Escaping Heartbreak

by Regina Bartley

  “It crossed my mind.” She half smiled. “My plan was to walk back to the school and use their phone to call a mechanic or tow truck. My phone battery was low, so I was just gonna use theirs. Then the rain started and I didn’t have a choice. There was only enough battery for one call. You were the closest person to me, as far as miles. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I don’t care. You can call me anytime, even if you hate me.”

  “I don’t hate you,” she let out a long winded breath and turned to look out the window.

  I didn’t reply. Knowing that she didn’t hate me was all I needed. The closest tire shop was downtown, just a few minutes off the highway. We rode the rest of the way in silence. I fought back my words several times. Unsure if I should stir up shit or keep it all in, I decided to keep my mouth shut. I would find the right time and place. We pulled up in front of the only tire shop in town. I didn’t want to go there, but it was the only one for miles, and I had to get to work sometime today.

  “This is the only tire store in town. I wish there were more.”

  “This is fine.” She replied. I was sure it would be fine, once she realized that Vince’s parents owned the place. He was probably there at that very moment. He spent most of his time managing the place. He was a spoiled, rich, mooch.

  This building, like most, was one of the originals. Our small township was known for its historic buildings and landmarks. I wasn’t sure why passersby enjoyed it so much. It was just old to me. The rusty sign out front read Cormack’s Tires. They owned half of this town it seemed.

  We made our way to the door, both of us looking like wet dogs. The rain had slowed, but not completely stopped. The door made a dinging sound when we opened it, and the old man Cormack was sitting on a stool at the counter, reading his newspaper. It was his usual spot. I had to make part runs here for work, and every time I came in he was always in the same spot, wearing the same dark red ball cap.

  “Hey there Travis, how are you?” He tipped his hat in my direction.

  “I’m good.”

  “Who’s your friend?”

  “Sawyer,” Vince’s voice yelled from behind the desk. I hadn’t even noticed him sitting there. I had hoped he wouldn’t be there, but figured he would. He stood up from his chair and walked around the desk. Each step he took towards us the closer I stepped towards Sawyer. He noticed. The “dude I’ll kick your ass look” was in his eyes. My eyes said, “I don’t give a damn, bring it on.”

  “Hey Vince,” Sawyer said. The mediocre tone of her voice pleased me.

  “What are you doing here?” He asked her.

  “Sally has a flat and I need a tire.”

  “Sally,” I smiled down at her. She shrugged her shoulders self-assuredly.

  “Don’t laugh at me Lawson.”

  She said my last name, in a way that made my knees weak. “Mr. Cormack,” I handed him the tire size that I’d written on a McDonald’s napkin from my car. “You have one of those in stock?”

  “I believe so. Here boy, check and see if we have what they need.” Old man Cormack handed Vince the napkin. I winked at him just before he walked off. It was a bitch move I know, but he got a date, and that pissed me off.

  “This is the reason you didn’t want to come here?” Sawyer whispered.

  “Yes,” I countered with no hesitation. She just rolled her eyes and shook her head. I never pretended to be unpredictable. Why start now?

  When Vince came back with the tire, he made a big deal about giving her a discount. She thanked him, but I never once believed that she was into him. She didn’t flirt back at all. He went on and on about their date, while she smiled and nodded. A part of me wondered why she even agreed to the date to begin with. She didn’t seem interested from what I could tell. He promised to call her as we walked out the door. I silently hoped he’d drop his cellphone in the toilet.

  ###

  “You’re sure you don’t mind doing this?”

  “Of course I mind. You should put the tire on yourself.” I glared at her.

  “Just fix the damn tire.” She kicked up the rocks next to me. I had so much fun messing with her. She was too easy. I jacked the truck the rest of the way up. It was a good thing I had my jack because she wasn’t prepared at all.

  “Why were you at the school this morning?” I was just making conversation.

  “I took a part-time tutoring position.”

