Happenstance (8 page)
“What?”
“People are looking at us.”
“Good.”
“I’m going to go back and help Frankie. It’ll get busy since the
game is over.
Weston kissed me goodbye, and I walked across the street,
bursting into the back door and tying on my apron with a big grin.
“Was it fun?” Frankie asked.
“It was amazing. They won! Weston was great.”
Frankie nodded, and we worked without a break until close. We
cleaned up quickly, because I would have to hurry and change and make it
downstairs by the time Sam and Julianne brought over dinner at seven. I
encouraged Weston to hurry as soon as I climbed up into the truck, and the
second Weston pulled into the garage, I let go of his hand and darted up the
stairs.
Thirty minutes later, I emerged, showered, shaven, and lotioned.
Weston was sitting on the top stair, waiting for me. He stood when I walked out
of Whitney’s room. I smiled at him, but he didn’t smile back.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he said, finally forcing a smile. He leaned down and
kissed my cheek, and then we walked downstairs together. Peter and Veronica
were setting the table while Sam and Julianne were uncovering dishes and
setting them in the center.
Julianne and Sam’s eyes lit up when they saw me, and they both
came over to give me a hug. We sat down to eat, and Weston and I chatted about
our day. The adults asked us more specific questions about our assignments, and
how we felt about certain school policies, which brought us to Weston’s art
project. It could have been small talk, but Sam and Julianne seemed genuinely
interested and hung on to my every word.
“I would love to see it sometime,” Julianne said.
“It’s up in my room.”
“The one you had framed?” Veronica said, a little surprised.
“Yeah,” Weston said.
“But you’d been working on that for months, hadn’t you?” his
mother asked.
Weston looked over at me. “Yes.”
Recognition lit Veronica’s eyes, and she stifled a grin. She
seemed to want to ask more, but didn’t. We were all stuck in this strange
situation. Weston’s ex-girlfriend was Sam and Julianne’s faux-daughter, who
also happened to be recently deceased. It was hard to know what appropriate
conversation was.
“This is . . . uncomfortable,” I said.
Sam’s eyebrows pulled in. “It’s okay. This is such a rare
circumstance, Erin. There’s just no room for judgment. We’re just happy that
you’re happy. That’s all that matters to us.”
By the time we finished the chocolate cheesecake, Julianne seemed
nervous. During a lull in conversation, Sam took Julianne’s hand, and her eyes
glossed over.
“Erin,” Sam said. “Julianne and I have been talking quite a bit
this week, and although we know everything has happened very fast for all of
us, we want to ask you if you would come and live in our home . . . until you
go to college, or until you want to live on your own. We just feel we have a
lot of catching up to do, and we’d love it if we could do it as a family.”
My eyes danced between the both of them. They watched me with
desperate hope in their eyes.
“You’ll have your own room,” Julianne said. “We’ve already gotten
you a new bed, dresser, and linens. But we thought you might want to make it
yours by choosing your own comforter and things, so I left a few catalogs on
the bed,” Julianne said. She held up her hand. “Not that I’m assuming you’ll
come to live with us. I just . . . didn’t want you to think we’d offer you
Alder’s room. You’ll have your own room, your own clothes, and your own things.”
Sam leaned forward a bit and pushed up his glasses. “You don’t
have to make a decision tonight. We just want you to know the offer is there.
And we’re not doing anything at all this weekend, just in case you want to, you
know, move in. But again, no pressure.”
“It’s okay. I think it’d be good,” I said.
“You do?” Julianne said, in shock.
I nodded.
Julianne clapped excitedly and they both stood, rushing around
the table to hug me. Veronica and Peter congratulated us, and happy embraces
were given all around, except for Weston.
I sat down, next to him. “Everything okay?” I asked.
“I’m just going to miss seeing you every day,” he said.
“Weston, honey, she’s right down the street!” Veronica said,
laughing.
“I know,” he said, still unhappy.
“I promise we’ll be considerate of your time with her,” Julianne
assured him.
That seemed to cheer Weston up a bit, and he took my hand in his.
Sam and Julianne returned to their seats.
“When?” I asked. “I don’t really have a lot to bring over.”
“Tomorrow?” Julianne asked.
“Tomorrow?” I echoed.
“Or not,” Sam sat, patting Julianne’s knee. “When you’re ready.”
“I guess tomorrow is as good a time as any. If you’re sure . . .”
Julianne didn’t hesitate. “We’re sure.”
“Okay, then,” I said with a small smile.
“Perfect!” Julianne said. “We’ll take care of everything. If
there is something you need that we don’t have, you just let us know.”
