Just Like Me

by Dani Hall

  “Yea, why the hell do you care?” Chris looked Taylor up and down. A slow grin descended across his face. “Taylor Jett.” He said nodding. “You here to bitch me out for talking about your girlfriend?”

  “I’m here to tell you that nothing else about Kale is going to be passed to the media through your mouth.”

  “Oh really. Who exactly is going to stop me?”

  Taylor chuckled, a low chuckle that was iced with amusement and anger.

  “You think you’re so special because you think you can get away with talking to the media? You think you open your mouth up and they run to hear what you have to say? They don’t give a shit about you. You’re just a dumbass jock who can’t keep his stories straight. They use you when they have absolutely nothing else to scrape together.”

  “Yea, that doesn’t seem to be the case. They eat up whatever lovely things I say about Kale.” Chris sneered.

  “When you talk, they’re hardly interested. They listen, hoping maybe you’ll say a thing or two they can use. But, if I was to open my mouth? Share a few personal things about you with them? A story from me is very different than a story from you. They don’t care about you. But me? They’ll thrive on anything I tell them.”

  “You don’t scare me, Jett.”

  “That’s a shame. You can bet your ass that if another story reaches the media…you’ll regret you even mentioned Kale’s name. Try me. You’ll be done. Anything you could hope to accomplish in this lifetime will disappear out from under your feet in an instant.”

  Taylor slowly turned his glare, walking back up the steps slowly toward me. He held out a hand for me to take and started tugging me away. Chris licked his lips, shaking his head. He turned away from Taylor.

  “You’re just mad because you got my sloppy seconds.”

  Taylor froze halfway down the steps. He closed his eyes and let go of my hand. I watched as his hand balled up in a fist. He was turning towards Chris, quickly making his way back toward him. I found myself flying down the steps after him. Taylor had lifted his fist to make contact with Chris’s face, but I grabbed his arm at the last second.

  “It’s not worth it.” I breathed, using all of my strength just to keep his arm from connecting. I was literally hanging off of his arm. “Taylor, it’s not worth it.” I repeated. Taylor blinked and looked down at me. He slowly nodded and the tension left his arm. He gave one last glare towards Chris and spit in his general direction before hooking his arm around my waist and walking me toward his car. He was able to make it to his car; his hand was still curled up in a fist.

  “Taylor-“

  “No.” He said simply, yanking a phone from his pocket. He dialed quickly, putting the phone to his ear. He couldn’t stand still. He kept looking left and right and pacing. “Hey, Joe? This is Taylor. Yea. Listen, I had a great story for you to feature tonight.”

  “Taylor!”

  “Yea, well that Chris guy you featured earlier today? I had a conversation with him today. Turns out he’s gay. Yea. He is just drooling and hoping to go on a date with me. He’s super jealous she won, he’s totally in love with me…sure, I can go on air tonight. We can do a live telephone interview on air…that’s fine. Fourth segment? Got it. Talk to you then, Joe.”

  He ended the button, a devious grin on his face as he slid the phone back into his pocket.

  “Taylor Jett.” I whispered. “I can’t believe you just did that.”

  “Don’t say you’re mad I did it.”

  “I’m not mad, I’m just…”

  “You have a conscious. I’m glad you do, but I don’t. I don’t give a shit what happens to that kid.”

  I put my hands up to either side of his face. That seemed to calm him down a lot.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He said softly. He kissed my forehead then got into his car. I was left dumbfounded as he accelerated out of the parking lot.

  Chapter Forty-Six

  I had made sure to call Mom at least once a day for the past week in preparation for the dinner Taylor and I would be attending. She assured me that everything was under control. I could hear her nerves echo through the phone, but she still seemed excited nonetheless.

  Taylor and I were barreled down the highway, only a few minutes from my home. Dark clouds were rolling up; it looked like it might rain.

  “Abe’s a big Christian, so no Christian jokes would be great.”

  “Aww man, does this mean I can’t do my knock-knock joke about an atheist?” He winked.

  “And, if you put on your arrogant act that you do for everyone else, my Mom might just bring out her shotgun.”

