Home Is Where the Heart Break Is

by Tess Oliver

  “You were definitely a tomboy back then,” Chase said.

  “Back then, yes. But as I proved today, on the clumsy hike to the hideout, those days are over.”

  “Thank goodness,” Nico said under his breath but we heard him easily in the small empty room.

  “I was never truly a tomboy at heart, you know. I just wanted to fit in with you guys. I guess I was afraid that if I started acting like a girl, you would get sick of me hanging around.”

  Nico and Chase exchanged intuitive glances that only two close friends could understand. “We were always worried that you’d get tired of us, Duchess. Not the other way around.”

  Chase pulled the phone out of his pocket and jumped up. “Hello.” He walked out of the room. His body language didn’t suggest bad news.

  He walked back in a few minutes later with a relieved smile. “Good news. She’s stable. They are still going to move her to the bigger hospital, but she’ll be transported by ambulance.”

  As he spoke, Nico elbowed me discretely. I glanced past Chase and saw Susie walking into the hospital. Chase sensed it right away and turned around. He raced out to greet her, and they hugged and kissed for a long time.

  “Well, Milady, I guess that is our cue to jam,” Nico said.

  “I should be getting home anyway.”

  Nico faced me and with the tension of the night lifted, I could not help but laugh. “And you say I pout,” I said. “I wish I had mirror. Why don’t you come home with me and hang out for awhile?”

  “All right I will.”

  We headed out toward the exit doors.

  “Then you can tell me all about Regina,” I said.

  “Uh-- I just remembered I have this thing to do.”

  I grabbed his arm. “I totally forgot about my Vulcan pinch tactic for getting you to fess up to something.” I pinched his arm really hard.

  Chase and Susie looked up as we strolled past.

  “Ouch,” Nico pulled his arm from my grasp. “Bro, she’s still just as mean as ever.”

  It was obvious Susie had been crying, so how bad could she be? And Chase was genuinely thrilled to see her.

  “Thanks guys,” Chase called to us as we left the hospital.

  I glanced back. “Call us tomorrow and let us know how she is.”

  We got to the parking lot and I stopped. “Crap, I forgot about the bike. My mom will have my hide.”

  “No problem. We’ll stop and get the truck first.”

  It had gotten so cold outside that my sweatshirt was meaningless, and I was relieved to get into Nico’s truck.

  My hand shot forward to the vent. “Crank the heat, please. I can’t feel my fingers or my toes or my nose and any other appendages I may have forgotten I had because of the numbness.”

  “So do we have to hang out at your house or can we drive up to the vista point and watch the stars?”

  I twisted in my seat to look at him. “I would swear that you are trying to avoid my mom.”

  “Not really. You know I’ve always liked your mom.”

  “But . . .”

  “I know she’s going to start asking about what I’ve been doing these last few years, and there’s some stuff in there I’m not too proud of. I ended up in juvenile hall for a stretch.”

  “I didn’t know that. What did you do?”

  “I didn’t kill anyone or anything bad like that.”

  “Good to know since I’m driving along a dark, deserted mountain road with you.”

  “I just ended up with a really sketchy crowd, that’s all.”

  “I leave for five years and this is what happens? You end up with a shady crowd and a criminal record.”

  He reached over and took hold of my hand. “That’s why you shouldn’t leave again. There’s no telling what shit I’ll get into this time.”

  “That sounds a bit like blackmail.” I sat back. Deep down none of it came as a shock to me. Growing up Nico was always on the edge of trouble, and I knew it wouldn’t take much for him to take the plunge. “Speaking of sketchy, who the heck is Regina and just how close are you two?”

  He pulled the truck onto the turn-out for one of the best views of the lake and village. A blanket of stars lit up the night sky. With the engine off, I knew it would get cold soon, so I scooted closer to him and he put his arm around my shoulder.

  “Regina and I dated for awhile, but it never went anywhere. We were too different.”