“So … to tomorrow?” Sam said, holding up his nearly empty
wineglass. The other adults in the room held up their glasses, and Weston and I
held up our glasses of Cherry Coke.
“To tomorrow,” we all said in unison.
Sam and Julianne returned home, anxious to finish up a
few things before I moved in the next day. Peter and Veronica retreated to
their bedroom, and Weston asked me to take a drive. We held hands while he
drove out to his favorite spot, the overpass, and we lay in the bed of the
truck, looking up at the stars.
“I’m a little nervous. I just got you, and I’ve had you all to
myself until now,” he said, leaning over to kiss my hair.
I leaned into his kiss, my head resting on his arm. “I’m just
around the corner, and I’ll still need a ride to school every morning. I don’t
think things will be that different.”
“I don’t know. You have eighteen years of making up to do, and I would
be a complete ass if I begrudged you getting to know your parents. I feel like
I should step aside, but I don’t want to.”
“I don’t want you to step aside,” I said, thinking over his last
words. “My parents. Wow. It’s just . . .
crazy
. I keep thinking I’m
going to wake up, or someone’s going to tell me this was a cruel prank.”
“A cruel prank? You’ve just hit the lottery. Not only are your
bullies gone, but you have two of the best people in town as your parents.”
“It feels wrong to celebrate it.”
“You didn’t steal them, Erin. They’re yours. Kind of like me.”
I looked over at him, and I could see his amazing smile in the
dim light of the moon. “It’s just too much good luck all at once for someone
who hasn’t had any. I feel like it’s all going to be ripped away from me at any
moment.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “I promise.”
I turned onto my side, leaning over him, and touched my lips to
his. It was a chilly night, but something deep inside of me felt warm, and the
warmth spread throughout my body. Weston felt it, too, because his fingers
pressed into my skin, and he made that little sound that I loved. I pulled
away, and bit my lip, a little nervous about what I was about to do.
I sat up, and slipped my shirt over my head. Weston didn’t move
until I reached back to unsnap my bra, and then he sat up, grabbing my arms. He
kissed me once, whispering against my lips.
“What are you doing?” His eyes were closed, but the tension of
restraint was evident in every muscle of his body.
“What does it look like I’m doing?”
“Not here.”
“What?”
“You don’t want your first time to be in the back of my truck.”
“Why not? My favorite memories are here.”
He thought about it for a moment. When I kissed him, he kissed me
back, hard. His fingers touched the top of my shoulders, and he pulled down the
white straps of my bra. The second it was lying next to us, he ripped his shirt
over his head and pulled me against him. His warm chest against my bare breasts
created a tingling between my thighs, and it was my turn to make that low
humming sound.
Weston turned me onto my back, undid my jeans, and pulled them
down, past my ankles, and set them in the pile with the rest of our clothes. It
didn’t take long for both of us to be naked, and then Weston was above me, his
mouth on mine, his bare skin against mine.
I squeezed his hips between my thighs while he slipped on a
condom, but when he was finished and perfectly positioned to take my virginity,
he paused.
“Are you sure?” he asked. “I mean completely sure. You can say
wait right now, and I’d be okay with it. I’ll wait.”
I reached down to his bare backside, and with my fingers, pushed
him into me. He buried his face in my neck as he worked his way in, gentle and
slow. I was glad he wasn’t kissing me, because I was unable to focus on
anything but the uncomfortable burning. After a few minutes, though, we seemed
to fit together perfectly, and I relaxed. Weston’s mouth returned to mine, and
we touched and tasted each other until we were spent.
Just before sunrise, Weston reached for his jeans pocket. He
pulled out his inhaler and took a puff. He stared at me, exhausted and happy.
We settled on our backs, looking up at the stars. Weston kissed my forehead and
reached over to his jacket, covering me. He reached for his jeans pocket,
pulling out a long, black box.
“I got you something,” he said.
“For what?”
“Your birthday.”
“My birthday was in September,” I said.
He chuckled. “It’s a belated birthday gift. I wanted to wait
until graduation, but I couldn’t. Now feels like the perfect moment.”
The box creaked when I peeled it apart, and my hands trembled
with excitement. It had been a long time since anyone had given me anything.
The lid flipped open, revealing a silver heart. It was nearly identical to the
one in the charcoal drawing, complete with
Happenstance
etched across it.
I gasped.
“Do you like it?” he asked.
“
Like
it? It’s the same necklace, isn’t it?”
He beamed. “You remembered.”
“Of course I remembered, how did you find this?”
