Secrets of the Moon

by Kristy Centeno

  My stomach grumbled and I realized I had spent about six hours on the computer. Six hours that seemed like just minutes. I needed to eat something. I made my way into the kitchen, prepared myself a sandwich with lettuce, ham, and tomato, and served myself a nice glass of cold milk to go with it. I had no choice but to eat it at the dining table alone, since Vicki and the girls were still out. Once back in my room, I closed and locked the door and sat on the bed, leaning my back against the headboard so I could comfortably watch TV. Today was the local college football game and the after party, but with so many distressing events in my life, I was in no mood for parties.

  My cell jingled five minutes later. It was Tracy’s ringtone, which happened to be the song “Bitch” by Meredith Brooks. That was her favorite song and she’d literally made me assign her that ringtone. Now every time she called or texted, that song alerted me it was Tracy.

  “Are you coming to the after-game party?”

  “Sorry, I got a killer headache at the moment. Not feeling well.” Not entirely a lie; my head was beginning to pound like the beat of a drum.

  “You suck, Marjie. I was looking forward to going to this party with you.” Tracy protested and I could actually envision her sulking on the other side.

  “Sorry. I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”

  “You better. I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know how it was.”

  “Okay, oh, and don’t do anything stupid, Trace.”

  “I won’t. Thanks for looking out for me, Mom!”

  “You’re welcome, sweetie.”

  I closed the phone and placed it on the nightstand. I didn’t think I could take much more of the annoying headache, so I curled up in bed under my comforter and closed my eyes to relieve some of the tension I was feeling. I dozed off moments later…

  ***

  Sunday pretty much followed the same routine Saturday had. I completed my chores early so that I didn’t have to go back outside for the rest of the day, and then locked myself in my bedroom. I was honestly relieved that there had been no sign of the beast anywhere. Apparently, it wasn’t dedicating all of its time to stalking me. I spent a few hours cleaning and organizing my room until it was spotless and clutter-free. No sooner had I finished cleaning than my cell started the “Bitch” melody and I rushed to answer Tracy’s call.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, Marjie, how are you doing this fine morning?”

  I could hear her yawning.

  “It’s one o’clock in the afternoon, Trace. Are you just waking up?”

  “Yes. And just like I promised, I’ve called to catch you up on gossip, since you decided to skip last night’s party.”

  “Chill, Trace, it was just one party. There’ll be others.”

  “It wasn’t just one party. It was the party. Jimmy really outdid himself this time. I think he was trying to top Kenny’s party and he did.”

  “Um, so, anything interesting happen?” This conversation was boring me already. I yawned.

  “Lots of things. Your newfound love interest was there.”

  “What?” That woke me right up.

  “Kyran Rousseau and his older brother Gage. They were there.”

  “You’re kidding!” I couldn’t believe it; the one party I decided to skip happened to be the very one Kyran showed up for.

  “Nope, he was there. And um…”

  “What?”

  “Angie was there too, and she was all over Kyran. I think she’s crushing on your guy.”

  Angela was one of my best friends, so imagining her possibly having feelings for the one guy I really liked was kind of upsetting. What would I do if that just happened to be the case? Could I step aside and let her try her hand at love just because I felt guilty over her being in a wheelchair?

  “He isn’t my guy, we only went out on one date.” Then why was I feeling as if someone was squeezing my heart in a tight fist?

  “Well, then, I guess you wouldn’t care if they kissed.”

  Those words felt like a punch to the gut. “They kissed?”

  “Um, yeah…they sort of did.”

  “What do you mean, sort of?”

  “Okay, well, here’s the thing. Kyran was with our group, you know, just talking and all, nothing out of the ordinary. Claire and Bobby left to go dance, and Rosa and Miguel walked into the other room, leaving Angie, Kyran, Mike, and me behind in the kitchen talking. Kyran stepped outside to the backyard deck and soon after, Angie followed. I was busy, well, you know, with Mike…”

  Sure, she was making out with Mike in the kitchen while Kyran and Angie were all alone on the deck. “Yeah, go on.”

  “Well, out of the corner of my eye I saw them sitting really close to each other, but hell, I didn’t think anything of it until…” She sighed heavily. I knew that this probably wasn’t any easier for her to say than it was for me to hear. “Angela leaned toward Kyran and kissed him on the lips. Even as caught up as I was with Mike I was able to see the whole thing from where I stood…er…sat, and he didn’t back away from her. She was the one that pulled away.”

  Ouch, that actually hurt. A fresh wave of disappointment started to course through me. “Okay, fine, so they kissed. Big deal, that means nothing to me. It’s not like we’re dating.”

  Even as I spoke the words, I felt a stab of jealousy course through me. I really liked Kyran, heck, I more than just liked him. No other person caught my attention as strongly as he had and I’d only known him for a total of six days. I realized I knew nothing about him, nothing at all. He was this giant mystery walking on two legs.

