Destiny Ever-Changing

by Ivey , Tasha

  I shake my head. "Just because I'm not happy doesn't mean that my best friend should be miserable right along with me. You are a good man, and Laura deserves someone that treats her well. I can tell she's had a rough time lately. I'm not saying that a relationship may come out of this, but maybe you can distract her from her life a little bit."

  Will looks puzzled. "How long did you say you've known this girl? I mean, I know you said you just met her, but you talk about her as if the two of you are very close. Have you talked to her that much over the last couple of days?"

  "No, that's the weird thing. We really haven't talked all that much. I've picked up on a few hints about her life, and she did mention that she recently got out of a relationship. If you had seen how distraught she looked the first time I met her, you would know that she needs—"

  "A distraction," he interrupts.

  "Precisely."

  "Oh, I'd love to be her distraction. I could distract her in so many ways. I could distract her on the beach. I could distract her on your couch. I could even distract her right there on the deck rail."

  I raise my hand to stop him. "Okay, okay. I've heard enough. Thanks for the graphic details, but I didn't mean it like that."

  "What did you think I meant?" he asks, attempting to look innocent and failing miserably. "Get your mind out of the gutter. I meant we would talk. Talk on the beach, on your couch, and even here on the deck."

  I can't help but laughing at him. "You forget that I know you. I don't believe that line for one second, and you know it."

  "I am who I am. What can I say?"

  "She's been through the wringer already, so don't make things worse for her. Just show her a good time and cheer her up."

  He playfully puts his arm around my shoulder and squeezes me. "I thought you said you know me. I am always a good time."

  I shake my head and begin to walk back into the house. "Keep telling yourself that. Whatever stops the tears, man."

  Will and I decide to get out of the house before Jacqueline wakes up, so we get dressed and head into town to eat some lunch. We arrive at the only restaurant in Rock Cove and take our seats in the booth in the very back. Everyone in this town knows who I am, so I always sit in the back to hide out. I hate constantly having to stop eating to talk to people while my food gets cold.

  Today, like every other day, the place is packed. There's more than one reason why everyone eats here. The obvious reason is that it's the only restaurant in a 30-mile radius. Another reason is simply because the food is amazing. The same old woman has cooked the food here for as long as I remember. There is a lunch special every day that she personally prepares, and you're lucky if there's any left when you come in. Everyone around knows how delicious her food is, so most people order the special without even asking what it is.

  I give my order to the waitress, and Will does the same. I am happy to find out that we aren't too late to get some of the day's special—homemade chicken potpie. Within minutes, two steaming plates arrive at the table, and I eagerly grab my fork. I didn't realize how hungry I am. I scoop up a huge bite and shove it into my mouth as I hear the bell on the door jingle. I look up to see who is coming in, and I immediately begin to choke.

  Will looks up at me. "Geez, dude! Slow down and let it cool off a minute!"

  "That's not the problem."

  "Well, okay then, take smaller bites. You eat like a toddler."

  "No, moron. Look at who just came in the door."

  Will abruptly turns around and sends a spoon clanging into the floor. "Hey, it's Laura!"

  I shake my head in embarrassment. "Way to be discreet, Will."

  "What? You didn't say discreetly look. You just said look. Want to go say hi?"

  "No! Just stay here and be quiet. I don't want her to see me."

  He raises one eyebrow. "Why is that? I thought she was your friend. This would be a great time to ask her about the cookout."

  "I don't know any details yet," I explain. "I'll wait to ask her when I know what day. I just don't want to talk to her here. She's with her grandmother, anyway."

  "I still don't understand why you won't say hello to her," he argues.

  I don't really hear what Will is saying. I'm too busy trying to read her lips as she's talking to her grandma. She looks distressed, so I have to know why. Maybe it's my protective instinct toward her, but I feel like if I know what's wrong then I could possibly fix it. I can't tell what she is saying, though. She's talking way too fast, stopping only occasionally to take a bite of her food.

  "Are you going to eat your food or just stare at her?"