We both sat up. Weston pulled the necklace from the box and
fastened the clasp behind my neck. “I have connections. I’m a good person to
know, you know.”
“I know,” I said, wrapping my arms around him.
He kissed me once. “I didn’t know that when I saw it on you, it
would be the only thing you were wearing. This is a definite bonus.”
I giggled.
He looked at the heart, then back up at me. “It’s perfect. Like
the girl in the window.”
“She’s not perfect,” I said, shaking my head.
“She’s perfect for me.” He touched his lips to mine, and just
when that warm, tingling feeling began to spread throughout my body, he pulled
away.
“We’d better get dressed and get you back to the house so we can
get a few hours of sleep. We’ve got to get you moved today.”
“I’m moving in with the Aldermans,” I said, thinking out loud.
“You
are
an Alderman.”
I shook my head, in complete disbelief. “This is going to mess
with my head if I think about it too hard.”
Weston helped me from the tailgate, and again to the passenger side
of his truck. It was beginning to feel like
my
side, and I liked that.
He held my hand as he drove me back to his house, and I felt at ease knowing
that even though I was leaving that day, I would be only a few houses away.
Weston noticed that I was lost in thought and squeezed my hand. “Try
not to overthink it. It is what it is.”
I touched the necklace that hung perfectly against the little
indention between my collar bones, and wondered what it would be like to live
as Erin Alderman.
“It’s happenstance,” I whispered.
Excerpt from Beautiful Oblivion
Chapter One
His words hung there, in the darkness between our
voices. I sometimes found comfort in that space, but in three months, I’d only
found unrest. That space became more like a convenient place to hide. Not for
me, for him. My fingers ached, so I allowed them to relax, not realizing how
hard I’d been gripping my cell phone.
My roommate, Raegan, was sitting next to my open suitcase on the
bed, her legs crisscrossed. Whatever look was on my face prompted her to take
my hand.
T.J.?
she mouthed.
I nodded.
“Will you please say something?” T.J. asked.
“What do you want me to say? I’m packed. I took vacation time.
Hank has already given Jorie my shifts.”
“I feel like a huge asshole. I wish I didn’t have to go, but I
warned you. When I have an ongoing project, I can be called out at any time. If
you need help with rent or anything . . .”
“I don’t want your money,” I said, rubbing my eyes.
“I thought this would be a good weekend. I swear to God I did.”
“I thought I’d be getting on a plane tomorrow morning, and
instead you’re calling me to say I can’t come. Again.”
“I know this seems like a dick move. I swear to you I told them I
had important plans. But when things come up, Cami . . . I have to do my job.”
I wiped a tear from my cheek, but I refused to let him hear me
cry. I kept the trembling from my voice. “Are you coming home for Thanksgiving,
then?”
He sighed. “I want to. But I don’t know if I can. It depends on
if this is wrapped up. I do miss you. A lot. I don’t like this, either.”
“Will your schedule ever get better?” I asked. It took him longer
than it should to answer.
“What if I said probably not?”
I lifted my eyebrows. I expected that answer but didn’t expect
him to be so . . . truthful.
“I’m sorry,” he said. I imagined him cringing. “I just pulled
into the airport. I have to go.”
“Yeah, okay. Talk to you later.” I forced my voice to stay level.
I didn’t want to sound upset. I didn’t want him to think I was weak or
emotional. He was strong, and self-reliant, and did what had to be done without
complaint. I tried to be that for him. Whining about something out of his
control wouldn’t help anything.
He sighed again. “I know you don’t believe me, but I do love
you.”
“I believe you,” I said, and I meant it.
I pressed the red button on the screen and let my phone fall to
the bed.
Raegan was already in damage control mode. “He was called into
work?”
I nodded.
“Okay, well, maybe you guys will just have to be more
spontaneous. Maybe you can just show up, and if he’s called out while you’re
there, you wait on him. When he gets back, you pick up where you left off.”
“Maybe.”
She squeezed my hand. “Or maybe he’s a tool who should stop
choosing his job over you?”
I shook my head. “He’s worked really hard for this position.”
“You don’t even know what position it is.”
“I told you. He’s utilizing his degree. He specializes in
statistical analysis and data reconfiguration, whatever that means.”
She shot me a dubious look. “Yeah, you also told me to keep it
all a secret. Which makes me think he’s not being completely honest with you.”
I stood up and dumped out my suitcase, letting all the contents
spill onto my comforter. Usually I only made my bed when I was packing, so I
could now see the comforter’s light blue fabric with a few navy blue octopus
tentacles reaching across it. T.J. hated it, but it made me feel like I was
being hugged while I slept. My room was made up of strange, random things, but
then, so was I.