  Angela was my friend and had been since high school. She’d made it clear that she liked Kyran. She’d been popular with boys before, but since the accident she hadn’t taken any interest in them, until Kyran showed up. I was the one that hadn’t taken boys seriously before, mainly because I was too caught up in my selfish little existence to pay attention to anyone aside from myself. When I finally took serious notice of a drop-dead gorgeous boy, what did I get…a possible player?

  “Sorry, Marjie, but you know how I am. I would’ve called you last night but I was, um…busy.”

  Tracy could be out of control sometimes but at least she wasn’t a hypocrite, which was one of the things I admired most about her. Better honest than hypocrite, she always said, and I agreed with her. She could be brutally honest most times, but at least I could expect the truth from her always. Although what she said did hurt, it was better for me to know. Knowing that Kyran and Angela kissed was painful. Feeling nothing wasn’t working the least bit, either.

  “It’s fine, Trace.”

  “I should come over there and kick your ass.”

  “What? What the hell for?”

  “You know why. This whole Angie kissing Kyran thing bothers you, although you’re trying to hide it. I know you too well, missy!”

  Damn. Was I that obvious? “I’m fine, Tracy, really.”

  “Fine, you want to pretend it doesn’t bother you, fantastic! But I know you’ll come around when you feel like it.”

  “What else happened at the party?” I asked, hoping she’d take the hint and change the topic of conversation.

  “Angie was swift, I’ll give her credit for that. She completely took advantage of your absence.”

  No such luck; there went my last hope that she’d just talk about something else. “Well, gee, I just remembered a whole new list of chores that I need to do for the rest of the day. I gotta go, Trace.”

  “Okay, okay, fine. Let’s drop it. Just call me when you feel like talking, okay?”

  “All right, Tracy. Oh, and by the way, I’m pretty sure I asked you not to do anything stupid last night.”

  “It wasn’t stupid, it was fun.” She started laughing and I hung up on her.

  Well, how ironic life was. I hadn’t even begun to date yet and I was already being dumped for another girl. How was I going to react in their presence from now on?

  Oh, man! Friday morning Kyran had vol
unteered to pick me up and give me a ride to school. I had completely forgotten about it. Oh, Marjie, come on, just be yourself. Don’t let Kyran know how much he hurt your feelings. So I was crushing on Kyran big time, but I would get over it. After all, it was just a crush, wasn’t it?

  ***

  The next morning, I awoke with an immense feeling of dread and anticipation. Kyran was my ride to school, and although I knew I should’ve canceled I couldn’t bring myself to pick up the damn phone and tell him not to come. However, I didn’t feel any enthusiasm.

  When I finally heard the car drive up my heart jerked inside my chest. All feelings of apprehension increased when I marched toward the door and placed my hand on the knob. I hesitated by the door for so long that Vicki and the girls started to look at me funny. Because of that, I hurried to open the door and step out. The breath caught in my throat when I saw him inside the blue corvette and noticed how his silver eyes stared back at me with interest. Ignoring him would be a lot easier if he wasn’t so…gorgeous!

  He smiled slightly, but I didn’t return the gesture. I thought I could pretend to be my regular self, but to be honest, now that we were face to face; I just wanted to slap him senseless. The only way I could mask the feeling of hurt and disappointment was through anger, and I was good at being angry. Without waiting for him to get out and open the door for me, I opened it myself and jumped in the passenger seat.

  “Bonjour, Marjie.”

  Oh man, not the accent. That accent was so damn sexy it wasn’t even funny. “What’s that supposed to mean?” I managed to speak without sounding shaky. Good girl, Marjie!

  “It means good morning.”

  “Oh. Good morning.”

  Before he drove off in the direction of the community college, he looked at me, and I had the feeling he suspected something was up because of my attitude. He arched his eyebrows as he stared at me. I averted my eyes for fear he could read my disappointment.

  “What’s wrong, Marjorie?” A smile played at his lips.

  I had no idea what he found so damn amusing, and not knowing pissed me off even more.

  “Nothing, why do you think something’s wrong?”

  His expression softened a bit. “You’re really quiet today.”

  “Can’t a girl be quiet for once?” I said a little too roughly.

  Kyran’s eyebrows dipped. “Yes, but not you.”

  He’d just met me and already he thought he knew me?

  “You always have something snappy to say or a question to ask.”

  “Oh, I can manage to keep my mouth shut quite well when the occasion calls for it.”

  “It’s a long drive and you haven’t said much. It’s unlike you.”

  “First of all, don’t assume you know me, because you don’t. How do you know I’m not usually this crabby in the morning? And second, I have nothing to ask you, I ran out of questions. It’s that simple.”

  “So it seems I’ve done something to displease you.” He cocked his head to the side as he glanced in my direction. “And it seems that you have no intention of telling me what that is. It’s going to be a challenge to find out what—”

  “You think I’m some kind of challenge?” I scoffed.

  “Everything about you is a challenge.” His smile was priceless; had I not been so mad I would’ve smiled back. “You want me to guess why you’re mad at me?”

  “No. I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. That’s all.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  I refused to say anything else after that.

