by Annie Brewer
So this place blows. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting but seriously. I’m out in the country, without a damn thing to do. City life is miles different. I’ve been to most states in the US to visit and I’ve seen a lot. But I get bored easily. I have to be doing something to stimulate my mind or I’ll go apeshit. I’m starting to wonder if moving here was a mistake. How’s a city boy going to acclimate to country life?
“Noah!” The brunette catches up to me, running and out of breath. I stop to gawk at her. “Sorry about Landon. He doesn’t filter.”
“Neither do I.” I’m assuming she means the blonde. We walk along the edge of the highway that meets wide yard in front of the house. She’s quiet. I don’t even know why she followed me. As soon as I open my mouth to ask her, she turns to me and smile. “I’m Maddy, by the way.” As if I was wondering who she was. Was I?
“Cool.” I roll my eyes at my attempt at nonchalance. She giggles.
“Well, I better get back to my friends. I guess I’ll see you around.” Before I can say anything, she runs back toward the house. She’s a pretty quick runner, graceful even. Well, that was…weird.
I kick rocks around, sorting out my thoughts. I don’t belong here. It’s too country; and I’m not. It’s too quiet and I hate quiet. It allows me to think too much and that leads to trouble. My feet pick up speed, before I know it, I’m running. I glance at my surrounds, more houses to the right of me, though they’re spread far and wide.
Across the highway is a Dollar General store. God, where’s the civilization? I jog across the street, though I could just walk to it if I wanted since there are no cars in sight. But running feels good and it’s been awhile since my feet have had the exercise. They slow down when I get onto the property and I allow my breath to catch up and pulse to slow down.
Walking through the store with no money to buy anything, I look at the snacks and food. My stomach growls quietly, reminding me I haven’t eaten in days. Not good food anyway, just mainly the junk at the gas stations. I continue my walk-thru of the store-because it’s been the highlight of my day so far.
“Sir.” I turn around to see a cute old lady looking right at me, but she’s a distance away. I look behind me thinking that she was talking to someone else but see no one in the aisle I’m in. I face her again and she waves her hand, gesturing to herself.
I approach her. “Did you need something?”
“Yes, I’m sorry to bother you but I injured my back and I have trouble bending over.” She grunts in frustration of the fact that she’s asking for help, “Could you help me? I’ve dropped some stuff over here.” I follow her to find glass all over the floor from a bowl she must have dropped.
“Oh, shit. Let me get someone to clean that up. Stay back, I’ll be right back. Be careful.”
“I’m such a klutz, it sucks being old.” She starts to cry and my first instinct is to run away. I hate crying women, they freak me out. I don’t know how to console them. I was never good at that shit.
“I’ll be right back. It’s okay. This stuff happens.” I power walk to the front where a lady, a chick my age is chatting on her phone. Are you kidding me? “Excuse me.” She’s still talking away as if I’m not here and my impatience is increasing. I walk to the other side so I’m standing in front of her. I grit my teeth and force a smile. “Excuse me.” She finally looks at me.
“Can I help you?” She doesn’t bother hiding her annoyance at my interruption from her phone conversation. She covers the phone with one hand.
“Yes, there was an accident on the floor. There’s glass everywhere and it needs to be cleaned up before someone gets cut.” She’s not paying attention. I blow out a puff of air, pissed off now. “Shouldn’t you be working instead of ignoring your customers?”
“I’ll get someone to clean it up, thanks.” She goes back to her conversation and at this point, I’ve had enough. I storm off in search of a broom and dust pan to clean it myself and then I plan to tell the manager and have this bitch fired.
I find the household appliances aisle and grab a broom from its hook as well as the pan. I walk back and the lady is still there, appearing frazzled. I feel bad for her. If I wasn’t around, she’d probably be shit out of luck with being helped. I shovel all the glass in one area and get on my knees before shoveling it all in the pan. “Thank you for helping. I’d probably slip on it. Being an old lady, my eye sight is not what it used to be.” I smile up at her, getting the remains of the glass together. She reminds me of the old lady in the Wedding Singer. I always liked that lady.