  I traced the tattoo on his forearm with my finger. “Really, because she ran to you tonight like you two were still something.”

  “She likes to put on a show for everyone. And she knew you were there, so she made an extra effort.”

  “How does she even know me? I’d never heard of her until tonight, and frankly, I could have gone the rest of my life with never hearing about her.”

  His arm tightened around me. “I’m sure I talked about you to her at some point.”

  “She’s extremely beautiful,” I said quietly.

  “She’s not you.”

  It took me a moment to absorb the impact of his three simple words. I pressed even closer against his side, and the heat of his body met mine. Silence surrounded us, but it was not an awkward silence. It was a content, cozy silence.

  “Duchess, there’s never been anyone but you. Even when you deserted me, and I was worried that I would never see you again, it was still always you.”

  Tears burned my eyes as he spoke. I took hold of his hand and pressed my lips against his palm.

  “That fight Chase and I had was about you.” He chuckled. “He’d told me he planned to find and marry you someday, and I threw my fist at him. Growing up we’d always argued about who you liked better. You never played favorites though. That was the cool thing about you.”

  “I loved you both as best friends.” It was a lot to take in and especially after the long day. After I’d learned that I was returning to Pinecliff, I’d thought a lot about my friendships with Nico and Chase. A few times I’d actually convinced myself that what the three of us had was nothing more than a silly kid friendship. But that couldn’t have been further from the truth. It was way more. The three of us had relied heavily on each other. Sitting with both of them in the hospital tonight, I’d felt as close to them as ever. I had plenty of friends back home, yet there was no one else I’d felt so deeply attached to, so in tune with as Nico and Chase. Even when we were younger, I always knew what they were thinking or feeling. Nico always wore his emotions on the outside, and Chase always had his tucked neatly away behind a quiet and confident façade. And I’d always known that Nico and I had something even deeper than just a friendship, but I was too young to understand it. I rested my head in the crook of his arm and closed my eyes.

  “What are you thinking about, Jessa?”

  I smiled but didn’t open my tired eyes. “I was just thinking about how much this feels like home.” I covered my mouth and yawned.

  He kissed the top of my head. “Strangely enough, I was thinking the same thing.” He started the truck and pulled out onto the road, and even though the heat had come back on, I stayed tucked in next to him.

  Chapter 11

  Aunt Sadie had a doctor’s appointment, so Mom and I opened the shop. A message from Chase came through my unreliable phone letting me know that his sister was doing well and that she’d been moved to the city hospital.

  Mom and I carried in the heavy box of candlesticks and set them down in front of an old table she’d cleared the day before. “Why don’t you make a nice arrangement of the candlesticks on the table, Jessa. Put the prettiest ones out front.”

  “I think I can handle that.”

  “I’m going to pick some smaller items to display on a table outside, so we can catch the attention of people passing by.”

  “Sounds good.”

&n
bsp; The candlesticks ranged from highly ornate with silver lion heads and fluted columns, to simple and practical with just a bronze bowl and a finger loop. The entire time I worked I had to avoid looking at the painting hanging on the wall above the table, because the creepy old guy’s eyes were following me. “I don’t think I could ever be an antique dealer,” I called to Mom as she picked through the figurines in an old cabinet.

  “Why is that?”

  “Some of the stuff is cool.” I lifted the candleholder with the loop. “I could totally see myself carrying a candle down a dark hall on a stormy night with this thing. But some of the stuff is just downright scary. This guy on the wall is making the hair on the back of my neck stand up.”

  Mom laughed. “I have to agree. There are definitely some things in this store that I would not want in my house.” She reached down for a second. “Like this.” She held up an old toy clown with the most frightening face in the world.

  “Whoa, that’s horrifying. You’d have to pay me a million bucks to spend one night in the same bedroom with that thing. Is that the kind of toys kids back then had to suffer with?” I shivered. “I’m glad I grew up in the Little Sparkly Pony era instead of the psycho clown era.”