  “She sounds wonderfully hot.”

  “That’s gross.”

  “I’m kidding.” He drummed on the steering wheel and kept glancing at me. I called him out on it.

  “Taylor Jett, are you nervous?”

  “Nervous, me?” He made a sound with his teeth and rolled his eyes too quickly. “So what’s the story with you and Lisa?”

  “We’re secret lovers.”

  “Hot. Well then, details, woman! Details!”

  “You know I’m just kidding. What do you want to know?”

  “You said the two of you stopped talking in high-school at one point.”

  “I was being a stick in the mud. She was the pretty, popular girl and I was still stuck the class nerd. She had boys breaking down her door to date her. Boys were breaking down my door to steal my math homework.”

  “Oh, come on. You don’t look like the geek type to me.”

  “I was. Am, really. I am. Take a right here.” He turned right.

  “You know, you should feel pretty good that I’m visiting your parents. I never did this for any of my other girlfriends.”

  “Well, aren’t I special?”

  “I’m not dropping the geek thing.”

  “I didn’t expect you to. It’s the next driveway on the left.”

  Taylor pulled easily into the gravel driveway. I hadn’t been home in months, but it was a familiar sight. The same grey paint on the house. Mom had been excited because the paint had looked blue, but she had painted it on and it turned out being a dark grey color. She learned to love it, though. The white picket fence around the yard needed painting, and they had taken down the above ground pool since I had last been there.

  The trio came out onto the porch when they heard us pull up. Mom was waving frantically, smiling. Abe was holding Nori, Nori was yanking at the cross necklace around his neck, amusing herself with it. I looked at Taylor and realized he actually was nervous.

  “Alright, let’s do this.” He said. He reached for his door handle. I put my hand over his for a moment. Knowing the windows were tinted to the point where you couldn’t see inside, I reached over and kissed him.

  “Thank-you.”

  “I think you’ll owe me after this.” He said half-heartedly. I opened my door and stepped out onto the gravel drive. He did the same.

  “Kale!” Mom waved, kind of jumping up and down. Abe finally had to let Nori down; she stumbled down the steps and finally was carrying herself over to me. She reached me and I lifted her up in my arms, her light brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She was in a cute little pink dress with a matching bow in her hair.

  “Kay! Kay!” She squealed with delight. I swung her around in a circle. Taylor was standing awkwardly off toward the car and was trying for a casual appearance. I motioned him over.

  “Hey, Mom. Abe. Hope everything’s well.” I greeted.

  Abe stepped down and embraced me, Mom hung back. I transferred Nori into his arms and he smiled politely at Taylor. Taylor extended his hand.

  “Taylor Jett, nice to meet you sir.” I refrained from raising my eyebrows at his sudden discovery of manners.

  “Abe Lucas.” He took Taylor’s hand and shook it firmly. Taylor offered his hand to my Mom.

  “Beth Lucas.” She answered; she shook his hand with a light touch. He offered an awkward smile.

  “And this
is Nori.” Abe said, shifting Nori to his other arm. Nori had a confused look when she gazed at Taylor. Taylor lifted his hand in an awkward wave.

  “Hi Nori.” Something lit up Nori’s face.

  “Zom!” She cried, clapping her hands in excitement. “Zom! Zom! Zom!”

  “What is she saying?” Mom asked with a worried look on her face. Abe shrugged. Nori let out a wail of frustration as she extended her arms out to Taylor.

  “Zom!” She insisted, waving her arms at him. He gave me a hesitant look. I looked back at Nori and she was chomping her jaw. Then it dawned on me.

  “Zombie.” I said, looking around the group. “She recognizes that Taylor’s the zombie she sees on T.V.”

  Easy laughter erupted among us, and Abe was handing Nori off to me. She kept waving her arms toward Taylor.

  “Well, let’s go inside.” Abe suggested, holding the door open for everyone. When you entered, the living room was to your right and the kitchen was to your left. A dining room was located just beyond the kitchen.

  We filed in the house, Mom stood awkwardly toward the entrance of the kitchen.

  “I have to check on the chicken.” She said and quickly disappeared into the next room.

