Last Train Home

by Megan Nugen Isbell

  We got out of the mule and I followed Jesse up to the platform. He stood at the base of the ladder and as I looked up, I guessed it was at least ten feet tall. Jesse looked at me and then began climbing up.

  “Are you sure it’s safe?” I asked, questioning the stability of the elevated lean-to as I tried to squash my fear of heights.

  “Of course it is. I built it. Now, c’mon.”

  A second later, Jesse was at the top, looking down at me, the light of the half-moon just bright enough so I could see his silhouette.

  “You coming?”

  “Yeah,” I said as I stepped onto the first rung of the ladder nervously, and before I could talk myself out of it, I was climbing up. Jesse held out his hand once I’d reached the top and he helped me step onto the platform. I breathed a sigh of relief when I discovered it felt surprisingly stable. I looked out into the black, flat land that from up here wasn’t obstructed by anything. In the distance, I could see the faint lights of Carver. It was barely a blip and I couldn’t help but compare it to Boston. The lights of the city at night were amazing as if announcing: This is Boston…the greatest city on Earth!

  “From up here, you can see everything. When I’m hunting, I just sit up here and wait,” he said as he used his hands to make a gun. He pretended to shoot something and then dropped his arms back to his sides.

  “It seems like a good spot. It’s so quiet out here.”

  “Yeah, it is. Sometimes I come out here just to get away. Do you think that’s strange?”

  “No. Not at all. I’d probably come out here too if I had some place like this. Now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve ever heard this much quiet. It’s kinda unnerving.”

  As if on cue, the buzz of an engine cut through the stillness. I looked out and saw a light coming toward us.

  “So much for quiet,” Jesse said as the noise grew louder and the lights drew closer. A second later, a four-wheeler came to a screeching halt below us.

  “What are you guys doing out here?” Brandon yelled up to us.

  “I’m just showing Riley where we hunt.”

  “Well, you’ve shown her, now c’mon!” Brandon bellowed.

  “Yeah, we should go,” I told Jesse. I walked back to the ladder and nervously grabbed at it, which shook when I touched it. I hesitated as I tried to get myself back down.

  “Let me help,” Jesse said, coming over and holding the ladder so it didn’t wobble.

  A minute later, I was back on solid ground, joined shortly by Jesse. Brandon revved the engine of the four-wheeler until my ears were ringing. I was grateful when he finally stopped and then he looked over to me.

  “So, you’ve never been on a quad before?”

  “Nope. Never.”

  “Wanna ride back with me? It’s way more fun than that thing,” he said, pointing to the mule.

  I looked over to Jesse and he shrugged his shoulders. The mule had been scary enough. The quad was downright terrifying.

  “You won’t kill me, will you, Brandon?”

  “Cross my heart,” he said, crossing his chest with his pointer finger, but I found myself looking over to Jesse again for reassurance. While he’d driven fast, I did trust him. Brandon, on the other hand, was another story entirely.

  “He won’t kill you,” Jesse assured me.

  “Remember, this is my first time,” I said, reluctantly climbing onto the four-wheeler.

  “Oh, don’t worry baby, I’ll be gentle.”

  “You’re disgusting!” I said, whacking him on the shoulder and he started laughing.

  “Just hold onto me tight,” he told me and I wrapped my arms around his waist. He revved the engine again and I instinctively tightened my arms around his waist until I practically had him in a bear hug. A second later, he turned the quad around and we were tearing down the narrow path. I could hear the mule for a second, but then it faded and I knew we’d left Jesse in our dust. There was no way the mule could keep up with this monster. I buried my face into Brandon’s back and I prayed I would make it back alive. He was driving way too fast as he whipped and whirled through the trail and I was beginning to have my doubts that I would survive. Eventually my heart started to slow when Brandon turned off the four-wheeler and I finally looked up, realizing I was going to live. We were safely back to the fire and back to civilization and I jumped off as soon as I could.

  “See. I didn’t kill you,” Brandon said, climbing off too.

