Loving Charley

by Casey Peeler

  “Only Caroline.”

  Trying to get us back on track, I ask, “Do we have to do this at dark, midnight, or before sunrise?”

  “Midnight,” Tori states confidently. “Tonight, girls. It’s on. We are living it up for the next two weeks. Everyone game?”

  “Hell to tha yeah!” Hayden yells, and we mimic her.

  After that decision is made, I check to see if Cash has made it home yet. Instead of texting him, I call.

  He answers before the first ring is complete in song. “Go ahead and call me, call me, call me. You don’t have to worry ‘bout it baby,” he sings the words to his ringtone.

  “No, I don’t have to worry about it because I’ve got my heart-warming smile and a man that loves me for eternity.”

  “You read the letter, huh?”

  “I did.”

  “You freaked out, though, didn’t you?” I pause, and that is all Cash needs to know that he was right. “I know you too well. You know that, right?”

  “I probably wouldn’t have if Joe would have given it to me straight, but it was almost like he was unsure of when to give it to me.”

  “That’s probably because I told him to feel when he thought the moment was right.”

  “Oh, well, just so you know. Georgia had it written all over her face that she knew something, but that has to be the sweetest thing I have ever read in my life. I promise to live life to the fullest for these two weeks, and then it’s you and me against whatever is thrown at us.”

  “Damn right.”

  “Are you home yet?”

  “Just about. I’m hittin’ the Grassy Pond stoplights now.”

  “Hey, Cash Money.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I love you. I know those are three little words, but there aren’t any words that can come close to how I feel about you.

  “I understand completely. I pray every night and thank God that He brought you into my life when we were kids.”

  “You’re makin’ us sound so old.” I giggle.

  “You know what I mean, Char-coal.”

  “I do, and this serious thing you have going for you is way past sexy.”

  “Well, you keep those thoughts to yourself until we’re together, and then you can tell me in person.”

  “I like that plan, but that sure is gonna be hard.”

  We make small talk as Cash drives to his farm, and I fill him in on tonight’s event. He doesn’t believe me, and frankly, I think it’s a crock of shit as well. Regardless, I’m up for something adventurous.

  As Cash pulls into his driveway, we say our goodbyes, yet again. He makes me promise to let him know about Gravity Hill later tonight. Hanging up the phone is hard, but I know that each time we disconnect, I’m one time closer to forever.

  Chapter 22

  As midnight approaches, we are all decked out like we are going on a robbery, not going to check out a crazy legend that has been told from generation to generation. We pile into Tori’s Explorer. For some reason, the Love Machine is out of commission tonight, or maybe it’s because this is Tori’s crazy idea.

  “So, do we have a clue what we are supposed to do?” Anna asks.

  “From what I understand, we put the car at the top of the hill, and then one of us puts the baby powder on the bumper, and we just roll,” Tori states.

  “Aight, so I’m not trying to be the party pooper, but there has to be more to it than that,” I say.

  Tori continues, “Someone said something about you roll up, and if the spirits feel the need to move you, they will. That’s all people have said.”

  Uncertain of how to respond, I leave it at that as we make our way up the two-lane highway, making a few turns and crossing the county lines.

  Tori begins to get excited when she sees random spray paint on signs, and we all figure it out when we notice the lines sprayed on the road of where to start. To me, this feels like snipe hunting. If you know what that is, you know we’re about to get made to look like fools.

  As we reach the top of the hill, Tori does a three-point turn and puts the car in park. She then looks around to see who wants to get out and put the baby powder on the bumper.

  “Fine, I’ll do it,” I say, because to be honest, I want to see what it looks like before this crazy train is over.

  “I wanna see, too,” Georgia says and follows me, and then everyone is out of the car. Once the powder is in place, we pile back inside. We say a little prayer, and Tori puts it in neutral. The car picks up speed, but not once does she touch the brake or steering wheel. How in the world have we not run off the road yet? The car reduces speed as we go back up the next hill, and it begins to slide back to the valley between the two hills, stopping dead center.

