I poured the last bit of water out into the soil of a pink-colored Hydrangea and gathered my thoughts. Mary needed me just as much as I needed her. I kept her mind off Ace and she kept me close, stepping in like a mom would do when your life fell apart. It was hard to hate a woman who hadn’t been around for a very long time, but at that moment, I detested my mother and hoped she’d never find her way back to me.
“I think you should find a nice spot to put your um, the box—your dad.” She winced as she struggled with what to say.
Breathe in, breathe out.
Pick a spot.
Any spot that placed what was left of my dad in my line of vision.
Across the room, mounted to the wall, was a shelf my dad built when he was younger. It had hung on the wall ever since I could remember. That was the place.
I used my nail to break the tape and opened the flaps, revealing a dark Mahogany box inside. Engraved in the wood was his name, date of birth, and date of death. I pinched my lips together and pulled the box to my chest, wrapping my arms around the satiny feel of the polished wood. “I think up there would be nice.”
Mary walked up beside me and looked at the shelf. We’d have to move a few things, but that was no big deal. She left my side long enough to grab a rag and some furniture polish. In just minutes, a spot was cleared. I lifted the box up and slid it on the shelf. It fit like it was meant to be there.
6 Months Later:
LIFE TO THE LIVING CARRIED on after the death of someone you loved. There was nothing you could do to change it. You were forced to accept it—or not to accept it. I did my fair share of ‘what ifs’ after the death of my dad. I wandered the house like a ghost myself most days, waiting for a sign that it was okay to move on with my life. Waiting on a phone call from Ace. Waiting.
Mary stopped by at least three times a week to check on me. Paige forced me out of the house until I started doing it on my own. It was then when I knew I’d chosen to continue on. It was then I knew I needed to focus on myself and let everything else happen the way it was supposed to. Waiting for Ace to call only made me fall further into a depression that seeped the colors from my world. I couldn’t let anyone have that much power over me. I loved him. I’d wait for him. But I damned sure wasn’t going to stop living because he wasn’t around. He was at least still alive.
Dr. Anderson hired me on as his part-time assistant with the stipulation that I had to sign up for college. So I did. When I wasn’t in the cab of Dr. Anderson’s truck, bouncing around on a back road, I was sitting in front of a college professor, taking notes.
Mark, Eli, Josh, Jared, and even Aiden called me from time to time. And Mark sent the picture of all seven of us that he’d taken at the cabin. It was one of his best photos, I thought. I’d hung it on the opposite wall of the living room from where my dad’s ashes were, surrounding me with the reminders of those I loved.
Paige decided to take Mark’s offer and move to New York, on the condition that I’d come and visit her every year. She told me that the first year I missed would be the year she moved back home and then kicked my ass. Not that she’d do either one of those things, but it was nice hearing the threatening tone in her voice when she’d said it. It made me fully understand what our friendship meant to her. I helped her pack and waved to her when she pulled out of her driveway. Tears slid down her cheeks when she stopped, rolled down the window, and blew me a kiss. It took everything in me not to call her back and make her stay, so that I wouldn’t be alone.
When Josh found out that Paige had left, he called me, asking me if I wanted him to come home. He told me he didn’t like the thought that I was on my own without any of my friends around. It took a while to convince him that I was fine. That I was where I wanted to be, and I damned sure didn’t want anyone to give up their lives so they could hold my hand, as if I couldn’t do it without someone constantly beside me.
I had to do it. I had to prove to myself that life could be lived on my own. Without the crutch of someone hovering over me like I was fragile. Someone ready to splinter apart because of all of the cracks. I wasn’t porcelain. I was flesh and blood. Bones and skin. All working together. All healing together. Every day reinforced it. Every day made me stronger, as the cracks fused together a little more. A patchworked me that could stand resilient, no matter what life threw at me.
And I’d done so well.
