Wingless Book Series (book 1) (29 page)

Chapter 29

These Shoes

Piper Valley was a gated community
exactly twenty minutes from my old hometown. Newly renovated,
clearly it hadn’t been there all that long. Evan said maybe two
years at the most.

It was almost as stunning as
Carlo’s neighborhood, I noticed. The houses were a little smaller
and more modest, but still impressive. You could not enter Piper
Valley without being let in. Anyone who came there was seen before
making his or her way through, and it was like a separate
world.

There were even stores, a couple
clothing boutiques, and some restaurants, a few gas stations and
movies and bowling alleys, all sorts of things there. The only
thing there wasn’t was a hospital. Parks and water were dotted all
over; it was truly interesting to me.

As we made our way into the gates,
Evan and Ari both seemed mighty pleased. Ari’s spirits went from
depressed to overjoyed and it was like the sun started beaming
right when we came through.

Evan patted my leg heading down a
street. I surveyed the surroundings more waiting to see some
people, but there weren’t any outside. Each house looked exactly
the same, which to me was a tad tacky and boring. The grass was so
green and perfectly manicured. I had always had a thing for grass,
the greener the grass the more I was drawn to it-it was a weird
fascination.

We pulled down yet another street,
pulling into a driveway.

“
Delwass Lane,” I said out loud
reading the sign.

“
Del
was
. Like was,” Evan
explained to me, getting out of the truck. He stretched his arms
above his head as if we had driven
for
days or something.

I waited for Ari to head out, not
that in a hurry. Kenny was pulling up as we all made our way out of
the truck, Mark behind him. They got out as well. Mark still had
the beaming ray of sunshine smile on his face as he made his way
over to us. I couldn’t help but smile as well when I looked at
him.

“
So? What do you think?” he said,
barely grazing my arm with his fingers. He stared at me intently,
waiting for a reply.

“
It looks very nice,” I said
politely.

He was the kind of person I didn’t
think I could ever be rude to, I thought as he smiled at me. There
was nothing mean or cruel about him, he just exuded happy
vibes.

“
I think you’re unsure,” he said,
not letting my gaze go.

Evan made his way to me, putting
his hand around my waist. “I think she is too,” he
agreed.

“
Just need to let it sink in. I’ll
be fine,” I assured them both, feeling a little more nervous than I
had already.

“
Alright, let’s go see the inside.
You ready?” he asked me, taking me up the sidewalk to what was now
our home.

The house was brick, two large
windows in the front of it with a beautiful red door. It was all
one level and had an attached two car garage. Evan unlocked the
door, grabbing me like a bride. I punched his arm trying to fight
my way back to the ground. He was being silly.

“
Evan! Put me down,” I said, half
laughing.

“
No, I’m carrying you. It’s
romantic, deal with it,” he said, stepping through the
door.

The entrance was nice. We came
into a big, bright yellow kitchen with light oak cabinets and light
oak flooring, white counter tops and white appliances with yellow
and white checkered curtains. There was a vase at the table with
yellow lilies in it. There was also an island that I had always
dreamed I would have in my dream home, a large island with bar
stools on one side and a fruit basket sitting on the counter. It
was so quaint, I thought.

“
Well, what do you think so far?”
Evan asked, watching my expression as I touched the
lilies.

“
I like it,” I said, opening up
the refrigerator and seeing it was already fully stocked with
everything I could imagine we needed.

“
Okay, let’s go to the next room,”
he said happily dragging me with him.

The living room was amazing. Dark
red walls with a velvety black trim, the furniture a cushy black
overstuffed sectional that had a chaise lounge on it. The carpet
black and shaggy and so comfortable to walk on, I thought as my
feet sunk into it. There was a fireplace made of black marble, so
smooth and inviting. A large plasma screen TV hung from above it. I
was blown away at the detail.

Evan moved me over
to the fireplace. There were several pictures
lining it. I gasped when I seen it was of us.

“
How did you do that?” I asked,
holding my hand to my mouth.

I picked the first up. It was me
and him at Carlo’s the day he proposed. My cheeks were pink,
probably from shock, I thought. Evan looked as beautiful as always,
his perfect smile, his crazy messy hair that always looked like he
meant to make it that way- and how it always worked for him. The
other pictures were of us that we had taken at the old house just
messing around.

It was starting to feel more like
it was part of the plan.

“
I hope you like it. My dad had me
talk to his decorator about what colors and things you liked so it
would be set up before we got here,” he said, opening the blinds to
let the sun pour in.

“
I do, and thanks,” I said,
realizing that most of the colors and decorations were something I
had told Evan at one time or another. And it blew me away that he
had remembered all of what I’d said. It just proved how awesome a
person he was.

We also had a sunroom and a deck
you could access from the living room. The house had two bedrooms,
which of course, Evan made sure to decorate ours with my favorite
color: light purple. It was amazing the amount of work that was put
into it. There was even a little office. I wasn’t sure who would
use it, but it was cute. It sort of was a mini version of
Carlo’s.

“
Let’s eat lunch, then we will
head over to Kenny’s to see how they’re holding up,” Evan
suggested, giving me my plate.

There was an array of lunch meat
set up in the kitchen already for us with fruits and vegetables and
dips.

“
Is there, like, a maid, or
something?” I asked jokingly.

“
Yeah, they come every other day
and restock things and clean up. Is that okay?” he
asked.

“
I was joking, but if it’s okay
with you, then it’s okay with me,” I said, biting into a piece of
pineapple.

