“I heard that, Carrie,” I said, and my voice carried across the gym. “This room echoes like no other, so please watch the name calling.”
I could only imagine that Carrie rolled her eyes (along with every other member of the dance committee). All morning they’d been whispering behind my back, gossiping, and complaining. I got the message; they didn’t want to be there. None of us did. But the decorations were still incomplete, and there were only four hours before the Fall Ball was set to kick off.
“Julie,” Kara Bennington, the junior class introvert—and Matt’s date to the dance—tapped me on the shoulder. I turned and smiled, ready to help her however I could. “I have an appointment to have my hair done in twenty minutes, and I was wondering if I could—”
“Go,” I urged her toward the door. “You’ve done great today. Thank you for everything.”
“Thank you,” she smiled. “I’ll get back to help as soon as I can.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “Just get your hair done, go home, and get ready for the dance. I’ll see you tonight.” I turned to the rest of the committee. “All of you,” I dropped my shoulders. “Just go home and get ready. There’s no sense in all of us being here. I’ll take care of the rest. Have a good afternoon, and come back ready to party.”
My classmates couldn’t have cheered louder or moved toward the exit any faster.
After they were gone, I spent the better part of the next hour putting the centerpieces in place. The faux-crystal bowls were filled with water; some bowls were filled with orange liquid, some red, and some yellow. A white leaf-shaped candle floated in each one.
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
I turned to find Derek standing at the door on the far side of the gymnasium.
“Nope,” I turned back to adjust the final centerpiece. “I think I’ve got it under control, thanks.”
“Okay,” he took a few reluctant steps in my direction. “Then… do you have a minute to talk?”
“I really don’t, Derek,” I said, biting back my frustration. “I’m almost done here, and then I’m pressed to make an appointment at the salon.”
“I won’t take much of your time,” he said. “I just need a minute.”
I pursed my lips and gnawed on the inside of my cheek, “Okay.”
Derek pulled two chairs from under the table. “Have a seat—”
“I’ll stand,” I had no intention of giving him more than the one minute I’d promised.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his blue eyes filling with tears. “I should’ve never said those things to you, Julie.” He took a step closer and reached for my hand, but I kept it at my side. “I took some time this morning, and I really thought about what I’d said… and here’s what I came up with.” He took a deep breath, adjusted his glasses, and swallowed hard. “I care about you, Julie. And because I care about you, I hate to see you hurting the way you do because of Luke. He toys with you, he uses you, and he keeps you hanging on to his every word. I know it may be hard to believe, but I don’t resent him because you have him on a pedestal. If he’s the one you want, great. I only want you to be happy. But my problem with Luke comes from the very fact that he takes you for granted. He should worship the ground you walk on, Julie.”
“I don’t want him to fall at my feet,” I said. “I’ve never wanted that. I just want him here.”
“I get that,” he said. “I know you’re holding on to hope, so I’m going to respect that. Friends support friends…. I don’t want to lose what we have, Julie. I was wrong last night; that was my anger talking.”
“You haven’t lost my friendship, Derek,” I said, finally meeting his stare. “It would take a lot more than a sharp tongue to make me angry enough to write you off.”
A faint smile crossed his lips. “Friends, then?”
“To the very end, baby.”
I took one final look in the mirror. With only ten minutes to go before I'd have to be out the door and on the road, I took a step back and assessed the final ensemble. My gown was burnt orange, strapless, and flowed freely to the floor. My gloves, shoes, evening bag, and shawl were a dark shade of brown—the color of Luke’s deep, dark, beautiful eyes.
The doorbell rang, and I checked the clock above my door. Charlie was home, Matt was down the hall putting the final touches on his outfit, and no one was expecting company. Derek had refused my offer to tag along tonight, so there was no chance it was my date—I didn’t have one. The only thing I could imagine was that Charlie’s takeout had come earlier than expected; if that was the case, he was busted for ordering junk food, and Matt would be engaging in a nice little lecture with his father about the importance of healthy eating.
I left my room and moved toward the front steps, stopping dead on the landing when I heard Charlie greet the visitor.
“Hey, Trigger,” he said. “Lookin’ dapper, kid. Come on in.”
“Chief,” Luke replied, and his tone was nothing but formal.
“What’s going on?” Charlie asked. “Everything okay?”