IT’D BEEN A LONG DAY. First class, and then a call from Dr. Anderson asking me to come assist him with an emergency call because someone had dropped off a dog that had been hit by a car. It’d been bad. Four hours of surgery later, and then it was a wait-and-see game. If he were strong enough, he might make it. Chances were, though, he wouldn’t last through the night. I’d numbed myself from it. I couldn’t allow the bitterness of the negligent driver, that left him on the side of the road, swallow me whole. I pushed back the tears that rimmed my eyes and threatened to spill. The closed-off feeling in my throat when I tried to swallow. I pushed all of it back and drove home.
Mary’s car sat in my driveway, and I couldn’t help but wonder why she was there. I never saw her on Thursdays because she usually worked a double shift. I jammed the truck in park and cut the ignition. Before my imagination could get out of control, she stepped outside with a wave. My shoulders sagged in relief, as I palmed the keys and got out of the truck.
I met her at the door, and she pulled me into a hug. “How was your day?”
I shook my head with a snort of disgust. “Long. And it ended really shitty. How come you’re here?” I felt awful after I said it. Mary didn’t need a reason to come to the house.
She chewed on her bottom lip, clasping her hands in front of her. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”
My stomach clenched, as I watched her face for a hint as to what was wrong. “It can’t be that bad. Can it?” A nervous laugh attached itself to my question.
Mary crossed her arms and hugged them against her chest. “The diner cut my hours and, to add insult to injury, my landlord passed away some time ago. Now his kids want to take all of his properties and sell them. They’ve given me a month to ‘clear out’ is how they put it.”
I walked over to the couch and sat with a heavy plop. My dad would have given me hell for it. ‘The couch is not a trampoline, Riley,’ he would have said. I felt a flicker of a smile crawl across my lips and looked around. Being here on my own was lonely. Not that my house was huge, but it felt lifeless with only me bumbling around in it most days. In fact, the only time it felt like a home was when Mary was there, fluttering around the kitchen. Her laugh made the walls seem less like a cage and more like a shelter.
“I’ve started looking at apartments…” Her voice cut into my wandering thoughts.
“No. You’re coming here. This is where you belong.” I said it with such finality that she jumped.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she released it, she crossed the room and sat down beside me on the couch. “Riley, I really appreciate the offer, but this is your home. Maybe when Jake gets back, it’ll be your home together. You don’t need me here… in the way.”
What she said confused me. How could she ever think she’d be in the way?
“Do you even know when Jake will be back? And what about when he leaves again? You have work. I have school. We both have things to do and not enough money between the two of us to live on our own. It’s the best thing for both of us.”
What I’d said wasn’t entirely true. The life insurance policy my dad had taken out covered everything. The house was paid for. All I had to do was keep up with the other bills and taxes. There was even enough money left over for a comfortable savings account. But there was no reason to tell her that. It would only make her think she’d be taking advantage of me. The truth of it was… I selfishly needed her. If she got an apartment, she’d probably have to get a second job to pay for everything, and she wouldn’t be around much. There was no way I’d let her do that.
“Riley, it wasn’t my intention for you to offer up your home. I just wanted you to know I’d be moving. And to see if you’d help me since I know I can’t move the entire house on my own,” she said, picking up my hand and squeezing it.
My head fell back against the couch cushion, and I heaved a sigh. She wasn’t just going to give in. “Mary, I want you to stay here. I don’t like living on my own, and there’s plenty of room for the both of us. You’d be doing me a favor if you came here to live.”
Silence filled the space between us, as she worried her lip and looked away from me. “I’ll think about it.”
I nudged her with my knee. “Don’t think too long about it. There’s a lot we need to do to get you ready to move in here.”
Her laugh sounded a little off and I leaned forward, getting a good look at her face. She dashed the tears away and nodded. “Fine. Since you’re not giving me much of a choice, I suppose the best thing to do is agree with you. But, Riley? The minute it gets to be too much or you want to be on your own, you have to promise me that you’ll tell me. Okay?”
