Blue Moon: (Blue Raspberry Series #2)

by D. K Lake

  "I wanted her here." Mitchel says, grabbing a handful of popcorn.

  "I hope you didn't drag her here." Willa jokes.

  If only she knew. So he told his mom I called him to come over. I'm sure if she knew the truth she wouldn't have let him come over and pester me.

  "No, no dragging necessary, he just knocked me out and threw me over his shoulder." I say and JT chuckles.

  "Her mom grounded her." Mitchel informs his mom.

  "Oh...Oh! You're not supposed to be here. Is this your doing?" Willa asks Mitchel with a frown on her face but I can tell she's not mad.

  "No...kinda, I don't think her mom likes me."

  "My mom doesn't like anyone." I say before Willa takes offense. "She tried to make me see my dad last weekend and I refused to see him and stayed out all night. She wasn't happy."

  "She can't force you to see your father if you don't want to see him, hon. How old are you?" Willa asks.

  "I was eighteen two weeks ago."

  "Huh, Mitchel was eighteen not long ago too."

  "She knows, Mom." Mitchel groans.

  "Well, you're eighteen there's not much she can do, not unless she wants to kick you out, and if she does that then there's something wrong with her. What mother evicts her own child over such silly things?" Willa turns to JT and grabs his chin. "I would never kick my babies out." she coos. JT smiles as she pulls him over to her and kisses his cheek. "Love my boys too much." she adds.

  Mitchel's mom is so different from my mom.

  "Adopt me now." I joke.

  Mitchel leans closer and whispers, "She'd let you move in if you asked nicely." What?

  We watch TV for half an hour then Willa says goodnight to all of us and leaves us alone. Boston makes up most of the conversation, making jokes, and JT sits quietly, sipping a carton of milk.

  "What's the name of that horror movie you wanted to watch?" JT asks Boston.

  "Uh...I can't remember, I'll know when I see it. Anyone want more nachos?" Boston asks.

  I yawn a little louder than necessary. It's gone one in the morning and I'm getting tired and I'm not a fan of horror movies.

  "Not us. We're going to bed." Mitchel says, nudging me out of the armchair.

  "Night." I say to both of them as Mitchel holds my hand and leads me into the kitchen.

  My tummy starts to flutter at the thought of sharing a bed with him again.

  "Try to keep it down in there, the walls are thin. We don't want the neighbors to complain." JT teases.

  I pretend I don't hear him. Mitchel doesn't even acknowledge him and goes over to the fridge and pours himself a tall glass of Coke and nods his head at me to follow him down the hallway to his room. His room is the same, minus a few pieces of clothing on the floor.

  Mitchel pulls his hoodie over his head and drops it on the floor, and I unzip mine and pick Mitchel's up and put them both on the back of the desk chair. He catches me cleaning up and quietly laughs under his breath.

  "You're messy." I tell him.

  "I leave them on the floor 'cause that way I know exactly where they are in the morning." he says, kicking off his Vans and pulling off his skinny jeans.

  I look at the bed then back at Mitchel and my heart beats a little faster. It's just a bed. And we're just going to sleep. Mitchel rubs his eyes before he pulls his t-shirt over his head so he's just standing in his tight black boxers. I leave my shoes under the chair and turn around and come face to face with Mitchel.

  "Thank you." he smiles, pulling me closer, and kissing my nose.

  "For what?"

  "Staying over."

  "You kinda made me."

  "Oh come on, we both know you'd rather be here."

  "Maybe so, but if my mom finds out she'll lock me in the attic."

  "Hmm...I might need a ladder to reach up there."

  He ducks down to kiss me, and I kiss him back, tiptoeing as I wrap my arms around his neck to steady myself. His hands slide under my t-shirt and around my back, sending a rush of excitement and cold chills down my body. He slides his tongue into my mouth and presses his hands flat against my back, bringing me closer. I'm finally starting to get why I always see teenagers making out at parties, the couples that sit on the couch or stand in the corner, no wonder if it's this good. But I can't let this go too far. But how far will Mitchel want to take this?