Raegan rummaged through the pile of clothes, and held up a black
top with the shoulders and front strategically ripped. “We both have the night
off. We should go out. Get drinks served to us for once.”
I grabbed the shirt from her hands and inspected it while I
mulled over Raegan’s suggestion. “You’re right. We should. Are we taking your
car, or the Smurf?”
Raegan shrugged. “I’m almost on empty and we don’t get paid until
tomorrow.”
“Looks like it’s the Smurf, then.”
After a crash session in the bathroom, Raegan and I jumped up
into my light blue, modified CJ Jeep. It wasn’t in the best of shape, but at
one time, someone had enough vision and love to mold it into a Jeep/truck
hybrid. The spoiled college dropout who owned the Smurf between that owner and
me didn’t love it as much. The seat cushions were exposed in some places where
the black leather seats were torn, the carpet had cigarette holes and stains,
and the hard top needed to be replaced, but that neglect meant that I could pay
for it in full, and a payment-free vehicle was the best kind to own.
I buckled my seat belt, and stabbed the key into the ignition.
“Should I pray?” Raegan asked.
I turned the key, and the Smurf made a sickly whirring noise. The
engine sputtered, and then purred, and we both clapped. My parents raised four
children on a factory worker’s salary. They didn’t buy a vehicle for any of my
brothers, despite their appeals, so I knew it was the right choice not to even
bother asking. I got a job at the local ice cream shop when I was fifteen, and
saved $557.11. The Smurf wasn’t the vehicle I dreamed about when I was little,
but 550 bucks bought me independence, and that was priceless.
Twenty minutes later, Raegan and I were on the opposite side of
town, strutting across the gravel lot of the Red Door, slowly and in unison, as
if we were being filmed while walking to a badass soundtrack.
Kody was standing at the entrance, his huge arms probably the
same size as my head. He eyed us as we approached. “IDs.”
“Fuck off!” Raegan snarled. “We work here. You know how old we
are.”
He shrugged. “Still have to see IDs.”
I frowned at Raegan, and she rolled her eyes, digging into her
back pocket. “If you don’t know how old I am at this point, we have issues.”
“C’mon, Raegan. Quit busting my balls and let me see the damn
thing.”
“The last time I let you see something you didn’t call me for
three days.”
He cringed. “You’re never going to get over that, are you?”
She tossed her ID at Kody and he slapped it against his chest. He
glanced at it, and then handed it back, looking at me expectantly. I handed him
my driver’s license.
“Thought you were leaving town?” he asked, glancing down before
returning the thin plastic card to me.
“Long story,” I said, stuffing my license into my back pocket. My
jeans were so tight I was amazed I could fit anything besides my ass back
there.
Kody opened the oversize red door, and Raegan smiled sweetly.
“Thanks, baby.”
“Love you. Be good.”
“I’m always good,” she said, winking.
“See you when I get off work?”
“Yep.” She pulled me through the door.
“You are the weirdest couple,” I said over the bass. It was
buzzing in my chest, and I was fairly certain every beat made my bones shake.
“Yep,” Raegan said again.
The dance floor was already packed with sweaty, drunk college
kids. The fall semester was in full swing. Raegan walked over to the bar and
stood at the end. Jorie winked at her.
“Want me to clear you out some seats?” she asked.
Raegan shook her head. “You’re just offering because you want my
tips from last night!”
Jorie laughed. Her long, platinum blond hair fell in loose waves
past her shoulders, with a few black peekaboo strands. She wore a black
minidress and combat boots, and was pushing buttons on the cash register to
ring someone up while she talked to us. We had all learned to multitask and
move like every tip was a hundred-dollar bill. If you could bartend fast
enough, you stood a chance of working the east bar, and the tips made there
could pay a month’s worth of bills in a weekend.
That was where I’d been tending bar for a year, placed just three
months after I was hired at the Red Door. Raegan worked right beside me, and
together we kept that machine greased like a stripper in a plastic pool full of
baby oil. Jorie and the other bartender, Blia, worked the south bar at the
entrance. It was basically a kiosk, and they loved it when Raegan or I were out
of town.
“So? What are you drinking?” Jorie asked.
Raegan looked at me, and then back at Jorie. “Whiskey sours.”
I made a face. “Minus the sour, please.”
Once Jorie passed us our drinks, Raegan and I found an empty
table and sat, shocked at our luck. Weekends were always packed, and an open
table at ten thirty wasn’t common.
