Picturing Different

by Nikki Kwiatkowski

  Chapter 13

  “Hello,” Poppy began with a smug look.

  She stepped over the threshold into Ashlyn’s room, her eyes never leaving her daughter. Tripp quickly hit save on his document and closed his computer. He stood up and at that moment a pair of blue eyes that mimicked ones he had grown to know well shot toward him.

  “We were just working on a science project,” Ashlyn began, praying that her mother wouldn’t say something embarrassing.

  Poppy looked down at the floor and the model of some sort of rock sculpture thing. Books were scattered all about. She had no doubt in her mind that her daughter was telling the truth, but that didn’t stop her from being a mother and teasing Ashlyn.

  “On a Friday night?”

  Ashlyn was just about to speak and was rather surprised when Tripp spoke out instead.

  “That’s my fault. I kept putting it off, and with other school activities I guess time got away from me. I think we’re all good though, yeah,” he asked, directing the last part to Ashlyn.

  “Yeah.”

  Poppy tried to hide her smile at how uncomfortable the two appeared to be. She extended her hand to Tripp. “If you haven’t guessed, I’m her mother, Poppy Jennings.”

  Tripp took her hand. It was rather cold. “Tripp Scott.”

  “I know. My husband already told me when I got home. He’s a bit of a baseball fan,” she said, shaking her head. “Anyway, I didn’t mean to bother the two of you. I’ll let you finish. I was just coming to ask about dinner.”

  Ashlyn’s face scrunched up and she crossed her arms. “What about,” she asked rather slowly. Something about her mother appeared off.

  “Well, your father, Josh, and Seth have been working so hard, so I’m making a big meal tonight. Stuffed chicken breast,” she exclaimed.

  Ashlyn narrowed her eyes. Something was definitely off.

  Poppy turned to Tripp. “You are staying for dinner, aren’t you?”

  And there it was.

  Tripp looked to Ashlyn for help, but she was scowling at her mother who seemed to be ignoring her.

  “Uh…” Did he want to stay? Absolutely. Did Ashlyn want him to? From the looks of it, a thousand percent no. “Actually, I already have plans, I should probably–”

  “You do,” Ashlyn interrupted, looking a little stunned. She quickly dropped her eyes and refused to look back up at him.

  Tripp felt a little victorious. He turned back to Ashlyn’s mother. “You know what, I’d love to stay for dinner. Thank you so much for the invitation.”

  “Wonderful! Everything should be ready by 7:30,” Poppy said with an eager smile. She quickly made her exit from the room, but just when Ashlyn allowed the tension to fall from her shoulders, her mother’s head popped back around the doorframe. “Oh, Tripp, dear. I have to tell you, those flowers you sent were absolutely gorgeous! If you can’t tell, Ash loves color. Way better than the regular red roses,” she said with a wink.

  Very softly, “Thank you, Mrs. Jennings.”

  Then she was gone.

  Ashlyn stared at the empty doorway for quite some time, unable to move, attempting to process the last five minutes. Finally, she spun to face Tripp.

  When she didn’t say anything, only stare at him with narrowed eyes and pursed lips, “Hi.”

  “Hi?! Why didn’t you say what flowers?!”

  Tripp shrugged and ran his hand through his hair. Ashlyn hated when he did that. It only reminded her how gorgeous and perfect his hair was.

  “No point in lying to your mom.”

  Ashlyn took a couple steps backward and sat on the foot of her bed and stared at the mess on the floor before her. Tripp sighed and sat beside her, making sure to keep a bit of distance.

  “You’re upset,” he asked.

  Ashlyn closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. “I specifically asked if you sent them.”

  “Keep in mind, this was also after you just got done screaming at me.” Not wanting to relive that part of that day, “Besides, in the end it didn’t matter who sent them. All that matters is that you felt special.”

  Ashlyn couldn’t believe what he was saying. She felt dizzy, like the whole room was spinning and the only thing still was the two of them, frozen in place, a good foot apart.

  “But why?”

