Hector

by Elizabeth Reyes

  But nothing brought the conversation to a faster screeching halt than Gwen’s sudden and very blunt account. “I ran into Danny this week at the Chili House.”

  Charlee stared at Gwen, not sure why she felt the need share this with her now. Then Gwen reached into the paper bag she’d walked in with and pulled out an envelope with Charlee’s name written on it.

  “When I ran into him, I mentioned you would be in town this weekend and that I was keeping my fingers crossed I’d get to see you.” She held the envelope out to Charlee. “He came by last night and asked me to please give this to you if I saw you.”

  Staring at the envelope, Charlee gulped hard, refusing to reach out for it. “I don’t want it.”

  “Charlee, honey, he said he still feels terrible and that he really needs you to read this. I saw it in his eyes. He really is sorry. I haven’t read it, but I think maybe if you could understand why things happened the way they did it might give you some closure.”

  “I have closure.” Charlee said almost through her teeth. “I’ve had it since I left, and I do even more now that I have Hector. I don’t need to relive that part of my life again.”

  She really didn’t, especially not after having just relived the whole damn thing just this past week when she told Hector about it. She was so over it now. The last thing she needed was to hear why Danny had chosen her to invite to that party. She knew why. He’d be a sure win if he brought the freak. But she wasn’t that person anymore. Even with all her faults and weaknesses, Hector loved her unconditionally. That’s all she needed.

  “I really think—”

  “I said no.”

  Gwen lifted her hands in the air. “Okay, okay.” she conceded. “Have it your way.” Slipping the envelope back in the bag, her mom pulled out what looked like a scrap book instead. “I haven’t had the heart to change anything in your bedroom since you left. But I did go through some of the old poems and photos you had on your corkboard, and I put this together for you.” She smiled, handing the scrapbook over to Charlee.

  This Charlee took happily. She opened it to the first page to a picture of her and her late nana—the woman responsible for introducing Charlee to the world of chess. Immediately, she felt overwhelmed with emotion.

  “I was gonna say,” Gwen said as Charlee glanced up at her and saw that her eyes were just as dampened with tears as Charlee’s felt. “You might wanna wait until you’re home to go through that. You’re gonna need a box of tissues and a little privacy. I know I did as I put it together.”

  Deciding her mom was right, she glanced back at the photo one last time before closing the scrap book. With no room for it on the table, Gwen placed it back in the bag until they were done with lunch.

  She walked her mom back to her car and hugged her tight. “Will you be home for Thanksgiving?”

  Charlee shook her head. She’d warned her mother when she left she may not come back for a very long time. And even though she’d been ready to run home more than once, it was only to hide away from the entire world in her room like a hermit again, not because it was a place she yearned to return to. For now, she’d keep the thought to herself, but Charlee had no desire to step foot in the town of Heron’s Nest ever again unless she wasn’t forced to. “But maybe you could come out to California,” Charlee offered, “if not for Thanksgiving maybe Christmas. You can meet Hector then.”

  Her mom smiled, understanding, and handed Charlee the bag with the scrapbook. They said their final goodbyes, and Charlee walked away with a strange lump in her throat. Knowing she’d be seeing Hector soon, she forced herself to snap out of her weird mood.

  The rest of the weekend was as amazing as she imagined it would be. Their night and the next morning were as passionate as always. They did finally sleep soundly for a several hours Saturday night, and it was probably the best night’s sleep Charlee had ever had.

  Sunday afternoon, when they were packing up their things, Charlee pulled the scrapbook out. “What’s that?” Hector looked at it curiously.

  “A scrap book Gwen made me.” He looked at her strangely. “My mom,” she explained. “She was a single teen mom when I was born and still lived at home. We lived with my grandparents for the first eight years of my life. Everyone around me addressed her by her name, so I did too, and no one ever corrected me.” Charlee turned back to the scrapbook. “Anyway, she said I should wait ’til I’m home with a box of tissues and some privacy to look through it. But I think I’ll be okay,” she sat on the bed.

