The Secret That Intervened

by Lisa Marie Stum

  “Show me your place before we start unloading,” Cody said, the corner of his mouth crept up.

  “Let’s start pulling the boxes down onto the sidewalk,” JT said to Taylor.

  Cody wrapped his arm around my shoulder as we walked toward the door. I walked in first. He walked in behind me and grabbed my hand, turning me around. “Hey,” he said. Butterflies filled my stomach as the scent of his sweet breath hit me. “How are you?” he asked, with concern on his face and in his tone.

  “It doesn’t hurt anymore. The bruises have begun to fade.” Still holding my hand, he pulled me toward him and embraced me. I could feel the strength of his chest muscles against me and the strength of his arms around me. “Your hair smells good,” he said. I had washed it with my coconut-scented shampoo, knowing he liked the smell of it.

  He loosened his embrace and pulled my chin up and looked me directly in the eyes. “Have you heard from him?”

  “No.”

  “You’ll tell me if you do, right?” He kept a steady gaze into my eyes as he swept my hair behind my shoulder.

  “Yes.” I could tell by the way he was looking at me that he was making sure I was telling him the truth. I’d never figured out what I did that would give it away, but he somehow always knew when I wasn’t telling him something. He’d always call me on it, eventually. It was impossible to keep anything from him. Which sometimes I did, but I’d always tell him whatever was bugging me when I was ready to.

  “Good,” he smiled. “Let’s check this place out.”

  “The first thing I want you to see is the bathroom, which is down the hallway to the right.

  “I wish I’d had the chance to take a tour of this place before I committed to renting. But I guess it wouldn’t have mattered because Mr. Gritley only had this place and a studio apartment available.” I showed him how the door opened in the wrong direction. “But maybe the studio would have been a better option even if it is smaller.”

  “It wouldn’t have been. JT moved into it yesterday. Way too small for you guys.”

  I showed him the two bedrooms next.

  “Kind of weird that you have to walk through one bedroom to get to the other. Would definitely be awkward if you had a roommate, but I think it will work fine for you and Chloe,” he said.

  Standing near the windows, he looked me in the eyes as he brushed my hair out of my face. I grabbed his hand and looked at the bandage.

  “Just superficial cuts,” he said.

  No they weren’t, they were pretty bad. Peyton had taken him to the hospital after he left my house that day. I’d insisted that he at least get a tetanus shot.

  I kissed the bandage and looked back at him, drawing in a deep breath. “How many stitches did you get?”

  “Just six, three between each knuckle. Not a big deal, don’t worry about it.” He placed his hands softly on my shoulders and looked me directly in the eyes.

  I wanted him to kiss me, so bad. I swallowed hard and said, “This isn’t fair. We better go help them,” I said.

  We walked back outside. Taylor and JT had put half of the boxes on the sidewalk. Taylor picked one up and started walking toward the house.

  “Taylor, let me and JT get the furniture in there first. Otherwise the boxes will be in the way,” Cody said.

  She dropped the box labeled “stuffed animals” back down on the sidewalk. “Great idea, wise one,” Taylor said as she saluted him.

  “You’ve got issues, Taylor,” Cody said.

  I laughed. “I’m going to call Frankie’s for a pizza.”

  “Get a six-pack of beer too,” JT said.

  Cody shot him a look. I could tell he wasn’t happy with the way it came out since it sounded like he was barking an order. Cody was overprotective sometimes. Never inappropriately aggressive or violent, but he let things bother him that he should just have let go.

  “Okay, will do,” I said.

  “Which one of you has the back bedroom?” Cody asked me.

  “Chloe,” I said.

  His expression turned thoughtful and then he laughed at me.

  “JT, let’s unload the furniture in the back of the pickup first,” Cody said. Chloe’s bedroom furniture was in Cody’s truck.

  “Taylor, we can at least bring in the boxes labeled for the kitchen and start putting the dishes in them away,” I said.

