by Rachel Hera
“Van Owen,” she murmured, closing her eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
“The name just sounds really familiar,” she shook her head. “But I don’t know from where. Maybe I read it in a magazine.”
“Hmm,” was all I said. Well, his father was in politics. It was possible. Maybe I should google him and see what pops up –though that really wasn’t my style. We sat in silence. “It really was a good night. But I don’t know if it will last. I’m scared I’m going to get all excited, and at the end of it all, he’s just going to want to be friends.”
“Well, in that case, I still think you should confess to Evan,” she told me.
Maddie probably didn’t realize how much I admired her ability to wear her heart on her sleeve, to tell a person how much she cares about them. I wanted to be that way, but I could never push myself past whatever wall I had created mentally. I blamed it on the three boys I had confessed my feelings to growing up. Each time I’d spent all my time with these boys, to the point where I had been so sure that they had liked me. But then each and every one of them had shot me down. No wonder I had issues when it came to Evan.
“I can’t ruin that friendship,” I shook my head. “Evan means a lot to me, and if he’s not interested, I can’t lose him as a friend. I can’t have things awkward between us.”
“But, if you really think about it, how often are you going to talk to him after we’re out of high school?” Maddie pointed out. She put the lid back on the bottle, though it wouldn’t be long until it was off again.
“That’s still so long from now, and I’d have to see him every day until the end of the semester,” I sighed. “Besides, things look more promising with Shayne than with Evan at this point.”
“Well, I haven’t met Shayne, so I can’t really judge. All I know is that you and Evan would be cute together,” she closed my laptop. “So, is it true what they say?”
“What do they say?”
“That, ahem,” she mock cleared her throat, “‘the boys that moved into the old house are vampires?’”
“Maddie, what are you spreading around the school now?” I asked.
“It wasn’t me,” she said defensively. “This time, anyway. I swear.”
“No, it’s not true. I mean, he has fangs, but I wouldn’t say he’s a vampire,” I rolled my eyes.
“Bummer,” she sighed.
“If he were a vampire, I’d give him to you in a heartbeat,” I muttered. “Because it would mean that there’s a werewolf out there with my name on him.”
“That’s true,” she agreed. She slid her fingers down to the base of the bottle, tapping her fingers against it before taking it in a solid grip, opening it and bringing it, not for the last time, to her lips, “Well, I suppose I’ll keep my fingers crossed.”
I looked at her for a long moment. Were we crazy for wanting this so bad? It’s not like our lives were bad the way they are, that we needed an escape. But at the end of the day, it was just wishful thinking, right?
But, the words spilled from my mouth anyway. “Me, too.”
* * *
Maddie spent Friday and Saturday night at my house. Not that we did anything exciting. The weather was gorgeous, so we read a book outside on a blanket, like we had most of the summer. Sunday came along, and I walked Maddie back to her place. My mother would pick me up over there to take me to my shift at the parlour in four hours. Before that, though, she was taking my little sister to her piano lesson.
“And then the insects started rampaging because their kid was being hurt, but she rushed to go and save it on her glider thing,” I recapped a movie I had watched Thursday night, looking over my shoulder and down the road as a truck approached. A moving truck. The rest of Shayne’s stuff, or –
It drove past Shayne’s driveway, still nearing us. A tingling sensation grew in my fingertips, moving up my arms and through the rest of my body as it drew closer. My heart pounded in my chest as it passed, followed closely by a dark red pickup truck. I stopped walking, watching as it turned right at the next corner.
“Someone else is moving into this area?” Maddie said, sounding surprised.
“Country homes go up for sale all the time,” I pointed out. Not that they sold really well. Her dad was in realty, so she knew that.
We neared the corner of the end of the block, and Maddie glanced over in the direction that the moving truck had gone. I did, too, out of curiosity. And, to my surprise, there it was. Three houses down on the left side of the road. It was parked at an old farmhouse, white with a large front and back porch. An old couple had once lived there –but, after their grandchildren moved out, such a large farmhouse was too big for them.
I adjusted my glasses as three guys and a girl hopped out of the pick-up truck, two of the guys immediately going to the other truck to start unloading furniture and belongings. The third one, the one who had been driving, stared in our direction. From this distance I could see that he –as well as the others –was tanned, and his white shirt emphasized that. He had dark hair, but we were too far away to see any real facial details.
“Are they hot? Maybe our age?” she asked, gripping my arm. “Do you think they’re all siblings?”
“If you wore your glasses, maybe you’d be able to tell me,” I said, taking off my glasses and wiping the lens on my shirt. Her eyesight was not nearly as bad as mine. Lucky her, she only needed them in class.
“Even without my glasses I can see that they’re all looking over here,” she told me, giving a small wave.
“Let’s go,” I said, putting my glasses on in time to see them wave back. A part of me did want to go over there. But not to flirt –if I felt awkward flirting as it was, it was even more awkward with Maddie around. But there was something in me that wanted to pull me over to them. Though, it just might have been Maddie tugging on my sleeve.
I grabbed her wrist and began pulling her back on track.
“What? I’m not in a hurry,” Maddie resisted slightly.