  Looking around at each other, we know that we are the laughing stock of Southern, but then it happens. The car begins to climb the hill. My eyes dart to Georgia, Caroline, Anna, and up front to Tori. She is as white as a sheet, and we all are speechless.

  Once we reach the peak, the car stops, and Tori throws it in park and jumps out. I don’t know if I want to get out of the safety of this car, but I’m supposed to live on the edge for two weeks, so here it goes. Throwing the door open, I hurry to the back to see what Tori sees. Holy shit! Sure enough, there are two sets of handprints in the baby powder. All the powder is still in place.

  “Never in a million years, Tori.”

  “I’m having the same thought. You got your phone, Char? Take a pic.”

  “I do, and thanks to the flash, we have evidence for when everyone calls bullshit.”

  As we make our way back to the car, everyone is dying to know what happened. When I show them the picture, they have to see for themselves, and we talk a mile a minute the entire drive back.

  Once we get back to campus, the stoop has several stragglers drinking a few cold ones on a Sunday night. We stop and chat for a couple of minutes before returning to our rooms. I text Cash the picture, and of course, he calls me for the details. He also doesn’t hang up until he hears me asleep on my end.

  From Monday through Thursday, we aren’t too adventurous due to class, but that’s not to say we don’t drink vodka in our Kool-Aid before class on an unusually warm afternoon. It makes for interesting note taking. At night, we make up our own fun whether it’s sliding in our socks down the hall or karaoke from the stoop, and when Georgia does get that call from Tucker, we are the most annoying friends possible. Needless to say, she still scored herself a date, and that is going to be a date she’s not going to forget if the Kluft girls have anything to do with it.

  “Hey, Georgia. Where’s he takin’ you?” I ask her as she finishes the touches on her makeup with a lip pop.

  “I think we’re going to see some new action movie or something and out to eat. Why? What are y’all gonna do?”

  “I think we’re just going to hang out at the stoop tonight.”

  Georgia places her hands on her hips. “Char, you do know that’s not being adventurous, right?”

  “You know as well as I do that you never know what’s going to happen there,” I reply with the same body language.

  “True.”

  About that time, there’s a light knock on her door, and we see Tucker standing there. He isn’t tall, but definitely not short by any means. He’s got a body to die for. I figured that out before break at Hank’s, and if he’s taking out Georgia, that means he must really like her. The question is, will he still like her when they get back tonight?

  As they leave, we give them all kinds of hell. The funny thing is, as Georgia gets embarrassed, Tucker dishes it right back out at us. I think I like him already.

  After Georgia is out of sight, Hayden clasps her hands together and rubs them quickly. I can see the wheels turning. “So, y’all up for a good prank?” she questions.

  “She’s gonna kill us, ya know,” I say. “But, I’m totally in. Whatcha got in mind?”

  “I’m thinking fifty-two card pickup, but in dorm room way,” Hayden s
ays.

  As confusion covers our faces, Hayden gives us a big huff before she explains what we are going to do when we break into Georgia’s room, which isn’t hard since she leaves it unlocked all the time. We proceed to turn everything she owns backwards. I do mean everything— dresser, refrigerator, microwave, lamp, and then we take it to the next level.

  “Hummm, what can we use?” Caroline thinks out loud.

  “Y’all! Check out these lights!” I say as I hold up two circle lights that you press on and off.

  “I’ve got an idea. Let’s lay this futon out,” Anna says. She goes to Georgia’s underwear drawer and pulls out the skimpiest pair of panties and matching bra. She takes them to the bed, sets them in the middle, along with placing the lights within the bra cups, and turns them on. We all burst out laughing. “Hey Tori, you got your stash?”

  “Yeah.” She makes a quick trip to her room and returns with a handful of condoms.

  “Oh, my! She’s gonna be pissed!” I laugh.

  “I know, right? But, I can’t wait to see her face,” Anna says. “Where’s that disco lamp?”