I felt like a bobble head with the way my head dipped and swayed. She’d agreed to stay. Neither of us would be alone anymore.
OVER THE NEXT WEEK, WE’D packed up her house during the day and then went back home to sort through what I had. Converging two houses together was time consuming and a little overwhelming, but Mary made it sort of fun.
We’d started with the hardest part first. Cleaning out my dad’s room. Mary had insisted I take the master bedroom so that we could just move my stuff and Ace’s in at the same time. I’d blushed when she said it, but she continued as if it were no big deal.
When it came time to move the heavy furniture, I enlisted Dr. Anderson, Seth, and Aaron to help us. By the end of the day, all the big furniture was moved and set up. All that was left was to finish packing up the rest of whatever Mary wanted to keep. She didn’t have a whole lot to pack and yet, she still managed to have several boxes of things she’d planned to donate to the Red Cross.
Between the two of us, we put a huge dent in all the extra stuff in my house to make room. It was the first time in a long time that my house had a feminine touch. Gone were the dark curtains, replaced by sheer panels that allowed the sun to light up the room. Soft, fluffy towels were stacked inside the linen closet that had a hinted scent of lavender that escaped when you opened the door. The windows were so clean that you could see your reflection when you passed by them.
My chest didn’t ache anymore on the ride home at the end of the day. I felt liberated and whole again, knowing my home was filled with laughter and love. She and I, we’d make it. And when Ace came home, it would only get better.
MARY AND I HAD DECIDED to paint the living room a soft, buttery yellow, so all the furniture was pulled to the middle of the room. We were almost done when my cell phone rang. I’d taken to keeping it in my back pocket, so I didn’t miss any calls. Not hearing from Ace for so long had weighed heavy on me. Would it always be like that? Could I just pick up and move off to wherever he was, only to sit around wondering when the phone would ring? I shook my head and set the paint roller in its tray. Pulling the phone out of my back pocket, I glanced at the screen and a moment of panic shot through me. Unknown Caller. I swiped my finger across the screen and answered.
“Hello.” The line was static filled, but I swear I could hear someone breathing on the other end.
I pushed the phone against my ear as hard as I could, hoping to hear better.
“Riley… so sorry…” I knew that voice. I could pick it out of a crowd of a hundred people.
“Ace!” The connection hummed and popped in my ear. Garbled noised scratched at my eardrum, but he never answered. It sounded as if he stood in the middle of a crowd, and the noise drowned out all else. “Ace, can you hear me?” Nothing. Absolute silence. “Jake?” He didn’t answer. I pulled the phone away from my ear and saw that the call had been dropped. I pushed the number and tried to redial it, but all I got was a weird tone, and then it disconnected.
“Is everything okay, Riley?” Mary asked, putting her hand on my arm.
I looked at her and slipped the phone into my back pocket. “I don’t know. That was Jake. I’m sure of it, but the call dropped, and I can’t call it back.”
She nodded her head and plastered a smile on her face. “I’m sure he’ll call you back as soon as he gets a better connection.”
She was right. She had to be. There was no way Ace called just to tell me he was sorry. What the hell did he have to be sorry for, and why call just to say that? I’d rather he’d said ‘I’m coming home’. I shook my head to keep the bitterness from setting in. There was a reasonable explanation, and I wasn’t going to get angry with him. That he’d called would be enough until the next time I spoke to him. When I did, I’d tell him his phone conversations were severely lacking.
No matter how much I wanted to push it aside, it nagged at me for the rest of the day.
After all the furniture was moved back into place, I jogged up the stairs and grabbed a shower. I was probably the worst painter in the world. There was more on me than the walls.
Mary and I ordered pizza for dinner. Neither one of us had it in us to cook. Between moving, cleaning, and work, both of us were exhausted. It was a good kind of tired though. The type where you fall into bed, have a dreamless sleep, and wake up refreshed enough to tackle a new day.