  “You want some privacy? I can go check us out while you look through it.”

  Shaking her head quickly, she patted the bed. “No, I’ve no secrets, and there’s nothing in my past I’m hiding from you. Besides,” she smiled as he sat down next to her, “I doubt she’d put anything bad in here.”

  “You sure? There might be some naked baby pictures in there.” He smirked.

  Charlee couldn’t help laughing, even as she opened it to the same page that had choked her up yesterday. “I doubt there’s any part of my body you haven’t already seen or touched.”

  “Or kissed,” he said, leaning in, and nibbled her ear, making her giggle even more. “Is that you?” He stopped nibbling and focused on the photo of her and her nana.

  Nearly cringing at her nappy hair and big toothless smile, she nodded. She wouldn’t say it because it was in the past and she was over it, but, geez, no wonder the neighborhood kids thought her such an oddball. She was only five, and already she was holding up the king from her very first win against her grandmother. Looking back now, her grandmother had probably gone easy on her, but Charlee remembered that while all the other kids were out playing tag or dressing up and having tea parties with their stuffed animals, Charlee spent her days studying her homeschool materials then trying to figure out how to master the game of chess.

  “See what I mean by me being a little odd?” she said.

  “You were a kid, Charlee. We were all a little odd at that age. I lost my front teeth around that age too. Is that your grandma?”

  “Yep,” she smiled. “Her uncle was a grandmaster, and she was one of the very first women to make the U.S. chess team. She taught me everything I know.”

  He smiled, staring at the picture a little closer. “Nice.”

  They flipped through the pages as she explained every poem or ticket stub her mom had included, but then she froze when she turned the page and saw the envelope from Danny. Staring at it, her heart thudded when Hector picked it up. He flipped it over. “It’s sealed,” he said.

  “Yeah, um, Gwen said she wrote me a letter.” Taking it from him as he handed it to her, her hand nearly shook. “I think I’ll read this one in private. She can get pretty sappy.”

  Sticking it in her jeans pocket, she continued to look through the scrapbook with Hector though she could barely concentrate now. She didn’t think Gwen had done it on purpose. Charlee had watched her as she’d placed the envelope back in the same bag. It was an honest mistake. Obviously, even Charlee hadn’t thought twice about it when she took the bag from Gwen. She too had forgotten about the envelope being in there still.

  As tempted as she was to just rip it up and throw it away, she was suddenly overwhelmed with curiosity. Curiosity killed the cat. Her grandmother’s words suddenly sprang in her head. It’s what she’d say every time she caught Charlee staring out the window at the neighbor kids playing jump rope. Any thoughts of getting the nerve up to go out there and play with them were squashed. The only neighbor kid she ever played with was Drew, Gwen’s best friend’s rambunctious platinum blond daughter.

  Gwen and Drew’s mom had gotten knocked up the same year. The only difference was Drew’s dad stuck around and eventually married her mom. Luckily for Charlee, Drew’s parents couldn’t afford to live on their own, so they continued to live next door for years. Then when Drew’s grandparents passed, her parents inherited the house and stayed there for good. That is until they divorced.

  Going against her b
etter judgment, Charlee left the envelope in her pocket. She’d let it simmer there for a little and decide what to do with it later.

  As the day passed, the contents of her front pocket weighed heavier and heavier. What could Danny possibly have to say now that would make a difference? Why would he want to rehash something that was long over? It made no sense. While her head said she should just dump the envelope in one of the airport trash cans and be done with it, a part of her needed to know why he did it. Drew had been so sure his feelings for her were sincere. The conversations they’d shared as she sat in her closet on the phone with him for hours felt so real. Maybe Gwen was right. Maybe having some closure would finally let her leave it behind her once and for all.

  Their flight was another late one, but at least with the time difference, they wouldn’t arrive too late in California. Hector dozed off, and as tempted as she was to pull out the letter and just read it already, she couldn’t chance Hector waking and possibly seeing who it was really from.