“What are you doing?” The bitch from the front squeals. I stand up straight and glare at her.
“This gentleman is helping, I accidentally dropped a bowl and it shattered. I’m so sorry. I didn’t want anyone slipping on it and get hurt.”
“Yeah, and no one was helping her, so I used this to clean it up.” I show her the broom and pan that I have not purchased and will not be purchasing, but more just to piss her off. I search for a trash can to dump the glass in. When I spot one, I practically push her out of the way to get to it and roll the trash towards me.
She says directly to the old lady as she pulls her away. “Oh Mrs. Freeman, you must be careful. You could really hurt yourself, I’m so glad you’re okay.” She looks back at me with a glare. I finish cleaning so I can get the hell out of here.
When I get back to the house, no one is there. “Hey Noah.” Except my aunt. I raid the cupboard and find cereal.
“This town is fucking boring.” She hands me the milk but says nothing. She sits down with her cup of coffee, gazing at me suspiciously. Finally tired of her scrutiny, I sit down across from her and begin eating. “Are you always so pleasant to your guests?” I finally ask to break the silence.
“Are you always so sarcastic with people you don’t know well?”
“Yes, I am.” I answer honestly.
“You know Noah, there will be some rules for you staying here.” I look at her with a raised brow, over my bowl.
“Rules? What am I like twelve? I’ve never followed rules but my own.”
“Let’s get a few things straight. Rule number one, show me respect in my house. I know where you come from, I wasn’t a fan of your father’s and if you’re anything like him, well, we need to fix that. I will not tolerate disrespect or filthy mouth. I want you to feel at home as long as you’re here but you need to understand me and where I come from.”
“Anymore rules?” I interrupt.
“No drinking and driving. I’ll leave your ass in jail if you get pulled over.” She’s a hard ass. I can deal with that. Finished with my cereal, I push the bowl aside and wait for her to finish. “You don’t have to like everyone and not everyone will like you. Fine. Just don’t start fights in my house. I don’t tolerate that petty crap. And it’s not just you, it’s anyone. Derrick knows this but he doesn’t fight with people. I will have a talk with Landon as well. He can be very arrogant. But your purpose for being here is to get away from New York and your old lifestyle and habits. Be the person you want to be, Noah.” I don’t even know who that person is.
“So what do you know about my life in New York? “
“I know enough; let’s just leave it at that.”
“Is there anything my mom didn’t blab about? Do you know about all the men she brought home? All the alcohol she paid more attention to than her own son? Or was it all just about me and what a fuck up I am?”
“Noah, I know a lot more than you think. And I need you to watch your mouth, please.” She sets her cup in the sink and turns to look at me. “One day you’ll understand.” She leaves the kitchen. I rinse my bowl out and put it in the dishwasher, stroll back to the room. I don’t bother unpacking because I don’t plan on staying here that long. I look around, feeling out of place and search through one of my boxes for my current read. When I find my book, I lie on my stomach and get lost in the world of dragons.
I’m a closet reader. I became a reader when my parents r
eally started their arguments and constant childish tantrums. It was my escape from my reality. It was either that or cry myself to sleep every night. I wasn’t into the whole emotional bull shit. I numbed my feelings so I felt nothing, turned it off like a faucet with no switch to turn back on. Reading helped me cope. I just never told anyone, not that it should matter what others thought but I wanted to maintain my image. Even now it sounds stupid. I kept everyone at arm’s length, except for two people, one of which I’ve already lost.
My room is right behind the kitchen so I can hear a lot through the wall. Doors closing and slamming gets my attention and I put my book down. I walk out of the room and find Derrick fixing a bowl of cereal. “It’s really loud. I can hear everything in the bedroom.”
“Sorry, the walls here are a little thin.” I imagine sex would be hard to accomplish without the house hearing. Not that I’ll have to worry about that. I sit down, watching him eat. “So, this place is lame. What’s there for people to do?”
