Why Now?

by Carey Heywood

  “What’s up with avoiding sunlight? You turn in to a vampire since the last time I saw you?”

  She slumps into the armchair next to the couch and covers her face with her hands. “I tripped stepping onto a curb and fell flat on my face during a live feed.”

  Sitting up, I say, “Please tell me there’s video of that.”

  She doesn’t move her hands. “I hate you.”

  “Don’t lie; you know you’d watch a video of me busting my ass.”

  Her lack of a response is answer enough.

  Taking pity on her, I ask, “Want me to get you a drink? There’s an open bottle of wine in the fridge.”

  “Yes, but don’t bother with a glass. Just bring the bottle,” she replies, lowering her hands.

  It’s then I see the Band-Aid on her chin. “How bad is your chin?”

  She lifts her hands and I see her palms are covered with Band-Aids. “My hands took the brunt of my fall.”

  “What were you doing a report on?” I ask, getting up.

  “Promise you won’t laugh?” she sighs.

  Raising my brows, I shake my head and she huffs.

  “It was a segment on the dangers of walking and messing with a cell phone.”

  “How is that funny?” I ask.

  She rolls her eyes. “It isn’t that funny because people have died walking out in front of cars, but the clip that ran at the segment introduction was a kid on his phone falling into one of the indoor ponds at the mall. I didn’t even have the excuse of a phone distracting me.”

  “Don’t beat yourself up. People fall. It’s not the end of the world.”

  She lowers her eyes from the ceiling. “That advice would be easier to swallow if I could wash it down with some wine.”

  Kacey walks in as I’m getting the bottle of wine. When I walk back into the living room, she’s there, kneeling next to Reilly, hugging her.

  “How’d you hear?” I ask, crossing the room to pass Reilly the bottle.

  Kacey stands so I can give her a hello hug and kiss. “Reilly texted me after it happened.”

  Glancing down at Reilly, I joke, “Hopefully you weren’t texting and walking at the same time.”

  “Jake!” Kacey gasps as Reilly kicks me in the shin.

  “Too soon?” I ask, rubbing my shin while they both glare at me. “I get you’re embarrassed about what happened but you can’t hide. Laugh it off and people will forget about it.”

  Reilly shakes her head. “Do you know there are videos dedicated to on-air screw ups all over the Internet? They even make compilations of the best ones. There’s a decent chance that my video is going viral as we speak. I’d look but I’d rather not know.”

  Kacey reaches down to rub her shoulder. “What’s your schedule look like for the rest of the week?”

  “Sadly, if I want to remain employed I have to go in tomorrow.”

  “Will you cheer up if I treat us to delivery from the pizza place?” I ask.

  She takes a swig from the bottle. “Does that offer include bread sticks?”

  My sister is a fruit. “Sure.”

  Glumly, she nods. “Yes, please.”

  “Want me to call it in?” Kacey asks, looking up at me.

  “Sounds good. Want a beer?”

  “I can get it,” she argues.

  Brushing my lips over hers I reply, “I got it.”

  She reaches for her phone and places our order while I get her drink. When she hangs up she motions for me to follow her into her . . . our room.

  “Did you see the video?” She asks, as I pass her drink to her.

  “No.” I shake my head and then ask, “Have you?”

  She sets her drink on her dresser. “After Reilly texted me I looked to see if it was online.”

  “And?” I prompt when she goes quiet.

  “There were already one hundred thousand views on it and that was at least an hour ago.”

  “Shit,” I murmur.

  This is not the way Reilly wanted to make her mark as a journalist. Kacey rummages through her dresser drawers and, with some clothes in her hands, goes to her bathroom to change out of her scrubs.

  It’s cute that she isn’t ready to undress in front of me. Another sign that I need to take it slow with her. She comes out a minute later in a long tee and some leggings.

  “Should I tell Reilly how many views there were?” She asks.

  “I wouldn’t. Let her drink that wine and eat bread sticks. She’ll find out soon enough.”