  “That’s cool.” I didn’t bring up the fact that my brother would probably be one of the kids that she’d be tutoring. She’d be back to asking more questions. I wiped the sweat from my head, trying to keep it from running in my eyes. The rain had stopped, but the temperature had shot through the roof. It was scorching. I’d blame my slowness on the heat, but maybe it was the sweat beaded on her chest that kept my attention. It ended up taking me ten minutes longer than it should have because I couldn’t quit looking at her. When she reached in the cab for her drink, or when she pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head, it didn’t matter. I couldn’t stop looking. She was so gorgeous and didn’t even realize it.

  “All done.” I tightened the last lug nut.

  “Thank you so much. I really do appreciate it. What do I owe you?”

  “I don’t want your money. I still want that date though.”

  “I told you that I’m not ready for that. I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” She twisted the ends of her hair nervously.

  “It won’t be a date, date. I just think that the two of us should talk about everything. It’s time that we remove this elephant sitting between us.” I suggested. I’d take a friendship with her if nothing else, and I at least owed her an explanation, and an apology.

  She stood there kicking the rocks. Her silence was killing me.

  “You can think about if you want. I have to get to work.” I began picking up the tools to load them in my car.

  “Okay,” she said. “But it’s not a date.”

  “Hell no, it’s not a date.” I proclaimed. Her smile made my stomach flip.

  “Good.”

  “How about Wednesday evening? Are you free?”

  “Yeah,” she opened her truck door and jumped up in the seat. I was just walking away when she yelled out the window. “Where you taking me?”

  “Nowhere.” She gave me a questionable look. “I was thinking that we could just sit out on the dock at your place. We can do some fishing if you want.”

  “That’s perfect.” She waved goodbye as she pulled off.

  I sped all the way to work. I was forty minutes behind and my boss had called my phone twice. I knew he wouldn’t fire me, but I didn’t feel like having him rip my ass today. That was his favorite thing to do lately, and I didn’t get paid enough. I was the only one that Waylon had so any time the school called, or he was sick, I’d have to go. I didn’t have a choice. The closest relative that we have was my grandmother, but she was in a nursing home outside of Pittsburg. We had probably seen her twice in the past two years.

  I promised my boss that I would stay over an extra hour, which helped lighten my thrashing. He couldn’t stay mad for long anyway, we were too busy. Waylon had tutoring, so giving an extra hour at work was no problem at all. There was only one problem. My mind was anywhere but on work. The visual of her wet body wearing my shirt made for an interesting day.

  THIRTEEN

  Sawyer

  The whole drive home I kept asking myself why I had agreed to the date. I know he said it wasn’t a date, but clearly it was. My heart still had this crazy, messed, up love thing going for him, but my head screamed that I needed to keep my distance. I, in no way, could let him get too close. Those people just hurt me or left me. A half ass friendship was all I could give him.

  I had to take a shower when I got home after being soaked from the rain. I was a mess. Luckily the disaster of the morning made the time pass quicker. There were only a few hours before I had to be back at school for my tutoring session. I was excited about math. That wa
s a first.

  After freshening up, and watching back to back episodes of The Fresh Prince the day had nearly passed. I was just about to head out the door when my phone rang. I was surprised to see that it was Dane. He never called.

  “Hello,” I answered.

  “Hey Saw! What’s happening?” He practically yelled into the receiver.

  “I am just about to head out.”

  “That’s good. I miss you.”

  “I miss you too, Dane. But you seriously just saw me like two days ago.”

  “I love you.” The words were slurred and jumbled together. I knew he was drunk.

  “I love you too, but Dane it’s not even three o’ clock yet. Are you drunk already?”

  “Maybe I am. Does it matter?” And there was my defensive, asshole of a brother. I was about to ask who this sweet guy was that was pretending to be him.

  “I am just worried about you.”

  “You don’t have to do that, sister.” He was back to being sweet again. “I am supposed to worry about you. I mean you’re the one having meltdowns.”