  "There's something wrong," I answer. "I can't figure it out."

  "Mine tastes awesome, so your taste buds must be screwed up."

  "No, Will. I meant that something is wrong with Laura."

  He puts his fork down into his empty plate and wipes his mouth. "You're worse than I thought."

  I look up at him. "What do you mean by that?"

  "Are you kidding?" he asks. "Whatever this is between you and Laura is much worse than I realized. I can tell you're crazy about her."

  "You're nuts. I've only known the girl for a couple of days. I don't even really know her. I can't let myself get all wrapped up in a relationship with someone when I'm getting married in just over three months."

  "I don't believe that, because I see how you look at her. I told you this morning. It's probably natural for you to be subconsciously attracted to Laura. You don't want to be married to Jacqueline, so you're fighting it. Don't forget that."

  I can't seem to make myself eat, so I push my plate away. "I know you're right. I've got to get her out of my head, so that's exactly why I'm going to go over there and tell her about the cookout coming up. That way, maybe you can distract the both of us."

  I look back toward her table as I begin to stand, and I see an empty table. She's already gone.

  "We can wait until you talk to Ashton later," Will says. "Then, we can drop by her house to invite her."

  "Yeah, I guess that's best."

  I pay for our meals after having the waitress wrap mine up, and we head back to my house. Luckily, Jacqueline has already left for the day. She has a shopping trip with friends planned. It's such a beautiful day, but ever since I saw Laura, I'm feeling depressed. I normally spend most of my day outside, but all I want to do right now is sleep.

  I tell Will that I'm not feeling well, and I lock myself into my room. I close the room-darkening blinds and the curtains, and the room is nearly totally dark. I crawl into the bed to try to sleep, but sleep won't come. I can't stop wondering what was wrong with Laura today. I'll call my sister as soon as I wake up, so I have an excuse to go see Laura. Maybe, I'll ask her what's upsetting her. A friend would do that.

  Three hours later, I wake to the sound of my cell phone ringing. It's the last person I want to talk to right now, so I don't answer. I'm sure my father is just checking up on me and making sure I haven't bailed yet. That man infuriates me, and he should know better than calling—he knows I'm not going to answer. If it was an emergency, he would leave a message, but he never does.

  Thinking about my father makes me more stressed out, and I feel a sudden urge to go for a run on the beach to get away for a while. I walk into the den and find Will passed out on the couch with cartoons blaring on the TV. I am not at all surprised. I doubt he would want to run with me, anyway, so I change clothes and take off down the beach on my own.

  There is a little cave down the shore from my house that is hidden in some rocks; I always go there to think. It isn't very big, but it's almost like a sanctuary for me. I've spent a lot of time in that cave throughout my life; something about having my own secret place has always made me happy. Happiness is something that I haven't felt in a long time, so I've spent a lot of time in that cave since I arrived here.

  As I climb the rocks that lead to the cave, I see some teens walking up the shore in the distance. Most people don't know about this cave, and I don't
need a group of teens making it their new make-out spot. I quickly dart into the cave's dark opening before they see me, and I crash into someone. It appears that someone has found my hideout, after all.

  My eyes haven't adjusted to the dimness of the cave yet, so I can't distinguish who is there. I bend over and offer my hand to help them up and prepare to scold a teenager. Instead, I'm suddenly speechless. Laura brushes her dark hair out of her face and looks up at me.

  "Brooks?"

  "I'm so sorry, Laura!" I say as I help her to her feet.

  "What are you doing here?"

  "I was wondering the same thing about you."

  "Well," she begins, "It's a long story that you would never believe, so I'll just say that I've been sitting here enjoying the quiet. I've needed some time to myself to think."

  "That's funny, because that's exactly the reason that I come here—to think. How did you find it? I didn't know that very many people knew about this place."

  "Again . . . that's all part of the long story."

  "I'm not in a hurry. Are you?"

  Laura looks embarrassed. "Oh, you wouldn't want to hear it. It's a crazy story, and you'll think I'm insane."