  “Do you know where her phone is?”

  “I haven’t seen her mess with it since she’s been home.”

  Kacey comes to stand in front of me, reaching up to wrap her arms around my neck. “What time are you leaving tomorrow?”

  Leaning down, I kiss her neck. “Early. I want to catch the eight a.m. train to Santa Barbara.”

  She presses deeper into me. “Can I drive you to the train station?”

  “Only if you promise not to cry,” I reply.

  She sniffles and I lift my head so I can see her face. She tries to turn away but she can’t hide the wetness in her eyes.

  “Hey, don’t cry,” I murmur, cupping her face and moving so I can look in her eyes.

  She blinks, nods, and sniffles again.

  “I’m coming back. It’s only for a month.”

  “I know,” she croaks and pushes forward to faceplant into my chest.

  Wrapping my arms around her, I hold her tightly. This sucks. It kills me that she’s this sad. Jesus, I’m going to miss her, too, but we have to focus on the end game.

  What sucks more than anything else is that I won’t be able to talk to her for the most part while I’m gone. It’s not like there’s cell service out there. For me, it will suck, but I’m used to it and working twelve-hour days.

  It’s her I’m worried about. This is still new, and she worries that once I’m gone I’ll change my mind about her.

  There’s nothing I can say that will convince her otherwise, I’ve tried. The only thing that will do it is my coming home for good. In thirty days, that’s exactly what I’ll be doing. Pressing my nose into her hair, I inhale her scent and try to imprint it into my memory.

  Tomorrow I’m going to let her drive me to the train station, even though I know she’ll cry. As much as it will hurt to see her like that, I want to stay with her as long as I can. They’ll be dragging my ass onto the train.

  The sound of a knock on their . . . our front door has me lifting my head. “Pizza’s here.”

  She stays where we stood, wiping her eyes as I head through her . . . our door and then into the living room to the front door so I can pay.

  When I open the door, it’s Heath, not a pizza place delivery person standing there.

  “Can I come in?” He asks.

  Behind him, a teenage kid carrying our pizza order approaches. Not about to have words with Heath in the doorway of the apartment, I make room for him to step inside. Then I turn back, pulling my wallet from my back pocket so I can pay the delivery kid.

  Once that’s done, I close the door and carry our food into the kitchen, not saying a word to Heath when I pass him. Kacey comes out of her . . . our room. With her pale skin, it’s plain to see she was crying.

  “What’d he do?” Heath demands as soon as he sees her.

  “Are you fucking serious with this shit?” I ask walking back into the living room.

  He gestures towards her face. “She’s been crying.”

  “Why were you crying?” Reilly asks, squinting up at Kacey.

  “She’s sad I’m leaving tomorrow,” I reply. “Not that it’s any of your business.” I direct toward Heath.

  “I fucking knew you were going to take off,” he accuses, shaking his head in disgust.

  My eyes widen then narrow on him. “Wishful thinking, asshole. I gave notice on the rig. I’m only going back to train my replacement. I’ll be back in a month. For good.”

  He opens his mouth but I cut him off. “I
t’s nice to know what you think of me. Other than being pissed at me because Kace picked me over you, I somehow thought you would still be my friend once the dust settled. Guess I was fucking wrong on that score.”

  Heath hangs his head, reaching up to drag his hand over his face. “Fuck. When you said you were going, I jumped to conclusions.”

  “Obviously,” I snapped. “Now, why are you here?”

  “I saw the video and wanted to check on Reilly.”

  At this, Reilly stands, wine bottle in hand. “Did you see the live feed or was it a video online?” She asks.

  Heath blinks, unaware that he’s about to step on a land mine. “It was online.”

  Reilly lifts the bottle in some sort of mock salute. “Well that’s just fucking peachy. Did you happen to see how many views the video had?”

  “Don’t answer that,” I murmur and Heath’s eyes widen.

  Reilly’s mouth tightens before she pauses to take a long swig from her bottle. “I’d really like a bread stick right about now.”