  Unable to stand it anymore, she got up and headed for the bathroom. She’d read it and rip it up and be done with it. She didn’t expect there’d to be anything new that she and Drew hadn’t already discussed in length, but, still, it was burning a hole in her pocket, and she had to know now.

  After locking the bathroom door, she pulled the envelope out, ripped the side off, pulling the sheet of paper out, and braced herself.

  Chapter 30

  Charlee.

  I’ve wanted for so long to apologize from the bottom of my heart for all the hurt that my actions caused you. If it hadn’t been because I knew how close you were to Drew when she insisted you’d understand once she explained, I would have never agreed to go forward with it. It’s unfortunate the way things went down, but we really had no choice. I swear to you like I did to Drew back then, I didn’t know they were going to do everything they did on Facebook. I didn’t realize how cruel they’d be about it. For the longest time, not a day went by that I didn’t think about it. Before you left, Drew promised me you were over it. And even though she said I shouldn’t ever contact you, that it would only bring back the ugly memories, I just had to. I really, REALLY needed to apologize to you personally, even if it is in the form of a letter. I want you to know that I meant it when I said you were special. I meant everything I said to you back then. I truly hope you have moved on and can someday forgive me.

  Danny

  Charlee had gone numb the moment she read Drew’s name. There was no way, no way, this could be true. She crushed the letter in her hand. How dare he try to put this off on Drew, the one person besides Gwen and her grandmother she’d always trusted with her life? Drew was the best friend anybody could ask for, and she’d been just as devastated about this as Charlee had been. She even cried with her for days. For Danny to throw this on her—Drew insisted he go through with it? Horse shit!

  As livid as she felt, she was glad now that she’d read it. Now she could accept what a worthless piece of shit Danny really was. He was still trying to feed her the crap about thinking she was special and meaning everything he’d said so sincerely back then. Did he really expect her to believe that when in the very same letter he accused Drew of being in on the whole thing—the worst thing that Charlee had ever had to live through?

  Even as she walked back to her seat with the letter now crushed in her pocket, she felt a bit numb. She knew this was impossible. Drew would never do something like that to her. Charlee couldn’t even think of an instance in which they’d have no choice but to go through with it.

  She racked her memory now, thinking back to how it all had happened to begin with, and her stomach dropped a bit, remembering how Drew was the one who had encouraged her to accept the invitation that she’d already turned down. As much as she liked Danny, she was so excruciatingly shy she couldn’t even imagine going to a regular party with him. But Drew was the one who insisted she go. Charlee had finally agreed but said she would only go if he asked again. There was no way she was bringing it up again, and secretly she hoped he wouldn’t—that maybe he’d already asked somebody else. Then the very next day, he brought it up again.

  With her heart starting to thump, she shook her head as she reached her row of seats. It was just a coincidence. There was no way in hell Drew would do something like that to her. No way, and she was done even entertaining the very idea.

  They landed at LAX just before 9:00 p.m., but since their bodies were on Eastern Time, they were all still exhausted. Natalie picked up Walter while Abel and Drew picked up Hector and Charlee. As much as she hated saying goodbye to Hector, she could hardly wait to get to her bed. She was so exhausted.

  She told Drew all about her weekend and even gave her some of the specifics of how she’d finally got to live out some of the hot fantasies she’d had of Hector. Drew giggled incessantly when Charlee told her about the way she’d woken Hector up on their flight there.

  “Does not surprise me in the least that he’s so damn hot in bed,” Drew said as she pulled into a gas station. “I’m not gonna lie to you, Charlee, and this was before you two got together. So like we’ve always fantasized about the same guys in the past, and I wasn’t breaking any girlfriend code or anything, but I’m just gonna admit it,” she said as she parked and pulled the hand brake up. “I had a few pretty steamy fantasies of my own that involved Hector.” She shrugged, opening her door. “You’re one lucky girl. Your man is hot.”