  “Damn it Dane. I guess Travis called you.” I am a fucking adult. I didn’t know why they felt the need to run around behind my back acting like I was a child.

  “I haven’t talked to Travis. What the hell are you talking about? What happened?” He was yelling even louder. I jumped to damn conclusions thinking that Travis told him about the other night. “I was talking about the day I helped you move.”

  “Right, listen I got to go. I start my new job today.” I didn’t want him worrying even more than he already was.

  “We’ll talk about this later.” The stern tone in his voice reminded me so much of Dad. It was kind of frightening.

  “Okay fine.”

  “Oh, by the way, I’m coming back down there this weekend. I’ll stay the weekend with you.”

  Despite his bitchiness, I really liked the idea. “I’ll be here. Bye Dane.” The line went dead. He told me not to worry about him, but I did. He was such a mess. These daily drunken binges would soon take their toll on him. I couldn’t stand by and watch him throw everything away. I just hoped I wasn’t too late. Maybe Wren could get through to him. I sent her a quick text before I left the house, asking her if she had plans for the weekend.

  ###

  My tutoring session was held in the library. Principal Harrison said there was another girl that tutored as well, named Tori. I immediately knew it had to be her when I walked into the library. She seemed to be about my age, only she was much taller.

  “Hey you must be Sawyer,” she held out her hand.

  “Tori,” I spoke with hesitation.

  “That’s me. I am glad to finally have some help around here.”

  “I am glad to have a job.” We both laughed.

  “We have about ten minutes before they come barreling in.” She smiled. She seemed really sweet. She wore glasses in these cool white frames and she had this short pixie type cut. She was cute and funky. She had about six inches on me, but she is so thin. “Are you from around here?”

  “No, I grew up about an hour away from here, but we spent every summer here visiting at my parent’s lake house. They passed away several years ago, and I recently decided to move up here on my own.” I took a deep breath. “I’m staying in their old lake house.” Why the hell had I gone into so much detail? There was something about her. I felt like I could just open up and say it.

  “I’m sorry about your parents.”

  “It’s okay. Are you from here?” I waved her off.

  “Not originally. I grew up in Wyoming, but we moved here my senior year of high school. Last year my parents divorced and my mom moved back to Wyoming. She asked me to go, but I decided to stay here. My intentions were to go to college, but it’s a lot of pressure. Besides, I really want to teach dance, and I’d probably have to go to some school in New York for that.”

  “So is tutoring your only job?” I asked. She was so easy to talk to, and apparently she thought I was too.

  “No, I work at Gordon’s gym too. I help at the front desk right now, and with the cleaning. I am hoping with that I can teach beginner dance classes there one day. We’ll see.” She smiled.

  “That sounds nice.” We were interrupted by a loud bunch of teens. I looked at Tori and she just rolled her eyes.

  “Take a seat,” she yelled to the group of all boys. There wasn’t a single girl. “We usually have between eight and ten. I have them take out today’s assignment and homework and work on it. The two of us just go around and assist them any way we can. If they don’t have homework, then feel free to give them one of the handouts on the desk to practice.” She nudged my shoulder and whispered. “There are a couple of kids that won’t respond to your help, and I promise you it’s not even worth your breath trying. Just go on to the next.” I nodded. Not being able to get through to a child must be hard. It was really quite sad.

  “All right boys, listen up!” She spoke loudly, and clapped her hands to get their attention. “This is Sawyer. She’s going to be here with me tutoring from now on. Be nice and respectful. She’ll help you any way she can, just ask. Go ahead and get out your work, and raise your hand if you don’t have work for the day.” I smiled and rose my hand in a waving gesture. “I’ll take this side, you can work over there.” She pointed to the left.

  The first little guy that I helped was so easy. I knew exactly how to work the problem. It felt so good to be able to help. When he actually understood and he gave me that knowing look I felt proud. I noticed a boy sitting way in the back had barely looked at his paper. When I glanced over at Tori, and then back at him she just gave me a sad face and shrugged her shoulders. I knew that this must be one that she was talking about.

