Building on Lies (2 page)

“Check my toolbox, Nellie. I probably have a box cutter in there,"Giselle said to me.

I walked over to her big metal toolbox, and looked through it for a box cutter. She didn’t have one either.

“ Want me to drive back home and find one?" I asked.

My mom bit her lip. “I guess you’re going to have to. We have to get the blinds installed by six, though. Mrs. Sutton is entertaining tonight, and she wanted us to be done before evening time.”

“ Why don’t you ask the housekeeper if she has any box cutters or a big knife, Nellie?" Giselle suggested. “In a house this big, I’m sure they’ve got to have something we can open those boxes with”.

“Oh, good idea!" my mother agreed. “She told she’d be in the kitchen if we needed her for anything. Do you remember your way to the kitchen?”

I nodded. “But if she doesn’t have one, do you still want me to go home?”

“ Yeah, you’re going to have to,” my mother said, with a sigh.

I was kind of nervous to find the housekeeper. I had no idea if the twins were at home. It wasn’t likely. It was the weekend, so they were probably off doing whatever it was rich Ardsley Park kids did on weekends. They probably never had to help their parents out with work.

Still, it would be kind of awkward to run into them. They’re so good-looking most girls are rendered speechless around them, myself included. I had to stand in front of Ty Sutton on school picture day once, and he casually asked me if I was going to pick the red or olive green backdrop for my picture. It took me a full five minutes to squeak out the word “red”. He probably thought I was mentally challenged.

I walked quickly down a beautifully decorated hallway back to the kitchen. The housekeeper, a pretty girl who looked a little too young to be a housekeeper, was sitting on a stool, chatting on her cell phone. She had a remote in her hand, and was flipping through channels on a TV hanging overhead.

She smiled when she saw me, and told the person on the other end to hold on.

“What’s up?" she asked, “Do you guys want something to drink or something?”

I shook my head. “ Um, actually, my mom was wondering if you have a box cutter or a knife. She needs to open some boxes and she forgot her box cutter at home”.

The girl looked around the kitchen in confusion. “ Hmmm…," she said, as if she wasn’t sure where anything was. She walked over to a drawer, and took out a small cutting knife.

“ Will this do?" she asked.

“ No, we’re going to need something bigger," I said. “ It’s pretty thick tape, so maybe something like a butcher knife?”

“ Well, I really don’t know my way around this kitchen," the girl said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “ And I’m pretty sure the cook doesn’t want me to give you one of her precious knives to open up boxes. But there’s a storage closet next to the laundry room. Maybe you’ll find something in there?”

“ OK, yeah," I said, surprised a housekeeper wouldn’t know her way around a kitchen.

“ The laundry room is down this hall to your left. The storage closet is right next to it," she said, pointing toward another hallway leading out of the kitchen.

I hesitated, thinking she was going to walk me to the closet, but she picked up her cell phone and started chatting again. She motioned with her finger the direction of the closet.

“ Thanks," I mouthed, and she nodded.

She failed to tell me the laundry room was actually off another hallway, and I had to backtrack to the kitchen and ask her again exactly where it was. She repeated her instructions with a friendly smile, but didn’t get off her stool to walk me there.

I finally found it on my own, and opened the door. I flipped on the light switch, and was astounded to see the storage “closet” was bigger than my bedroom. There were shelves lined with boxes, paint cans, and other things, and I wondered how in the world I was going to find a box cutter in a room so large and filled with so many boxes.

Did it occur to me to scan the closet for spiders? Not really. The Sutton house was a very luxurious place, and I guess that lulled me into a false sense of security. The storage closet was spotless, all the boxes lined neatly on the shelves, and there was a clean, pine scent that made me believe the room was cleaned regularly. So I just made my way inside, closing the door behind me, to search for a box cutter.

I was poking through a toolbox was on the nearest shelf, and lucky for me, I found a box cutter inside. I was about to head back to the entertainment room, when it happened.