  Taylor eyed a box labeled “kitchen” and bent over and attempted to pick it up. She only got it an inch off the ground before releasing it with a thud onto the concrete; the sound of the dinnerware crashing together made me suck in a deep breath.

  “That shit is heavy!” Taylor screeched.

  I hoped she hadn’t broken anything.

  I walked over to her to help out. “That’s the one with plates and bowls. It’s the heaviest one there is. I promise.”

  I grabbed the other end of the box. Taylor was right: it was heavy. We walked behind the boys as they were bringing Chloe’s princess headboard in so we were out of their way. Once inside, we veered to the left toward the dining room and put the box down.

  We put away the boxes of dishes and I placed the empty boxes outside toward the end of the house in the back. By the time we’d unpacked the kitchen, JT and Cody had both bedrooms furnished. Taylor and I began carrying in the boxes labeled for the bedrooms. Cody and JT brought in the dining room table. Taylor and I brought in the chairs.

  The four of us were taking a break, standing around drinking the bottles of water that I had placed in the refrigerator earlier.

  Cody wrapped his arm around me, resting his hand on my shoulder. “Where do you want everything?”

  I pointed to the wall toward the entrance door and said, “Bookcase, sofa, bookcase, coffee table is obvious.” I turned and pointed around to the opposite wall and said, “TV stand and TV.”

  As the guys brought in the last three boxes, Andy delivered the food. I pulled down four plates and set them next to the pizza boxes on the counter. JT and Cody each cracked open their beers.

  “Damn, that TV was heavy. You should invest in a flat screen,” JT said after taking a bite of his pizza and a sip of his beer.

  “It was free, and free is what I could afford at the time. It works and that’s all that matters to me,” I said.

  “Are you girls coming to the show next Saturday?” JT asked, looking at Taylor. I guessed he assumed we weren’t going tonight. He was correct.

  “If Hailey goes, then yes. I’ll take any chance I get to annoy Erin with my presence,” Taylor said with a smirk.

  “Why do you bother, Taylor? It’s such a waste of your time,” I said.

  “Because she’s talked all kinds of trash about my best friend since middle school.” Taylor was well aware of my history with Erin. It was because of Erin that we’d become best friends during freshman year.

  “It might have bothered me back then, but not now,” I said.

  JT had a devilish grin on his face. Our conversation must have amused him. He was a trouble maker, I was sure of it.

  “You should come out,” JT said to me while finishing his beer and heading to the refrigerator to grab another.

  Cody peered out the window and wasn’t participating in the discussion.

  Erin and I had been friends when we were thirteen. She was the only friend other than Cody that I’d ever allowed into my house. Erin was new in town and I befriended her immediately. She hung out with Cody and me almost every day for three months straight. A week after I let her into my house to use the restroom, Erin started telling the kids at school that my mom was a drunk. I never figured out why Erin did that to me, and I didn’t confront her about it either. I just avoided Erin whenever possible.

  “I could use a night out,” I said.

  “Yay!” Taylor responded.

  “Yay!” Cody said mockingly.

  “Don’t make me kick you in the balls,” Taylor said.

  JT grabbed another beer and told Cody that he needed to run, because he had things to do thi
s afternoon.

  “All right, let’s roll,” Cody responded.

  “See ya guys tomorrow!” Taylor chimed in.

  I retrieved the remaining beers from the refrigerator and handed them to JT. “I won’t drink these.”

  “Again, I really appreciate your help today,” I said to JT.

  He nodded at me and took the cans of beer from my hands.

  I walked them to the door. Cody told JT that he would be right there. He turned in the doorway and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me close to him. He kissed me on the cheek and whispered in my ear, “See you tomorrow. Damn, you smell so good.” A smile crept across my face. I watched him until he was out of my sight, then shut the door.

  Taylor looked at me and said, “You guys should get it on already.” I didn’t respond, my face flushed with embarrassment. “You guys have the weirdest relationship ever.” I hated sometimes that she called things out like she saw them. She had no filter.

