Distance

by Andrea Heltsley

  “What does Jameson have to do with this?”

  I groaned. It was time to tell her about the mess in the front yard. I prepared myself for the onslaught of questions that were sure to follow.

  “Apparently he wants to leave the girl he cheated on me with. That’s okay, but he wants to marry me! I don’t want that and I’m ready to throttle him. He can’t get it through his thick skull that we are over.”

  “What a snake. I’m so glad you didn’t fall for his advances. I couldn’t imagine him being my son-in-law. You deserve so much better than him. Is that how you got in a fight? Did she attack you?”

  I knew she was trying to understand my debacle and I loved her more for it.

  “Yeah, Christy showed up and tried to show me a thing or two with her fist. That’s not the worst of it, though. Gina, Mason’s ex-girlfriend, showed up too. She is still hung up on him and thinks I’m in her way. She also went after me. I can’t seem to catch a break.”

  “That’s awful. You didn’t deserve either of their attacks. I thought Mason was the good guy. You really care for him, I can tell,” she replied.

  “He is a good guy, Mom. It gets worse. Mason showed up and Gina and Jameson freaked out. Jameson fought Mason, it was awful. They wouldn’t stop! Mason didn’t do anything to have to deal with him. I felt really bad.”

  Mom took my hands in hers and her concern was obvious. I loved her and would definitely miss how close we are.

  “Finally, after the three-ring circus settled down, I kicked everyone off the lawn and told them to go home. I had been through the ringer and was just done with it all.”

  “I’m proud of you, Lexi. You are a strong woman and I love you. Don’t ever forget you can talk about anything with me. I’ll always be here for you.”

  “Thanks, that means a lot.” I was mentally exhausted and just wanted to curl up in bed with a book. Anything to take my mind off things was welcome. “You know, Mom, I’m tired and emotionally drained. Do you mind if I turn in for the night? I might read for a bit.”

  “I think that’s a great idea. What are your plans for tomorrow, honey? I noticed you still aren’t packed yet.”

  I smiled at her. “Actually, Elena is coming over to help me get everything ready for our road trip. I’m glad we don’t have to bring furniture. It’s going to be a tight fit as it is. We both have way too much stuff. You should see how much she packed already.”

  “That sounds like Elena. Maybe we should get you one of those small trailers for rent to get you down there. I’ve been thinking about it, but just haven’t had time to discuss it with you. What do you think?”

  “It’s a great idea! Now I can take what I need and not worry about fitting everything. Even though we aren’t getting some stuff until we get there, it will still be next to impossible to get all our clothes and stuff in Polly.”

  “It’s settled then. Go and relax. Take a bubble bath and read your book. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  She shooed me out of the room and I decided to follow her advice and take a bath. It sounded awesome after all the aches and pains I was starting to feel.

  My foot hurt all over again thanks to getting roughed up by two psycho girls. I limped into the bathroom and started my bath. Then I stripped and looked at myself in the mirror while I waited. Ouch, I looked bad already. I can’t believe I broke up with Mason looking like this. He was right when he said I didn’t look so good.

  When the bath had filled up, I carefully got in and relaxed. All my thoughts melted away and I just enjoyed the feeling of my body loosening up.

  By the time I was done, I felt a lot better and noticed how exhausted the day had left me. Dressing in shorts and a tank top, I got under the covers and slipped into sleep.

  My phone’s ringtone woke me up the next morning. I rolled over to grab it and winced. I was a mess and my body was letting me know loud and clear. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw the glass of water and two pain pills sitting next to my phone. My mom was awesome.

  The ringing stopped briefly and then started again. It had to be Elena. No one else would keep calling me. I picked it up and pressed the button, not even bothering to look at the caller ID.

  “What’s up, Elena?”

  “Are you awake? I’m ready to come over. You need to get packed up!”

  She sounded way more excited than I was. Then again, she hadn’t taken a beating like I did. Reluctantly, I sat up in bed and replied.