  His fingers brush against my skin and make their way to the top button on my jeans and he undoes it while he's still tongue wrestling with me. But now I can't think of anything other than what he's doing. He pulls the zip down and I break away. I think he knows what I'm thinking because he looks at me and smiles.

  "I was just helping you out of 'em."

  He quickly kisses me once more on the lips before stepping away and jumping into his bed. I push my jeans down and pull out my pajama shorts from my bag that Mitchel had already brought into his room and left on his desk. I pull them on and crawl across the bed next to him, and slide under the covers.

  "What you doing tomorrow?" he asks.

  "I'm grounded, remember?"

  "Fuck. Can you get ungrounded?"

  "No," I laugh. "It doesn't work like that. I have to go home in the morning."

  "That's no fun."

  "Nope."

  "What do you plan on doing after you finish school?" he randomly asks.

  "I haven't decided yet."

  "Me neither."

  "Hey, Mitch?" JT yells, and bangs on the other side of the door.

  "What?" Mitchel calls.

  "Do you know where my weed is?"

  "You left it on the floor near your bed."

  "Oh yeah." JT says, moving away from the door.

  Mitchel leans over and gulps down half the Coke.

  "You want any before I finish it?" he asks.

  I nod and take the glass.

  "So where does JT get his accent from?" I ask, thinking now would be a good time to bring it up. Mitchel is in a good mood and I'm still curious.

  I take a few sips, waiting for him to tell me. He leans back against the headboard.

  "You think he has an accent?" he asks, genuinely interested.

  "You don't?"

  "I don't know, I guess 'cause I'm with him all day he just sounds like normal to me."

  "Normal?" I laugh.

  "Yeah, normal."

  "So has he ever been traveling?"

  "Sort of. It's um..." He scratches his chest, avoiding my eyes.

  "It's ok, you don't have to tell me."

  He gives me a little half-smile before reaching over and taking the glass back. He finishes the rest of the drink and places the glass on the nightstand, turns off the lamp, and slides down the bed and pulls me down with him and kisses me before I can ask any more questions. He's trying to distract me and it totally works.

  But now I'm even more curious. It's obviously something he's not comfortable talking about, or maybe not even supposed to talk about, and I'm left wondering all sorts of things. Even the possibility that they're in witness protection. I mean, it happens.

  "I'm tired." he says, laying his head on the pillow beside me.

  "Me too." I reply and can't help but yawn again.

  His bed smells of oranges. It must be what his mom washes the sheets in. My mom uses the cheap stuff that smells good in the box but the smell washes away in the washing machine.

  "Hey, Kelse?"

  "Hmm." I mumble, snuggling down into the pillow.

  "You're going to be here when I wake up, right?"

  I smile at him with my eyes closed.

  "Hey, I'm being serious." he laughs, and pokes me in the side and tries to tickle me.

  "Yeeessss! I'll be here when you wake up, all right?" I laugh, trying to remove his hand that is causing me to squeal like a little kid.

  He chuckles and stops his tickle attack but leaves his hand on my side. I wriggle closer to him and nestle up against his chest and he wraps his arm around my back and rests his chin just above my head and I soon fall as
leep.

  I wake up sometime later with the sudden urge to pee. I should have gone before I went to sleep. I open my eyes, the blinds are up and a light coming from the neighbor's house gives off enough light for me to see everything. Mitchel is on his back with one arm draped across his chest and his other arm is underneath me. I sit up slowly, careful not to wake him, and scoot to the end of the bed and climb off. I check the time on the nightstand clock, 3.10 am. I open the door a few inches and peek out. I can see a light coming from down the hallway and I can hear the TV is still on. I look around in the dimly lit hallway, looking for the bathroom. It's the first time I've needed to use the bathroom in their house. Amazingly. I know the door at the end is JT's, but there are three other doors.

  I tiptoe over to the door opposite and put my ear up to it. All quiet. I turn the handle slowly and ease the door open but realize it's the water heater cupboard. I close the door and quietly laugh to myself.

  One door down, two to go.