  My useless phone seemed to be working for a change. It was a text from Nico.

  “Lunch at one?”

  “Sure. I made you a sandwich. I’ll see you at one.”

  The morning went by surprisingly fast. A few tourists walked in and looked around but no sales.

  Aunt Sadie returned. “I love the sidewalk display. It’s perfect. And the candlestick display as well.” She hobbled to the counter with her walker.

  “What did the doctor say?” Mom asked.

  Aunt Sadie waved her hand dismissively and sorted through the mail she’d carried in. “Nothing new. He prescribed me some muscle relaxers, but I told him I was already loopy enough without them.” She held up a long white envelope. “Hey, Jessa, someone left you a letter in my mailbox.” She turned it over once. “No postage or return address.”

  “That’s weird.” I walked over and took the envelope from her. My first name was typed in bold capitals on a label on the front. Otherwise the outside was blank. With no postage someone had had to hand deliver it to Sadie’s mailbox. I slid my finger under the flap, opened the envelope, and pulled out the folded paper inside. The whole thing was kind of strange but it got stranger when I opened the paper. Something small dropped out, but I was so shocked by the message I didn’t glance down to see what had fallen. In a huge, ugly font and red ink were the words GO BACK HOME NOW! I turned the paper over. There was nothing else on it. Then I remembered that something had dropped out of the paper. I searched the floor around my feet until I found it. It was a dead spider, and not just any spider but a black widow. “Holy crap,” I gasped.

  Mom looked up from her dusting. “What is it? Who sent you a letter?”

  I held up the note with shaky hands. Mom didn’t have great eyes, but there was no way to miss what the letter said. Her eyes widened as she walked over and plucked it from my hand.

  Sadie waddled over to look too. At first she chuckled. “Someone is just playing a prank on you. I’m sure it’s all in fun.”

  “But look what fell out of it.” I pointed down to the dead spider.

  Mom leaned down to get a better look. “Is that what I think it is?”

  “Yep. Someone sent me a black widow.”

  “My lord, who would do something like that?” Sadie asked. Her earlier expression had turned serious, but she seemed to sense my fear and her face relaxed. She put her arm around my shoulder. “Still, I’m sure it is just a prank.”

  “Sweetie, I agree with Aunt Sadie. Someone is just joking around. Would one of the boys have done it?”

  “Mom, you know both of them. Do you think that they would have done this?” I was trying to keep the panic out of my voice, but the whole thing definitely had me freaked. “I’ve only been back a few days and I seem to have upset the entire balance of Pinecliff. I don’t understand why. I have no idea who would do this, but my intuition tells me this was not a prank. Someone out there wants me gone.”

  Aunt Sadie’s brow wrinkled. I patted her arm. “Don’t worry; Mom and I are here to help you for the summer.” I smiled at her. “You know me. If someone tells me to go home then that’s the last thing I’m going to do.”

  “That’s my Jessa.” Aunt Sadie dropped her arm and kissed my cheek. “Now why don’t you take a lunch break. You’ve been working hard all morning.”

  “If you don’t mind I’ll take it at one. I’m meeting a friend down at the marina.” I decided there was no need for me to bring up Nico since she’d already made it clear that she didn’t approve of him.

  Of course fifteen minutes later she knew. I pulled the sandwiches from the little refrigerator in the back office and headed out the door.

  Mom looked up from her task. “Say hello to Nico.”

  I caught a glimmer of disappointment in Aunt Sadie’s face as I left the shop.

  I’d stuck the threatening note, but not the dead spider, into my pocket to show Nico. He knew the people around town better than me. Maybe he could figure it out. Naturally my suspicions had gone straight to Susie, but the more I thought about her honest display of emotion last night at the hospital, the more the idea seemed preposterous. They were truly into each other, and unless she was a total idiot, she would have to know how much he cared for her.