  “Well, you almost did! That was terrifying!” I said, hitting him on the arm again.

  “I knew exactly what I was doing. You need to chill.”

  I turned around when I heard the sound of the mule behind us. Jesse eased it to a stop and then he came over to us.

  “You look a little shaken, Boston. You okay?” he asked.

  “I’m fine, now that I’m off that thing, but he’s a maniac!” I said, pointing to Brandon.

  “I am not. I was in complete control the whole time.”

  “Sure didn’t seem that way.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  I ignored Brandon and then looked around and finally noticed that the girls weren’t around, but then I heard loud country music blaring from the shed. I turned around and walked inside. There was a light coming from a room in the back. I walked towards it, followed by Jesse and Brandon. As I got closer to the room, I could hear the clanking of pool balls.

  “There you are,” Laura said, looking up from where she was crouched over the pool table with a cue stick. She struck the cue ball, sending the solid purple ball into the side pocket.

  “How was the mule?” Holly asked and I noticed Mandy was missing.

  “Interesting,” I replied

  “She’s afraid of quads though,” Brandon laughed.

  “No, I’m not. I’m afraid of your driving,” I said, glaring towards him.

  “What? You got on a four-wheeler with him?” Holly exclaimed. “Jesse! How could you let Riley get on a four-wheeler with Brandon?”

  “She was fine. Brandon controls a quad like no one else and you know that. You guys are just chickens.”

  I glared over to Jesse, who was smiling at me.

  “I knew you’d be fine,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “Admit it. You had fun.”

  I continued to glare at him, but then I felt myself softening. Thinking back to how I’d been holding onto Brandon for dear life as we flew through the air, I realized it was actually kind of fun, now that I was safely back on solid ground. It had been invigorating, exhilarating, and refreshing. It had been a rush, and a rush was exactly what I needed in my life.

  “C’mon, it was fun,” Jesse said again, nudging me gently in the ribs. “I wouldn’t have let you get on that thing if I didn’t trust him.”

  “And I knew I wasn’t going to kill you,” Brandon chimed in. “Promise.”

  He crossed his heart again and I felt the corners of my mouth slowly rise into a smile.

  “I guess it was kinda fun,” I mumbled.

  “Alright then,” Jesse said, walking towards the pool table as the tension evaporated. “I’ve got the next game.”

  “Not before we eat cake!” Mandy exclaimed as she walked into the game room holding the birthday cake she’d brought with her.

  Jesse turned to look at her and rolled his eyes, but then smiled and I knew deep down he appreciated what she’d done for him.

  Chapter Seven

  I dawdled around the next morning having slept in till nearly ten o’clock. I’d gotten home right before midnight, so my mom couldn’t say anything about me being late, even though I knew it drove her nuts when I cut it close to curfew. I was convinced she was just waiting for me to make a mistake so she could pounce on me, grounding me for however long she wanted, which would be yet another way for her to ruin my life.

  I walked downstairs, still in my pajamas. My hair was a wild mess and it spilled down my back in sloppy, dark mats. My grandma was playing solitaire at the kitchen table and my mom was washin
g dishes in the sink. I still couldn’t believe my grandma didn’t have a dishwasher. Who didn’t have a dishwasher in the 21st century, or a computer for that matter? I was beginning to go crazy with only having internet on my phone. I’d open my laptop and stare at the icon at the bottom, searching for any unsecured networks I could bum a ride on the web from, but was always unsuccessful. My mom had assured me she’d be calling the cable company to get the internet set up, but she’d yet to do so.

  She turned and stared at me, her hands full of suds when she heard me walk in.

  “We’re going to Mike and Debbie’s for dinner tonight,” she said as she dried her hands on a flour-sack dish towel on which my grandma had embroidered a chicken wearing an apron.

  “Can’t make it,” I said, walking over and pouring myself a bowl of Lucky Charms. I’d loved them as a kid and my grandma had filled the cupboard with them once she’d learned I was coming. There had to have been at least ten boxes on my first morning. The count was now down to eight and half.