  Tripp laughed at the question. “Come on, Ash. You knew I kind of liked you.”

  Ouch.

  Kind of.

  Liked.

  Ashlyn quickly hid the look of disappointment that she could feel coming to her face. Past tense was good. That meant that they could move on from whatever crush Tripp had at some point. She just had to shake the idea that while he was now going backwards in his feelings for her, she had started to take a step or two forward. A very minimal step, that only consisted of her admitting it in the silence inside her head that Tripp was indeed attractive, and she was attracted to him, and that there might be a slight crush beginning on her part.

  Then she remembered the conversation they just had with her mother.

  Turning to face him, “Did you really have plans tonight?”

  He chuckled nervously and shook his head. “Nah, but you had this look of horror and extreme annoyance all over your face when your mom asked me to stay.”

  “I was just surprised.”

  Tripp waited until Ashlyn looked up at him and held eye contact. “I can make up an excuse if you don’t want me to stay. I don’t want things to be awkward.”

  “No, it’s fine.”

  Unable to restrain himself from lightening the mood and teasing Ashlyn, he pushed at her shoulder and she swayed just a little. “Are you saying you want me to stay?”

  Ashlyn laughed. “I’m saying, it’s fine,” she repeated. Although there was a giddy nervousness running through her at the idea.

  Tripp liked how things were going between them. He much rather would have preferred if Ashlyn could have just given him her number that day that he asked, but that’s what any girl would have done. Ashlyn wasn’t just like any girl.

  Whatever progress he thought they might be making in their path to friendship was quickly interrupted with a text alert from her phone that sat between the two of them. She grabbed it immediately, but he had already seen who the text was from. He rose from the bed and began cleaning up their workspace below.

  Eric: Hey, babe. What’s up?

  Ashlyn: Working on a school project.

  Eric: It’s Friday?

  Tripp heard Ashlyn sigh. It was one of annoyance, but it wasn’t his place to ask her what was wrong, especially not when she was texting him.

  Ashlyn: It’s the only time I’ll have to work on it.

  It wasn’t lying. She didn’t have to tell Eric that it was a partner project and that her partner happened to be a guy, a guy that seconds ago was sitting beside her on her bed.

  Okay, so by all standards a lie of omission is still a lie.

  Eric: Want to go out? Flip’s Grill in half an hour?

  Ashlyn: Can’t. My dad has colleagues over, and my mom is cooking.

  When Eric didn’t respond back, she put her phone on the charger and finished helping Tripp clean up.

  Tripp didn’t say anything, but his whole demeanor had changed. He didn’t joke around anymore and, when Ashlyn did say or ask him anything, his responses were short and to the point.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  “Thank you, Tripp. That’s so sweet of you,” Poppy said, handing Tripp the dinner plates to set the table.

  While Ashlyn’s father and the two others had managed to clear out from the dining room, the living room still left something to be desired.

  “Here are the forks and knives,” Poppy said, placing a pile of utensils on the corner of the island and quickly rushing back to open the oven.

  Without saying anything, Ashlyn and Tripp made their way to each placemat, placing all the necessary items. Poppy didn’t trust either of them bringing out the food. She took that upon herself.

  Pop
py sat at one end, far opposite of Daniel. Josh and Seth sat across from each other on the end near Daniel, and Ashlyn and Tripp across from each other near her mother.

  Ashlyn kept her eyes on her plate for the most part. The few times she had looked up, Tripp was watching her. It did things to her that she wasn’t comfortable with. So instead, she focused intently on the spinach and feta stuffed chicken breast covered in a mushroom sauce with a side of roasted potatoes and another of green beans.

  Tripp went on to compliment Poppy on the meal. At first Ashlyn thought he might be trying to suck up to her parents, but realized he had no reason to. For reasons unknown, they already liked him. Also, he wasn’t lying about the food, if he were, there was no need for him to go back for seconds.

  “Does your mother not cook,” Poppy asked.

  “Oh, she does. She stays home. With all the traveling we’ve done over the years, it was hard for her to keep a normal job,” he managed between bites.

