A Stellar Year

by Krystle Rose

  "Don't," she begged, knowing that he planned to go back and make sure that Thomas heeded Canaan's warning.

  "How will you get home?" Her brother asked of his pal.

  "I'll find a ride," he replied plainly.

  "Owen," Nomi pleaded, but her plea fell on deaf ears.

  Owen helped her into the front seat of the vehicle and instructed Canaan to take off. Nomi resisted, yet allowed him to buckle her in. As he pulled away, he whispered into her ear.

  "He won't hurt you anymore. I promise."

  Nomi went stiff, speechless and wide-eyed. She watched, wordlessly, as Owen shut the door and walked away, back toward the scene.

  Canaan started the car and, in the background, Nomi could hear the chanting of the crowd.

  "Five, four, three, two, one, happy new year!"

  ∞∞∞

  Nomi was still reeling from the incident by month's end. It totally derailed everything she'd been working on. It all got left in the dust while she recovered.

  It wasn't just Thomas' behavior that had her out of sorts. It was the memories that it brought back for Nomi. Ones she had worked hard to bury so that she could live a fuller life. Ones she didn't want to have brought back to the forefront of her mind like they were.

  Suffice it to say this wasn't the first time something like that had happened to her. Worse things than that had happened to her and, while one never forgets such things, Nomi tried hard not to recall it. Thomas had taken that choice from her and now it was all she could think about.

  Harassment, assault, emotion and mental abuse; Nomi had experienced it all. She’d been beaten down in so many ways and moving past those things had taken time and effort. Then, people like Thomas went and ruined it for her time and again. It was frustrating and made Nomi’s struggle with depression an even harder fight.

  As if life hadn’t been stressful enough for her, this had to be added to the mix. Damn him and his hard crush. Damn those boys who had broken her. Damn it all.

  That depression drove Nomi to do two things following the incident: eat too much junk food and drink too much alcohol. Accordingly, Canaan had hidden all the liquor, but she was able to buy her own snacks from the convenience store and stuff them into hidden places in her room to fulfill her need to cope.

  And in just a few short days, Nomi would be turning twenty-one. She could buy her own alcohol and drink herself into oblivion if she so chose.

  That gave her a little comfort, at least. That and the idea that Thomas wouldn't be bothering her ever again. Of that she was sure. If the asshole hadn't learned his lesson from Canaan, he definitely would have gotten the message from Owen, loud and clear. She was sure because when he made that promise to her, she could tell he meant to keep it. And the proof shone on his knuckles a week later. When he had noticed Nomi inspecting the scabs, Owen had closed his fists and hosden them from her sight.

  Yeah, she was pretty confident she wouldn't be seeing Thomas around any longer.

  Owen, on the other hand… well, Nomi hoped to be seeing more of him.

  Month 5

  February fifth came in no time at all and Nomi was anxious to take herself down to the bar to celebrate her birthday. Well, that, and drink herself into a sloppy mess, like she'd been wanting to do since New Year's Eve.

  It was what every person wanted to do on their twenty-first and she was no different, save for the fact that she also had some ulterior motives for getting wasted, as well. To bury her emotions being at the top of that list of reasons. Her birthday just happened to be a good excuse for a few too many glasses of beer.

  Canaan had been ever the protector lately and done his best to shield her from her vices. In addition to watching over her like a hawk, he'd eradicated the entire house of any alcohol. He knew her too well.

  And Owen must have had a pretty good idea what Nomi's plan was for her celebration, because sure as rain, he was waiting for her outside of the restaurant when Nomi walked out at the end of her shift.

  "Happy birthday, Yes-You."

  He wasn't there to wish her a joyful occasion and they both knew it. He was there to make sure she stayed out of trouble. Well, Owen was her brother, not her father and Nomi planned to make sure he knew his place.

  "Thanks," she said sarcastically.

  "Hey, you're finally legal. I thought you'd be in a better mood," Canaan commented.

  Nomi came to stand in front of him where he sat atop his old, beat-up car.