IT HAD BEEN TWO DAYS since Ace’s mysterious call. He hadn’t called back, and a niggling sense of worry danced on my nerves. When Mary and I packed his stuff up, we’d put the boxes in my closet. I decided that I’d put them away when I got home from class. My English Lit professor was long winded, and I found myself drifting off as he spoke. Most days, I fought just to keep my eyes open, and my grades reflected it. I couldn’t wait for class to be over with. I just needed to get through twenty more minutes, then I’d be able to jump in my truck and head home. I had to pass the class, so I forced myself to pay attention.
When the hour was up, I all but ran out of the room and to the parking lot. My truck roared to life and I rolled my window down, letting the fresh air wake me up. Ten minutes later, I pulled into the driveway and parked. A car I’d never seen before sat in front of the house, making me wonder if maybe Mary had company that stopped by.
Upon closer inspection, I could see someone sitting inside the car. I slammed my truck door shut and took a step towards the other vehicle, when the driver’s side door opened and a man dressed in uniform got out. He closed his door with a soft thunk and pulled his cap onto his head. Confused as to why he was there, I waited for him to walk up to me.
“Excuse me, Miss, but does Mary Aceton live here?” he asked, looking from me to the house.
I felt myself stiffen. “She does. May I ask why you’re here?”
“I need to speak to her, please.” He wasn’t giving an inch, but neither was I.
The front door opened, and Mary called out. “Riley? Who’s here?”
The man in front of me spun on his heels and walked over to where Mary stood in the open doorway. “Are you Mary Aceton?”
Her hand flew to her throat. “Yes.”
The man gestured to the doorway. “May I come in for a moment?”
Mary stepped back, disappearing inside the house, and I found myself moving forward without even thinking about it. That man dressed in uniform wasn’t welcome here. He had bad news. I could feel it.
I made it into the house, as Mary dropped into a kitchen chair. The sharply dressed soldier had removed his hat and held it in front of him with a hand that clutched it tight.
I walked over, stood behind Mary’s chair, and put my hand on her shoulder. Her hand shot up and grasped at mine.
“Ms. Aceton, my name is Sergeant Phillip McKinney. I served in the same special ops team as your son, Jake. Ma’am, there’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just…” He paused for a second, and I watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down. “Jake’s tea
m was sent in on a mission. The mission was compromised. The transport carrying part of my team was taken out. Jake was one of the men who didn’t make it.”
I felt my knees giving out on me, and I swayed behind Mary. Her sob cracked something that I thought I had a hold on wide open. I shook from head to toe and forced my legs to hold me. “There has to be a misunderstanding. Ace just called me the other day.”
Sergeant Phillip’s lips pulled flat along his teeth. “That’s impossible, ma’am. The attack happened last week.” He shoved his hand inside his pants pocket and pulled out a long chain. It dangled from his fingers in a flash of silver. “This is the only thing that we could find.”
I reached out, snatched the dog tags from his fingers, and ran my thumb over Jake’s name. “I think you better look into this a little more. Jake called me two days ago. I know it was him!” I shook the dog tags in the air between us. “How can you say this is all that’s left? He wore these, correct?”
Sergeant Phillip’s stance never changed. He remained calm and kept a steady eye on me. “I understand it’s hard to believe, ma’am. Trust me, I know.”
I snorted at what he said and rolled my eyes. “You claim he was under attack wearing these. I find it odd that there isn’t even a single black mark or scratch on them. You’re lying, and I want to know why! And I want to know where Ace is!”
Mary shot up from her seat and grabbed a hold of me, catching me before I shoved the man standing in front of me. It was like she knew I was at the end of my rope and about to snap.
Sergeant Phillip’s stance changed. He relaxed and slapped his hat against his leg. “Ace said you were a spitfire.” One side of his mouth kicked up at the corner. Not quite a smile, not quite a grimace, and I wanted to scratch it off his face with both hands.
The Summer I Fell (The Six Series) Page 21