  “What do you mean you can’t make it?” she asked, looking at me with obvious disappointment.

  “I’m going out tonight,” I answered carrying my bowl over to the table and sitting down next to my grandma. She smiled at me and patted my shoulder.

  “You went out last night,” my mom pointed out.

  “I know. But I’m going out again.”

  “With who?”

  “I’m going out with Alex Bettencourt,” I said, giving her a first and last name before she could badger me for more details.

  “Alex Bettencourt? Is he Joe Bettencourt’s son?”

  “I don’t know,” I said and as I heard the words come out of my mouth I realized they were much snottier than they needed to be, but that didn’t stop me. “I just met him. How should I know?”

  “I was just asking a question,” she said, throwing the dish towel on the counter and walking out of the room.

  I sat in silence, eating cereal and watching my grandmother’s solitaire game.

  “You could try being a little nicer to your mother,” she said as she added the six of hearts to the pile at the top of her game. “She loves you and she’s a good mother.”

  I just looked over at her and frowned.

  “I’m mad at her,” I said quietly.

  “I know you didn’t want to come here, but you need to give her a break. Sometimes things which seem awful at first really turn out for the best.”

  “How could this be what’s best for us? How’s this best for me?”

  “There are just things you don’t understand.”

  “You know, my mom said the same thing. Why doesn’t someone explain it to me so I can understand?”

  “Things aren’t always that simple, Riley. You’re seventeen. You think life is easy and making decisions are easy. But they aren’t always. Your mom struggled with the decision to come here. She didn’t want to upset you, but she needed to do what was right for her too, for both of you, and this is what she thought was the right thing to do.”

  “But she made that decision without even talking to me,” I said resentfully.

  “That’s because she’s the parent. Not you.”

  My grandma’s voice was serious and curt. I’d never heard her voice like that and I knew she was getting fed up with my attitude as well.

  “Just cut her some slack and be nice for goodness sakes. You were always such a good little girl,” she said as the usual sweetness returned to her voice.

  “But I’m seventeen now and I’ve grown up.”

  “Then start acting like it,” she said again and patted my hand.

  ****

  I managed to avoid my mom the rest of the day. She was out running errands and was just coming home as I was getting ready to go out with Alex. As I stood in the mirror running the flat iron over my dark hair, I thought of him and how his dusty hair fell so mysteriously into his eyes. He kind of reminded me of James Dean: rugged, misunderstood and sexy. I was excited to see him, but I couldn’t let him know that, I reminded myself. A guy could never know you were into him, well, too much anyway. Mystery was key.

  I was sitting on the couch when I heard his car pull up to the house. I glanced down at my outfit, a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved lavender shirt with a scoop neck, and hoped it was alluring enough to keep his interest, but innocent enough for him to realize I wasn’t going to put out.

  I jumped up from the couch when I heard the engine stop and slipped on my coat and grabbed my purse.

  “What are you doing?” my mom asked from her perch on the recliner.

  “I’m leaving,” I said in a tone that showed I’d completely ignored the conversation I’d had earlier with my grandmother.

  “Not before I meet this Alex.”

  “You’re not serious.”

  “I am serious.”

  “C’mon, Mom. This isn’t 1955. You don’t need to meet my gentleman caller. I suppose you want to chaperone too.”

  My sarcasm was so sharp I was afraid it might literally cut one of us. My mom was gritting her teeth and I knew I’d crossed the line.

  “I’m sorry,” I said quickly, knowing if I didn’t apologize she’d probably cause a scene in front of Alex and wouldn’t let me go.

  “I’d just like to meet who you’re going out with,” she said as the doorbell rang. My plan hadn’t worked anyway. He was at the door, so I had to introduce them now. I had no choice.

  I opened the door and smiled at Alex. He ran a hand through his hair and I watched as it fell back into his eyes. His faded jeans were loose. He’d rolled the sleeves of his black button up shirt to his elbows and my eyes were drawn to his strong, tan arms.

