Lucky 13

by Rachael Brownell

  People are dancing in the living room, if you can call that dancing. It looks more like they’re trying to have sex with their clothes on the way they’re grinding against each other. It’s fascinating. I know that I should look away, but I can’t. I’ve never seen anything like it, reminding me how sheltered I really am.

  “Are you even listening to me?” Libby yell-whispers in my ear, drawing my attention away from the living room and back to her.

  “I wasn’t. Sorry.”

  “I asked you how things were going with Grant.” Libby is yelling still, causing people to stare, interested in our conversation. I don’t plan on answering her with all these people around, and thankfully I don’t have to. Grant and Chester show up seconds later, drinks in hand. “Chester!”

  Grant’s eyebrows raise in surprise to Libby’s demeanor. I shake my head, telling him not to even ask. He slides between my legs and hands me a red cup full to the brim of something pink. “What is it?” I ask.

  “It’s punch.”

  “Liquor?”

  “Yes, so don’t drink it too fast. It’s pretty potent. I can get you something else if you want.”

  I take a sip, enjoying the slight burn of the liquor as it goes down. It tastes good, but he’s right. It’s potent. I’m going to have to be careful not to drink it too fast or else I’ll end up like Libby in less than an hour. “No. It’s good. Thanks.”

  Slowly, I sip the contents of my glass until it’s empty. I don’t feel any different. I’m not acting like Libby, who’s about ready to pass out on my shoulder. We’re still sitting on the kitchen counter and the boys are leaning next to us, talking about the game next weekend.

  “Do you want another one, Madison?”

  “Maybe half?” I don’t know if another one is a good idea or not. I want to be coherent when we get back to my place so we can talk, but I don’t want to feel as much as I do right now.

  “I’ll be right back. Chester, you coming?”

  I watch as Chester and Grant disappear out the back door until someone steps in my view. Jason. He’s here?

  “Hey, Madison. How are you?”

  I look to Libby for support, but she’s snoring lightly against my shoulder. “Fine.”

  “So, I see that you and Grant are a thing.” I nod. I don’t know where he’s headed with this. My relationship is none of his business. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

  “Why wouldn’t it be, Jason?” I inquire, slightly irritated.

  “Well, he has a past, you know. I’m sure you’ve heard about him and Megan.”

  My ears perk up at the mention of Megan’s name, but Jason doesn’t continue. What did Libby neglect to mention to me? Is there something I should know about or is this guy making shit up to get under my skin?

  “We all have a past, Jason. Even you.”

  “You’re right. We do. You should ask Grant about it. If he won’t tell you, I will.”

  “Why don’t you just tell me right now? That is the reason you came over here, right?” He’s starting to piss me off and I’m sure he can tell by the tone I’m taking with him.

  “Ask him about the homecoming dance last year. Ask him who went home with him that night.” Jason walks off, leaving me with my mouth agape at what he just inferred. I don’t want to believe him. I shouldn’t care about what happened before I got here, but it hurts, my heart aches.

  I slowly lower Libby’s head to the counter, ensuring that she won’t roll off. Heading for the front door, I slip my coat on and grab my purse. As soon as I’m outside, I run. I don’t know exactly where I am, but I know enough about the town to figure out how to get back home. Close to an hour later, I finally spot a familiar sight. The river. I walk along the well-worn path running beside it. I’ll either end up near Grandma’s house and I can crash there tonight or I’ll end up at the park.

  The gazebo comes into view moments later. As I get closer, I realize there’s someone inside the gazebo, sitting in my favorite spot. To avoid being seen, I veer to the left and head toward town. I’m about to pass the gazebo when I hear him say my name.

  Turning around, I see Grant standing on the steps of the gazebo, the light shining brightly on his face. What is he doing here? How did he find me so quickly? I left to avoid him.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask as I approach, staying at the bottom of the steps, just out of his reach.

  “I saw you leave. I tried to catch up to you, but you were gone when I got outside. I figured I would find you here.” He pauses, shuffling his feet as he stares down at them. “Want to tell me what happened?”

  “Jason told me about homecoming last year.” I do the best I can to sound confident. Grant’s eyes lift to meet mine. I expect to see anger or fear, but all I see is confusion.

  “What about it?”

  “You and Megan.”

  “Megan? I went to homecoming with her.”

  “What happened after homecoming?”

  “Nothing. I took her home and went to bed. I was pissed off because we lost our game and our chances at a state title that night.”

  “That’s not the story I got,” I say, backing up a step.

  “I’m not surprised. What do you know about Jason?”

  “Not a lot. He was the quarterback …” I let my voice fade off as realization hits me smack in the face. He was only the quarterback because Grant switched schools. Libby said that he quit, claiming that he was hurt after they lost every game last season.

  “Yeah. He’s always hated me because I took his spot when I moved here. He used to be the starter back in middle school, before it even mattered. Since then, he’s always tried to start shit with me. I don’t like him as much as he doesn’t like me. I’m not surprised he tried to go through you to get to me.”

  I shake my head and lower it in shame. I took the word of someone else over Grant’s. I’ll never be able to apologize enough. I have to learn to trust him. It’s not going to be easy, but it’s possible. As soon as I tell him everything I’ve been hiding from him.