  “What is it your father does?”

  “He works in the tech industry. He got offered a job by McCallister Industries that was too good to pass up. For once I think we’ll be in the same place for a long time.”

  Ashlyn couldn’t help but glance up and notice the sweet smile on his face as he said that.

  “Anyway,” he continued. “After living in so many different places, my mom picked up a little bit here and there, and often we get strange things for our meals. Argentina, Canada, Australia–”

  From down the table, Seth called out, “Hey, vegemite!”

  Tripp burst into adorable laughter. “Yeah, she learned the hard way to use that sparingly.”

  Ashlyn didn’t want to ask. She’d look it up later, but it sounded like a combination between a vegetable and termite.

  Dinner went rather well. For a minute, Ashlyn thought her mother might embarrass her when it came to Tripp. She knew she didn’t have a problem with her dad. He was generally oblivious to things that were right in front of his face. Poppy on the other hand, she saw everything, for instance, the flowers. Ashlyn couldn’t wait to ask her how in the world she knew that Tripp sent them.

  Just as Daniel, Seth, and Josh went back into the living room to wrap up a few odds and ends, and Tripp and Ashlyn began to help clear the table with Poppy, the doorbell rang.

  “I’ll get it,” Poppy said. She quickly dried her hands and left the kitchen.

  Ashlyn continued to hand Tripp dishes to put in the dishwasher. It was so odd having him help her clean up the kitchen, yet strangely comfortable.

  “Umm, Ash,” Poppy began hesitantly when she returned. “You have a visitor.”

  The glass of tea Ashlyn was emptying into the sink fell from her hands and clanked in the soapy water. Upon instinct she grabbed for it, relieved when she lifted it from the suds and saw no cracks.

  Tripp looked in Poppy’s direction to see what, or rather who, had taken Ashlyn by surprise, and he had never felt more uncomfortable in his life.

  Eric.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Ashlyn got Eric out of the house and into the backyard as quickly as possible. She was almost certain that if she didn’t, he’d cause a scene with Tripp there. Also, something in his eyes told her that he wasn’t completely himself.

  Ashlyn walked across the large deck to the steps leading out into the yard and sat down with Eric doing the same seconds later.

  “I thought you said you were working on a project. I didn’t know that you had another guy over, having dinner with your stupid parents,” Eric unnecessarily screamed inches from her face.

  Ashlyn couldn’t help her voice rising now. She tried never to yell back when Eric went off, knowing that’s what he wanted. “I told you. We were working on a project. Since it got late, my mom insisted that he stay for dinner.”

  “Yeah, well your mom is stupid. I wish she’d fall off the face of the earth,” he spat.

  “Seriously?! Then you wonder why they don’t like you.” Ashlyn took in a deep breath. She needed to remain calm. “Are you on something right now?” She shouldn’t have asked. That question would always be a trigger.

  Eric shot up and towered over her. “I come to see my girlfriend, only to find her messing around with another guy, and then you have the nerve to ask me if I’m sober.”

  It was a mechanism. Ashlyn had to tell herself that. He was just trying to make it out to be her fault…But…It was. She could have been less vague.

  Her head turned into a battling mess of guilt, anger, sadness, every unpleasant feeling she could imagine that threatened to cause the food in her stomach to make a quick exit.

  “Ash,” a sweet and welcoming voice called from the glass patio doors. “Your friend is leaving. I didn’t know if you wanted to tell him goodbye.”

  Ashlyn jumped up, apparently a little too eagerly, because when she turned to tell Eric to give her a minute, all she got was an icy stare that could kill.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Walking Tripp out, and down the driveway to the street felt a little heartbreaking. Ashlyn tried to hide all the emotions swirling around inside, but with each step, she felt like her world was crumbling.

  Tripp leaned against his door and took a good look at the girl in front of him. In just a matter of minutes she had changed. Long gone was the playful, bubbly, and sarcastic girl that drove him crazy. In her place was someone unhappy and broken.