  There are two more doors on either side of the hallway, and I use my brain and figure out the floor space and the room next to Mitchel's wouldn't be big enough for a bedroom so it must be the bathroom.

  I open the door and feel a breeze coming through the room. I feel the wall for the light and find a pull cord. The light comes on and I see a shiny white bathroom with the same blue carpet. I quickly climb up onto the edge of the bathtub and pull the window in that has been left open and then I empty my bladder that is about to burst.

  Afterward, I stand at the sink, yawning, while I wash my hands with the creamy hand wash that smells like coconut.

  This place is smaller than my house but it's like a 5-star hotel with all the luxuries. I look around the bathroom and see all the shelves stacked with various bubble baths and body washes, and there are candles and fluffy towels stacked at the end of the tub. While I'm still admiring the bathroom the door opens unexpectedly and JT walks in.

  "Oh, shit. Sorry! I didn't know you were in here."

  "It's ok, I've finished."

  He points to the window.

  "I was going to close that." he says, obviously noticing how the room feels like the inside of a fridge. "Boston dumped a monster log earlier." he tells me and I'm disgusted but can't help laughing.

  "That's disgusting!"

  "I'm sure yours smell just as worse, you can't shit roses out of your ass."

  "You're gross, I'm leaving the bathroom now."

  We pass each other in the doorway and he's just about to close the door when I remember there is something I want to ask him.

  "JT?"

  "Yup?"

  "Um...so Mitchel told me that you sent those messages to Phoebe from his phone."

  JT stares at me with a blank expression.

  "I'm sorry...what?"

  "The messages? Mitchel said you sent those messages to Phoebe when he was asleep?"

  My mouth suddenly feels dry and I get a bad feeling that JT has no idea what I'm babbling about.

  "I don't know anything about any messages."

  "So Mitchel...likes Phoebe?" I ask, using the doorframe to hold myself up.

  I can't believe he lied to me again. What is wrong with him? What is wrong with me for falling for it? If he likes Phoebe then why not just pester her and leave me alone? Why come to my house, climb a tree, and beg me to believe him that he didn't send those messages?

  "Uh...I guess he likes her, they've been hanging out together."

  I just nod. I feel like an idiot. Again. I also want to throw up. I think I ate too much popcorn and it hasn't settled. I back away from the bathroom door and JT closes it. I stand outside Mitchel's room, trying to control my breathing. Why did I ever believe him? I'm starting to wish he'd never moved to Radley Springs. I slip back into Mitchel's room and quietly close the door. I pad across the room to where my hoodie is and dig in the pocket for my phone.

  I can't stay here, not now, not after he lied to me. He must really think I'm stupid for falling for his lies.

  I kind of want to yell at him, throw a pillow at him, fill the empty glass on the nightstand with ice cold water and chuck it at him, but all of those things would wake him up and I don't want to listen to any more of his lies.

  Me: Nessie?

  I message Nessie because I have no one else. I know Stephen would come and pick me up, but it's Friday night and he's either wasted or passed out right now. Nessie said she was going over to Cole's to watch a movie so she would be home by now. I hope.

  My phone beeps and I quickly open the message, forgetting to turn the sound down.

  Nessie: OMG! It's 3 AM?!

  Me: I know, sorry! But can you come and pick me up?

  Nessie: Are you kidding?!

  Me: Pretty please?

  I wait a few minutes but she doesn't reply.

  Me: Ness? Don't make me beg.

  Nessie: You owe me! Where R U?

  Me: Mitchel's.

  Nessie: I'll be there in ten minutes.

  I quickly get dressed and sneak out. The TV is flickering and Boston is fast asleep, snoring, but no JT. I slowly and quietly unlock the front door and try to pull it closed without making too much noise. I hurry down the drive and wait near the curb.

  I don't have to wait long before a pair of headlights turn the corner and pull up beside the curb in front of me.

  I open the door and chuck my bag on the floor and fall into the passenger seat.

  I look at Nessie, she's still in her pajamas, including slippers, and she's wearing a pink bathrobe that matches the paint job. She gives me a little smile before asking, "Hotel?"