“I am –I have a job to go to, and I thought you were tagging along before going to Kristy’s.”
“Maybe I don’t want to go to Kristy’s anymore?” she said, looking over her shoulder at the guys as we kept walking.
“Well, whatever, let’s get to your place so you can grab your purse and so my mom can pick me up and drop me off at work.”
“You should get your own car,” she said, finally walking instead of letting me push her along.
“I’m saving up for one. No worries,” I told her.
“At the rate you’re going, it’ll be years,” Maddie sighed.
“Except for the fact that my parents promised to pay for half,” I said.
“It’ll still be years,” she said, almost as if she was reassuring me. She glanced over her shoulder once more, but we were past the tree line, and any visibility we might have had was nonexistent.
* * *
Hours later, I was pulling my hair back into a ponytail and adjusting the ugly shirt that came with the job. It wasn’t flattering to the body shape, making me look square, despite the soft curves I knew I had. But this job wasn’t for looking good, though I tried –I mean, every girl tries, right?– but for the sake of getting a little money coming my way. It was the first place that had called me back after I handed out of résumé. I aced the interview, but almost didn’t take the job. But my dad had told me that any work experience was good work experience. By the time other places had called me for an interview, I’d come to like the people I worked with enough to not want to leave.
“Bye mom,” I said, opening the car door as I flipped the mirror on the visor back up.
“Bye,” she called, giving a small wave as I went to the other side of the car, where Maddie also got out, and together we walked into the parlour.
“Hey, Evelyn,” Harry, my boss, said from behind the counter.
“Hey, how’s it going tonight?” I looked around at the empty seats.
“The even
ing rush should begin soon,” he said, leaning onto the counter. Despite being my boss, owner and manager, he was young. Twenty-three, I think. But he was good-looking, with a little stubble on his cheeks and chin. He had a girlfriend, though, and she’d come by every once in a while. She went to college in the city, so she was often busy.
“I’ll go put my things in the back then,” I said, slipping behind the counter. I dropped my bag off in my locker in the break room and returned to the front for my shift.
“I love ice cream,” Maddie said as I came out, licking her spoon. “I’m so glad you got a job here, Evelyn.”
“It’s not like you get discounts,” I said, brushing my hair over my shoulder.
“No, but if I come here around your break time, I usually get to finish off the freebies you take for yourself.”
Harry just laughed. He was a pretty carefree guy, and even if I were to give Maddie a free scoop or cone directly I doubt he’d care. Not that I’d do it. I was, regrettably, a goody-two-shoe at heart.
“I never got around to asking,” Maddie began, leaning on the counter as she continued to eat her ice cream. “But, just how often do you text Shayne?”
“Often enough,” I murmured, grabbing a cloth, wetting it and wiping down the counter as Maddie let her ice cream drip.
“I hope he’s not giving you the run around,” she said. “Don’t get led around by some idiot, no matter how good-looking he is. Unless he’s a vampire or a werewolf.”
Harry chuckled, and Maddie cracked a smile.
“Admit it, Harry, if some hot vampire chick walked in, would you not want to have a shot with her?”
“I have Lizzy,” he spoke without hesitation.
“Loyal to the end, right? Man, the world needs some more guys like you,” she sighed.
“Are you hitting on me?” he joked.
“Nope, just stating facts that guys these days are just… well, stupid. No offence.”
“None taken, rest assured.”
“But –”
The bell over the door rang, and we all glanced up as a mother and her two children walked in. Maddie stood off to the side while they made their orders, and while I took their money and gave back their change, Harry prepared their cones.
“Thank you,” the two children chorused as they pushed on the door, making the bell chime again.
“Have a nice evening,” Harry and I called back.
“You guys are a nice team,” Maddie commented.
“Well, we’ve worked together for,” I cocked my head to the side and did the calculations, “for almost two years now? Wow, have I really been working here this long already?”
“Wanna quit while you’re ahead?” he asked teasingly.
“Nah,” I grinned.
“Well,” Maddie began, finishing up her ice cream. “I should get going to Kristy’s.”
“Then I’ll talk to you later,” I told her.
“Bye,” she waved as she pulled the door open. It chimed, and I smiled, watching her disappear beyond the window of the store.
“You guys are really close,” Harry commented. “I can’t tell where one aura ends and the other begins.”
“You’re an aura reader now, are you?” I couldn’t help but smirk a little bit. Harry always seemed to have this new fad going on. Once it was palm reading. Another time it was tea leaves. Apparently this time it was auras. Soon he’d be closing down the parlour and opening up a fortune-telling place.
“I’m quite good at it, unlike all the others,” he grinned. “But seriously, you and Maddie are really close.”
“Yeah,” I smiled. “Despite our personalities, we’re quite well balanced.”
“Do you guys finish each other’s sentences too?” he teased.
I hesitated before cracking a grin, “Actually, yeah. We do.”
“See? I know how to read auras.”
“Lucky guess. I wonder how many teenage girls can do the same with their best friends.”
“I suppose you’re right,” he laughed. “Perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself.”
“What else is new?” I snorted.
“Whoa, someone’s not playing nice today.”
