Anna's Dress

by London Casey

  Shit, I kept everything safe with Anna. Even our secrets.

  Part of me wished I could have had better closure and actually seen Anna one more time but I heard the chatter on the way over that the accident was so bad there was no option other than this.

  The priest finished his prayers and we all blessed ourselves.

  I looked forward and saw Adena standing there. I recognized all her old friends around her, comforting her. Riley and Chloe holding her arms and trying to turn her. That’s when Adena looked up at me. Our eyes locked. I gave a quick nod and she nodded back to me. I took a step forward, wanting to go talk to her. Tell her I was sorry. Give her a hug.

  Anything after that, I had no idea.

  I felt a hand grab my shoulder and squeeze damn tight.

  “He lives,” a voice said. “Like rising from the dead.”

  I turned and saw Andy standing there. Now this guy had no shame ever in his life. He could stand at a funeral and talk about the dead rising. His face was as clean cut as always with the same jagged scar just under his lip that looked like a crooked Z. That was from the time we stole two dirt bikes and went for a ride. He dared me to do a burnout and I did, throwing a rock at his face, smashing his lip.

  “Andy,” I said.

  “Look at you. You know, most of us put on twenty pounds of fat… but you go and put on muscle. Jesus, man, what are you eating?”

  “How are you doing?”

  “Just great. I’ve settled into my cliché life, just like Mike. Taking over the family businesses in town to keep this place running.”

  “Could be worse,” I said and nodded to the casket.

  “Yeah. Shit. Right?” Andy still had his hand on my shoulder. He leaned in. “I got the car. Holy shit.”

  “What?”

  “Her car. After the accident. I started a little salvage yard kind of business on the side with Scott. Remember him?”

  “I remember. Does he still have that piercing above his lip?”

  “No. He grew up a little. Not much. Who knew his love of collecting junk could actually turn into a business. But anyway, the car. You should come see it.”

  “I don’t want to, Andy.”

  “Suit yourself. I’m thinking of keeping it and using it for one of those scare the kids straight kind of things. You know when they take a mangled car to schools and show what happens when you drink and drive?”

  “I don’t think we should be talking about this right now,” I said.

  “Why? It’s not like she can hear us.”

  I shook my head. “So you’re still an asshole.”

  “The question is, are you still a magician?”

  “Huh?”

  Andy backed up and waved his hands across his face and whistled. “Are you going to do your disappearing act again?”

  I watched as a lot of the people had already made their way to their vehicles and were leaving. That’s when I wondered what the hell I was supposed to do next.

  “Are you coming to the party?” Andy asked.

  “What party?”

  “I don’t know what you call it… the after party? The after life party? There’s a small get together at Adena’s house.”

  “Her house?”

  “Well, Beth’s house,” Andy said. “Adena got the house after Beth died. Shit, that was a tough one. Walking to her car one morning and…”

  “Yeah,” I said. I didn’t need to hear anymore of the shit I missed.

  “Yeah, what? You’re coming?”

  “No,” I said. “I wasn’t… I mean, I got word of this. So I thought I’d swing by. My uncle is too old to be running the shop by himself.”

  “Ah, so you’re getting sucked into it too. We never got to choose our own lives, did we? It was all planned out for us.”

  I glanced back over my shoulder. Then to Adena. Riley gave her a red rose. Then she and Chloe rubbed her back as Adena stepped toward the casket.

  Shit, if Andy’s words weren’t so true right then.

  We never got to choose our own lives… it was all planned out for us…

  I watched the way Adena walked. Nothing about her was girlish. Hell, nothing ever was.

  Except that first day I met her… but even then, I didn’t have a choice, did I?

  Chapter Nine

  (One Excited, One Scared, One Confused)

  YEARS AGO

  (Evan)

  I stole a car.

  I stole a fucking car.

  I saw Mr. Hendricks park the old station wagon out back of his store. I watched as he turned the car off but left the keys in the ignition. Shit, I had been wanting to drive a car for a long time. Just down the street and back. That was it.

  What’s the worst thing that could happen?

  I licked my lips and took the last drag of my smoke. I flicked it into the dry brush, ignoring everything I ever heard and saw about preventing forest fires. Honestly, we couldn’t get lucky enough to have the woods catch on fire. Or have the entire town burn to the ground. It would look better left in ash.

  Anyway, I got the car.

  I snuck to the lot and climbed into the car and I started it. The engine was loud, old, sounding a lot like Mr. Hendricks himself. But I knew Mr. Hendricks would have his little TV turned on and at full blast. He would sit in his beat up leather chair and watch game shows, the news, more game shows, the evening news, and then he’d close up.

  So I had some time to have some fun.

  People hated summer in town because of kids like me. But I wasn’t a damn kid anymore. I didn't need another six months to be told I was allowed to drive. I could drive right now. And I did.

  I took the station wagon for a ride down the street. There was a Y in the road. Left took you along what was considered to be an expressway. All that meant was that it connected one town to another. Eventually it would run into the entrance to the interstate. There I could head north, south, connect with the turnpike, shit, I could go coast to coast in the old station wagon.