  “Can we talk?” I ask as a shiver runs up my spine. It’s a brisk night outside, but that’s not why I have goosebumps.

  “Of course. Do you want to go back to your place?”

  “Sure.”

  Grant slides up next to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulder, and guides us back to my place. As soon as we’re settled on the couch, I clear my throat, ready to confess everything I remember, but the words won’t come. I try again but my voice is lost, and Grant, who’s watching me and waiting for me to say something, is making me even more nervous than I was before.

  “Whatever it is, Madison, we are going to be fine. I promise. You can tell me anything.” His words cause my heart to break a little, knowing that he can’t promise me that we’re going to be fine after I say what I need to say.

  “I wish that were true.”

  “It can be. You just have to trust me.”

  “I do. I trust you more than anyone else I’ve ever met.” I pause, letting out a breath and let the words roll off my tongue. “I always have.”

  Grant’s eyes widen in shock. He understood perfectly what I was hinting at. Turning toward me, Grant takes my hands in his before he continues.

  “You remember?”

  “Some things. Others are still lost.”

  “What do you remember exactly?”

  “You. My first kiss. Promises.”

  “Anything else?”

  “I remember asking Grandma to let you stay.”

  Grant settles into the couch, absorbing what I’ve just told him. It’s a while before he speaks, but when he does, I’m shocked by what he says.

  “Thank you, Madison.”

  “For what?”

  “For everything. We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you. You’re Grandma was going to send us to Colorado. I wouldn’t be sitting here, on your couch, holding your hand, if it wasn’t for you. You placed your trust in me a long time ago and I never got the cha
nce to thank you.”

  “All I did was ask her to let you stay. I think. I don’t remember anything other than that first day, the day we met. After that, things are still black.”

  “The accident. The beach. You don’t remember any of that?”

  “No. I was hoping that you might be able to fill in some of the blanks.” I see the moment Grant’s body tenses. What is he hiding? “What? What aren’t you telling me?”

  “There’s so much that I want to tell you, Madison. Some things I will. Others, you need to ask you father about. It’s not my place.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like the day of the accident.”

  “Was he there?”

  “No, but he should be the one to tell you about it. I can’t.”

  I want to argue with Grant, beg him to tell me what he knows. Instead, I accept the fact that he’ll tell me some of what I’m missing. If I feel the need to know more, I’ll suck it up and talk to my father.

  “One thing. Tell me one thing that I’ve forgotten.”

  A smirk appears on Grant’s face as he pulls me close to him, lying us down on the couch facing each other. My stomach turns in anticipation of what he’s going to say.

  “I fell in love with you in two days, Madison. I was thirteen years old, and I found my match, the one person that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Until that moment, I thought love didn’t exist. When you told me you loved me, my heart stopped beating because I knew that it was going to be a long time before I would see you again and be able to tell you that I felt the same way about you.” Lifting my chin so that he’s looking directly into my eyes, Grant continues. “I love you, Madison Melissa Thompson. I always have and I always will.”

  Chapter 14

  Over the next few days, Grant fills me in on the time we spent together that summer. We shared secrets that I thought I had never told anyone. As he tells me things, I start to remember more and more. His story and mine. The trip to the beach and the accident are all that still remain a mystery to me.

  He makes me promise to keep his past a secret, and I cement that promise with a kiss before sending him home Monday night. I would never share his secret with anyone. Not only could that cause him problems with his scholarship, but it could also lead his father directly to him and his mother. Grant seems to think that his father might still be looking for them after all this time.

  With my father’s return rapidly approaching, I’m on high alert. I swing by the house on my way home from school Wednesday to pick up the mail. Eloise was kind enough to leave mine in my room. I stand there for a few minutes and take it all in before closing the door behind me. The memories I made in that room, most of them with Grandma, make me miss her more.

  I find an envelope with my father’s name on it sitting beside the rest of the mail on the table in the foyer. I pick it up, recognizing Eloise’s handwriting and turn it over. The flap isn’t sealed. I contemplate reading what she wrote, but decide against it. I’m sure whatever is in the letter is eloquently written.

  Grant is waiting for me when I get back to my place. He’s cooking me dinner tonight. Again. This time, Libby and Chester are going to be joining us. I stopped by the grocery store on my way home and picked up everything he needed. It was a long list and my arms are burning from carrying all four bags up the stairs as well as my backpack.

  As the smells from the kitchen surround me, my curiosity gets the best of me. I close my laptop and make my way in to see what’s going on. There are two pots on the stove, the only two that I own, and Grant is peaking in the oven. I smell garlic bread, one of my favorites.

  “Need any help in here?” I ask as I slide my arms around his waist, hugging him from behind.

  “I could use some help putting the salad together. How do you feel about chopping up some veggies?”

  Grant turns in my arms, pushing me back a step. He places one hand on either side of my waist, trapping me against the counter.

  “I think I can handle that. It doesn’t sound too hard.”

  His eyebrow shoots up and a grin appears on his face, challenging me. I hope I don’t eat my words.