  “Let me help you, Beth.” Abe called after her, smiling briefly before vanishing after her. Nori was strained against my arms and continued reaching for Taylor.

  “Want to hold her before she blows a gasket?” I asked, laughing. Taylor shook his head quickly.

  “I’ve never-” He stopped, watching Nori. “I mean, I never even held my own siblings.”

  “You gonna blow a gasket?”

  “I don’t know how to hold-” He gestured toward Nori, embarrassed.

  “It’s not that hard.” I said lightly. I walked over and showed him how she was lightly resting on my hip. “It’s not like she’s a newborn.”

  He held his arms out reluctantly and Nori quickly latched onto him. She clapped her hands together happily and then shoved her fingers into her mouth.

  “I think she likes you.” I giggled. Taylor swallowed. He glanced around the living room, moving very slowly and cautiously with Nori in his arms. Pictures of Nori were everywhere. There were pictures of me too; starting around the time Abe came into our life. My mother never really took pictures of me growing up. There was only a handful of me back when I was really young. But Abe loved pictures, he loved putting memories up around the house.

  The furniture didn’t match. There were blue leather couches and one brown rocking chair. A small T.V. stood on a stand in the corner. I could see Mom had attempted to put Nori’s toys away, but Nori had dragged the majority of them back out.

  “I like it,” He said as he glanced around the room. “It’s really homey.”

  “Most people use the word ‘homey’ when they can’t find another compliment.”

  “No, I really like it. It beats anything I grew up in.”

  “Well, we don’t have servants running around. But its home.” He shot me a look.

  My Mom and Abe came back into the room. Mom went over to her place on one of the couches and sat down. She had her fake, polite smile on.

  “Sit down, kids. No need to stand so awkwardly.” Abe offered. I sat down on the unoccupied couch and Taylor sat next to me and Nori repositioned in his lap. Abe sat down in the big leather rocking chair.

  “Do you want to get down?” Taylor asked Nori quietly. In reply, she clutched her slobbery hands onto his shirt. We all chuckled softly; I cringed hoping Taylor didn’t mind. Nori pointed at the T.V., then pointed back at Taylor.

  “Yes, he’s on the T.V., Nori.” I told her softly. She grinned up at me, and then reached her hands out for me to take her. I did and she quickly settled down on to my lap. I saw Taylor visibly relax.

  “So, Taylor.” Abe said as he relaxed back into his chair. “How long have you been doing movies?”

  “About ten years.” Taylor answered.

  “Wow, that’s a long time. Working on anything now?”

  Taylor hesitated.

  “Yes, I’m filming for a new movie that will come out next year some time.”

  “And you’ve got some kind of premier coming up?”

  “Yea, the last of the Zombie trilogy is coming out fairly soon.”

  Nori clapped her hands and chorused the word zom.

  “And you’ve been staying at his house, Kale?” I looked up at my Mom, detecting discomfort in the room.

  “I didn’t want him to waste money on a hotel,” I started as I cast a nervous glance at Taylor. A slight grimace was on his face. “So I’ve been staying in his guest room when I fly out to South Carolina.”

  Leave it up to my Mom to make things awkward. She had mentioned on the phone she was scared I’d be so caught up in Taylor, caught up in the fame, that I’d rush into things. I’m still a teenager (hardly) and could make careless decisions. I had gotten mad and knew I was perfectly capable of making my own decisions.

  “It’s pretty much platonic.” Taylor interjected.

  “Pretty much?” Man, my Mom was going to be a bitch tonight. Taylor shifted in his seat.

  “Well, you expect us to stay under the same roof and not share some physical contact? I know what it sounds like. But I can promise we haven’t been intimate.” Taylor was cool under pressure, I realized how much I liked that about him.

  I closed my eyes briefly, rubbing my forehead.

  “Have you finished those x-ray tech classes, Mom?”

  “I’ll finish up next year.”

  “That’s great.”

  Taylor drummed his fingers on his knee impatiently. I reached over and wrapped my fingers around his. He gave me a tiny smile.