  “I just need to get dressed, so come on over. Have you had breakfast yet?”

  “No, but I can stop and get some bagels and coffee if you want. That way we can get started as soon as we finish eating. We’re definitely going to need the caffeine if we plan on finishing today.”

  The thought of packing didn’t appeal to my battered body, but I knew it had to be done. We were leaving day after tomorrow. It was going to take us a few days to get to school and we wanted to be there to get ready for this upcoming weekend. Freshmen orientation started on Monday and we wanted to get settled before then.

  “That’s a great idea. I’ll see you in a bit.”

  “It’s a plan. Later, girl!”

  Elena hung up and I set the phone back on the nightstand. There were no other calls or texts. The reality that Mason and I were over and I was leaving hit me all over again and I wanted to cry. I would miss him. He was quite possibly the best part of my summer, maybe even my life.

  Starting to get a bit overdramatic, I shook off my thoughts and got dressed. Knowing we would be packing and I was sore as can be, I put on yoga pants and a plain black top.

  When she arrived twenty minutes later, I already had several boxes taped up and had just started to filter through my closet. I had no idea what to bring and what to leave.

  “Hey, Lexi May! Here is your coffee, just the way you like it.”

  She handed me the hot coffee and I took a small sip to test the temperature. It was still a little hot, but had cooled enough to sip on.

  “Thanks a bunch, I’m dragging ass this morning. I think it has to do with the beating I took yesterday,” I replied sarcastically.

  “Yeah, about that, how are you doing?”

  “I’m okay, just really sore.”

  “Awe, you’re starting to bruise. I hope they are gone by this weekend. I don’t want people to think I abuse you!”

  “I should be fine, at least I hope so. How was your night with Tate?”

  Elena frowned and I raised an eyebrow.

  “It sucked actually. We broke it off and it was really hard. I didn’t realize I had strong feelings for him. It seemed like we were just having fun, but I really cared about him, you know?”

  “I completely understand. Mason and I ended things last night, ourselves. It was one of the toughest things I ever had to do. It hurt worse than breaking up with Jameson. Mason was really someone special.”

  “Well, you did lose your virginity to him, didn’t you? That’s something you won’t ever forget. Speaking of, how was it? I’ve been dying to ask you!”

  “O.M.G., it was beyond amazing. My first time was really good and Mason was very gentle with me. I had no idea it would feel like that. You’ve been holding out on me!”

  “You’re cute. You have this dreamy look in your eyes when you talk about him. I have told you how awesome sex was, you just weren’t ready yet.”

  I thought about it for a minute and realized she was right. “I’m just glad it wasn’t with Jameson. It was so much more with Mason than it ever could have been with him. I guess the time was just right. I’m going to miss him.”

  “Cheer up; we need to stop being Debbie Downers. Just think; it’s only a few days away before we get to college. Things are going to change and I for one want to be ready, so let’s get packing!”

  Smiling, I nodded. When she saw the mess I was making, she rolled her eyes and surveyed the room.

  “Lexi May, what on earth have you been doing? A tornado must have touched down here.”

&nbs
p; I giggled. “I made boxes, but I just don’t know what the hell to take with me. I want to be prepared, but some of this stuff is just, ugh.”

  “Okay, first things first, let’s start with your clothes and then move on. Luckily, I have more fashion sense than you and can fix this. I will hand you stuff and you can fold it up into boxes. Then you can go through what’s left and decide if you want to take anything else.”

  “That sounds fair. Let me turn my iPod on and we can get started.”

  It felt like it took forever, but after hours of hard work, we finished packing up everything. My achy muscles were protesting and I could have used another relaxing bath. It was definitely on my list of things to do today.

  I had a lot more stuff than I expected to have. It’s a good thing we could get a trailer. There’s no way all of it would fit in Polly. Since she’s a V8, though, she can carry the weight as long as we got a hitch attached.

  I was about to talk to Elena about the trailer as we were loading the boxes to one side of the room, when a box slipped from my hand. My instincts were better than usual, because I managed to move my feet out of the way.

