I inched closer to Father. “Hey, Dot.”
She glanced at me from the corner of her eye as if wondering why I was standing there in my own driveway. “Hello, Neva.” She had pronounced my name wrong again, calling me “Nee-vah” like most people did at first.
“It’s Nay-vah. Rhymes with Ava,” I corrected her for what had to be the fiftieth time.
She threw me a phony smile that said, Sweetie, your name could be kumquat. I’m only interested in your father.
Mr. Hodges had passed away five years before, and Dot was extremely lonely and in need of some male attention. She’d actually shared that information within the first two minutes of meeting us while she stared Father down as if he were a steak. I had no idea what Father’s type was, but I was sure it wasn’t Dorothy Hodges.
“Well, we need to get these groceries inside,” Father said after a moment of awkward silence.
“Wait,” Dot said, pulling up her black-and-white polka-dotted tube dress. She was a shapely woman who had plenty to hold that dress up, but her curves weren’t enough to distract from her crooked yellow teeth, poorly dyed red hair, and over-tanned orange skin.
My father, on the other hand, was tall and well-built with chestnut hair and eyes. Way too handsome for her.
She fluffed her hair although it was too stiff to move. “I wanted to invite you to a little barbeque I’m having this Saturday afternoon. You and Nay-vah, of course. It’ll just be a few people from the neighborhood.”
Father held the grocery bags tighter. Even the thought of socializing with strangers set him on edge. “Thank you for your invitation, but Neva and I will be busy on Saturday. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we really need to get this food put away.”
Dot nodded, obviously disappointed. “Okay, maybe some other time, then,” she called as we moved toward the front door.
“Sure,” Father replied, even though there would be no other time.
Inside, we placed the bags on the kitchen counter. “Father, I’ll put the groceries away,” I offered. He looked so tired.
“Thank you, dear,” he said but proceeded to load things into the pantry anyway. My father had worked hard his whole life, and he would never stop working. Every three years, he had to move us somewhere else and find a new job.
His jobs always required heavy labor, because it was easy work to find, they often paid under the table, and it’s what he was best at. He had been a welder, a construction worker, a carpenter, a roofer, a bricklayer, you name it. He always looked exhausted, but there would be no breaks or retirement for him. I shouldn’t have complained about taking the same classes over and over, when my poor father had been working his fingers to the bone for more than two hundred years just to put food on the table.
Usually, I would have a meal prepared by the time Father got home, but since there had been no food in the house, he had picked something up from the grocery’s deli.
“Doesn’t this look good?” he asked, pulling a rotisserie chicken from the bag. The bird smelled heavenly.
“It does, but it’s missing something.”
Father grinned, revealing a container of cinnamon apples. My mouth watered. I grabbed the container, but Father snatched it away from me.
“Uh, uh, uh. Wait until dinner.”
“Just let me have a little now.”
“My love, you must learn to control yourself.”
I banged my fist on the counter. “Father, you know I can’t!”
“Neva,” Father said sharply. “Finish putting the groceries away, then wash up. You can wait a few minutes.”
I growled as I flung the groceries in their proper places, slamming the refrigerator and cabinet doors. Father took two plates from the cupboard.
“Cut that out,” he ordered.
“Sorry,” I muttered, remembering how hard he had it because of me. I finished putting away the groceries, washed my hands, and behaved all during dinner. Why should I make his life more difficult than it already was?
Father turned in at nine o’clock every night on the dot. I opened the back door and glanced over at Henry’s yard. His porch light was on, meaning he was outside. I hurried to our spot and nestled into the corner.
“What did you have for dinner?” I asked him.
“Oh, my mother made a pot roast with scalloped potatoes, a vegetable medley, and a raspberry pie for dessert.”
It seemed as if his mother made a lovely feast every night. I told him what I had, but it didn’t sound as impressive.
“Neva?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re the best friend I ever had. I hope we always stay this way.”
It broke my heart every time he said things like that. “Henry, I told you. Don’t get attached to me.”
He started to cry. He always did when I told him I wouldn’t always be around.
“Why not?” he asked between sobs. “Why would you stop being my friend?”
“Henry, don’t cry. Neither of us can control the fact that I won’t always be here.”
Henry sniffed. “Where are you going?”
I took a deep breath and looked up at the stars. I wanted so badly to tell him my secret, but I couldn’t. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
3
Something happened on Tuesday that made up for Monday’s disasters. In social studies class, Mr. Granger assigned us a group project, and one of the people in my group happened to be the super-dreamy Tate McNeil.
In social studies, I sat three chairs back and two rows over from Tate. I tried to read his expression when Mr. Granger announced we would be working together. I think he smiled a little, but that might have been because the other person in our group was Noelle Crawford, and they were close friends.
After Mr. Granger gave his instructions, we pushed our desks together to start working. I stayed in my seat as the others moved around me. Eventually, Tate and Noelle scooted their desks next to mine. I wasn’t sure what to say. I hadn’t said more than ten words to either of them over the past two years. Tate and I had never really crossed paths. I only admired him from a distance. If he knew anything about me, it was probably only terrible lies Mia and Hadley had made up. As for Noelle, our interactions consisted of her trying to keep the two pit bulls she called friends from ripping me apart.