  Kacey is the first to move, skirting Heath to make a plate for Reilly.

  “Want some pizza?” I ask Heath.

  He looks surprised. Honestly, I have bigger shit to worry about so I’m over being pissed at him. Tomorrow, I’m leaving for a month. My little sister may or may not be a laughing stock on the World Wide Web, and I need someone to keep an eye on Kacey for me while I’m gone.

  It might sound crazy to trust Heath to do that since he wanted to marry her. That doesn’t mean he isn’t a good guy, and since he cares about her he’d be the last person that would want anything to hurt her. His braving my wrath to come check on Reilly is evidence of that.

  Breadsticks seem to calm the savage beast that is Reilly, that or the wine. On the couch, Kacey sits on one side of me, and Heath the other.

  It’s awkward; no lie. If I were in Heath’s shoes, I’d be pissed at me right now. This is the first time we’ve seen each other since Kacey gave him back the ring.

  Reilly breaks the silence and ask Heath, “Who are you going to ask to marry you now?”

  “Reilly,” Kacey gasps.

  “Not cool, kiddo,” I murmur.

  Heath just laughs but there’s a bitter quality to it that makes it clear he didn’t find her question humorous.

  Finally, he says, “Not you, Reilly. You’d probably cut off my dick while I slept.”

  She shrugs.

  “How’s your mom doing?” Kacey asks, changing the subject.

  He tilts his head left and then right. “Some days are better than others. She’s weak but that’s,” he stammers, “to be expected.”

  Reilly sets down her bottle. “I’m such an asshole. I’m all focused on my own shit and not even thinking about the stuff that’s actually important.”

  He gives her a small smile. “It’s okay, Reils. You’ve had a shit day.”

  Catching Heath’s eye, I ask, “Will you come outside with me. I wanted to talk to you about something.”

  “No fighting,” Reilly shouts.

  “Drink your wine, dork,” I reply as Heath nods and stands.

  I follow him outside, closing the door behind me. “I know this is a dick thing to ask considering everything that went down with us, but can you keep an eye on them while I’m gone?”

  His jaw tenses, “Is there anything going on I need to worry about.”

  Leaning back against the door I look out at the parking lot. “People are going to say shit when I leave. That’s how things work here and they’re going to say shit to Kacey. I’d appreciate if you could buffer some of that bullshit.”

  “How am I supposed to do that?”

  “Look, you’re the injured party in our situation. If you stand by her maybe people will think twice about spewing crap in her direction.”

  He grins. “You’re really coming back, aren’t you?”

  Turning my head, I look at him. His face is illuminated by the glow of lampposts from the parking lot. Warmth fills me at the thought of coming back to her.

  “Nothing is going to keep me away from her.”

  “We got a full price offer,” Reilly shrieks, phone in hand, as she runs into the kitchen.

  My jaw drops and then I close the fridge and start jumping up and down.

  She lifts her phone back to her ear. “Yes, we’ll accept it. I’ll be there in fifteen.”

  She hangs up and sets her phone on the counter. “Will you go with me?”

  Before Jake left, he gave Reilly authority to deal with any offers that came in on the house since Rich wouldn’t have been able to get in touch with him.

  This is fantastic news. Frowning, I look down at my feet.

  Reilly reaches out to touch my arm. “What’s wrong, Kace? This is good news.”

  Sadly, I look up and meet her eyes. “I miss him. I wish I could call him right now and tell him.”

  She moves closer, draping her arm around my shoulders. “Only two more weeks honey. Just think, you’re already halfway done.”

  She’s right. The first week was the worst. Heath has been around a lot, though, which surprised me. Reilly thought he was trying to make another move on me since Jake was away but it hasn’t been like that at all.

  He’s been nothing but a gentleman and hasn’t flirted or anything.

  Still, I only had Jake, really had him, for a week. Why does his absence feel like a physical thing?

  That week changed me. Every night before I fell asleep we would quietly share our days while he held me in his arms. He told me everything he remembered about the night I kissed him.