“Oh, whatever,” I rolled my eyes.
“Remember that time when I read your tea leaves?”
“And you bull-shitted me and told me I was destined for greatness beyond my imagination?”
“Hey, I think I read them pretty well,” he spoke defensively.
“Yeah, well, my over-protective mother and the lack of adventure in my life say otherwise,” I stretched. “But I appreciate the vote of confidence in me.”
“Well, I really do think you’re destined for great things. You and Maddie both. Together you guys can accomplish anything… Anyway, my shift’s almost done; I’m going to start cleaning up in the back. You got it up here? Olivia should be here within the next half hour or so.”
“You’re going to leave me to handle an… empty parlour?” I mocked whispered. “How on earth will I ever survive?”
He laughed as he disappeared into the back, leaving me completely alone at the front. It was something I was used to at this time of night though, so I didn’t mind.
The bell above the door chimed again, and a flock of girls came in. One of which was Marissa. She didn’t hide the look of distaste on her face when she saw me –though she knew I worked here and had she truly wanted to avoid me she’d have gone to the other ice cream joint on the other side of town.
“Oh, if it isn’t Evelyn,” Marissa greeted coldly. “You know what? I think today I’ll have a sundae...”
“Coming right up,” I said, turning to make it as fast as I could –the sooner she was out of there the better.
“On second thought, perhaps a milkshake,” she said smugly. “Strawberry… No, then again, I think I’d prefer fudge.”
“Of course,” I said, trying not to grind my teeth. I moved slowly, in case she changed her order again, but just as I was finishing up, she spoke up again.
“No, strawberry really is better, isn’t it?”
“I’ll take the fudge,” one of the other girls spoke up. It was nice that not all of them were willing to put up with Marissa’s crap, which I supposed I was grateful for.
The bell rang once more. This was more like it for such a warm autumn evening. I looked up to see a group of white shirts, and when I raised my eyes to their faces, I was a little more surprised. I had never seen them around, but I recognized them. There was no mistaking it. They were the ones that had been unloading the truck down the road between Maddie’s house and mine.
The three piled in while one held the door. The first one to enter was a black guy. His skin was that rich chocolate colour, darker than most people out on the street, but not that darkest skin tone I’d ever seen. His jet black hair was short, looking like he was growing it out after shaving off all his hair. He was also, though just barely, the tallest of the four of them. He had a small grin on his face, one that said that he’d been laughing just before coming into the parlour. It grew even brighter when he met my gaze and gave a friendly nod.
The second to come had also been smiling when he entered, but his face darkened almost as soon as he saw Marissa. His hair was just as black as the first guy’s, though his lighter skin tone made it appear even darker. If I were judging based on appearance, I would guess he was the most serious out of the four. Maybe, though, it was just the way he had his arms crossed. His muscles twitched as he looked all of us over.
Number three was female, and she had the biggest grin out of all of them, and it seemed to grow even wider when she spotted me. Her light brown hair was tied at the base of her skull in a loose bun, her bangs pinned back leaving her forehead bare. She was gorgeous. Athletic, too, it seems, with the way her arms were toned. There was no fat jiggle as she hit the serious one in the arm, telling him to chill out. She could have been a model, except she stood only a little taller than me.
The guy who had held the
door open had his eyes on me as he entered. Golden-brown. A beautiful colour, really, and if I had the confidence to maintain eye contact, I would never tear my gaze away. But I did. I never did well under pressure. I let my eyes fall to the counter, counting slowly to ten to slow my pulse. It didn’t help though. My heart rammed itself continuously against my chest.
In need of a distraction beyond the speckled countertop, I glanced up at the girls whose orders I’d been filling. Marissa’s eyes fell on them too, and I watched as her snake tongue ran over her lips. What a venomous bitch. I made use of the distraction; I placed her milkshake in front of her, taking the money laid out on the counter and returned her change before she could change her mind again.
“So you’re paying, right?” the girl used her elbow to nudge the door opener.
“Let me guess,” the one who’d held the door said. He seemed to have his gaze on me, and I shifted, not sure if it made me uncomfortable or horny. I almost blushed with the thought. I would never admit that those words had run through my head. “You conveniently forgot your wallet at the new house.”
“At the house? Nah, it’s in the truck. Consider this payment for us helping your family move.”
“Move, hmm?” Marissa perked up. “You four new in town?”
“Brand new, but we’re finding our way around quite well,” the first guy said.
“How sly,” she said, giving him one of her sexier grins. “You’re a smooth talker, aren’t you?”
“Smooth is one way to describe me,” he replied. “But a fox like you has to be smoother.”
Marissa’s eyes narrowed for half a second before a smile softened her features, “I usually leave it for the males to chase tail.”
“Then I suggest you start running,” I told her as I handed the last cone to her friend.
“Now you know I don’t take orders from the likes of you,” she said. “Or else I’d be on the other side of the counter with you.”
I just rolled my eyes. “Bye, girls, have a good night.” The one girl gave a small wave as she took Marissa’s arm and led her out of the parlour. I took a small breath before turning to the guys. “What can I get for you?”
