One Night

by Kamille Rose

  "Thanks. I uh- used my mom's shampoo today. I ran out of my own, but I just might start buying Garnier Whole Blends as my regular, especially since you seem to like it," he said, scrunching up his face as a smile started to grow. I shook my head, laughing.

  "I didn't know you'd be coming here."

  "Yeah, Alex got hungry. I was already at Giovanni's placing an order, so I picked up her pizza on the way."

  I plucked the two chocolate-stained mugs from the table and made my way to the kitchen. Joseph followed. For some reason, I suddenly felt antsy and needed something to do with myself.

  "Plus, you left us confused after you disappeared earlier. But now that there is food for this impromptu gathering, I say it's a good time for all of us to finally have a chat,” he continued, lightly slapping his hand against the marble countertop near the sink.

  "I suppose,” I said, as I began washing the mugs.

  My back was facing him, but I didn't need to be looking at him to know his eyes were on me. I could feel his smoldering stare on my back. As if on cue, I heard his boots on the tile floor nearing me.

  A moment later, Joseph's hands found a resting place on the curve of my waist. A jolt of electricity shot through my body under his touch, sending the soapy sponge flying free from my grasp. I heard him chuckle behind me, clearly relishing the way I reacted to him. I needed to finish washing the cups before I accidentally broke one.

  "What happened today?" he asked softly.

  After placing the cups on the drying rack, I dried my hands on a towel folded by the sink and turned around in his arms to face him.

  "During the exam I started to think about why I was sitting at that desk like Mr. Evans asked. Yeah, these tests have the potential to determine the course of the future, but for so long I’d been going along with the future my mom was creating for me. When I got home, as expected she was —"

  "Foaming at the mouth?" he interjected.

  "Pretty close to it. She was pissed that I walked out of the exam and she then went on to tell me that if I skipped school, I'd eventually do drugs. It was insane, pero la cosa que me enoja más es-" (But the thing that upset me the most was-)

  "Mariposa... English please. You get me hot when you speak Spanish."

  I flicked his forehead and he pouted, rubbing the tender spot. "I'm trying to tell you something here!" I admonished him.

  He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and sent me his signature smirk. "Dale, estoy escuchando," (Go ahead, I'm listening.) he said.

  "As I was saying, the thing that upset me the most was the fact that she tried to place blame on you. You were said to have corrupted my future along with my ‘innocence.’"

  At my words, the amusement in his features was replaced with dejection. I took his arms that were on my waist and secured them even tighter.

  "Hey. Don't you think for a second that any of what my mother said was true."

  "Isn't it though? I have influenced you."

  I let out a short laugh. "Keyword: influenced. You've never pushed me to do anything that I didn't want to do. Before you came around, I was scared. Terrified. I was terrified of my mother and I was terrified to step out of my comfort zone. After you..."

  I draped my arms over his shoulders and braced his back. Warm, affectionate, protective. Things he'd been to me continuously. I wanted to be those same things for him.

  "After you - with your encouragement, support, and belief in me, you've helped me grow. I may have changed a little, but I have changed for the better."

  His face softened and his lips quirked.

  "I know you feel at fault for a lot that has happened in your life... but unfortunately we can’t alter the past. Joseph, you are the greatest gift to this world, and I will never stop trying to show you just how amazing you are.”

  With his arms still in place around my waist, he pulled me in, pressing every inch of his body close and resting his forehead on mine.

  "I absolutely adore you, Sienna,” he whispered.

  “Ditto, mi pedacito de cielo.” (Ditto, my little piece of heaven.)

  I reached up and brushed my lips against his in a chaste kiss. We held each other for a minute or two, but our gushy atmosphere shattered around us and crashed to the floor when Alex decided to throw in her hammer-like words without caution.

  "I swear if you guys are doing it in my kitchen, I will kick your asses! It's not like I eat in there, but still."

  "Even if we sanitized afterward?" Joseph shouted back.

  "Hey! Don't get any ideas, it’s not gonna happen," I said, jabbing his taut stomach.

  He gave me a pointed look.

  "Pffft. Like you haven't thought about me bending —"

  "Let's go, now is not the time to be a horndog."

  With a smack on his behind, I pulled him out of the kitchen and into the living room where Alex was waiting expectantly. She had a half-eaten slice of pizza in her hand. I reclaimed my spot on the left side of the couch with my knees to my chest, while Joseph sat on the floor resting his head on the ottoman near the table.

  "Have you told Joseph about your parents, or does he need to be filled in?" I asked Alex.

  "We've talked. Everything is out in the open, I just- I don't know what to do,” she replied, weaving her fingers in and out of each other.

  "Hey —"

  Before I could finish my sentence, Alex's phone that lay face down on the table started to vibrate. Once. Twice. Three times.

  "Alex."