  At the last second, I turned to the right. That took me down a little hill and went right into where the houses were. That road ran along the train tracks for a few blocks before the tracks slowly curved to the right and then would cut through the middle of town. There weren’t many trains that went through the town but we all hung out on the tracks. We put pennies on the tracks to flatten them if a train ever did come. But the homeless people would steal the pennies. We put rocks on the tracks because someone spread a rumor that they derailed a train once by doing that. I called bullshit… but I still tried it. We hung out on the bridge, looking down through the spaces between the tracks. We’d drop jelly beans and try to hit cars.

  That was the extent of our entertainment. Going to the playground was useless. We were too old to actually play on it. And anyone older than us were doing seriously bad stuff up there. They made money and drugs look like kid stuff.

  So that left me in a stolen car, cruising the back streets of town. Where old brick buildings stood to rot away with their faded paint. At one point in time the buildings were used, trains coming to town to pick up supplies and drop stuff off. You know, when the town mattered.

  I went down a dead end street and put the car in reverse. I cut the wheel and backed up. I was masterful behind the wheel of the station wagon.

  It was time to push the limits a little.

  I put the car into neutral. I stepped on the gas and let the engine roar. Then I put the car into drive. The engine bucked, the back tires screamed, and the car took off. It quickly darted to the right.

  “Shit!” I yelled.

  I cut the wheel to the left.

  The station wagon was heavy and lumbering. It wasn’t like a dirt bike at all.

  I saw a mailbox approaching way too fast.

  I cut the wheel again.

  The entire vehicle jumped and I thought I was going to flip the thing. The back of the station wagon wagged like a dog’s tail as I somehow wrestled it back into control. But not befor
e a few people came out on their porches to see what was going on.

  “Fuck,” I growled as I sped down the street.

  I deemed the stop sign at the end optional and turned right. I shot down the street and kept going. I bounced over the train tracks with too many thuds to count. The next stop sign I did stop. I sat there for a few seconds.

  I patted the dashboard. “Okay. This is good. Let’s go have some more fun.”

  I took a breath and wiped my brow.

  Adventure was so cool sometimes.

  Before I could hit the gas pedal again, there was a loud thump against the passenger window.

  I screamed.

  I looked.

  And there were two girls at the door, one of them trying to get into the car…

  “We need a ride now,” she said as she climbed across the passenger seat and grabbed my shirt.

  “What?”

  “Just drive us for a minute.”

  She had huge eyes. And a baggy shirt. And nothing under the shirt, meaning…

  I fought to keep my eyes up. Her hair was dark, messy, her face looking wild. She made my heart race a little when I looked at her. Behind her, still standing outside the station wagon, was another girl. She sort of looked like the first one. Except she was nervous as anything. Standing there, biting her bottom lip, looking left to right. She twirled her pointer finger into her long hair. Her hair was a little lighter than the other girl. But the eyes were sort of the same.

  “Wait,” I said. “I know you.” I pointed to the girl outside the car.

  “You should,” the first one said. “You go to school with her. That’s my sister, Adena. I’m Anna. I’m two years younger. We need a ride.”

  “What’s wrong? What happened?”

  “Just fucking drive, Evan,” Anna said.

  “You know my name…?”

  “Of course,” Anna said. She leaned right over and put her face an inch from mine. “I heard you were a bad boy. I think that’s hot. You stole this car, didn’t you?”

  I grinned. “Yeah. I did. So what?”

  “Well, give me a ride. Come on. Show me you can drive.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “Just give us a ride home.”

  I looked at Adena again. She was really nervous. Scared. Like she was fighting off the urge to cry.

  “Okay. Get in. I’ll give you a ride.”

  I was more interested in looking at Adena.

  But then Anna grabbed my face. She smelled good. Like flowers or spray or something.

  She put her lips to mine and kissed me.

  She wasn’t the first girl I kissed, believe me. But she was fast. She was bold. She was wild.

  She turned and sat in the passenger seat.

  “Adena, get in the fucking car,” she ordered her sister.

  “I’ll drive slow,” I said.

  “No,” Anna said. “Don’t. Drive fast. I like it fast.”

  My hands gripped the wheel tight.

  I watched as Adena got into the car.

  Then I started to drive.

  Anna told me where she lived.

  I knew the street. It was two doors down from a printing company that shut down long before any of us were born. It became some kind of hall to rent out and now half of it was used for an ambulance service. Next to that building was a path that the town built for people to walk but we all used it to take girls to fool around with. Or to have fights and settle up on bullshit that started in school. Next to that was the river that always smelled like shit.

  “Why do you need a ride this bad?” I asked.

  “No reason,” Anna said. “Just… you know…”

  I watched from the corner of my eye as she reached into her pocket and took out what looked like an expensive necklace. Then a ring. No, two rings. And a gold watch.

  What the hell…

  “Cut through here,” Anna said.

  I turned down a dirt path and went around the back of the building next to the path and the river.