  The disappointing part was that it must have been a box of breakables, because I heard the noise of shattering when it met the ground.

  “Shit, I can’t believe that just happened.”

  Elena giggled. “I can, you’re not exactly known for your gracefulness.”

  “It’s not funny! I was bringing that stuff with me. Now I’m going to have to sort through what I can salvage. Boo.”

  “Here, I’ll help you.”

  “Thanks, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  “Lucky for you, you’ll never have to find out. I’m here for you through the thick and thin.”

  It was my turn to chuckle. “Good, because there will be a lot of thin around me with my luck.”

  “That’s just one of the reasons I love you.”

  After that, we finished moving the boxes. By the time we were done, it was dinnertime. Mom was working, like usual.

  “Do you want to stay and order Chinese food? We could watch the last episode of The Bachelorette on the DVR,” I suggested. Even though I didn’t necessarily like the show, Elena loved it.

  “Sure, that sounds great. Now that I’m not working or seeing Tate, I don’t really have much to do. Besides, my parents are getting all weird about me going away to college, so I’m not in the mood to be at home.”

  Once we had settled onto the couch with our food, I fired the DVR up. We ate in silence as our attention focused on the television.

  “I can’t believe he just said that! She’s going to eliminate him for sure. If she doesn’t, she’s an idiot!”

  “Calm down, Elena, it’s just a show. Oh wait, what? He didn’t just try to force her to say that. She can’t tell him she loves him until she chooses! What a prick. I’m voting for the other guy anyways. She has more chemistry with the other guy. This one is a chump.”

  We laughed and chatted about the show as it progressed. The bachelorette chose the right guy in our minds so it had a happy ending. I yawned, pulling my hands up over my head. It was getting late and I still wanted a bath before bed.

  “Okay, I’m heading home. Tomorrow, I’m relaxing and running a few errands. I will be expecting you the day after at seven a.m. sharp. We need to get me packed and on the road at a decent time.”

  We chatted for a few more minutes and then Elena let herself out. I locked the door behind her and started the bath. I craved the warmth so it could penetrate my sore body.

  I was so exhausted from the day of packing that falling asleep was a breeze.

  GETTING UP, I felt completely awake, even minus my morning coffee. It felt good to get some rest. According to my phone, I had slept past eleven a.m. and the overabundance of sleep put me in a great mood. My body was humming with energy.

  I put a little time into my appearance since I was feeling great. Another sundress covered my curves and flattered my figure. It was black, a great color for me. As soon as my makeup and hair were done, I put on my sequined black sandals and grabbed the keys to Polly.

  I tried not to think too much about the breakup. It was a complete roller coaster for me and I wasn’t sure how I felt about everything. Mason had been special. I mourned the loss of what we had, but logically knew it wouldn’t go anywhere.

  Today was about focusing on tomorrow. It was time to get everything done so I was prepared for the road trip to college with Elena. California was quite possibly going to be the longest road trip ever.

  First order of business was grabbing a cup of coffee. Even wide awake, I didn’t want to go through caffeine withdrawals. Mom had already left for work and I didn’t feel like making a new pot for myself.

  I stopped at the new little coffee shop. It was cute and had a kitschy vibe going on. The reds it was decorated with made the place vibrant. The crowd of people had the atmosphere humming with energy.

  When it was my turn, I approached the counter. I ordered a vanilla latte, craving something different. Change was in the air and I was ready for it.

  I brought the coffee to my lips before I stepped back to allow a man to pass. My back thudded into a hard body and the hot coffee spilled all down my front. I should have known the day wouldn’t be as easy as I hoped.

  The man behind me apologized profusely and I gave him a weak smile. I just stood there, dripping wet from coffee, not sure what to do. I didn’t want to make more of a mess by trudging across the coffee shop.