  I walked back towards him, waiting for him to scream at me or something. I didn’t know what I was thinking. He looked like a cute, sweet kid, so I wondered what his problem was. “Do you need any help?” I asked.

  “No,” he was quick to answer. Gotta love those stubborn teenage boys.

  “Got any gum?” I asked. I’m wasn’t sure where I was going with this.

  “What? No,” he looked at me like I had two heads.

  “Oh, well, I do.” I pulled out a pack of gum and stuck a piece in my mouth. I smiled and walked away. I could feel his eyes on me the entire time I walked around the last table. He was trying to figure me out, just like I was him. I could be a butt-head too if I wanted. After I had made sure everyone was okay, I decided to walk back over to him.

  “Do you need any help?” I asked again. He shook the blonde hair out of his eyes.

  “No,” this time he said it with a smile, and I felt a victory dance coming on.

  “You want a piece of gum?”

  He hesitated, narrowing his eyes at me. “Yes,” he replied.

  “It’s gonna cost you.”

  “I don’t have no money,” he bit back.

  “Any money,” I corrected him. “I don’t want your money. “What’s your name?”

  For a second there, I thought he wouldn’t answer. “Waylon,” his almost manly voice was low, and so cute.

  “Well Waylon, I’ll make you a deal. How about we do one problem?” I pointed to the math sheet. “Just one, and I’ll give you a piece of gum.”

  “Deal,” he said quickly and I handed it over. It’s amazing what candy can buy you. The chair next to him made a loud screeching noise when I pulled it out. So much for being discreet.

  “You pick one of the problems that you struggle with the most and I will do my best to help.” This boy was not trouble, he was just stubborn.

  “This one.” He pointed to a problem at the bottom of the page.

  I took the paper and wrote the problem out. I explained exactly what I was doing each step, and he never stopped me. “Do you have any questions?”

  “No,” he shook his head.

  “You try one now.” Breathing out a sigh of frustration, I tussled his hair. “You got this.”
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  I watched as he worked through his problem. He caught on so quickly. I wasn’t sure why the boy needed a tutor. There must have been some reason why he was struggling, but I didn’t think it had anything to do with school. He could do the work if he tried. His work on the paper was proof. When he was done, he looked up at me with a smile. “You need a tutor, huh?” I smiled back.

  “Maybe I do, maybe I don’t,” were his exact words. This boy was too smart for his own good, and he had a smart mouth. We were gonna get along just fine.

  “All right boys make sure you get all your papers. It’s time to go.” Tori said. I walked to the table and I grabbed my things. I went outside with Tori, making sure that everyone’s ride showed up.

  “See you later Sawyer,” Waylon nudged my elbow as he walked past me. There was something about him. He was going to be one little heartbreaker. That was for sure. I watched as he walked over to the car and got in. I recognized that car. I should since I had ridden in that this morning. I narrowed my eyes and stepped a little closer. It was Travis in the driver’s seat. When he saw me, he waved, just as they were pulling away. It was strange to me how much he did for his little brother. He took him to school and picked him up. They must have a great relationship.

  “Do you know Travis?” Tori was suddenly standing next to me. I hadn’t even hear her walk up.

  “Yeah, we have known each other many years.”

  “So that’s why you were able to get through to Waylon.”

  “Actually, I’ve never met Waylon. I didn’t even know Travis had a brother. Before this summer, it had been about eight years since I saw Travis.”

  “No matter, you still got through to him. No one ever does. He is completely shut off at school. He wants nothing to do with anyone. The teacher said that he has one friend, and she doesn’t know why. He is stubborn and constant trouble for everyone.”

  “Knowing Travis the way that I do, it surprises me. Even after talking to him today, I still don’t understand why he would be trouble. He’s really smart. I showed him how to do the most difficult problem on the sheet and he picked up on it his first try. No questions asked. Maybe I should try talking to Travis. Then maybe he could talk to his mom.” I suggested.