  "Try me."

  She sighs and looks down at the ground. "Okay, but don't make fun of me."

  "I promise."

  She is very hesitant to open up to me, but the floodgates open after only a few minutes. I sit quietly and allow her to get everything off her chest, and I only nod occasionally at appropriate times. She begins by telling me about her childhood and how her parents died when she was very young. Then, she tells me all about her past relationships—including the most recent—and the reason she came here. She also talks about her mother's journal and how it brought her here. Once she stops talking, I honestly don't know what to say. I mean, I knew she had some things going on, but I had no idea just how much.

  She blushes. "See . . . I told you it was crazy."

  "Not at all, actually."

  "You don't have to lie to make me feel better, Brooks. I know exactly how insane it all sounds. To be quite honest, I have a hard time believing it myself. Do you know anyone whose life is as screwed up as mine?"

  "Uh . . . mine."

  She laughs. "Are you kidding me? You have everything. You have a beautiful home. You're about to be married to a gorgeous woman. You call that screwed up?"

  "If you only knew . . ."

  She winks. "I'm not in a hurry. Are you?"

  I smile. "It's a crazy story that you probably won't believe."

  "Try me."

  Chapter Eleven — All Out in the Open

  Laura:

  While we sit on the cold cave floor, Brooks agonizingly describes how Jacqueline plotted his own father against him in order to secure her own finances, dragging him kicking and screaming into an unwanted engagement. I am astonished that this actually happens in real life.

  After filling me in on all of the gruesome details of the situation with Jacqueline, he looks at me as if he is in just as much disbelief as I am. I was under the impression that he had it all, that he had life figured out. The convoluted disarray that his life is in makes me appreciate the simplicity of my own problems.

  I knew that Jacqueline was a real piece of work, but I had never suspected that she was capable of such a grand scheme . . . and only for her love of money. Even more surprisingly, Brooks's dad apparently possesses that same intense greed. I have never heard of a parent that was willing to sell their child's happiness the way that his father has. After hearing his story, I completely understand why he seems so distraught and moody.

  "That sounds like something out of a movie!" I say astonishingly.

  "But usually a movie like this has a fairytale ending," he rebuts. "I'm almost certain that my movie is a horror story."

  "Well, at least we can easily distinguish who the villainous psycho is in this story," I comment, trying to encourage a smile from him.

  "Now, Laura," he says with a serious look, "you shouldn't say things like that about yourself."

  I gasp and try to appear offended, crossing my arms tightly around my chest.

  Brooks laughs heartily as he reaches over to ruffle my hair. "Oh, you meant Jacqueline! I'm sure you can understand my confusion . . . the two of you seem so similar."

  "Oh, some friend you've turned out to be. I'm glad that you think so highly of me."

  His face suddenly softens. "All jokes aside, I think very highly of you . . . much more than I should."

  "Ditto," I say faintly, feeling slightly embarrassed.

  Not knowing what to do or say next, I glance up to the red heart on the rough, gray stone—scrambling for anything to look at other than Brooks. Seeing those two initials reminds me of the reason I came here in the first place, and I lean back against the cool rock wall and close my eyes to imagine my mom and the elusive "Joe" sitting here on the cave floor, just as Brooks and I are doing now. When I decided to shadow every move she made in her journal, I never fathomed the possibility of an exact replication of events. The whole thing is just eerie.

  "Are you okay?" Brooks asks, startling me.

  "Oh, yes, I'm fine. This is just . . . weird."

  Brooks leans in toward me. "What's weird? Being here with me? What I said?"

  "Well, actually, I was talking about the fact that my mother once sat in here with a man other than my dad, but if I'm being completely honest, being here with you is a bit strange for me, too."

  "I know what you mean," he says solemnly.

  After a few moments of silence, I glance outside. "It will be dark in a couple of hours. I really should head back."

  Brooks chuckles. "I'm so glad you're enjoying my company."

  I just smile at him and shake my head as I stand to dust myself off. He doesn't budge.