  For so many years, I lived with this unrequited love for him. It embarrassed me, loving someone who I thought never saw me as anything other than the best friend of his little sister. To find out that he thought of me, was attracted to me, but never started anything because he didn’t want to hurt me, made waiting for him all of those years worth it.

  For one perfect week, the stars aligned and it was like a dream come true.

  It’s silly, but I haven’t washed the pillowcase he used since he’s been gone. He left me a tee shirt that I’ve slept in every night; wrapping my arms tight around myself and pretending they’re his.

  Plastering on a fake smile, I say, “You’re right. Now, let’s go accept that offer.”

  She gives me a squeeze. If she were in my shoes, she wouldn’t be moping around like a lovesick fool

  When we get to Rich’s office, he explains the specifics of the offer. The buyers want to close as soon as possible, which is perfect since the house is vacant.

  Reilly accepts all of their terms including their request for a home inspection. That’ll be scheduled sometime in the next couple of days and if anything comes up during the inspection Rich will call Reilly.

  As soon as we’re in the parking lot, Reilly turns to me. “Now we’re going for a drink to celebrate.”

  The last thing I want to do is go out but this offer is good news so I reply, “Where do you want to go?”

  “What sounds better, Aho Jose’s or Brew Masters?”

  “I want chips and guac,” I reply, suddenly all over celebrating.

  She knows exactly how to cheer me up.

  “Should I text Heath?” I ask and she raises her brows. “Oh, stop. You know it isn’t like that. I’m asking because he said he was going to stop by today.”

  She pulls out her phone. “I’ll text him.”

  He meets us twenty minutes later. Reilly is on her second margarita and I’m nursing a Corona.

  Everything’s going great until some guy shouts, “Nice trip, see you next fall,”

  Heath stands up and glares in the direction of the guy who shouted. “Real funny, asshole.”

  Reilly waves her hand. “It’s cool. It was funny. I love being a gigantic joke.”

  The guy walks away and Heath sits back down. “Is that still happening a lot?”

  Reilly nods. “Every fucking day. I’ve gotten used to it.”

  She s
ays that but it’s a lie. Last Friday she went out with some of her coworkers from the station and started talking to a cute guy at the bar. She liked him and thought he was nice. His friend showed up and recognized her from the video. He showed it to his friend while she had to stand there and pretend like it didn’t bother her.

  After the guy she liked laughed at her falling and asked his buddy to replay it, she left. Reilly isn’t a crier but her eyes were red. She tried to play it off like she had something in her eyes.

  “Do you want to leave?” I ask.

  She slurps down her drink. “Nope, I’m fucking celebrating and I need another drink.”

  Heath keeps her in margaritas and me in chips and guac. He deserves a medal. Since I only had the one beer, I drive us home.

  After following us home from the bar, Heath helps Reilly stumble into her bedroom, leaving us alone in the living room.”

  Tilting his head in the direction of her room, he asks, “Should I be worried?”

  Motioning for him to sit, I reply, “I wish that video would go away. We were having a great time until that guy said that.”

  “People are going to forget about it. It’s only been two weeks,” he says.

  “I hope you’re right.”

  He grins. “Want me to go back and kick that guy’s ass?”

  I laugh. “Would you?”

  Reilly shouts from her room, “Yes, please.”

  Heath stands. “I was joking.”

  He follows me to the door and I watch him cross the parking lot to his car. When he reaches his door, he looks back at me and lifts his chin.

  “Kacey! Kacey, wake up!”

  Blinking, I look up and see Reilly hovering over me. “What?”

  “There’s.” She croaks, her voice breaking and covers her mouth.

  I bolt upright. “What?”

  She shakes her head and lowers her hands. “There’s been an explosion on Jake’s rig.”

  Scrambling out of bed, I follow her into the living room. There, on our TV is a smoking oilrig with a helicopter flying around it.

  Covering my mouth, I gasp, “Oh my God. Have you heard anything about Jake?”