Noelle opened her notebook and scanned her notes. She was a straight-A student like me, except her grades came from studying and being smart, not because she had taken the same classes over and over.
Tate, who wasn’t anything close to a straight-A student, sat back and waited for Noelle to take charge. He was cute, but lazy. It didn’t help that there was always someone willing to take up the slack for him. He was the kind of person who could talk anyone into doing almost anything. Tate wasn’t the type of guy I would usually fall for, but there was a sweetness about him. I couldn’t imagine him being mean or rude to anyone. His gorgeous hazel eyes and copper hair didn’t hurt, either.
Noelle pulled the cap off her pen and went to work. “Okay, our topic is how China abolished their labor camps and let their prisoners go. Tate, you can research the who, what, when, and where.”
Tate stared at her as if she were speaking Chinese.
Noelle huffed. “Write it down, Tate. Neva, you can research what the labor camps were and what they entailed. I will research what the government’s motives were for actually closing the labor camps.”
I scribbled down the assignment in my planner, and the three of us sat in awkward silence.
“Listen,” Noelle said finally, “I’m sorry about yesterday. Mia and Hadley can be so stupid sometimes.”
“What happened yesterday?” Tate asked as he bit his nails. He had a bad habit of doing that when he was bored, and I felt like a stalker for even knowing that.
Noelle shook her head. “Nothing.” I was grateful for that. I really didn’t want Tate to know about it.
Tate shook his head. “Oh, you mean the candy thing.”
Dammit.
Noelle started to put her things away, since there was only one minute left before the bell rang. “Oh, this one holds her own,” she said. “She stands up to them.”
Tate smirked at me. “Good. Because they’ll run all over you if you let them. But really, their bark is bigger than their bite.”
That was easy for him to say, because they were his friends. He’d never been on the receiving end of their meanness. The bell rang, and I hoisted my backpack on one shoulder.
“So, when are we going to get together again?” I asked Noelle, since she was clearly the one calling the shots.
“After school in the library.”
“Today?” Tate whined.
“Yes, today. Right now,” Noelle answered firmly. “We only have a week to complete this project.”
“All right,” Tate groaned as he headed for the door.
“Don’t be late, Tate,” Noelle called.
He waved his hand behind his head as if to say, Yeah, yeah. I’ll be there.
Noelle gave me a bright smile. “See you in a few.”
“Yeah,” I replied.
I couldn’t wait to tell Aubrey. She was going to die when she found out who my project partner was. Not that anything was ever going to happen between Tate and me, but still.
***
Tate was not only on time, but he was the first one there, and he’d even reserved three computers for us. Unfortunately, Noelle sat between us and wouldn’t allow any talking for the hour we worked. I shouldn’t have had a problem with that. What good could come from getting closer to Tate anyway? I couldn’t date him, and, like everyone else, he probably thought I was a freak, but he was just too nice to say so.
Noelle ended our session, because she had to get to her dance class, but we made plans to meet at her house the following afternoon to start on our visuals for the project.
I wanted to object, but Noelle got to talking about the fair coming to town as she and Tate gathered their things. I didn’t go to other people’s houses. There was no telling where a mirror would pop up, and it would be too hard to explain why I had to avoid them. Just thinking about my eyes making contact with a mirror made me wince at the pain it would involve.
The three of us left the library together and said our goodbyes. Noelle and Tate headed for their cars in the student parking lot, and I started the walk home. This would be the second day in a row I hadn’t walked home with Aubrey. She wasn’t going to be happy about it.
“Hey, you want a ride home?” Tate called from behind me.
I started to say “That’s okay. I don’t live far from here,” but a tiny voice in my head told me to take him up on his offer. “Okay, if it’s not too much of a hassle.”
He waved me over. “Of course not. Come on.”
I followed him to his car, but when we reached his black Mustang, my stomach soured. Mia and Hadley leaned against it, pouting.
Hadley put her hands on her hips. “Where have you been? We’ve been waiting here for, like, ever!”
Tate sighed. “Sorry, we were working on a project. I totally forgot about you guys.”
Mia’s jaw dropped. “You forgot about us? You only drive us home every single freakin’ day.” She glared at me. “What is she doing here?”
Tate opened the driver’s side door. “Neva’s in my group for a social studies project. I’m giving her a ride home.”
Hadley moved in front of Tate, blocking him from getting in his own car. “Like hell you are. If you think I’m riding anywhere with her, you’re totally out of your pea-size mind.” The two girls stared down Tate as if daring him to not send me away.
“Listen,” I said, “I don’t want to cause any trouble. I’ll just walk. It’s really not far.”
Mia smirked. “Good. Idea. Freak.”
“Stop!” Tate said, grabbing my wrist. He turned back to his friends. “I’m taking her home, and if you don’t like it, you can walk.”
Mia and Hadley gasped as if he had just said horrible things about their mothers.