  I just nod. I don't want to be found if Mitchel wakes up and decides to come looking for me.

  29

  Nessie pulls up outside my house. Mom's car isn't in the drive so that's a relief. I just pray she never checked in on me before she left for work. Now all I have to do is slip inside without Paige noticing me.

  Mitchel started ringing my phone at 7 am. I'm guessing he woke up early. I switched it off straight away and it's now 11 am.

  "You sure you can't hang out a little while longer?" Nessie whines.

  We had been cooped up in the same hotel room as last time, room 18, watching TV, and we even went down for breakfast this morning, eggs, toast, bacon, sausage, the whole lot. I made sure I cleared my plate because I knew I wouldn't find much in the house for lunch.

  "No. I have to be here in case she comes home early, she sometimes finishes at one on Saturdays."

  "So tomorrow, you still grounded?"

  "Yes, just because it's Sunday doesn't mean I'm not grounded."

  "I'm sorry, but I don't know how this whole being grounded thing works. This is the first time she's done this. My parents don't even know what the word means."

  "Yeah, well, another three weeks and she might let me out if I don't mess up."

  "You can't mess up. Prom's coming up soon, I need you to come and help me pick out a dress."

  "I'm the last person you should come to for dress advice, Ness."

  "I know, but you're my only real friend and I value your opinion. I want to look classy but not too slutty."

  "Then don't buy anything from that slutty dress shop you always go to."

  "But I love that dress shop."

  "Yes, but not for prom."

  "You'd just have me wear a curtain."

  I laugh. "No, just something that covers your ass."

  "But I like my ass."

  "Yes, but that doesn't mean you have to show it to everyone."

  She smiles at me and pouts. "What will I do all day without you? It's so weird, I'm used to being with you all weekend."

  "Maybe you could try doing some homework."

  "Homework's boring."

  "Boring but necessary if you want to graduate and not end up dancing on a pole."

  "I'd make a great pole dancer."

  "Well, you already have a closet full of clothes for the job." I tease.

  Nessie sighs and leans back
in her seat and looks at her phone.

  "I could always see what Cole is up to. He's supposed to be back at school next week."

  "Yay."

  "I think if you spent some time with him you might actually like him."

  "He wears too much hair gel and it makes his hair look greasy."

  "He smells of buttercream." Nessie licks her lips.

  "I don't like buttercream."

  "Oh, would you just get out already. You're such a grump in the mornings." She playfully pushes me toward the door.

  "Lack of sleep." I tell her, opening the door.

  I wave goodbye to her and my shoulders sink at the thought of being stuck in the house for the rest of today and tomorrow. I'm actually looking forward to school on Monday because it will get me out of the house for most of the day. And Mitchel will be there. Even though I hate him I still want him.

  No! Don't even think about him!

  I walk up the drive and peek through the front window, the TV is off and the couch is empty which is usually where Paige is on a Saturday. I try the front door and find it is locked. She must have gone out. I just hope she didn't knock on my door and try to wake me. I pull out my keys but then remember I left my bedroom door locked last night.

  Back up the tree again.

  I climb back up the tree with my bag slung over my shoulder. Charlie starts barking at me over the fence.

  "Charlie, shut up!" I yell.

  I have a headache from lack of sleep and not to mention the fact Mitchel has put me in the worst mood and the stress my mom is putting me under isn't helping.

  My dad is the laid-back one in the family. I bet he wouldn't ground me. I quickly shake that thought away. I don't care. There's no way I'm going to live with my dad. Ever. I just need to finish school and figure out what I'm going to do next. I'm even considering college just to get out of here.

  I climb back through my window and note the door is still intact and hasn't been broken down so that's a good sign. I drop my bag on the floor and look at my phone. I don't even bother to switch it on. There's no point. I wander downstairs and find a note on the kitchen counter.

  Kelsey,

  I knocked on your door but I guess you have your earphones in listening to music.

  I'm going to the shopping mall with Emily, back later.

  Paige.