A spider just dangled itself right in front of my face. A big, yellow spider with what seemed to be about a million legs instead of the usual eight, swung itself back and forth in front of my face, like a pendulum.

Most of the time, I spot spiders in corners, or crawling along walls or floors. The last time a spider came so close to me was when I was a little girl at the park, and one crawled over my sneaker as I was making my way up a slide. I was so terrified I froze on the slide steps, all the other little kids yelling at me to keep going. My mother had to come and carry me off the steps.

This was the first time in years a spider had come so near, and I screamed like I was being murdered. I backed away from it, and threw myself into a corner, shaking, and wondering how in the world I was going to get out of the closet.

I’d closed the closet door, and my boyfriend told me later on all he’d heard was a whimpering sound. That’s what happens when you’re in an expensive, solidly built house. The walls are so thick a terrified scream sounds more like a whimper.

It felt like I was in the closet forever, and I thought I was going to pee on myself, I was so scared. I’d lost sight of the spider, my eyes were blurred with tears, and that had me even more panicky. What if it were crawling on the floor toward me? What if there was another one about to drop on my head? What if all the boxes were just filled to their lids with spiders? I squeezed my eyes shut, and held the box cutter out in front of me, my hands shaking.

It was then my boyfriend, Channing Anthony Sutton, opened the closet door, and saw his future girlfriend, Nellie Fernanda DePaola, curled up in a ball, eyes shut tight, a box cutter held out in front of her. He said I was shaking so bad he thought I was having a seizure.

Very romantic, right?

“ Hey, are you OK?" he asked me, concerned. I had my eyes closed, so I didn’t know it was Channing who was talking to me. I was so scared I didn’t care if it was the President himself who was talking to me.

“ What’s wrong? How can I help?" he asked, taking the box cutter from my sweaty, shaking hands. “ Hey…open your eyes, sweetheart. Look at me. What’s wrong?”

His voice sounded so soothing, and so concerned, I managed to open my eyes. Under ordinary circumstances, I would have been ecstatic to be close to Channing Sutton, one of the hottest guys in school. But at that moment, all I wanted was to get out of the closet, and out of the Sutton house. I wanted to be home, in my room, in my bed, which I knew for sure was spider-free.

“ Spider," was all I could say.

“ Spider?" he repeated, and I was surprised he understood me, because I was so scared my throat felt like it was closing off.

“ Scared," I choked out. “ Scared of spiders. Very scared”.

“ You’re very scared of spiders?" he asked, his brow furrowed. Then, because Channing is not only amazingly handsome, he’s also amazingly intelligent, he nodded his head in understanding.

“ Oh," he said, quietly. “ You’re scared of spiders. You saw one in here somewhere?”

I nodded, and I started crying. Like a baby. In fact, I wanted my mother, and I actually told him so.

“ I want to get out of this closet! I want my mom!" I whimpered, because arachnophobia will do that to you. It will turn you into a quivering blubbery idiot, crying for your mother. In front of a hot, popular guy.

“ OK, Nellie. We’ll get you out of here, and we’ll find your mom," Channing said, in a calm voice. He knelt down in front of me and extended his hand. “ Just get up and hold my hand, and we’ll walk out together”.

I shook my head. I literally could not move unless I knew the spider was gone.

Channing realized this because he got up and looked around. “ I don’t see the spider anywhere. Let’s get you out of here, and far away from it just in case”.

This time instead of waiting for me to take his hand, he grabbed mine and pulled me up. His grip was firm, and I held onto his hand tight. I didn’t care that my hands were slick with sweat. I just wanted out of the closet.

He opened the door, and we quickly walked out. He led me back to the kitchen, where the housekeeper was still chatting away on her cell.

“ Is everything OK? Did you find what you needed?" she asked, putting the phone away from her ear.

“ Stay with her, Gemma. Let me get her some water," Channing said, walking towards the kitchen cabinet.