Hadley’s face crumpled with disappointment as she moved out of Tate’s way. Mia shoved her finger in his face. “All right, Tate McNeil. I thought we were supposed to be friends. I’ll remember this.”
The two of them stormed away, chatting a mile a minute about how Tate would pay for this. Tate shook his head and slid into the driver’s seat. I walked around to the passenger’s side and climbed in. His car smelled like cherry air freshener.
I looked down immediately. I had trained myself for riding in cars. As long as I looked down, I would avoid looking into the rearview and passenger side mirrors.
Tate started the engine. “Sorry about that. Sometimes I don’t know why I’m even friends with them.”
I didn’t know, either. Neither he nor Noelle were awful like Mia and Hadley.
“Then why are you?” I regretted the question as soon as it left my lips. Who was I to question his choice in friends?
Tate shrugged. “We’ve been friends since first grade. Our parents are friends. Our families even vacation together sometimes. I guess they’re just what I’m used to, you know? They’re just Mia and Hadley.”
Slightly jealous, I nodded and stared at my hands. I would never know what it was like to have friendships that lasted that long, friends you could grow up with and keep for a lifetime. Once I moved away and changed my name, I had to cut all ties with people I used to know. I couldn’t think of anything else to say other than the directions to my house. Thankfully, the ride home took less than two minutes.
“So, you keep to yourself, huh?” Tate asked as we turned onto my street.
“Pretty much.”
“You shouldn’t do that. Branch out. Make friends. Go to parties and basketball games. Have fun. High school only comes around once.”
Yeah, right.
I pulled my house keys from the front pocket of my backpack. “I have Aubrey to hang out with. That’s all I need.”
Tate laughed. “Aubrey. She’s something else.”
“Why do you say that?”
“No matter how many times I turn her down, she won’t stop asking me out. Most girls would just move on with their hurt feelings, but it seems like Aubrey enjoys chasing me, whether I want to get caught or not.”
“Aubrey’s asked you out?” She had never mentioned that to me.
Tate pulled into my driveway. “Yeah. She’s cool and everything, but she’s going out with my friend, Ben. I can’t do that.”
At least someone understood the boundaries of friendship.
“Well, Aubrey likes to get around.” I felt guilty saying that, although it was true. That’s not the way I should have talked about one of my best friends.
Tate ducked down and watched my front door with an eyebrow raised. “Your old man’s not going to shoot at me or anything? I hear your parents are super-strict.”
I cringed, wondering what other ridiculous rumors he’d heard about me. “It’s just my dad and me, and no, he’s not some religious nut who makes me pray in the closet. He’s a normal guy. We just like our privacy.” I hadn’t meant to sound so defensive.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
I tried to smile. “It’s okay. Thanks for the ride, Tate. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I reached for the door handle. Don’t look at the mirrors.
“No problem. You ever need a ride home, let me know.”
“Thanks.” I said again before shutting the car door and heading for my porch.
As Tate pulled out of the driveway, I glanced over at Henry’s house. The curtains in one of the upstairs windows shut abruptly. Even though I had never been in Henry’s house, I knew that was his bedroom window. He told me how he liked to watch the peop
le on the street, but he was always careful to not let anyone see him.
I let myself in and went straight to the backyard. Henry wasn’t there at first, but after a few moments, I heard footsteps on the grass and then a body settling against the fence.
“Who was that?” Henry greeted me.
“A boy from school.”
“Why did he bring you home? You always walk.”
I felt like I was getting the third degree when I had done nothing wrong. “We’re working on a project together. He offered to give me a ride home, that’s all.”
“Humph.” Henry got upset any time I even mentioned another boy.
“Henry, you know, we aren’t . . . I mean you and I are—”
“I know, okay! I know I’m not your boyfriend, and we’re just friends. I know I’ll never be anyone’s boyfriend. I’m too hideous!”
I put my hand on the fence. I hated when he said things like that about himself, and I wished I could hug him. “Henry, that’s not true—”
He took long deep breaths. “You only say that because you don’t really know what I look like. If you did, you wouldn’t even talk to me.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is!”
I squinted, looking through the tiny space between two planks in the fence. I saw nothing but red. Henry must have been wearing a red hoodie.
“Then let me see. Please, let me see what you look like.”
He lowered his voice and spoke to me in a tone I had never heard from him before. “I told you to stop asking me that. I will never let you or anyone else see me, so stop asking.” He got up and hurried toward his house, coughing.
I couldn’t be too upset with him. We both kept secrets from each other. He would never let me see what he looked like, and I would never tell him who I really was.
***
Later that night, after a dinner of pork chops and applesauce, I went on the back porch to see if Henry might have had a change of heart. Every now and then, he threw temper tantrums and yelled at me, but I never took them personally. Henry had a hard life, so I cut him some slack.
Usually it only took him a couple of hours to cool down, but tonight the light on his back porch stayed off, meaning he didn’t want to see me. I thought about calling Aubrey, but I still hadn’t gotten over the fact that she had been asking Tate out. She knew I had a crush on him and hadn’t bothered to tell me.
Forever Snow (The Everly Girls Book 1) Page 3