  “Hey,” he said with that half-smile I’d noticed when I first met him.

  “Hi,” I said back and then grimaced. “My mom wants to meet you.”

  I moved aside and he stepped into the house, gently touching my shoulder as he passed me. He looked calm and relaxed and he smiled at both my mom and my grandma. My mom stood up and Alex went over and shook her hand.

  “Hi, Mrs. Regas. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “You too, Alex,” she said and I couldn’t help but laugh inside at how formal this whole ordeal had become.

  “Well, now that you two have met, we should get going,” I said and I motioned towards the door.

  “Where’re you headed to tonight?” my grandma piped in from the couch. I sighed because I knew this introduction was going on longer than I was comfortable with, but Alex turned and smiled at her.

  “We’re going over to the batting cages off of Jefferson Street,” he told her.

  “Oh, sounds like fun,” she replied.

  “Alex,” my mom broke in. “Riley tells me your last name is Bettencourt. Any relation to Joe Bettencourt?”

  “Yeah, he’s my dad. Do you know him?”

  “We actually went out a couple of times in high school,” she said and then she and Alex both started laughing. I felt myself cringe. How awkward was this? I was going out with my mom’s old boyfriend’s son. Creepy. “How is he…and your mom of course?”

  “They’re good. Dad’s just working at his law practice.”

  “I’d heard he became a lawyer,” she said and then sat back down on the recliner. “Well, tell him I said hello.”

  “Will do.”

  “Alright,” I said, rubbing my hands together uncomfortably. “You wanna get going, Alex?”

  “Yeah, let’s go,” he said, putting his hand on the small of my back as he led me to the door. “It was nice meeting you both,” he said as we walked out, but I didn’t say a word.

  I looked at the black Nissan Altima that was sitting in front of the house. It was much nicer than most of the cars I’d seen in the parking lot of Carver High School and I concluded Mr. Bettencourt must do pretty well with his law firm.

  “Sorry about that,” I said as Alex drove away from the house.

  “Sorry about what?”

  “My mother. She
insisted on meeting you,” I said with an eye roll.

  “Don’t worry about it. I figured she would. That’s kinda weird though about our parents, don’t you think?”

  “Yeah, totally weird. It’s a little disturbing actually.”

  “I think it’s kinda funny. Like we were fated to meet or something,” he said, looking over at me with one eyebrow raised.

  “Sure,” I said sarcastically. “It was destiny that my parents broke up and due to my mother’s mid-life crisis, which is the only reasonable explanation I can think of to explain this relocation, we moved to the exciting city of Carver.”

  “Now you’re just being rude,” he laughed.

  “Sorry. I’m still mad at her for ripping me away from all my friends and my life. Try not to take it personally.”

  I looked over to him and our eyes met. He gently placed his hand over mine and then started the car and pulled away from the curb.

  Seeing as how you could spit from one end of Carver and hit the other side, it didn’t take us long to get to the batting cages. The place was busy, but it looked like it might be fun. We went inside to pay and then we both took a helmet and a bat.

  “Now this must be attractive,” I said as I pulled the old black helmet on my head.

  “It’s totally hot,” Alex laughed, helping me push the helmet all the way down and then put his on. “And now we’re the sexiest couple here.”

  We both laughed and then stepped into the batting cage we’d been assigned to.

  “Have you ever played?” he asked as he twirled the bat in his hand.

  “Not really. I’m more of a soccer girl.”

  “Well, let’s see what you can do,” he said, leaning against the cage and watching as I stepped up to the plate.

  I felt silly because I hadn’t swung a bat since my dad had signed me up for t-ball when I was five. I hadn’t been good then either, hence the switch to soccer.

  “You ready?” he called.

  “Yeah,” I called back. He put a token into the machine and before I was ready, a ball came whizzing past me. I didn’t even make an attempt to swing. My head just zipped around and stared at where the ball had landed.