  "I will be when I finally have my first legal drink."

  "I'll get a bottle of wine and we'll split," he suggested, waving her toward the passenger side.

  Nomi stood firm and crossed her arms defiantly.

  "I’m not splitting anything.”

  "Alright, I'll buy you a beer. Let's go back inside."

  He pushed off the hood and came toward her. She stepped out of his reach and denied him once more.

  "I'm not having my first drink at the restaurant I work at."

  "Then I’ll grab us some tall cans. We can drink on the couch at home and watch a bunch of movies."

  Owen was doing his best to convince her, but it wasn’t working. Nomi backed away and shook her head at him in answer.

  They often binge-watched old films and snacked on junk food all night. It was sort of their thing. Tonight, Nomi was in the mood for something more, despite her brother's efforts to talk her out of it.

  "I'm just going to go out," she informed him.

  When Nomi tried to move past him, Canaan stopped her with his arm out like a bar. She glared down at it and then across to him. He didn't budge.

  "Don't do it, Nomi."

  "Do what?"

  "Go and make a fool out of yourself."

  "The only one being a fool right now is you," she fired back.

  He sighed with frustration and his face contorted with irritation.

  "Getting drunk isn't going to fix anything and you know it."

  "It's sort of a right of passage when you turn twenty-one."

  "Since when have you wanted to fit into the norm?" Canaan tested her.

  Fury rose in her chest. Nomi was eager for independence and she was a fully-fledged adult now, she should be able to have that. Determined to stand her ground, she moved around Canaan's extended arm bar.

  "I'm a grown-ass woman, I'll do what I want!"

  Before she got very far, her brother reminded her, "It won't erase the pain or memories."

  That stopped her dead in her tracks.

  It was long after the first incident when Nomi had finally told her brother what had happened. Of course, his first instinct was to hunt down the S.O.B. that treated her like that and crush him into the ground, but she has begged him to leave it alone. It was over and she wanted to leave it that way, not dredge it all back up again just because Canaan had a grudge to settle.

  He had only handled it slightly better than she had. Nomi couldn’t imagine what that must have been like for him. To hear that his little sister had been treated like that must have hurt. He had always been there to look out for her, but he couldn’t save her from everything. The idea that he couldn’t protect her from something like that… it killed him.

  So, Canaan knew what was haunting her lately and why she was trying so hard to forget about it by indulging in things that brought her comfort, like sweets and liquor. They both knew that wasn’t the right choice, but while Nomi didn’t care, Canaan clearly did.

  "There's only one way to find out for sure," Nomi shrugged.

  “Has it worked in the past?”

  No, but Nomi wasn’t about to admit that to him.

  “It’s different now.”

  “No, it’s not.”

  “Whatever,” she grunted, walking away again.

  "Fine," he barked at her. "But don't call me when you're too wasted to drive home," he warned. "As a matter of fact, give me your keys, I don't want you to even be tempted to get behind the wheel once you've started drinking."

  He came to wher
e she was and placed himself in front of her. Then he wrestled the car keys from her hand and shoved them into his pocket. Nomi fought to get them back, but it was no use.

  "How am I supposed to get there, stupid?"

  “If you’re going home, you can ride with me,” Canaan said with a hefty amount of sarcasm.

  He gave her a huge comedic smile and Nomi grimaced. Stomping her foot on the pavement, she charged, “I’m not going home. I’m going out.”

  “Good luck finding a way to get there,” he waved, walking off toward his Pontiac with her keys in the air, out of reach.

  “It’s not like the bus runs to the bar.”

  "I'm sure that if you want to drink that badly, you'll find somebody to take you," Canaan commented, climbing back into his vehicle.

  Nomi ran to stop him and pounded on his window angrily, but he ignored her and started the car. She screamed and hollered, but it didn't do her any good. People were beginning to stare and she couldn't care less. She wanted her keys back.

  She didn't get them.