  “It’s in my room from the last pre-game.” When Caroline returns with it, she’s also carrying a pair of shiny, new handcuffs. After placing everything perfectly on the futon, we cut off the lights and go to Caroline’s room to enjoy a Friday night and wait for the main event to return a little later.

  We spend the next two hours playing Never Have I Ever. I only drink one glass of PJ and then turn to Choice Cherry Gold after that. Knowing that it has got to be close to time for Georgia to return, we check out who is on the stoop. I see Joe. Bingo!

  “Hey, y’all. Excuse me. I think I have our lookout.” I make my way out to Joe, and as I approach him, he stops mid-conversation.

  “Squirrel, you got that look. What’s goin’ on? Everything okay?” he questions like a big brother.

  “It’s perfect, but I do need your help with just a little something.” Pulling him to the side, I tell him what we’ve been up to, and he has the same reaction that I did. She’s gonna kill us, but of course, he’ll play along, too. He agrees to text me when they are walking toward the stoop to give us time to turn on the “boob” lights, and then I go back upstairs.

  Within ten minutes, I get a text from Joe.

  Joe: Let those lights shine!

  Me: Gotcha!

  Tori hurries across the hall and hustles back to Caroline’s room. What I hadn’t prepared for was the loud bass of music bumping from her room. “What? We needed the full effect. Caroline, turn ours up too, so Georgia doesn’t notice at first.” Caroline turns up the dial, and Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse” is all I can hear.

  Georgia and Tucker wave as they walk by, and we try our best not to blow our cover. As soon as she’s past us, we jump up and hustle to the doorway to see what happens next. She turns the doorknob and instantly flushes beet red. A look of confusion is written all over her face. Tucker doesn’t say anything, but you can tell it’s caught him off guard as well.

  Georgia turns off the radio and then flips on the lights. As she starts to turn around to confront us, we beat her to it.

  “We just thought we’d help with the postdate show. Y’all like it?” Tori states more than questions.

  Georgia tries to speak, but it’s a blubbering mess. Tucker, on the other hand, nails it. “It would have been perfect if it was a pair of thongs.”

  Her mouth falls open, and she manages to ask one question, “How did you know when we’d be back?” As I start to explain, I’m cut off.

  “‘Cause I was the lookout,” Joe says as he peeks from around the stairwell. He turns to us. “Y’all didn’t think after they made it in the door I was just gonna hear about this secondhand, did ya?”

  “Of course not,” I say.

  “I appreciate y’all trying to help me out, but next time, just let me handle it,” Georgia says proudly.

  We leave them alone and go back to Caroline’s room, and Joe joins us, too. We spend the next thirty minutes reliving what just happened. Then, we enjoy the night until we can’t keep our eyes open. We excuse ourselves one by one and go to our rooms or someone else’s. I most definitely go back to my room and dream of my Cash Money.

  The next morning, I wake up to a phone call from Piper who is hysterical. I’m afraid to ask what has happened, because I can probably guess. She got drunk and kissed a guy. That’s like her freakin’ trademark.

  “Piper, calm down. What’s wrong?”

  “Char, last night when I was out, this guy kept trying to buy me drinks. I let him buy me one, and of course, I got it from the bartender, but he wouldn’t leave me alone. After a while, he finally got my drift, or at least I thought, and then I figured it out. Something about him seemed off. What if he was the guy that took my picture that Dylan sent you? He has always tried to talk to me, and I have always blown him off. What if he tries to hurt me?”

  Not knowing exactly what to say, I take a deep breath. “Piper, did he try anything?”

  “No, after the one drink and me being a total bitch, he left me alone. Last night, I didn’t think much about it, but this morning that thought woke me up.”

  “Have you talked to Joe?” I ask.

  “Hell no! He’d be down here and ready to beat someone’s ass. I need someone that can help me talk though it.”