  "I can't. What if it’s him?" she muttered, dropping her head onto her lap.

  "Lex..." Joseph mumbled knowingly.

  "Don't 'Lex' me. My entire life has been a lie! I have nothing to say to him and there is nothing he can say that will change the way I feel. For all I know he's not even my biological father. He could be some deranged lunatic who took me away from my mother and hid me away here, claiming me as his own!"

  The call dropped and a minute later the vibration started up again. The phone inched toward the edge of the table as the rumbling persisted. Joseph heaved an exasperated sigh.

  "Listen, I'm not gonna tell you that I know how you feel because I don't. But what I will tell you is that harboring all of these ill feelings will do you zero good."

  Joseph moved from the ottoman and kneeled next to Alex by the couch, looking up at her.

  "I know you're angry. You have every right to be. I know your dad hasn't done the best job he could being a father or taking care of you, but... haven't you ever thought that maybe the reason he's gone so often is because he's dealing with your mother? Trying to make things better?"

  "I know you are not trying to make excuses for him. He's a grown man."

  "That's the last thing I'm trying to do. I know it's a stretch but hear me out. If it is him calling, you’ll never know if that's the case or something completely different. You won't ever get the explanation you so rightfully deserve."

  Without uttering a word, she stood from the couch and grabbed her phone from the table before making her way upstairs.

  "We love you," I reassured her.

  She gave Joseph and I a watery smile before disappearing up the staircase and shutting the door of the room she entered.

  ⋅. ✯ .⋅

  The two of us sat in the living room for a while, having a conversation about what type of Hershey's chocolate was the best. He was trying to distract me from worrying about Alex too much, but that was almost impossible.

  "Are you kidding me? Hershey's with almonds has to be the worst bar ever made."

  Joseph was astounded when I told him that was my favorite chocolate bar. I shrugged in response, barely present.

  "You know, I was prepared for your usually sassy comebacks.”

  He scooted over on the couch where he had moved to shortly after Alex went upstairs. His lips pulled into a lopsided grin as he looked at me.

  "Oh, trust me when I say I'm offended. Your taste buds are useless if they're not being used to enjoy Hershey's almonds." I
sighed, crossing my legs on the couch. "I'm just- she's already been through hell with Aaron. I mean, coming back to this house is a daily battle for her. Now she finds out that the woman he's married to isn't her actual mother?? It's unbelievable, Joseph. Alex doesn't deserve this. I wish there was something more we could do for her."

  "Mariposa."

  I let my head fall on his shoulder. "What?"

  "The best we can do is continue supporting her, sticking by her side, and making sure she'll never have to face anything alone. The only person that will be able to truly bring her peace is Arron, and we can only hope that he sees what he's doing is destroying his daughter. We can only hope he starts putting Alex first the way we put her first."

  I closed my eyes, taking a moment to mull things over in my head. He was right. Any real damage control had to be taken care of by her father. As her best friends, we just had to be here for her right now.

  "Guys?"

  Joseph and I pivoted our heads in the direction of Alex's small voice. She stood at the top of the staircase. When my eyes locked on hers, I saw that they were swollen and red. My heart sank at what came next.

  "He's coming home."

  Chapter Twenty

  It'd been 4 days since Alex called her father and revealed he'd be returning home. My eyes almost popped out of my head when the words left her mouth. It'd also been 4 days since the end of final exams and the start of graduation rehearsals. Alex had attended the rehearsals, but once they were done, she spent the remainder of her days at home.

  As much as Joseph and I hated leaving her alone, she insisted she would be okay. She just needed time to focus on the impending arrival of her father, and I knew that alone was enough for her to worry about.

  I didn't pray often in my life, but that very night I stayed up late and prayed. I prayed and prayed that Alex would find her peace. I prayed Aaron would have mercy on her, because I truthfully didn't think her heart would be able to handle getting twisted up by him anymore. Only time would be able to tell what happened, though.

  It'd also been 4 days since I returned home. Being back was interesting to say the least. There was a suffocating amount of tension in any room occupied by my mom and me - that is if my father wasn't there as a buffer. The only thing that really changed significantly was the fact that me and my mom no longer tried to speak to one another. We didn't speak at all. That's the only way we didn't argue.

  It honestly didn't bother me a lot, but I guess it was because I hadn't had the time to worry about it. I'd been preoccupied with other things in my life, and I wanted to make sure I was prepared for the next phase of it.

  I knew my dad wanted us to have a serious talk eventually, but I hadn't put too much thought into that. I mean- why did we need to talk? I spoke my peace. I said what very well had to be said. It was she who never apologized to me.

  If she wanted to talk, I expected her to initiate that conversation, but I was not going to sit around waiting for it to happen. My time - especially now - was too precious to spend dawdling.