  Canaan peeled out of the parking lot and sped off down the road, with his sister throwing a tantrum in his wake. Nomi went back to the sidewalk and began to pace. She couldn't think of anyone else who would take her to the bar. Guillermo was working and there was no way her parents would do it. Tess and Jenna both lived out of town, or else she knew they would have taken her in a heartbeat, despite her depressed condition. She was practically shunned by most of the people she went to school with and Nomi wasn't about to ask a stranger to drive her to the Silver Dollar (the only decent bar in twenty miles).

  Then, a not-so-brilliant idea popped into her head. There was one person she could call. It wasn't a guarantee that it'd work, but Nomi was just desperate enough to try it. Reaching into her purse, she retrieved her cell phone. She scrolled through her contacts until she found the one she was looking for, then pressed the call button.

  It rang twice before she got a very confused greeting.

  "It's my birthday," she blurted out.

  "So it is. Happy birthday."

  "You wanna take me out to celebrate?"

  "Me? What about your family? Don't they have something special planned for you?"

  "I haven't had a party since I turned eighteen. They're pretty much over it now," Nomi said honestly. "I want to go out. I want to drink. Will you please take me?"

  "So, you're actually asking for a designated driver."

  "And a party buddy," she added hopefully. When there wasn’t a response, she begged, “Come on, I’m twenty-one and I want to celebrate it with a shot or two.”

  There was another long pause, then, "Yeah, alright. I'll pick you up."

  Excitedly, she explained where to find her and went back into the eatery. Nomi sat down on the bench in the waiting area and anxiously watched out the stained glass window for movement.

  Canaan text her to see how she was faring without his help or her car, but she ignored him. He’d hate that and she’d love making him squirm.

  Once Owen walked through the doors of her workplace, Nomi turned off her phone. She wouldn’t be needing it anymore now that her knight in shining armor had arrived.

  She beamed at Owen and stood to greet him. Her immediate reaction was to hug him, but Nomi thought better of it and just bounced on her toes with anticipation. He shook his head in amusement and waved her outside. She launched out of the building and hurried to his car. Owen unlocked it and held the door open as Nomi sat down inside and buckled herself in. Next, he went to get in behind the steering wheel and turned his attention to his passenger.

  "Does Canaan know what you're up to?"

  "Yes. He just doesn’t approve."

  “He knows you’re with me?”

  “No.”

  "Nomi, that's treading dangerous waters."

  "Well, I'm twenty-one, maybe it's time to live a little dangerously," she replied decidedly.

  He rubbed his jaw and pondered her response. Nomi didn’t want him thinking about it for too long and hard, so she turned the key in the ignition and encouraged him with a smile.

  "Are you sure about this?" he questioned her again.

  "Very. If you're not, then just drop me off and go. I'll find another ride home."

  "Wait, you plan to go home afterward?" He asked, surprised.

  "Uh… I live there. Where else am I supposed to go?"

  "There's no way you're showing up back at home three sheets to the wind. Your Mom would kill you," Owen shot her down. "You can crash at my place if you get too wasted. Just tell your family you stayed with a friend or something."

  Nomi gave him a stunned expression.

  "Canaan included," he reiterated. "Canaan, especially."

  Pulling out of the parking spot, he then drove down the street toward the highway. Nomi grinned at him from the seat to his right.

  "You're so much cooler than I give you credit for," she giggled.

  "You didn't think I was cool before?"

  "Sorry to dent your ego, Owen, but to me, you've always just been an annoying friend of my brother's."

  "Ouch," he commented. Second-guessing that, he conceded, "I guess I deserve that."

  Yep, he had stung her severely with the whole, you're like a sister to me thing and Nomi had been waiting to strike back. Turns out, it didn't feel as good as she hoped it would to get him back.

  The truth was, she no longer looked at him like that and she was pretty sure it was the same for Owen. Even though neither of them were ready to admit it.

  "You're right. You're not the annoying teenager I grew up with. You're… grown up."

  That was about as good as she was going to get for now and she knew it, so Nomi took that as a win. At least he realized she wasn't a kid anymore. It was a good first step.