  “I’m not really sure what to say to that,” I said.

  “Have you heard from Jason?” Taylor didn’t know what he had done. I didn’t tell her. Taylor was a good friend, but I could never trust that she wouldn’t have a reaction that would make me want to cringe. I was a private person and rarely shared the difficult stuff with anyone other than Cody, and sometimes his mom.

  “No, and I really don’t want to.”

  We unpacked a box of books and placed them on the bookshelf that was to the right of the couch.

  “Do you think you and Cody will get together now?”

  “It’s not something that I’ve given much thought to. I’m more focused on getting my life reestablished,” I lied. Thoughts of him had consumed my mind over the past four days. I’d always managed to silence them in the past, but I no longer had a reason to ignore them.

  “I have to tell you something,” Taylor blurted out. “I saw Cody leaving after shows with Erin several times and I think there might be something going on there.”

  That stung deeply. I wished Taylor hadn’t told me; it should’ve come from Cody directly. Taylor really needed to assess certain aspects of her personality. I loved her, but at times she lacked empathy and consideration.

  “Maybe he was just giving her a ride home,” I said. I looked around the room to avoid her eyes. I didn’t want her to know how badly it was bothering me.

  “She’s so not his type,” Taylor said with a disgusted look on her face.

  “What’s his type?” I knitted my brows, curious what she would say.

  “Oh my God! You are, of course!” Taylor’s eyes looked like they might pop out of their sockets.

  I rolled my eyes at her. “Are they still seeing each other?” My voice came out squeaky. “Never mind, I don’t want to know.” I picked the edge of tape on a box with my fingernail.

  Of course, Taylor continued on anyway. “I have only been to two shows since you left. The night you moved to New York and the one I went to two weeks ago. They left together at both shows.”

  Taylor looked at her phone. “Shit, I gotta go.” She shot up. “I have a date tonight and don’t have anything to wear.”

  “Have fun shopping and thanks for coming to help me out today.”

  Taylor gave me a hug, grabbed her purse, and was out the door within seconds.

  I started putting the rest of the books away while considering how my friendship with Cody would be impacted if Erin was in the picture. She would definitely try to come between us as she always had. I looked at my phone, put it back on the coffee table, and then quickly picked it back up.

  I tapped out a message, then looked at the screen of my phone: I know about Erin. I hit the send button. I had to know whether they were dating. Ten minutes later and no word back. I didn’t have the right to send that message, but I also couldn’t help myself.

  I finished unpacking two of the boxes of books and carried the empty boxes outside. As I turned to go back inside, I saw Cody walking toward me. My heart raced with anxiety when I saw him. I didn’t want him to confirm anything to me. It was so stupid of me to send him that message.

  “Just ignore it. I shouldn’t have sent it,” I said as he walked toward me with his hands in his pockets. He followed me inside. I felt like someone had sucker punched me in the gut, nauseated at the revelation and knowing he would want to talk about it.

  I sat on the floor and started unpacking the last box of books.

  He wasn’t saying anything, and that was frustrating me.

  “I just wish it was anybody but her and I really don’t want to talk about this right now.” I rubbed my temples while looking down at the carpet.

  He sat down on the couch and placed his phone on the coffee table. I glanced at him and then focused my attention back to the books in my lap.

  “I just don’t understand why you let JT and Taylor encourage me to come to a show. That would have been such an awkward situation for me. She’s always been jealous of our relationship. Always. And now that you have been seeing her – I can’t believe you have been hooking up with Erin. Cody, you can have anybody. The girls that come to see you at shows throw themselves at you.” I shook my head in disgust. “Anybody but her. Anybody.”

  “I can’t have everyone. I couldn’t have you. Listen, Hail, I was in a ton of pain the night you left. I got hammered and I did something stupid. I was going to tell you tomorrow so you could decide if you still wanted to come to the show. I couldn’t earlier with JT and Taylor here. It was just one time. I swear.”

