by Laurel Veil
By the time they’d finished entertaining everyone, Riley and Ava were both having what looked like intense conversations with older guys who seemed very interested in them.
“You wanna go?” whispered Dani.
“Yes.” I looked at Ava and Riley. “But, I’m pretty sure they’re going to want to stay.”
Dani turned to Ava and Riley. “I’m not feeling well. We’re going.” She motioned for me to follow, and we left before they could say anything.
“Well, that was easy.” I laughed.
Dani and I walked to our halfway point and said goodbye. I then walked past my dark house and headed to my grandma’s. And of course, it was lit up, and a fire was burning. I knocked lightly on the door, so I wouldn’t startle her. “Come on in.”
“Can I stay here tonight, Grandma?”
“Go take yourself a warm bath or a hot shower, whichever you like. You know where your clothes are. Are you hungry?”
“Starving.”
I opted for a shower. Afterward, I slipped into my warm pajamas, robe, and slippers that were waiting for me in the spare room that Grandma said was mine. Feeling clean and cozy, I headed to the kitchen. “Well?” I asked.
“My second cousin, Charlie.” She knew I was asking who the fireball belonged to. “He was ninety-four. He lived a good, full life.”
I reached for the glass of chocolate milk my grandma had poured for me and raised it. “Here’s to Cousin Charlie.”
3.
After a late breakfast, I helped Grandma make dinner by chopping up potatoes, carrots, celery, and onions. When I was done, I watched her place several chicken breasts in a crockpot along with the veggies I’d prepared. She added a couple of cans of cream of chicken and some milk, along with diced parsley and two packets of Ranch seasoning. She did everything with little effort, all while humming along with her CD player that was sitting next to her breadbox on the countertop.
She put the lid on the crockpot. “This will be ready in about five hours. We should go put up our feet and watch some TV.”
“Sounds good.”
“Say, could you run and grab my mail first? I can go through it while I sit there.”
“Sure.”
I was just pulling the last envelope from the box when I heard my name. It was Dani.
“Hey!” she said. “What are you doing here?” she asked as she slipped her headphones down.
“This is my grandma’s house.”
“I didn’t know that,” she said surprised. “Well, I was jogging, you wanna come?”
“Nah. Too cold for me. Besides, I’m having fun just hanging out here.”
She seemed disappointed. “OK. Maybe next time.” She started to go when my grandma called from the porch.
“Oh, hello! I was wondering what was taking Noelle so long.”
Danielle waved. “Hi, I’m Dani!”
“One of Noelle’s new friends,” she said pleased. “You want to come in?”
“Sure!” said Dani. Dani was so happy, I thought she was going to explode. I cringed behind her back. I liked her well enough, but my grandma and my grandma’s house belonged to me. I didn’t want the outside world to contaminate it.
“Your house is so cute!”
“Aw, well, thank you, honey.”
“I’ve wondered since I moved here what it looked like on the inside.” She said as she stepped through the door and looked around. “It’s as cute in here as it is on the outside.”
My grandma was hooked. Her cheeks were flushed. All anyone had to do was talk about how they liked her house, flowers, or cooking, and they were in with her.
Dani inhaled. “Something smells wonderful.”
“It won’t be ready for hours, but you should stay for dinner,” said Grandma. I cut my eyes at her, but she was too busy looking at Dani to notice.
“OK!” said Dani. “I’ll just need to call my mom and let her know. By the way, I just love that song.” I thought she was full of it and just sucking up to my grandma when she suddenly began singing along.
“I do too, honey.” I wanted to puke when my grandma began singing with her.
“Here’s your mail, Grandma,” I said as I pushed it at her.
“Oh, thank you. You can just set it down by my chair.”
I felt like steam was coming from my ears.
“How about a drink, girls?”
“Sure,” said Dani.
“Whatever,” I said.
We went to the den, and Dani called her mom. The next thing I knew, we were laughing and having fun. I wasn’t sure what I’d been so upset about.
“Here ya go,” said Grandma as she handed each of us a bubbly glass of Dr Pepper.
“Thanks, Grandma,” I said.
“Thank you, . . . uh, what should I call you?” asked Dani.
She shrugged. “You can call me Grandma too if you want.”
What! I wanted to scream. You’re my grandma!
“Or you can call me Martha. Whatever you like.”
Dani looked at me for a second, then back at my grandma. “How about . . . Miss Martha? Is that OK?”
I mentally exhaled, and suddenly thought of Autumn. Is this how she felt about Lance? I could sort of understand why she didn’t want to share her brother with me now.