  “Aight, so here’s what I think. Yes, it can be a possibility, but it’s unlikely. I wouldn’t want to toss it to the side, but I also wouldn’t freak myself out about it. If he took your hint, then let it go. Keep your guard up and tell someone there you trust. That way if you go out, and he’s there, there’s another set of eyes on him. And, I would tell Joe. Don’t keep it from him. He’s got a good head on his shoulders. Just tell him to listen to everything first.”

  “That was kinda my thought, too. I just needed to hear it from someone else. I’ve been on edge so much since I got back. I mean, knowing what I thought was everything and then knowing what I didn’t know existed has been harder than I thought.”

  “I’m sorry I haven’t been a better friend. This affects you too, and sometimes I just think about myself in the situation.”

  “Don’t even say that, Char. Your situation is important. This is minor compared to what you’ve experienced. Thanks for listenin’ this mornin’. Love ya.”

  “Love ya, too. Now, call Joe,” I demand.

  I hang up and roll back over, but I’m unable to sleep with the thought that Piper might be right.

  Chapter 23

  Throwing my covers off me, I get out of bed, unable to shake that thought from my mind. No one, and I mean no one, better mess with Piper. I grab my shower caddy, dollar flip-flops, and towel, praying a shower will clear my mind and I won’t do anything drastic.

  As I stand in my room toweling off my wet hair, I hear a knock and then Joe’s voice. When I open the door, it’s very evident that he has spoken to Piper and is a total wreck. He comes in and takes a seat on my bed.

  “Joe, don’t think the worst,” I state as calmly as possible.

  “What do you mean? You know damn well as I do that something’s not right.”

  Everything within my soul tells me that something is wrong, but I don’t want to freak him out anymore. It’s no use because he can see in my delayed reaction that something is wrong.

  “I knew it. You think it, too,” he says as he slams his hand on my mattress.

  “Listen, I think something is off, but I don’t want to jump to conclusions. I also don’t want Piper scared to go out of her dorm room or live life. We need to see what we can find out.”

  “Now, how the hell are we gonna do that? We are here, and she is there,” he says as he speaks with his arms.

  I pace the floor for a moment, and then it dawns on me. “You said you met Dylan during Senior Week. Was there anyone you remember that was going to school with Piper? That might be where we need to start.”

  Joe takes out his phone and begins to scroll through his
Facebook friends, and when I think we are at a loss, he looks up. He passes me the phone, and I look at it. The guy in the picture has skin that has been kissed by the sun and shaggy, yet sexy, dirty blonde hair, and hazel eyes. He is very much eye candy. I read his name. Blanton Marks. Doesn’t ring a bell to me. I pass the phone back to Joe.

  “Blanton Marks goes to the community college there. He was with Trent at the beach. I thought it was weird to have them together, but they said they grew up together.”

  “I totally forgot that Trent moved to Grassy Pond from down east when he was in middle school, so that is a possibility. Should we send his pic to Piper?”

  “I think so, but let’s call and explain first.”

  After explaining our hypothesis to Piper, Joe texts it to her while she remains on the line with me. She pauses to look at it, and a gasp is all we hear.

  “That’s him, y’all. Ohmygawd, that’s him. What am I gonna do?”

  Joe snatches the phone from me, and I know that he’s going to take control of this situation just like he did Study Day when I thought my world was crashing down.

  “Baby, listen to me. Don’t freak out. I have an idea.” He waits for her to quit hyperventilating before speaking again, “You usually see him out on the weekends, right?”

  “Yeah, usually Saturday night at the Handlebar. He’s a local, and they are all the time inviting us to parties and stuff at the beach. We never go ‘cause something is just off about it all.”

  “How about I’m taking you out Saturday night? You show me a good time at your college. I get done with class at noon Friday. Conditioning is that morning, so I can leave as soon as class is over. Will that work?”

  “I’d love for you to come see me, but I also don’t want any trouble.”

  “Oh, there’s going to be no trouble because when I see him out, I’m going to let him know you are my girl and that I know his game. That should stop it, because from what I remember that week, he’s a follower, not a leader. If he knows Dylan’s in trouble, he’s gonna stop.”