  “Want to go for a walk after dinner? I can show you some of the hiking trails up through the woods.” I finally cut the silence. He glanced at my Mom and Abe, and then nodded.

  “If that’s alright with everyone.”

  “Why are you going on a walk?” My Mom asked.

  “Mom, can I speak to you in the kitchen.”

  She got up without a word, her arms were crossed tightly across her chest. She strode across the room into the small kitchen as I turned to Taylor.

  “I’ll be right back,” I said, and kissed his cheek. “Abe,” He looked up, unfazed by my public display of affection. “Be nice to him?” I asked hopefully.

  “Look who you’re asking, Kale.” He said with a wink. I nodded, relieved. Taylor nodded his head toward the kitchen.

  “Go ahead, I’ll be fine.”

  I let go of his hand and found my way to the kitchen. Mom was leaning against a cabinet, arms still crossed over her chest.

  “Yes?” She snapped.

  “Why can’t you be nice to him?” I said quietly, closing the door to the living room behind me. “I like him. A lot. And this is happening, so you might as well make the best out of it.”

  “I don’t think he’s right for you, Kale.”

  “Are you saying that because he’s an actor? Or maybe you’re saying that because he has enough money to support me and I wouldn’t have to struggle my whole life.”

  “No, Kale. That’s not what I’m saying.”

  “Then what?”

  “I’m saying…” She paused, looking towards the ceiling, and I realized she was trying not to cry. Her voice broke. “I’m saying he’s the only boy since Chris to pay you any attention, Kale. Just because he may say he loves you doesn’t mean you should get so involved. You don’t have much experience when it comes to stuff like this. You don’t want to have to depend on someone in your life.”

  “He hasn’t told me he loved me. It’s not like we’re rushing into anything.”

  “Then that’s even worse, Kale. You’re sleeping in his house and you don’t even think he has those feelings?”

  “I’m not saying he doesn’t, Mom. I don’t know if he does love me. Like he said, we’re not…intimate.” The word tasted foul coming out of my mouth.

  She broke down then, pu
tting her hands to her face as the tears fell freely.

  “Mom.” I said, walking over to her. “Mom, why are you crying?”

  “I was nineteen when I met your father, Kale. I was in love. I was blinded by him.” Her lips trembled. “I didn’t care that he drank and didn’t care when I found out he did drugs. I didn’t care because I thought he loved me, Kale.” She took both my hands, squeezing them tight. “I don’t want that life for you. Not ever. I became so dependent on him and couldn’t leave him because I couldn’t support myself. And I know he seems like a great boy, Kale. But I don’t want you to rush into anything without first realizing what skeletons are in his closet.”

  “He doesn’t do drugs, Mom.” I hoped she would miss the part where I left out drinking.

  “I just…I hope you know what you’re doing.” She said, finally taking a deep breath and resetting her good mood. She quickly dabbed at her eyes. “Just promise me you’ll be careful.”

  “I will, Mom.” I said, gently squeezing her hands back. “I’m being careful. The second I sense danger, I’ll hit the ground running. But tonight? Tonight he’s been nothing but polite…so you need to be nice to him.”

  “Ok, ok.” She said, releasing my hands and waving it off. “Give me a second in here.”

  “Whatever you need,” I answered, reaching behind me to open the door. I walked back out into the living room and felt relieved when I heard that Abe and Taylor were passing the time talking about favorite old horror movies.

  Mom had cooked her best meal: fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, and green beans. Dinner conversation was light; a burden seemed to be lifted out of the air as we all sat down. We discussed horrible movies we’d all seen, Mom even relaxed enough to laugh a little bit.

  Mom had always been up tight, tense and unable to relax. I can’t remember ever hugging her. She wasn’t the type to show affection easily. Sure, she’d reach out and hold Abe’s hand in front of me every once in a while…but that was about as much affection she’d show in front of anyone.

  “No!” Abe’s face was red with amusement. “I don’t believe Andy Hannigan is a jerk. I just refuse to believe it.” He was saying to Taylor as he shoved some macaroni into his mouth. Taylor nodded. I recognized the name from the guy who hosted the party, the same guy who posed as a robber. He must have been a lot older than I thought.