  I wrapped around the back of the houses and stopped at the end of the rusted chain link fence. Everything was so overgrown, I had no idea how they planned on getting to their yard and house.

  “My aunt would get pissed if she saw us getting dropped off by a boy,” Anna said. “Especially a bad boy like you.”

  Anna winked. Then she handed me the gold watch.

  “What’s this?”

  “Payment. For the ride.”

  “I don’t…”

  She put her hand to mine. Then to my leg. “Unless you want something else…” She winked. “Adena, get out of the car. Go for a walk.”

  “No,” I said. “Uh, wait. I mean… I gotta get this car back like now.”

  “Right,” Anna said. “I’ll never forget this, Evan. You look really hot in this car.”

  Anna leaned over and touched my face again. This time I took charge and touched her shoulder to keep her at bay. She tried to move to get me to touch her chest.

  She smirked at me. It was an evil smirk. A vixen smirk. She was way too wild for her own good and her age.

  “See you around,” she whispered and got out of the car.

  Anna then ran toward the overgrowth and pushed through it.

  I turned and looked at Adena. “Hey. Are you okay?”

  “No,” Adena whispered.

  “What happened?”

  “She said Aunt Beth needed us to check on her friend.”

  “Okay…”

  Adena grabbed the seat and pulled herself forward. Her eyes were then as big as Anna’s, except they were like… innocent.

  “Just get out of here,” Adena said. “Okay?”

  “Hey. Tell me what’s going on…”

  “I can’t,” Adena said. “I have to go. Thank you for giving us a ride.”

  “Wait…”

  Adena opened the door and slid out of the car. She then leaned at the passenger window. I pressed the button to put the window down.

  “Evan, stay away from her,” Adena said. “Believe me. Just stay away.”

  Before I could respond Adena turned and ran into the overgrowth.

  I sat there, confused. I looked down at the gold watch that Anna had given me.

  “Weird,” I whispered.

  I drove away. Both of them burning in my mind. Anna being so wild. Adena so pretty without even knowing it. The two of them together could be real trouble. Anna more than Adena, obviously.

  I was so distracted that when I pulled into the parking lot of the paint store, I didn’t realize the cops were waiting for me.

  “Oh, fuck,” I said.

  The cop was named Dick. Seriously. He leaned against the trunk of his car, arms folded.

  I climbed out of the station wagon. “I just took it down the street and back.” I put my hands up and had the gold watch hanging from my thumb.

  “What’s that?” Dick asked.

  “Nothing. I mean… a watch.”

  “That your watch?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That’s a gold watch, Evan. That watch costs about five grand.”

  “What?” I yelled.

  I looked at the watch.

  Why the hell did Anna give me…

  Dick took hold of my wrist and twisted it. I dropped the watch into his other hand. He turned me around and slammed me face first on the hood of the station wagon.

  I was seriously screwed now.

  I had stolen a car. And got caught.

  What I didn’t know was that Beth never told Anna to check on a friend. Anna said that to Adena to keep her calm while they broke into a house and Anna stole a crap ton of jewelry. Including the gold watch I had.

  The gold watch that I was accused of stealing. Along with the car.

  All because of Anna.

  But believe me… that was just the beginning…

  Chapter Ten

  (A Blanket of Dirt)

  NOW

  (Adena)

  It was almost lik
e old times, except now we were the old ones. And for the first time in my life, I was the center of the party. Then again, we were all together because of Anna. Of course we were.

  I could have stayed and watched Anna get lowered into the ground but I didn’t. I didn’t want to see that. Or watch the dirt fall to the coffin and the roses people put on it. Maybe in some weird way I was still expecting Anna to stumble in days later, like she had done before when I thought she was dead.

  She’s gone, Adena… gone for real now…

  I wasted no time in going for the stash of booze that covered the dining room table. I grabbed a bottle of vodka and walked out the back door. The good thing about grieving was that wherever I walked, people not only noticed me but they made a path for me to walk through. Untouched. Nobody really saying a word. All these familiar faces who never knew me anyway. I was always Anna’s sister. Even though I was the older sister.

  Out on the back porch there were only a handful of us. Leah, Zoey, and Ella. Talking with Kyle, Devin, and Harrison. Of all of us, Harrison was the only one that made something of himself. He paid his way through law school and worked in the city. Making real money at a real job. With a real career. It was no shock to me that Zoey laughed at everything he said and touched his arm. She always dreamed of some rich guy plucking her from this town and making her his princess. I told her a long time ago to stop believing in fairy tales.

  When Harrison spotted me, he gave a weak smile, the same as everyone else. Then he turned and sort of pushed Zoey out of the way. She looked disgusted as he walked toward me.

  I had to roll my eyes.

  We were so not in high school and I was not looking for whatever Zoey thought was going to happen. My plan was to drink, see everyone, and then pass out. Everyone else could stay and do what they wanted. It wouldn’t have been the first time I fell asleep upstairs while a party went on downstairs.

  “Hey, Adena,” Harrison said. “I’m so sorry.”