“Fine with me,” said Grandma. She took the remote and turned the TV to the Gameshow Network. For hours we had a great time shouting out answers to the screen.
“Hello?” a male voice called from the door.
Jace! Oh my gosh! I had forgotten all about Jace.
Grandma got up to unlock the screen door. “We’re in here, honey. Give me a second.”
A moment later, Grandma was stepping back into the den. “This way, hon. My gosh, I can’t believe how much taller you’ve gotten since the last time I saw you. And that wasn’t that long ago.”
Jace stepped into view, and I thought my heart was going to pound out of my chest. He smiled at me and then looked down sheepishly after noticing Dani.
“Dani, this is Jace,” said Grandma. “I’ve been knowing his grandma since we were youngins ourselves.”
“Hi,” said Dani.
Jace nodded and smiled.
“You feel like eating?” Grandma asked Jace.
“He probably needs to get going,” I interrupted.
“I’ve got a minute, I suppose.” He glanced at Dani then back at Grandma. I felt like my heart was being squeezed in a vice.
I helped set the table and thought seriously about dumping a plate on Dani, so she’d have to leave. If it wasn’t so hot, I might have.
I didn’t feel like I was part of the conversation. It was like I was standing outside the window, watching Dani and Jace on a date—well, and my grandma. I couldn’t believe how miserable I felt. I had looked forward to seeing Jace more than going to the cemetery the other night or that stupid party at the park.
When we were done eating, I tried to clear the table. “No, honey. That’s alright. I got it. You two go help Jace unload the truck.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I usually loved helping Jace unload the firewood. It gave us more time to talk. It was my job, not Dani’s. “You can go now,” I told Dani when we stepped outside.
“I don’t mind helping,” she said cheerfully.
Of course, you don’t, I thought. “You’ll get dirty,” I said hoping she would change her mind and leave.
“It’s OK, I’m just in my workout clothes.” We know you’re in your workout clothes, I thought. Your tight, black, spandex pants that show your curvy, fat ass. Ugh. Where was Ava when I needed her?
In no time, we had Jace’s truck unloaded and the firewood stacked on the back porch.
“Well, it’s getting late. I better get going,” said Dani.
Thank God. It’s about time. This meant Jace could take me for our traditional after-dinner frozen yogurt.
“Nice meeting you,” said Dani.
“Yeah, you too,” said Jace with enough enthusiasm I felt
another crack splinter my heart.
Turning back to me, she said, “Tell your grandma thanks for dinner. I had fun.”
“Sure,” I said.
When she turned to go, I felt relief wash over me. Thank goodness Jace hadn’t invited her along. That was a good sign that maybe he didn’t like her as much as I’d feared.
“You’re walking?” Jace called out to her. My heart began pounding.
“Yeah, it’s not too far,” said Dani.
Would you just go already? I thought. Hurry!
“I’m leaving too. Why don’t I give you a ride?” What?!
“That’s OK, I—”
“Come on. Get in.”
He didn’t even say bye to me. Neither did Dani. They were too busy smiling at each other. Watching the two of them drive away almost killed me.
“Jace gone already?” Grandma called out from the door. “I didn’t even pay him yet.” I still had my back to her. I couldn’t speak. And I couldn’t look at her. This was all her fault. I rubbed at my eyes. “Noelle?”
As she called after me, I took off running and never looked back.
♦ ♦ ♦
I ran until it felt like I was being stabbed in the side. When I finally caught my breath, I realized I was at the park. Even though it was cold, I sat on a swing for probably an hour. When my head felt clear, I walked home.
“Hey, Mom,” I said when I came through the door.
“Hey, sweetie. Grandma called. She’s looking for you.”
“I’ll call her later,” I lied. This was when it was great not having a cell phone. I could go off the grid for days. “I’m surprised that you’re home. Where’s Rick?”
“He had to work.”
“Well, do you want to do something with me?”
“What did you have in mind?”
I couldn’t believe she asked me that. I shrugged. “A movie?”
“OK. Anything in particular?”
I shook my head. “I haven’t been in so long; I don’t even know what’s playing.” She handed me her phone, and I started searching.
A few minutes later, we heard someone pull into the driveway. My heart skipped a beat at the chance that maybe it was Jace coming by to take me for yogurt. I decided I would tell him no to teach him a lesson. Besides, I had better plans. I was going out with my mom.
“Baby!” My mom came alive when Rick stepped through the door.
“I got off early!” He hugged my mom like he hadn’t seen her in ages. “Whattaya want to do?”
“I don’t know. What do you want to do?”