  Owen pulled into an empty space close to the entrance a few minutes later and turned off the engine. Then he got out of the vehicle and Nomi followed suit. Locking the car behind them, Owen strode into the noisy saloon, with Nomi nervously tagging along.

  The two of them sat down at the bar and the server raised a brow at Nomi. She produced her ID for the woman proudly and waited. The tall, red-headed lady looked at the driver's license, then at Nomi, then back at the license, then back at Nomi. Owen assured her it was legit and the bartender tossed it back down on the counter and asked them what they'd be drinking.

  Nomi looked expectantly at her counterpart. He rolled his eyes and told the woman to bring them two shots of whiskey.

  "I want to try Guinness. I've never had one and I'm told they're better on tap."

  "After."

  "Why?"

  "Have you seriously never heard the term 'beer before liquor, you'll never be sicker. Liquor before beer, you're in the clear'?" He asked.

  "Now I have," Nomi commented, feeling defeated.

  "We'll do an Irish shot next, how's that?"

  "What's that?"

  "Just trust me."

  "Okay," Nomi agreed without discourse.

  They tossed back their shots and winced, then Owen ordered up the drink he'd told her about. The woman brought back two half-filled pints of a dark-colored beer Nomi assumed was Guinness. Then she poured cream liqueur into some shot glasses and followed it with more whiskey. Sliding the beers in front of each, Owen and Nomi, she asked if they were ready. Nomi looked at Owen anxiously and he gave her a wicked smile before nodding at her. She nodded back and the bartender dropped the shot glasses into the beer and told them to start chugging.

  Nomi did what she was told and downed the drink as quickly as she could. The cold drink was thick and coated her throat with a sweet taste that she hadn’t expected. When she was finished, she slammed down the empty glass, coughed, and shook her head.

  "Good, right?"

  "Oh my God, that was awesome," she chortled.

  Owen joined her in laughing and gave her a nudge with his shoulder. The contact was the first she had had with him since the incident on New Year's Eve and it se
nt shock waves through her entire body. The alcohol now coursing through her system made the sensations ten times stronger, making Nomi shudder and sigh. Owen seemed oblivious to that fact and pulled out his wallet to hand the bartender his credit card. He told her to start a tab and bring him a glass of cola. She did just that.

  Nomi argued that she would pay for her own drinks, but Owen wasn't having it. He insisted that it was the least he could do seeing that it was her birthday and all. She kept that in mind as she ordered another beer and turned to chat up her birthday cohort.

  "So, what's it like being twenty-one?" Nomi queried.

  "Not much different, except you don't have to have other people buy a six pack for you anymore," he chuckled.

  Nomi gazed at him longingly, expectantly waiting for him to go on. Owen shifted under her stare and licked his lips. She wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or her own, natural inhibitions, but she so wanted to do that with her own tongue. Reminding herself that she didn't have the pleasure of doing that, Nomi pulled her eyes away from his mouth.

  "I don't know. After this, the years will start to just blend. Birthdays aren't fun anymore and there isn't much to look forward to."

  Well, that was depressing. Nomi sipped her drink and fiddled with the napkin to her right.

  "You're not enthused about your future?"

  Owen shrugged and shook the ice in his glass.

  "Don't you have goals and aspirations?"

  "I guess, but you can't always have what you want."

  Heat seared through her and Nomi tried to douse it with more cold beer. It didn't help much, however it distracted her long enough to formulate a response.

  "No, I guess not. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try," she disputed.

  Owen shot her a look, but said nothing.

  Deciding it was time to put a little distance between them, she slid off her stool and sashayed onto the dancefloor.

  Nomi began swaying to the music, drink in hand, enjoying the bass pounding in her chest and the liquor swimming through her system. Owen watched her from his seat with a telling grin on his face, one that made Nomi feel something else, entirely.

  Nomi hugged the beer glass to her chest and made it her dance partner. Owen continued to drink his cola and eye her with intrigue.