Gemma noticed how red and shaken I was, because she hung up the phone and asked what was wrong.

“ What happened? Why are you crying?" she asked, putting her hand over mine. “ Oh wow, you’re shaking like a leaf!”

My mother and Giselle entered the kitchen just then. They wondered what was taking me so long.

“ Hey, sweetie? Were you able to find something we can open those boxes with?" my mother asked, but then she rushed over when she saw my face. “ Nellie! What’s the matter?”

Channing placed a glass of water in front of me, and I reached for it. I was still feeling anxious and out of sorts, but I thought since he was nice enough to pour me water I might as well drink it. I brought the cup up to my lips, but my hands were shaking so bad the water sloshed down the sides.

“ I found her in the storage closet. She saw a spider," Channing told my mother. “ She was pretty scared”.

My mother sighed, and reached out to stroke my hair. “ She’s terrified of spiders. They bring on a panic attack in her. She’s been scared of them since she was very young”.

“ I found a box cutter and I was about to bring it to you," I explained to my mother. “ But then this spider just came out of nowhere and dropped down right in front of my face. I freaked”. By this time, I was calm enough to talk. But now, instead of feeling afraid, I was feeling very embarrassed. I’d acted like a complete idiot in front of Channing Sutton, of all people! My face burned red with humiliation, and it got even worse as my mom began to tell Channing and Gemma about how severe my arachnophobia was.

“ I mean, she hasn’t even gone to visit her grandmother in her new house," my mother said, making it seem as if I’d written my grandmother off completely because of spiders. “ She’s scared there may be spiders everywhere”.

“ Phobias can be pretty intense,” Channing said, and he looked at me sympathetically.

“ I feel better now," I said, wanting to end the conversation about my stupid phobia. “ I found a box cutter you can use, Mom”.

“ I left it in the storage closet," Channing said. “ I took it from her because I was scared she was going to cut herself. Her hands were shaking pretty bad”.

“ I’ll go get it!" Gemma said, probably feeling remorseful about not helping me find one in the first place.

“
Meninha
, maybe you should go home? Lie down for a bit?" Giselle suggested. “ You still look upset”.

“ I don’t really trust her to drive," my mother said, shaking her head. “It takes a while for her to calm down after she has a panic attack”.

“ I can take her home," Channing volunteered. “ I know you’re supposed to be installing the blinds”.

I tried to catch my mother’s eyes. I didn’t want Channing Sutton driving me home! I was so mortified I just wanted to get as far away from him as possible.

But my mother didn’t catch my signal, and she looked at Channing appreciatively.

“ Thank you so much, young man," she said. “ I feel so foolish about not bringing all my tools in the first place. I’m so sorry to inconvenience you like this”.

“ It’s no bother," Channing said, with a shrug of his shoulders.

“ I’m so glad you found her"Giselle added. “ She would probably still be stuck in closet if you hadn’t”.

“ Well, I was taking my clothes down to the laundry and I heard her whimpering. I actually thought it was our dog, Duke. Sometimes he whimpers like that when he gets stuck somewhere," Channing explained.

Wonderful! I’d been whimpering like a lost dog!

Gemma came back with box cutter, and I finished drinking my water.

Channing waited for me, and I gave him a wobbly smile as I followed him to his car.

“ Feeling better?" he asked, rubbing my shoulder. He was a lot taller than I was, and I had to look up at him to respond.

“ Yeah. I’m just…," my voice trailed off as I looked into his dazzling green eyes. They were a glittery green, with flecks of gold. “ Um, yeah. Thanks for getting me out of there”.

“ You’re welcome," he said, smiling. “ I’m kind of scared of heights, so I know what it’s like to freak out like that”.

“ I’m sure you don’t start crying for your mommy, though," I said, sheepishly.

He opened the passenger side door for me when we got to his car, a sleek, silver Mercedes.