  In about 2 days I'd be graduating. I'd be walking across the football field out of my adolescence and officially into adulthood. I was scared out of my mind but excited nonetheless for what was to come. Having to pick up my cap and gown made everything that much more real.

  Joey (:

  4:30 p.m./ Hey.

  4:30 p.m./ Hii, are you here?

  4:31 p.m./ Yeah, I'm parked out front.

  4:31 p.m./ Okay, let me slip on my shoes. I was in the living room binging my drama series.

  4:32 p.m./ Sotus, right?

  4:33 p.m./ Uh-huh. I'm rewatching the first season :p

  4:33 p.m./ What episode are you on?

  4:33 p.m./ I'll tell you in the car. I'm coming out right now.

  "Pa! I'm heading out to pick up my cap and gown!" I shouted upstairs to my dad.

  "Nos vemos, mi amor!" (See you later, my love.) he shouted back as I slipped out of the door.

  As promised, Joseph was waiting for me out front. He was leaning on Lucy's shiny red hood with his hands shoved into the pockets of his ripped blue jeans. He was whistling a random tune. When he heard my front door closing, he craned his head in my direction and flashed me a killer smile showing all of his teeth.

  So adorable. So sexy. How could someone be both adorable and sexy at once?

  I skipped down the concrete stairs of my porch and walked into Joseph's now extended arms. He held me for a minute, squeezing me in his warm, strong embrace before beginning to pull away. However, I stopped him halfway, gently grabbing the back of his neck, and greeted him the way I really wanted to.

  "Mmm..." Joseph groaned against my lips as they descended on his.

  "Your mom could come out and see us like this."

  Despite his verbal protest, he was no longer relaxing on the hood of his car. He stood tall now with one hand on the small of my back and the other combing through my hair as I kissed him again.

  "No me importa... te extrañé," (I don't care... I missed you.) I mumbled back, tugging on his black polo.

  I slowly pulled my lips apart from his, placing a few kisses along his jaw and then one final kiss on his cheek. He gazed down at me, panting. His soft honey skin was infused with crimson.

  "...hey..." he said, his voice gruff.

  “Hi...”

  I let my arms fall over his shoulders.

  "That kiss reminded me of one of those airport scenes from the movies. Y’know, where the girlfriend is leaving but the boyfriend does whatever it takes to get to her before her plane departs and then BOOM! Dramatic airport kiss,” he said, playing with my hair.

  "You are such a cheeseball," I replied, giggling like a 12-year-old girl. "I just wanted to give you a proper hello."

  "Mmm. Well, hello, beautiful. Let's grab Alex and head to the school. If you had extended your greeting any longer, I don't think we'd have made it anywhere. You’ve got me excited now," he said, nuzzling my neck.

  "Joey..."

  "Is it bad that I wouldn't even care if I didn't get my gown? I mean, I'd walk across the field in a cupcake onesie and a straw hat if it meant I could spend another minute wrapped up in you."

  "Doesn't sound so bad to me, but I think Marlene would want her son looking clean cut," I said, smoothing down the collar of his shirt.

  "No doubt about that. After all, she did have me wear a three-piece suit for picture day in the first grade," he said, chuckling.

  I smiled as Joseph reluctantly let me go. He then followed me to the passenger side of his car to open my door.

  "Thank you, Sir.”

  He winked in response.

  He jogged to the driver's side and hopped in. We both buckled our seat belts.

  "Oh, why did you want to know what episode I was on for Sotus?" I asked.

  "I wanted to see if it was too late to join you in your binge," he replied, pulling out onto the road.

  "Join me? As in, watch it with me??" I questioned, looking at him puzzled.

  "Yeah, why not? It looked pretty interesting based on the trailer you showed me. Besides, I'm always down to explore the things you like. That and the fact that I really wanna know what goes down between Arthit and Kongpob."

  I stared at him with my mouth dropped wide open. He knew the names of the main characters of one of my favorite Thai dramas and he pronounced them pretty damn well. He must've done some outside research. I couldn't believe he was so invested already.

  Without thinking, I reached over and lightly pinched his bicep. In turn, he shot me a confused glance.

  "I had to check to see if you were actually real and not a frighteningly realistic figment of my imagination."

  "Oh, I'm real, you better believe it."

  ⋅. ✯ .⋅

  Once we picked up Alex, I moved from the front seat to the back to sit with her.

  "Hey.”

  "Hey," she replied stiffly.

  "You okay? I was beginning to get worried when you hadn't responded to any of
my messages."

  "Oh yeah. I don't have a phone at the moment."

  "I forgot Joseph told me that. What happened to it?”

  "The screen is shattered. I'll have to get a new one, but I'm fine with being unable to reach right now. The people I love can easily find me and vice versa, so that's all that matters to me," she declared, giving me a warm smile that I returned.

  I looked up in the rear-view mirror to see Joseph smiling too.