  Nico was already sitting on one of the picnic tables outside of the marina shops when I walked up.

  “What’s the matter?” he asked.

  “Why do you ask that?”

  “You look upset, that’s all.”

  I sat down next to him. “Sometimes it is scary how well you know me.” I pulled the letter out of my pocket. “Look what someone put in my aunt’s mailbox today. It was in an envelope with my name on it.”

  He opened it up and stared at the big red letters. “That’s weird. Who the hell would give you this?”

  “I’m not sure, but that’s not the worst of it. There was a dead black widow spider inside.”

  “Shit. That’s creepy.”

  I took the sandwich out of the lunch bag and handed it to him. “Your favorite-- ham, cheese, and mustard. My mom finally went to the store.”

  He laid the note on the table and stuck his can of soda on it. “Great, I’m starved. I wouldn’t worry too much about the note, Duchess. It looks like a prank.”

  “That is exactly what my mom and aunt said, but I have to say, I feel unsettled about it. And the spider-- what if it had been alive when they stuck it inside? Maybe they thought it would survive in there long enough to bite me. Those things are gnarly when they bite. Back home there was a lady two doors down in our apartment complex that had half of her hand missing. She’d told me she had been gardening, went to turn on the hose, and woke up the next day lying in her garden with half her hand numb and swollen. The doctor had told her it was a black widow’s bite.”

  “They are definitely spiders to avoid. We have a bunch in the storage sheds down on the docks.”

  I picked at my sandwich and then gave him my other half again. “Here, I’m not very hungry.”

  He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and squeezed me hard. “Come on, Duchess, relax. I would never let anything happen to you.”

  “All right but you’ll have to follow me around everywhere I go. Sort of like the secret service.”

  “You know I would if I could.” Nico tossed the sandwich bag, soda, and threatening letter in the trash.

  “What if I need that for evidence?” I asked.

  “You’re watching too many police shows.” He stood. “Come on. Let’s go for a walk down along the water.”

  I followed. The sun was bright, the air was warm, and it was so clear I could almost count the number
of pine trees lining the mountain ridge miles away. And I was with the one person who always made me feel happy and safe. I decided to push the letter incident out of my head for good.

  The beaches that lined the lake were not terribly wide, but people always managed to find a spot to park their beach chairs, ice chests, and umbrellas.

  The water looked inviting. Nico was wearing his swim trunks, but I was dressed for work. “I think I’ll wear my bikini under my work clothes tomorrow then I can take a swim at lunch.”

  “You will not get an argument from me on that subject. In fact now that you’ve mentioned it, I insist you wear your bikini tomorrow. Work clothes optional.”

  “Maybe I need to try and channel the ten-year-old Nico I knew so well. He was far more interested in Pokemon trading cards than bikinis.”

  “Pokemon trading cards-- I forgot all about those. They were so cool. Now if you had a bikini with a Pokemon picture on it then that would really be cool.”

  I smacked his arm, once again forgetting that it was as solid as a granite rock. “Ow.” I rubbed my hand. “I’ve got to stop doing that. So did you go wakeboarding this morning?”

  “Yes and it was awesome. Too bad you were such a sleepy head. The water would have been perfect for you to get up on a board. There were hardly any other boats.”

  “If I get back on a wakeboard, I’m not going to do it in front of a bunch of your buddies.”

  “Maybe Chase will come out with us once.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Nico grabbed my hand. “Let’s climb up to the hidden rock.”

  “It’s so steep.”

  He was about to speak, but I put up my hand to stop him.

  “I know-- I’m a marshmallow. Let’s go.” I plowed ahead so that I was pulling him instead of the other way around.

  The hidden rock was really not hidden at all. It was enormous and flat and looked as if it was just a continuation of the mountainside. But it was actually a separate piece of granite. People rarely climbed up to it because the trail was steep and rocky, but it had a great view of the lake. I slipped twice but I was determined to climb to the rock without any embarrassing stunts.