Are you freacking kidding me? I couldn’t believe it. I was getting dumped twice in one night. And this time by my own mom!
“You want to go shoot some pool?”
“That sounds like fun,” she bubbled.
I slinked out of the den and almost to the door unnoticed.
“Oh, wait, Noelle and I were going to try and see a movie.”
Wow! She remembered and was going to choose me over him.
“Do you want to go with us, baby?”
What?! “Uh, I couldn’t find anything I want to see. You guys go and play pool.”
“Are you sure? We could—”
I shut the door before she even finished speaking. I felt so alone. No Jace. No Grandma. And now, no mom. Then I did something I’d never done before: I wondered what Ava and Riley were doing. I thought about maybe walking to Ava’s. At least it would be warm inside her house. I started to head that way and then turned around and headed toward town instead. It was one thing to be seen with them in school or at a party, but I didn’t really enjoy their company enough to put up with them when I didn’t have to. I was in such a bad mood, I decided I was probably better off being alone. Besides, there were plenty of warm stores I could hang out in.
♦ ♦ ♦
A bell tinkled as I stepped inside Franklin’s Bookstore. It was warm, and it smelled like coffee. I dug in my pocket and found enough money for a small hot chocolate.
“Hey,” came a voice from a corner table near the window.
It was Ava, and she was with Riley.
“What are you guys doing here?” I asked as I took the seat Riley had pushed out for me with her foot.
“We’re just talking about the guys we met last night,” said Riley.
“We would’ve invited you and Dani along, but we figured we would’ve bored you,” said Ava.
“So, you guys had a good time last night? That’s great,” I said.
“Yeah. Finally,” said Riley.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.
“Nothing,” said Ava. “It’s been a while since we met anyone interested in us and not Da-nee. That’s all,” said Ava.
“Ever since we started hanging out with her, it’s like we’re invisible,” said Riley.
“She is pretty,” I said softly and took a sip of my hot chocolate.
“It’s more than that,” said Riley. “It’s like she’s magical or something. Guys are just so attracted to her. It’s like she puts a spell on them.”
“Yeah,” agreed Ava. “And a hex on us.”
“Well, she’s nice too.” My attempt to defend her was lame.
“Whatever,” said Ava. “But it doesn’t matter. Like Riley said, things are changing for us. We had a great time last night.”
I looked out the window and watched people pass by as they continued their rant about Dani. I couldn’t blink when I saw Jace stepping out of the yogurt shop. He held the door a moment, and then Dani came walking out.
“Are you listening?” asked Ava. She turned to see what had my attention. I wished I had looked away before she noticed. “Speak of the devil. And who is that hottie she’s with?”
“Jace.”
Ava and Riley turned back and stared at me. “You know him?” said Ava. It was more of a statement than a question.
“And you like him,” said Riley.
“So . . . sweet, innocent little Dani has gotten you now too,” said Ava.
I watched as Jace held open the door to his truck for Dani. And, for the second time today, I watched the two of them drive away together.
“You know what I think, Riley?” said Ava in a conspiratorial tone.
“What?” She arched her brows.
“I think the three of us should start our own group. A secret group. The We Hate Dani Group. We could put a hex on her.”
We laughed. But at that moment, I did hate Dani. I wished I’d never met her.
♦ ♦ ♦
Riley, Ava, and I wound up having a really fun time. Too bad it was from bashing Dani. Every time I started to feel guilty, I pictured her with Jace, and then my hatred took over. It was nice not being the only one who felt the way I did. Ava and Riley had both had multiple “Jace experiences” with Dani. It was no wonder they were snarky with her.
As I walked down the sidewalk, I thought about how I wanted to stay the night at my grandma’s, but I was still mad at her. I felt like she’d betrayed me. She didn’t do it on purpose, but everything that had gone wrong began with her inviting Dani in.
I walked past my grandma’s house. I wanted to see if she was worried. Maybe she’d be staring out the window, teary-eyed, searching for me. A paranoid thought slithered into my head. What if instead of an upset grandma, I saw a happy grandma laughing on her porch swing, sipping hot chocolate with Dani? I could feel my rage coming back. I had to quit feeding it.
“Noelle.”
I jumped. “Shit, Nolan. Don’t sneak up like that!” It had taken a second for me to recognize him in the darkness. “What are you doing out this late? Isn’t it past your bedtime?”
He laughed. I continued walking, and he followed. “I was looking for you.”
“Why?”
“Your grandma called. She’s worried.”
“Good.”
“You’re worrying her on purpose?”
“It’s none of your business, Nolan.”
“She�
�s old, Noelle. You shouldn’t treat her like that.”