“This isn’t New York, Noah if that’s what you’re asking.”
“No, this is not.” He forces the milk down onto the table, a pissed off expression crossing his face. I shut my mouth before further comments slip out.
“Do you always act like a dick?”
“Maybe.” I force out. He asked.
“Seriously Noah. You’re not in New York anymore. This is not your home. At least have the common courtesy to act like a guest and not a douche bag. I don’t care about your life back home. But this is my house, my life, don’t fuckin’ start shit!” Stunned by his outburst, I stare at him, knowing he’s right. At least that I should respect him and his mother. I really need to leave, find my own place.
“Sorry.” I mumble under my breath.
“We’re family. I want to help out but I need your help as well. Be nice to my friends, respect me and we’ll be fine. I promise him to be on my best behavior. I have no choice.
Chapter 10
Maddy
Today is the perfect day to swim. It’s not too hot, in the seventies. July has the hottest temperatures but June has great temps too. “Andi!” I yell, loud enough for the complex to hear. A few minutes of nothing, the door bursts open.
“What’s wrong? What happened?” Her face is frantically searching my face for what, I don’t know.
“Nothing, I was just yelling your name so you could hear me.”
Relieved, she gestures for me to scoot over so she could lie next to me. I scoot, she lies. “Okay, you scared the shit out of me.” No longer able to stifle my laugh, I roll over and laugh into my pillow. She elbows me in the shoulder, clearly peeved. “Well, what did you want my attention so badly for that you had to scream so loud and scare me half to death? I thought you were having another nightmare.” My laugh dies in my throat and I realize I didn’t consider my nightmares and that fact that I’ve woken up screaming her name. I feel like an ass. I roll over to her and bury my face in her shoulder, mumbling an “I’m sorry”.
I finally look up at her and ask, “Wanna go swimming today?”
“Well, let’s see, I’m off today, it’s nice outside, I need to work on my tan, uh, hell yes. I’ll invite the guys.” She climbs off the bed and out of the room, excitedly.
I stare up at my ceiling, too lazy to get up. And because that’s all there is to stare at, a poster of Vampire Diaries. Being a TV junkie, I don’t have one in my room. It’s not that I don’t want a television in my room like all of the rest of society, it’s just that not having money or having money only for the stuff you really need, makes it hard to buy the stuff you really want. I had to make sacrifices in order to make it by. It sucks, considering I’m behind on The Vampire Diaries, One Tree Hill and Supernatural. The only way to catch up is to buy the seasons on DVD. I don’t even know what happens with Stefan and Elena. But I’m a Damon fan, but who isn’t? Oh Andi isn’t. She won’t watch the show with me. Some roommate, right?
After having enough of the silence and boredom, I finally force myself out of bed. “Okay, they’re coming over. Get ready.”
I race back to my room, which isn’t really racing since my room is not that far from where I was standing. I open my top drawer and search through my garments and look for my bathing suit. I pick out two bikinis and one one-piece. Quickly putting the one-piece back because let’s face it, I’m not ten anymore.
“Go with the pink and blue one. Very sexy.” I turn to the sound of Landon’s voice.
“Thanks for knocking.” I put the black suit back, deciding on the blue and pink bikini with the boy brief bottoms, which I’d settled on before he waltzed into my room.
“I did.” He sits down on my bed. “Oh wait, sorry that was in my head.” He smiles innocently, grabbing me in a hug. We stay in an embrace until Andi’s voice reaches the room, telling us to hurry up.
I move to get up but he keeps me in place. “We can stay here, if you want.” Landon tries to keep me in his lap but I get out of his grip. “No, swimming was my idea. Now come on.”
“You’re killing me, Maddy.”
“You don’t have to come.” I snap irritably. He flinches at my tone. Good. I’m tired of him begging. He suffocates me and it’s getting old. I’ve told him to move on. I don’t mind dating, but I won’t give into sex just because he needs to get laid.