“Yes sir,” Luke said. “I only dropped by because I need to steal a minute of your time.”
“Well, come on in,” Charlie said, his voice moving farther away. “The kids are upstairs getting ready for the dance. I just ordered some Chinese—don't tell Matt— so you're more than welcome to stick around for dinner.”
The men moved through the house, and from what I could tell were now in the kitchen. I shot across the upstairs hallway as quietly as I could, stopping short on the landing at the back stairway. I tiptoed down the first three steps and took a seat on the fourth, just out of sight, but in perfect earshot.
“Are you sure?” Charlie asked. “I ordered more than enough.”
I was glad to hear that all I'd missed was Luke declining a dinner invitation.
“Thanks, but I can't stay long. I just stopped by to have a quick heart-to-heart.”
Silence lingered on the floor below.
“Well?” Charlie asked after a few long beats. “What can I do for you?”
“Can we sit?” Luke asked. For the first time since Charlie let him in, I sensed a bit of nervousness in his voice.
“You’re serious,” Charlie observed. “Yeah, go ahead. Have a seat.”
I leaned closer, hoping to hear a little better.
“I came here tonight to talk to you about Julie,” Luke said, barely masking the sound of the chair sliding out from under the table.
“Julie?” Charlie asked, but his question wasn’t followed by a chair. I could only assume he remained standing. “Why? What’d she do?”
“Nothing, sir,” Luke said. “I came because I believe there are some things you should know.”
“Bad things?”
“That’s debatable…”
“Well?” Charlie asked, and I could hear the agitation in his voice.
He wanted Luke to be upfront and direct; quite frankly, so did I. What could he possibly have come to tell my uncle that he didn’t already know? I’d never lied about anything. I’d never kept anything from him. If Luke had some reason to rat me out for something I couldn’t even figure out, I thought it was incredibly petty of him to do it right before I was about to leave for the Fall Ball. Charlie had only given me a little leniency with the whole leaving the school and nearly dying stunt I pulled last night. I didn’t need any more heat from him; I was already on thin ice.
“When you brought Julie to the station a couple of months back, you didn't force her on me,” Luke brought my attention back to the room below. “You asked me if I'd consider taking her on patrol, and I respected you for taking my feelings into consideration.”
“I do my best to keep everyone happy—”
“Which is why I feel like I owe you the same, sir,” Luke said, but then he paused. “I was amused by Julie the moment I met her. Granted, I thought she was way out of her league. She was outspoken, feisty, and a little too immature to get any
kind of take-away from the project. Still, something about her intrigued me.”
“Julie's a good kid,” Charlie said, and that brought a smile to my face. “She's just been through a lot—”
“And I failed to recognize that right away,” Luke admitted. “But as I got to know her…things started to change. I saw her for who she really was. But I'm afraid my admiration for her character started to show through, and I felt guilty about that. She ended up developing somewhat of a little crush on me.”
“Didn't check your ego at the door, did you?” Charlie teased, but I didn’t think Luke’s statement had much to do with his ego. He knew, as well as I did, that my feelings for him were anything but little.
I imagined Luke smiling at Charlie’s joke, but it was simply impossible to tell. I could’ve moved down another step or two, but not without the risk of being seen.
“I overheard a conversation she had with Matt at the bistro shortly after she started the shadowing project,” Luke continued. “She openly admitted to having feelings for me, but even she was still unsure as to what those feelings were.”
“Oh boy,” Charlie mumbled, but Luke didn’t give him time to say much else.
“While she took the time to sort out her feelings, it would’ve been best for me to keep my distance. But I couldn't. Knowing she had interest intrigued me even more... because deep down, I may’ve felt something, too.”
Charlie’s groan filled the room for the second time.
“Time passed,” Luke continued without prompting, “and the more time I spent with Julie, the more I wanted to see her again. And when Derek and Hannah moved to town, I knew something wasn’t right. Hannah took to Matt too quickly, and Derek always kept Julie in eyeshot.” He paused, and I heard him shift in his chair. “I’d promised you on day one that I’d take care of Julie, and that’s just what I intended to do. So, I started making calls; I even visited a few cops down in West Bridge. And the moment I knew Julie was in danger, I busted my ass to get back here to Oakland and get her out of harm’s way. I knew what I was walking into that night. I didn’t even have time to prepare for it, but I didn’t care. It wasn’t the cop in me that cared about her safety. I legitimately cared that she walk away unharmed. I was ready to die for her, sir.”