  In the dark and silent night, they both heard the rather loud closing of a door. Ashlyn turned back to the house to see Eric, arms crossed, on the front porch waiting. She turned back to Tripp, nervous to see the expression on his face, surprised when it held nothing.

  The end of the driveway was a good distance from the house, far enough that even in the quiet night, Eric wouldn’t hear their words.

  “Thanks for letting me stay for dinner. Please tell your mom again how great it was,” Tripp began, as if nothing was wrong, like he was only leaving because it was time, and not because of the interruption to their night.

  “Thanks for helping me with the assignment,” Ashlyn responded, more robotically than she meant.

  Tripp held her gaze, wanting so badly to say something, but not having the words. A part of him wanted to yell at her for being such an idiot, for being so stupid to stay with such a loser, to stay with someone who didn’t treat her the way she deserved, but he knew doing so would only push her further away, and he felt like they were beginning to make a great deal of progress in their friendship.

  “I’d hug you goodbye, but I’m guessing that’s not a good idea,” Tripp said with a smile as he nodded in the direction of Ashlyn’s porch.

  Ashlyn’s eyes shot up to meet his, and through the pain and uncertainty, Tripp saw something beautiful. Hope.

  Ashlyn told herself to take a step forward and do it. She was her own person. She didn’t belong to anyone. Eric would get glad just as quickly as he got mad. Despite all that, she couldn’t. She didn’t want to push any more buttons, so instead, she extended her hand.

  Tripp took it, knowing that all she intended for it to be was a goodbye handshake. Instead of shaking her hand like he would with any other person on the planet, he softly moved his fingers along her wrist, his thumb rubbing featherlight circles on the back of her hand.

  She shook a little and beneath the streetlights, he could see little goosebumps prickle across her arm. Then she pulled her hand away.

  “Goodnight, Ash,” Tripp said as he opened his door and threw his bag in.

  Just as he was about to close the door, “Wait.” Tripp turned, his door half open. “Text me that you made it home alright?”

  Tripp smiled and nodded, and as he pulled away, a warmth unlike anything he had felt before came over him. He couldn’t believe how much he was falling for her in such a short amount of time.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  “You’re disgusting,” Eric growled, as soon as Ashlyn was within speaking distance, making her way up the porch steps.

  “Eric, I’m really tir
ed. Can we do this another time?”

  Ashlyn wouldn’t mention it again, but she knew Eric had taken or done something before coming over.

  “Oh, I guess he’s the reason you’re so tired?!”

  “Stop it,” Ashlyn hissed. At this rate she’d be surprised if the neighbors didn’t call the cops eventually. “My parents have been home all afternoon. All we did was work on a project. Just let it go.”

  “I see the way you look at him.”

  Ashlyn was tired and suddenly didn’t bother watching what she said. “You mean with my eyes. Yes, Eric. I looked at him with my eyes.”

  “Don’t get smart with me. I can’t believe you’re like that.”

  Eric now stood nearly chest to chest with Ashlyn. She looked up at him with cold and unemotional eyes.

  “Like what,” she growled.

  “You’re nothing more than a stupid cleat chaser. I guess since I’m not on the team you throw yourself at the new guy. I mean, I guess he was your only option. All the other guys find you repulsive. Hell, your best friend’s brother could have dated you before I came in the picture, but even he didn’t want you.”

  Ashlyn felt that. Those words went straight through her.

  Eric went on, taking full control of the conversation and situation. “You know what, I can’t even deal with you right now. I need some time to think.” He waved his hands in front of her and bounded off the porch.

  Ashlyn wanted to call him out, yell at him, tell him that she’s the one who needed time to think after his behavior, but the words didn’t come.

  She was grateful that she managed to slip upstairs and into her room without her parents confronting her. If her mother said anything about Tripp and Eric, she was certain that she’d burst into tears.

  However, tears managed to come anyway when she took her phone off the charger and saw a text message from Tripp.

  Tripp: Made it home. Goodnight, Ash!

  Maybe she overthought the message. It shouldn’t have made her sad. He did what she asked.