  It had no sooner crossed my mind when the man stepped away and grabbed some napkins. He handed them to me and I was at least thankful for that. Dabbing at my sundress, it took a few minutes to completely soak up the liquid.

  Too embarrassed to order another drink, I thanked the stranger and bolted. It only took me a few minutes to get Polly in gear and onto the main street, away from the coffee shop.

  Once I was out of sight, I took in a deep breath and tried to calm myself. Thankfully, I had worn black, so it wouldn’t show the stains, just the wet spots. The biggest problem was that I didn’t have time to go home and change. I had an appointment at the local garage to get my hitch put on Polly.

  Five minutes later, I pulled into George’s Garage and Tire. Polly was parked in the lot as I went in to give them the keys and wait.

  The air-conditioning froze my wet skin and I shivered. It was a big contrast to the Florida heat. Stepping up to the counter, I waited for someone to help me. As soon as the guy came around the corner, I had to keep my jaw from hitting the floor.

  He was gorgeous. Light brown hair was pulled back, displaying a chiseled jaw and perfectly sloped nose. I wanted to drool when his chocolate-brown eyes settled on me. He smiled the sexiest smile and I couldn’t help but return it.

  I was momentarily speechless, but soon recovered. “I’m here to get a hitch put on my car. I have an appointment.”

  The guy looked in his book and crossed out a name. “You must be Lexi. Have a seat and we’ll get you fixed up in about twenty minutes.”

  He gestured to the plastic chairs that lined the wall facing a small television in the corner. I nodded and took a seat. Now was the time to wish for a cardigan. It was cold enough in here without being soaked.

  Resigned to suffering, I pulled out my Kindle and tried to read it. The current romance I was reading couldn’t keep my attention, so I settled on an urban fantasy about werewolves. It was interesting enough, but when the guy came back in, my eyes drifted to him.

  His well-worn jeans clung to him in all the right spots. The shirt he was wearing looked like a second skin and displayed thick, corded muscles underneath the thin cotton.

  I knew he had caught me checking him out when I looked up to find him smirking at me. Jerk. My cheeks flamed with embarrassment and I tried to refocus on my book.

  No matter how hard I tried, it was next to impossible to keep my eyes from wandering to the eye candy in front of me. He was shuffling some papers a
nd writing on them. This was pure torture.

  After about ten minutes, he left and I let out a breath of relief. I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I was just getting over Mason and I had no plans to have any interest in guys right now.

  Everything was falling in place and I was starting a new chapter in my life tomorrow. No attachments, free to focus on all the changes I would endure. Regardless of the promise of starting over, I already missed Mason like crazy and wished things could have been different.

  I was deep in thought when the sexy guy returned with my keys in hand. “Lexi, your car is finished. It took no time at all to install the hitch. It’s a shame that you had no one handy to install it for you, but I guess that makes it my gain.”

  I smiled a genuine smile. He was nice and I was pretty sure he was flirting with me, which didn’t happen too often.

  “I needed it done today and it’s just my mom and me.”

  “Well, Lexi, if you have any time, I’d love to take you out.”

  I was temporarily speechless again. He just hit on me. I was definitely flattered. Wow, just wow. Unfortunately, I had to turn him down.

  “I would love to, except I leave for California tomorrow. Thanks for the invite, though.”

  He nodded. “In that case, have fun in California.”

  The guy was genuine when he said it and I knew he would have been a nice guy to hang out with. “Thanks again for getting my car finished fast.”

  He handed me my keys and I bolted before I could do something embarrassing.

  Once I picked up the trailer, I carefully drove off, grabbed some lunch, and headed home. Mom said she would be back early so we could spend some time together and I didn’t want to disappoint.

  As soon as I reached the house, I realized that I couldn’t just park in the driveway. Using my best judgment, I pulled along the curb in front of the house.

  If only it was that easy. I underestimated the space and went up on the curb and into the grass. Great, Mom was going to have tire tracks in her yard from it. She was used to my clumsiness and wasn’t going to care, but that didn’t stop me from feeling bad about it.