supposed to be sitting. “I’m going to be doing a monologue from the movie, Because I Said So.” She turned to look at her aunt once before refocusing on Jonathan. Looking at him was just enough motivation for the anger and exasperation that she needed to play Milly and still be able to remember her practiced hand movements.

  “Really? I’ll tell you one thing though. You did not have me the moment that we met because I’m not even sure I like the fact that your staff talked about you behind your back at the dessert table. And excuse me but truth be told I didn’t like anything that you ordered for me on our first date except the calamari. And okay fine, yes, it was nice to not have to think for a change. But who wants someone that doesn’t think? Look. And sometimes you laugh when I cry, and you say ‘huh’ when I make perfect sense. And never ever in my life have I burnt a chocolate soufflé until now, and that in and of itself. Oh my God. Should have told me I don’t feel like myself around you. And I would have decided that. A long time ago if it weren’t for my mother. Because who wants someone who laughs l
ike a hyena in a polka dot dress that my mother made me buy.”

  Nodding her head, Olivia walked off of the stage and rejoined Winnie. Henry, on the other side of Winnie, leaned forward, “Do you think he got the message?” he whispered.

  “I don’t know,” was all Olivia said. She was more than ready for round two of auditions.

  “Jonathan,” Olivia sighed. “Go away.” She was annoyed about how he ignored the message from her monologue the day before. All she wanted was for him to go far, far away. Maybe to the next school district; they had some pretty serious school uniforms at a few of the surrounding schools – then he would never get to wear that stupid graphic tee again.

  He ignored her, “Is Henry picking you up after school again?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why does he get to pick you up and I can’t?”

  For once in her life Olivia wanted to tell somebody exactly what she thought about them. She wanted to tell him that it was because he was whiny and clingy and she did not want to spend another fifteen minutes listening to him not get the message that she was not his girlfriend and that the movies on that dreadful Saturday was not a date. He would not listen even if she told him that it had been the worst night of her life.

  Instead she said, “Because Henry lives right next door to me and someday I am going to marry him.”

  “Even though he had sex with your cousin?” Jonathan paused, “That’s kinda weird.”

  “Henry did not have sex with Winnie. He would have told me.”

  “Last year Winnie told Savannah and Savannah told the school,” Jonathan countered with a smug expression on his face. It was not possible for Henry to beat that unscathed.

  “Henry would have told me!” Olivia insisted, practically hissed at Jonathan.

  “Henry would have told you what?” Henry asked, just arriving at Olivia’s locker and only hearing that part of the loudly whispered conversation.

  “About you having sex with Winnie,” Jonathan stated while Olivia said, “If you had ever had sex with my cousin.”