I leave the room to get changed into my bathing suit, a little frustrated now.
“I’m so excited.” Andi catches up to me as we circle around to the pool. Landon is still pouting like a child, lagging behind. I’m not gonna let him ruin our fun. “I’m excited too.” I loop my arm through hers and we approach the pool. It’s not too busy, only a couple of groups with three people. And most of them are laying out, sunning. I find a spot in the corner and gather some chairs. “This is great! Oh shit,” Andi pauses in thought, “We forgot drinks. The pool makes me thirsty.”
I shrug. “I’m fine.”
“I’ll call Derrick and ask him to bring some booze.” Landon walks away with his phone. I’m not in the drinking mood, but he’s already out of earshot. Andi gets in the pool, wearing her white bikini. It looks good against her skin tone. She tans easily, sun or bed. I on the other hand can get dark but not quite as dark as her. The only time I ever notice or think about it is in the summer, wearing bathing suits.
At first the water is slightly chilly. It’s only in the low seventies, not warm enough to heat up the pool, especially when the clouds are covering the sun every so often. I swim on my back, closing my eyes. “Hey.” I peek one eye open at Andi, swimming circles around me. “What’s Landon’s problem?” I guess she’s noticed him pouting too.
“He’s butt hurt, cause I turned him down.”
“Again?” She says in mock surprise. I splash her in the face with water. She splashes me back. “When is he going to learn that it’s not gonna happen? Again, that is. Or when are you going to give in and get it over with?”
I pretend to think about it and then say, “Never and never. Now let’s swim.” We swim laps, race each other and dunk one another under water. It’s like we’re kids again and for just a minute, I allow myself to feel like I am. And that my mother will come by and lean down over the pool and say, “Girls, time to get out of the pool now, you’ve been in there long enough, you’re gonna turn into prunes” with a smile on her face that says “five more minutes” and walk away. I smile at the many memories of her, and then my smile disappears at the realization that they’re only memories.
“Hey.” Is all I hear Landon say right before he dunks me. I inhale a mouthful of water and choke cough when I come back up, trying to catch my breath. A look of shock registers on his face, he begins patting me on the back. “Shit, I’m sorry.” I wipe my eyes and after a minute when I can breathe, I laugh and splash him. In return he splashes me and it ends up being fun and games.
“It’s about fucking time you show up. I’m thirsty.” I turn and see Derrick with a case of beer. With Noah.
“Sorry dude, I
didn’t know I was on your time frame.” He sets the case by the chairs and takes a beer out for Landon and brings him one. “So, uh what the fuck is he doing here?”
“Dude chill out, he’s my cousin. I invited him to be polite. And can you stop using the F-word in every other sentence?”
Landon begins to protest but I hit him in the chest stopping his words. I’m not sure why but he already doesn’t like Noah. “Be nice.” I watch Derrick walk away to sit with his cousin. Noah’s wearing khaki shorts and blue sleeveless shirt and sandals, a hat and sunglasses. And I can’t look away.
“Heads up!” Landon grabs me and throws me in the water. I need some goggles. I gasp for air when I come up, perturbed that he shocked me yet again. “Dammit, Landon. Could you give me fair warning next time?” I float away on my back before turning to my belly to do strokes. When I look back, Derrick has gotten in the pool splashing Andi, joined by Landon. I lean back against the wall of the pool and let my legs float. Watching everyone splash around and laugh, I keep to myself, observing, watching Noah. Watch me. The moment our eyes lock, I feel my face flush. I want to know who Noah is, what his story is.
Landon swims toward me, fully aware that Noah is staring at me, and not too happy about it. “What the fuck is he staring at you for?”
“Probably because I’m repulsive and he’s thinking, “what the hell did I come here for? This bitch is making me nauseous, why is my cousin friends with her?””
“Yeah, whatever. That’s a load of shit. He needs to be taught a lesson.”
“You need to swim, relax and quit being an asshat.” I dunk him under water, quickly making a getaway.