I held a brand-new pack of cigarettes in my hand and hit the end
of it against my palm to pack them, then tore off the plastic, flipping the
top. Even though the Red was so smoky that just sitting there made me feel like
I was smoking an entire pack of cigarettes, it was nice to sit at a table and
relax. When I was working, I usually had time for one drag and the rest burned
away, unsmoked.
Raegan watched me light it. “I want one.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do!”
“You haven’t smoked in two months, Raegan. You’ll blame me
tomorrow for ruining your streak.”
She gestured at the room. “I’m smoking! Right now!”
I narrowed my eyes at her. Raegan was exotically beautiful, with
long, chestnut brown hair, bronze skin, and honey brown eyes. Her nose was
perfectly small, not too round or too pointy, and her skin made her look like
she came fresh off of a Neutrogena commercial. We met in elementary school, and
I was instantly drawn to her brutal honesty. Raegan could be incredibly
intimidating, even for Kody, who, at six foot four, was over a foot taller than
she was. Her personality was charming to those she loved, and a repellant to
those she didn’t.
I was the opposite of exotic. My tousled brown bob and heavy
bangs were easy to maintain, but not a lot of men found it sexy. Not a lot of
men found me sexy in general. I was the girl next door, your brother’s best friend.
Growing up with three brothers and our cousin Colin, I could have been a tomboy
if my subtle but still present curves hadn’t ousted me from the boys’ only
clubhouse at fourteen.
“Don’t be that girl,” I said. “If you want one, go buy your own.”
She crossed her arms, pouting. “That’s why I quit. They’re
fucking expensive.”
I stared at the burning paper and tobacco nestled between my
fingers. “That is a fact my broke ass continues to make note of.”
The song switched from something everyone wanted to dance to, to
a song no one wanted to dance to, and dozens of people began making their way
off the dance floor. Two girls walked up to our table and traded glances.
“That’s our table,” the blonde said.
Raegan barely acknowledged them.
“Excuse me, bitch she’s talking to you,” the brunette said,
setting her beer on the table.
“Raegan,” I warned.
Raegan looked at me with a blank face, and then up at the girl
with the same expression. “It
was
your table. Now it’s ours.”
“We were here first,” the blonde hissed.
“And now you’re not,” Raegan said. She picked up the unwelcome
beer bottle and tossed it across the floor. It spilled out onto the dark,
tightly stitched carpet. “Fetch.”
The brunette watched her beer slide across the floor, and then
took a step toward Raegan, but her friend grabbed both of her arms. Raegan
offered an unimpressed laugh, and then turned her gaze toward the dance floor.
The brunette finally followed her friend to the bar.
I took a drag from my cigarette. “I thought we were going to have
a good time tonight.”
“That was fun, right?”
I shook my head, stifling a smile. Raegan was a great friend, but
I wouldn’t cross her. Growing up with so many boys in the house, I’d had enough
fighting to last a lifetime. They didn’t baby me. If I didn’t fight back,
they’d just fight dirtier until I did. And I always did.
Raegan didn’t have an excuse. She was just a scrappy bitch. “Oh,
look. Megan’s here,” she said, pointing to the blue-eyed, crow-headed beauty on
the dance floor. I shook my head. She was out there with Travis Maddox,
basically getting screwed in front of everyone on the dance floor.
“Oh, those Maddox boys,” Raegan said.
“Yeah,” I said, downing my whiskey. “This was a bad idea. I’m not
feeling clubby tonight.”
“Oh, stop.” Raegan gulped her whiskey sour and then stood. “The
whine bags are still eyeing this table. I’m going to get us another round. You
know the beginning of the night starts off slow.”
She took my glass and hers and left me for the bar.
I turned, seeing the girls staring at me, clearly hoping I would
step away from the table. I wasn’t about to stand up. Raegan would get the
table back if they tried to take it, and that would only cause trouble.
When I turned around, a boy was sitting in Raegan’s chair. At
first I thought Travis had somehow made his way over, but when I realized my
mistake, I smiled. Trenton Maddox was leaning toward me, his tattooed arms
crossed, his elbows resting on the table across from me. He rubbed the five
o’clock shadow that peppered his square jaw with his fingers, his shoulder
muscles bulging through his T-shirt. He had as much stubble on his face as he
did on the top of his head, except for the absence of hair from one small scar
near his left temple.
“You look familiar.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Really? You walk all the way over here and
sit down, and that’s the best you’ve got?”
He made a show of running his eyes over every part of me. “You
don’t have any tattoos, that I can see. I’m guessing we haven’t met at the
shop.”
“The shop?”
“The ink shop I work at.”
“You’re tattooing now?”