  “It doesn’t matter that it was just one time. To me, this is like you telling me you slept with Taylor. My closest friend and my worst enemy have always been off limits. Everyone else has always been fair game and I never let it get to me.” I realized I was basically confessing something to him that I’d never told him, and began to choose my words a little more carefully. “You don’t owe me an explanation, you don’t owe me anything. But it’s Erin, Cody. The thought of it makes me sick. You know how horrible she’s been to me.” I looked up at him. “And wait a minute… Taylor told me she saw you leaving the bar with her two weeks ago.”

  “I gave her a ride home. Samantha drove her to the show but left early. She invited me in and I told her no.”

  The tension in my face relaxed; that brought me a little relief. He looked like a little kid that had just got busted for something. I felt a little bad for calling him out for it, and quite honestly a little jealous that Erin had touched him in a way that I had always wanted to.

  I placed the books on the bookshelf while Cody took the empty box to the trash. He let out a heavy sigh as he sat back down on the couch.

  “Can we talk a minute?” he asked.

  I took a seat next to him and said, “You don’t have to apologize to me. Taylor has a way of blurting things out without thinking things through. It shocked me. I wish I’d heard it from you instead.”

  “Hail, I felt disgusted with myself afterwards,” he said.

  “Cody, I can’t listen to this, it’s making me sick. I want to be done with this conversation. I have enough going on right now.”

  “Hail, please listen…” he said with a sorry look in his eyes.

  “Not now. I’ve got to get Chloe.” I really didn’t. I had two hours before I was supposed to pick her up. Cody talking about Erin and what had happened wasn’t something I could endure for even two seconds more.

  I snatched up my purse and headed out the door, leaving him behind in my apartment.

  Chapter 11 - Hailey

  As I sat with my legs crossed in front of the full-length mirror in my bedroom, applying mascara, the front door burst open. It sounded like it was being ripped from the hinges, forcing me to turn around. “Oh my God, girl, do I have a story to tell you!” Taylor shrieked from the entrance of the door. I cringed when the door slammed behind her.

  Taylor flung her purse onto the couch and charged down the hallway with heavy steps in her four-inch-heel red pumps. I turned back to the mirror and
waited for her to come closer to the bedroom before I responded. Taylor plopped herself onto the bed, her back flat against it and her arms spread out.

  “I’m assuming you had a good time on your date last night,” I said as I worked an eyelash comb through my lashes. “Where did he take you?”

  Taylor jolted upright and sat on the bed with one leg folded underneath her and the other dangling over the side of the bed. “To, um, I don’t remember the name. But it was a fancy Italian place over in Luville. The food was so good. I didn’t offer to even split the check since the last asshole I went out with took me up on my offer.”

  Taylor had paid the entire bill on her date the prior weekend, and then she’d told the guy not to call her again. I wouldn’t have had the guts to do something like that. Intuitively I knew that about myself even though I’d never been on a date with anyone other than Jason.

  One time, Taylor had started to hold the door open for a guy while on a date, but he didn’t get the hint. She never failed to amuse me with her antics.

  I watched Taylor through the reflection in the mirror. “Another one of your online crusades?”

  “Yep, know I won’t find a guy in this town. That’s for sure. I’ve dated anyone who’s dateable that lives here. The only other way I’d meet anyone new is at a show. And Peyton gets irritated when I go out with people I meet at his shows.”

  “He broke up with you, it’s not really fair of him to complain about who you date or how you meet them,” I said, while rubbing moisturizer into my naturally rosy cheeks. “There’s something I find extremely creepy about online dating.”

  “Cause you haven’t tried it. It’s fun. You should become a little more adventurous,” Taylor said as she ran her fingers through her long blonde hair, admiring her reflection in the mirror. “Can you toss me a brush?”

  “What’s the story you have to tell me?” I asked as I turned around to hand the brush to Taylor.

  “Oh my God! So, I was running late getting ready and I told him to come in to wait for me.” Taylor dug her heel into the carpet and bounced on the bed.