“Luke,” Charlie said, his voice low and stern, “don’t make me regret the decision I made to put you in charge of my niece—”
“When I took that bullet,” Luke continued, ignoring Charlie’s warning, “the only thing I could think about was Julie. And it killed me because all I could think was… if I die... someone else will end up with her. Some other guy would walk in, win her heart, and she'd forget I ever existed.”
“Luke—”
“I should’ve died,” he kept talking despite the fact that my uncle had tried to cut him off. “The doctors will tell you that; but it was the thought of losing her that kept me breathing. Julie was the only thing that kept me holding on.”
“Luke—”
“I’m not here to make you regret your decision, sir,” Luke said, still refusing to give Charlie a chance to speak. “I’m not here to make you uncomfortable or angry. I just respect you too damn much to lie to you. I’m crazy about your niece, Chief. And I came here tonight to ask you for your permission—”
“Permission for what?” Charlie asked. “For crying out loud, Luke, she's a child.”
“She is,” Luke agreed. “By age, Julie is a child. She's seventeen, I'm twenty-three. And I know that's a problem, but you know as well as anyone... Julie isn't a typical teenager.”
“What do you want with her, Luke?”
“For tonight,” he said, “I just want to take her to her dance.”
“No. I’m sorry, Luke,” Charlie said. “The answer is no. There are a million other girls out there; go pick one of them. But not my Julie.”
“Sir—”
“No,” Charlie said again. “Julie is destined for a wonderful life, but it’s not in this town. And it’s not with you.”
Nothing but silence filled the air. When two long minutes passed without even the tiniest sound, I stood tall on the fourth step and slowly descended down the rest. I wore my best poker face, pretending to have no idea that Luke was there (let alone that I’d heard his entire conversation with Charlie).
When I reached the kitchen, Luke was seated at the table, but Charlie was standing against the center island. Neither of the men looked at the other, but they both turned to me.
“Hey,” I let my eyes bounce from one man to the next. “What’s going on?”
Luke pulled himself up and stared at me, and his mouth hung ajar. He managed a simple smile and nodded, but then he bit his bottom lip as I turned in a full circle.
“You guys like my dress?”
“It’s nice,” Charlie said, his eyes darting to Luke.
Luke returned the stare and then nodded once in my direction.
“Yeah,” Luke said, obviously worried that his response would inevitably upset one of us. “It’s … it’s nice.”
I smiled at both of them before turning my full attention to Luke.
“Look at you all dressed up,” I walked over to straighten his brown tie. I let my hand fall gently on his chest as he watched me with a keen eye. “What’s the occasion?”
“Just another Saturday night,” he cleared his throat. He let his stare linger on mine for a moment, but then he cast a sideways glance at Charlie. He gently took my wrist and lowered my hand from his tie. Taking a few steps to back away, Luke suddenly stood at the threshold that separated the kitchen from the front of the house. He looked past me and stared at Charlie without a single blink.
“I’m going to hit the road now,” Luke let go of a sigh. “Chief, I’m truly sorry we couldn’t reach an understanding. I hope you’ll find it in your heart to reconsider.” He turned back to me. “Have a great night, Julie.”
As he disappeared to the foyer, Matt came down the staircase and joined us in the kitchen. Moments later, we heard the sound of the front door opening and then closing. Luke was gone as fast as he’d arrived.
“You ready to go?” Matt asked, adjusting the cuffs on his jacket. “I have to pick Kara up in ten minutes.”
“Sure,” I said, staring across the kitchen at my uncle (who still refused to make eye contact). He kept his arms crossed at his chest and his eyes fixed on the floor. “Good night, Charlie.”
“Night, Dad,” Matt called as we walked out of the kitchen. As we reached the foyer, Matt took my arm and stopped me. “You okay?”
“Yeah, why?” I tried to mask the range of emotions surging through me. I didn’t know how to interpret everything that had just happened, and I knew the confusion was written all over my face.
“I know you heard everything,” Matt said, still holding onto my wrist. “I was right behind you on the stairs.” He caressed my arm as if I were a wounded child. “You’re holding up better than I—”
“I’m fine,” I pulled my hand away to smooth my glove. “Let’s just go.”
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Just a Little Series (Part 1) Page 19