  Charlee sat there as her friend walked around the car and swiped her credit card at the pump. Normally, this wouldn’t have bothered her in the least, but given the crumpled letter in her pocket and the roller coaster of emotions she’d felt ever since she read it, her mind was still a bit dazed. Thoughts of Drew fantasizing about Hector continued to linger annoyingly for a few more minutes until Drew’s phone ringing loudly startled her out of them.

  “Is that my phone?” Drew asked from where she stood, pumping gas in her car.

  “Yes,” Charlee yelled out.

  “Answer it if it’s my dad. He’s actually home tonight, and I told him to text me if he wanted me to pick something up for him on the way home. But he always calls instead.”

  Charlee glanced back at the screen on Drew’s phone. Sure enough, Daddy flashed across it as it rang again. She picked up and answered. “Hi, Mr. Morris, this is Charlee. Drew is pumping gas right now.”

  “Hi, Charlee,” he responded cheerfully. “I trust Drew was on time? She was worried she might not be.”

  “She was right there waiting when I came down the escalators.” She smiled; already any negative thoughts of Drew were fading fast.

  He told her what he wanted from KFC, and Charlee assured him she’d relay the message. When she hung up, she noticed the picture on Drew’s screen and smiled. It was one Drew took just after they arrived at the airport this past summer. They both smiled big as Drew held up the phone in front of them and took it. Drew said the photo would represent their “new beginning.”

  Drew had taken a lot of pictures that day and in the ones that followed. That felt like a lifetime ago now, and Charlee searched her phone for more photos. Hitting something that popped up Drew’s text message log, she froze when she saw Hector’s name near the top. Was it possible that Drew knew another Hector? Not likely. Charlee would’ve heard about him already. But Drew would’ve mentioned it to Charlee if they’d ever texted. She hit his name and was certain now this had to be another Hector. There were way too many messages between them for Drew not to have mentioned this.

  Feeling a little underhanded and guilty that she would suspect anything of not just Drew but Hector as well because he hadn’t mentioned anything either, she glanced back to see where Drew was. She appeared to be wrapping it up, so Charlee scrolled up quickly and read a few of the exchanges.

  Drew: Are you sure?

  Hector: . . . Tempting. Very, VERY tempting but as much as I’d love take you up on that offer, I’m gonna have to pass on any of that from here on. It just feels wron
g now.

  Drew: Okay, but just so you know the offer stands indefinitely. Charlee can be . . . complicated. So just remember I’m your go-to girl, and I’m only a text away. ;)

  The driver’s side door opened, and Charlee set the phone down immediately, the blood thrumming against her ears loudly.

  “So does he want me to get him anything?”

  “Yes,” Charlee said at the moment, unable to remember what her dad had asked for. “Uh,” Drew started the car but didn’t pull out. She stared at Charlee, waiting. “A chicken sandwich,” Charlee finally said.

  Whatever they talked about on their way to KFC and then back to Drew’s house was a blur now. All Charlee could think of were the texts. There had to be an explanation. So why not just ask her? She couldn’t. The fear that this might be what it actually sounded like was paralyzing. It just couldn’t be true, but why hadn’t either of them mentioned that they texted each other? Certainly Charlee would mention to Hector if she was texting with any of his friends, especially if his friends were making her very tempting offers that felt wrong. And what did he mean he needed to pass on them from here on? The offer stands indefinitely. What the hell was she offering him? His go-to girl?

  Charlee rushed straight toward her room as soon as they got to the house.

  “Aren’t you gonna eat?” Drew asked.

  “I need to unpack first,” she said as she blew past Drew, the anger and feelings of betrayal mounting.

  There was a knock on the door. “You okay?” Drew called from the other side.

  “I’m fine,” Drew said, reaching for the crumpled letter in her pocket.

  “Okay . . .” Drew said, obviously picking up on Charlee’s not so fine tone. “I’ll be in the dining room with my dad if you wanna join us. You should before your sandwich gets cold.”

  Charlee couldn’t even respond now that she reread the letter from Danny. If this were really true, if Drew were capable of doing this, tempting Hector with who knows what and telling him Charlee was complicated, then maybe she did know about the dog party beforehand.