  I master the cucumbers, proud of myself. I smile at Grant, an “I told you so” kind of smile. He shakes his head at me as he hands me a bag of carrots. I quickly find that carrots are stupid. They roll off the cutting board and onto the counter top or shoot across the kitchen every time I chop a piece off. Celery is worse. It doesn’t want to cut all the way through, leaving fibrous strands sticking off each side.

  After putting the lettuce and veggies in the bowl and giving it a quick stir, I drop a handful of cherry tomatoes on top and some croutons. It looks great. Even if the veggies were a pain in the ass, I’m pretty damn proud of how it turned out. When I turn to tell Grant, he’s pulling the garlic bread out of the oven and my mouth starts to water.

  “Yum,” I purr.

  “Hands off, missy. You’re not allowed to eat anything until everyone gets here.”

  I stop my hand that’s already halfway to my mouth with a crouton. Grant turns around and sees the predicament that I’m in and starts laughing at me. I want to eat it, I’m hungry, so I pop it in my mouth before he can steal it from me.

  “That doesn’t count,” I say as I chew. “I was already about to eat it.”

  A knock at the door saves me from having to explain further. I snag a crouton for the road and Grant swats me on the butt as I scurry to answer the door. It opens just as I get there and Libby rushes past me.

  “It’s so cold out there,” she announces loudly.

  “It’s not that cold, Libs. It’s still over sixty degrees,” Chester scolds as he walks in only a few steps behind her.

  “Hey, guys,” I say, closing the door behind them.

  “Hey, Mads. It smells great in here.” Libby strips off her coat and tosses it over the back of the couch. Chester follows suit and heads into the kitchen, nodding to me as he passes.

  “I hope you’re hungry,” I say to Libby as she plops down on the couch.

  “Starving. The girl behind me was eating cookies in class this afternoon and my stomach started to growl in jealousy. That was hours ago. What’s for dinner, anyway?”

  “I’m not sure. I know he made garlic bread and I just finished fixing the salad.”

  As we all grab a stool and gather around the bar top, Grant finally pulls the main dish out of the oven. Lasagna. It looks great, but it smells even better. My mouth starts to water as he dishes it out for each of us.

  Libby keeps the conversation going over dinner. She complains about her professor. Then, tells us all about the new girl they hired downstairs and all the mistakes she’s making. As Libby and I clean up, I get her to stop complaining and we make plans for this weekend. I don’t tell her it’s my birthday. I haven’t told anyone except Grant. I want to spend the day with my friends, and with Grant, but I don’t want it to be all about me.

  My phone rings as I’m drying off my dishwater hands. I pull it from my back pocket and look down at the screen, the contents of my stomach threatening to come up.

  “Are you okay? You just went pale. Who is it?” Libby slides up next to me, looking down at my screen. “He doesn’t know you moved out yet, does he?”

  “No. I wasn’t expecting him home until tomorrow.”

  “Answer it. Maybe he’s not home yet.”

  “And if he is?” I ask as my phone continues to ring.

  “You’ll deal with it.”

  Libby pushes me toward the bathroom as I slide my finger across the screen, answering my father’s call. “Hello?” I close the door behind me, blocking out the sound of Grant and Chester laughing at the television.

  “Madison. I just wanted to remind you that I’ll be returning home tomorrow.” Always so formal. Never any emotion.

  “Yes, sir.” I keep my voice calm and flat, hoping that he doesn’t sense that I’m nervous about his return.

  “I have a late meeting with one of my
superiors so you probably won’t see me before bed.”

  “Okay.”

  “I’ll see you on Friday after you return home from school.”

  I don’t respond and I don’t have to. He’s ended the call already. Leaning back against the door, I hang my head. Staring at my screen, his face still present, I notice that our call lasted only twenty-one seconds. I’ve spoken to him one other time since he’s been gone. Less than one minute of conversation in two weeks. I wonder how much we’ll speak once he realizes that he’s no longer obligated to check in on me.

  Grant gives me a curious stare as I join our friends on the couch. I shake my head and cuddle up to him. Libby pops a movie in, and for the first time tonight, it’s quiet in my apartment. I welcome the silence until my father’s voice begins ringing in my ears over and over again.

  I’ll see you Friday after you return home from school.

  No, he won’t. In fact, I’ll be surprised if he even realizes that I don’t return home from school. Does he even know what time I get out? How is he going to react when he finally realizes that I didn’t come home? Will he call? Text? Will he even worry about me?

  Grant softly shakes me. When I open my eyes, I see that Libby and Chester are gone. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I was tired.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I think Libby fell asleep first.” I giggle, thinking about Chester and Grant making fun of us while we slept, as I push myself into a sitting position. “I’m going to head home. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Yeah.” Stretching my arms above my head, I yawn.

  “Get in bed before you fall back asleep. I’ll lock up behind me.”

  “I want to finish cleaning up before I pass back out,” I tell him as my feet land back on the ground.

  “It’s already done.”

  I look over my shoulder, trying to see into the dark area of the kitchen. “Really?”

  “Yeah. I made Chester help. I told him it was his contribution to dinner.”