“
Yeah, it’s fine with me,” he
said, devouring his sandwich. We were both starved.

“
Do you think Ari and Kenny like
their place?” I asked.

“
I think so. Kenny talked to a
decorator with me that day. He made sure there was a ton of closet
space for her and Betty Boop decorations, or whatever that is, all
over the place,” he laughed.

I smiled. It was shocking that
Kenny would go through the trouble.

“
That will make her happy. I bet
she will feel better,” I said.

“
Oh, I’m sure she will, believe
me,” Evan said, looking off with a grin.

“
What?” I said catching
on.

“
Nothing. Just remember, patience
is a virtue,” he laughed out loud.

“
Evan, tell me,” I said, snatching
the sandwich from his hand.

“
Ugh, alright. Kenny is going to
propose. Probably already has. He was waiting until they got to the
house. Now give me my sandwich,” he said.

I almost choked, handing him his
food back. “What!”

“
Yeah, hence the reason he was so
grouchy. I’m not the only one in love apparently. That, and Carlo
told him it was about time.” He shrugged.

“
Do you think he did it for the
right reason?” I asked, feeling bad suddenly.

“
I think he did what was right for
him. And I know he loves her deep down,” he said,
nodding.

“
Well, then that’s good. I know
Ari would be happy,” I said, not sure how that would all turn out,
but it sure did explain why Kenny was acting so Kenny-like. I
stared out the window drifting off into a daydream.

“
So let’s eat up so we can head
over. I’m sure she is dying to tell you,” Evan said, clearing his
plate from the table.

“
Right,” I said as a woman with a
small dog came walking past our window.

She was blonde and had an airy way
about her, her body lanky and scantily clad in short shorts and a
tank top with strappy heeled shoes. I didn’t care for the shoes,
but maybe to her it went well. I thought maybe it showed that she
wanted to be looked at no matter what she wore.

I cleaned up the dishes as Evan
went to change into shorts. He said it was warmer than earlier and
needed to get out of his pants. Looking around the house, I was
starting to understand what he meant by this was another step to us
being together. It felt like our home. No more Kenny and Ari living
with us. We had privacy. We could do as we pleased. And the plus
was that Ari still was in walking distance of me to confide all my
worries and concerns with.

“
Okay, you want to walk down four
houses or you want to drive?” Evan asked, looking serious, then
broke into a smile.

“
Walking will be just fine,” I
said, tossing the sponge in the sink.

It was exactly four houses from
ours. It looked the same as ours from the outside. I could see Ari
bounding around on the inside from the window as we
approached.

Evan knocked on the door. Kenny
opened it, walking away-his usual Kenny greeting, which was
nothing. I felt a poke on my back and turned around to see Mark
standing there.

“
Hey, figured I’d stop as well,”
Mark said beaming. Evan nodded walked in first. Mark accepted a
beer from Kenny, standing in the kitchen, chatting it up with Kenny
and Evan.

Ari spotted me in seconds and
practically ran across the room tackling me. She dragged me out the
front door and almost knocked me over outside.

“
I’m so glad you’re here! How do
you like your house? Did you see the bedroom?” she said
excited.

“
It’s amazing. I was blown away,”
I said, holding her hand in mine, trying to act as if I didn’t
already know.

Ari and I sat down on the
steps chatting it up about the houses and all the things the guys
had made sure to add to them. She said she loved her closet and how
her bedroom had a Betty Boop clock in it. She said many
things, but never once did she make a comment
about the big rock on her tiny finger. I was confused at why she
didn’t say anything.

“
So, I think I will like it,” I
continued in our discussion. The sun was starting to go down as we
sat on the porch. Ari nodded looking off. “That’s a great looking
ring,” I spit out.

Ari’s arm shot to her chest. She
stared at it with barely any emotion. “Thanks,” she said in a low
whisper.

“
Honestly, I thought you were
going to be happy.”

“
I was, but not anymore,” she
said, looking at me and touching my ring.

“
Why not?”

“
Because no matter how much I care
about Kenny, I really don’t feel like he cares about me. I think
it’s all just forced,” she said sighing.

“
What do you want to do?” I
asked.

“
There’s nothing to do but go
along with it. We discussed this already.”

“
I just don’t understand. If there
is no other choice, then why doesn’t he try harder to make it
work?” I was saying this more to myself than to Ari.

“
I don’t know. Because Kenny is
selfish and what was good enough at the time, isn’t
anymore.”

“
Have you ever tried to
leave?”

“
Yeah, I left. Tried to go to
school in New Mexico where my dad lives now. I was there for a
couple days and Kenny came and made me come back.” She scratched
her arm. “I told him I was going to visit, and when he found out,
the whole crew came to get me.”

It made goose bumps creep across
my skin. “You just left?” I asked in alarm.

“
Well, no. I told Kenny I wasn’t
coming and I snuck out of my dad’s house through a bedroom window,
but let’s just say Kenny was way worse than anything I’ve ever saw
before. My dad tried to make him leave and ended up in the
hospital. I thought he was dead. The craziest part, well, that was
not remembering how I even got back here,” she said looking at my
expression and me.

“
What do you mean you don’t
remember?” My body felt woozy. The thought of something like that
happening to her, worse than anything Kenny had done before, what
more could he do to Ari?

“
It’s like you’re a vital organ,
think of it that way. Once you guys make that bond, once that lock
is created, you’re like a vital organ. Like a heart. And if you
take someone’s heart away, they can no longer go on. So what do you
think someone is going to do?” she asked me.