  "Well, are you coming?" I ask, moving toward the cave's opening.

  "If you're going to twist my arm, I guess I have to."

  I understand his hesitance. "You're dreading it aren't you?"

  "Dreading what?"

  "Going home," I say sympathetically.

  "A little, I suppose," he says as he rises to his feet, pulling up his sagging shorts. "Will is there, so Jacqueline will be on her best behavior. You know how it is, though . . . everyone needs some solitude every once in a while."

  "How can you consider this solitude if I'm here?"

  "I guess you're right about that. What I'm saying is that everyone needs a distraction at times. You know, to forget what is going on in your life and just breathe."

  "That's exactly why I came to Rock Cove."

  He smiles. "I'm glad you did."

  We exit the cave and begin descending the maze of rocks. Somehow, going down proves to be more difficult for me than going up was. Brooks, on the other hand, is extremely nimble in his descent, but he keeps looking back at me, noticing my clumsy ambling. I am concentrating so hard on my foot placement that, when I look up to find him again, he has disappeared. After a second of panic and disappointment, he suddenly appears to my right.

  "Let me help you," he says, breathing a little harder than normal.

  "Am I that pathetic?" I laugh.

  "Not at all. I have climbed up and down these rocks a million times, but you haven't. I don't want you to get hurt."

  "Oh, alright," I sigh, hating feeling so needy. "Lead the way."

  He holds out his bronzed hand, and I hesitantly put mine in his. As he leads me down, I am much more aware of his hand touching mine than I am of the rocks. The warmth of his skin seems to radiate into my cool fingers. His grip is firm but gentle, and his palm is slightly calloused, not completely soft like Alex's was. This man is obviously not afraid of physical labor.

  "Earth to Laura," Brooks chuckles.

  "What? What do you mean?"

  "I've been talking to you, and you were lost in outer space somewhere."

  I cover my face with my free hand. "I'm sorry! What were you saying?"

  "I was asking if
you trust me."

  I don't know how to answer that loaded question. "Should I? What is going through that mind of yours, Brooks Tucker?"

  A sly grin stretches across his face. "I want to take you somewhere before we head back, but I have to know that you trust me first. I promise you won't get hurt."

  "You won't give me any hints of what I'm about to get myself into?"

  "Okay, two questions. Can you swim well and how do you feel about getting your clothes wet?"

  Now, I am getting nervous. "Very well, and I don't mind. Why?"

  "Again, do you trust me?" He flashes a brilliant smile.

  Fine. I'll bite. "Yes, I will trust you until you give me a reason not to."

  He leads me over to a large rock, turns his back to it, and releases my hand. "Get on my back. We're going back up."

  "I can walk!" I exclaim.

  "The trail gets a little treacherous, and there may be snakes. You said you trusted me, so get on."

  I silently step onto the rock and wrap my arms and legs around him. He immediately begins climbing back up, and I cling on for dear life.

  "Laura, you're nearly choking me. Close your eyes. I promise you'll be fine."

  "Okay," I whisper.

  I reluctantly close my eyes and begin to concentrate on his muscles contracting beneath me with every step he takes. I didn't realize how broad and strong he is; he doesn't appear to struggle with my extra weight at all. Fighting the urge to peek at where we are headed, I bury my face into his shoulder, and I am instantly sorry that I did. As I inhale, I am overcome by his scent—an intoxicating fusion of soap, cologne, and fabric softener. His body unexpectedly tenses as my escaping breath tickles his neck, and his hands grip my thighs a bit more firmly. I am suddenly thankful that I remembered to shave my legs.

  "I'm going to put you down now," his soft voice cracks. "You can open your eyes."

  I open my eyes as my feet touch the ground, and I cannot believe what I see. We are standing at the edge of a cliff, which juts out about twenty feet above the ocean in a cove.

  "Ready to jump?" Brooks asks as he takes off his shirt and shoes.

  I take a step back. "No way! I'm not jumping! I don't know how deep the water is!"