  Once we arrived at school and Kyran had parked, the car was surrounded by male and female admirers. Seeing such an impressive vehicle in such a small town was bound to attract attention, and while Kyran climbed out of the car and started to answer questions from the guys who were looking at the interior, I squeezed through the crowd and ran toward Tracy’s car just as she parked in her usual spot.

  Sure, the first time in weeks I don’t carpool with her and she arrives on time. Shaking my head, I stood by her as Rosa and Miguel joined us. The group started chatting away, mentioning every detail of the after-game party that apparently had been a big smash, and I managed to pull Tracy aside from the others.

  “Okay, Tracy, you were right. I’m kinda confused here. I mean, at first, when he offered to drive me to school I was excited.” She nodded but kept looking over my shoulder. That made me nervous. “What? Is he coming this way?” I didn’t want to look; he’d know we were talking about him.

  Tracy shook her head. “No, he’s busy talking to some guy.”

  “Okay. But now I just can’t ride with him. This whole thing with Angela is really bothering me. What should I do?”

  “Ah, love.” She let out an exaggerated sigh.

  “It’s not love,” I snapped, and she smiled.

  “I don’t understand what really went on Saturday. She did kiss him, but he didn’t kiss her back.”

  “What? I thought you said—”

  “I said he didn’t move away, not that he kissed her back. He was completely motionless as she pressed her greedy lips on his appetizing mouth.”

  Appetizing mouth? “Nice observation.”

  “Hey, I’m not blind, you know. That guy is super-hot and, well, as a girl I notice things.”

  “And you got all of this while you were making out with Mike?”

  “I had a clear view of the deck from the window just above the kitchen sink. I was sitting on the counter and I could see them from over Mike’s shoulder. I could’ve paid more attention but Mike was too busy sliding his tongue inside my mouth and—”

  “Too much information.”

  She stuck her tongue out at me. “Kyran got up, said something to her, she said something back, and then he left.”

  As good as that sounded, I still didn’t feel a great sense of relief. Angela must like Kyran enough to have taken the first step. Normally, she would’ve waited for the guy to come on to her before she even thought about kissing him. I wasn’t exactly clear on all the details; maybe he did come on to her and that’s why she kissed him. I was seriously regretting missing that party. Had I known that something like this would happen, I would have gone to the freaking party!

  Tracy’s eyes widened and I started to panic.

  “Is he coming?” I scanned my surroundings, looking for a place I could run off to without being too obvious but there were nothing but cars all around.

  “Not Kyran. Kenny is coming this way.”

  I had no time to come up with a valid excuse to flee before he reached us.

  “Hello, ladies,” he greeted us with a smile.

  “Hey, Kenny.” Tracy grinned at the sight of him. “You were noticeably absent Saturday night.”

  “The party? I was too busy tending to family affairs. Although I’m kind of bummed I missed it. I heard it was a great party.”

  “It was. But don’t worry, Marjorie wasn’t there either.”

  I could slap her for saying that.

  “Really? How come?” he asked.

  “I wasn’t feeling up to it.” I replied.

  “So, uh, what kind of business you take care of for your family?” Tracy could be so nosey sometimes, but at the same time I welcomed any change in subject that would sidetrack his attention away from me.

  “Just family business. My father hopes I can work with him once I graduate from here. I’ve been assigned my first project, but it’s turning into a huge ordeal.” He sighed.

  “How come?”

  He gave her a wicked smile and turned to look at me. “There have been some very unpleasant interruptions. It will be difficult, but not impossible, to get where I want to get. I know it will come around soon enough. All I need to do is bide my time.”

  For some reason I didn’t like the way he looked at me when he said that. Recollecting my thoughts, I realized the reason I always ended up avoiding Kenny was because there was something about him that made me uneasy. Even as kids, he
gave me the creeps. Now that he was in his early twenties and had turned into a hunk, the uneasiness was still there.

  “Good luck with that, Kenny.”

  “Oh, I hope to have a lot of luck.” A dark shadow crossed over his features but was gone so suddenly I thought maybe I imagined it.

  “We’ve got to get to class now or we’ll be late.” I hoped that by saying “we”, he would take the hint and leave us alone, but he didn’t.

  “Don’t we have the first class together, Marjie?” he stepped next to me.

  Hint not taken. “Yeah, we do.”

  Tracy, Kenny, and I headed for the front entrance together. Once we reached the hallway, Tracy walked to her left to go to her class, and Kenny accompanied me to our classroom. I expected Mr. Scalon to toss a remark our way because we were two minutes late but he was too busy talking to our Business Math teacher. I continued to the back of the room where my table was and sat down. Kyran was already there, his expression as serious as always.

  To my surprise, Kenny followed me to the table. He half sat on it, facing me with his back toward Kyran. “I was wondering if you’d be interested in getting together to study. Irene, Marissa, Jack, and I are having a study group this Wednesday to prepare for the English test on Thursday and I wanted to ask if you’d like to join us.”

  Kyran’s body tensed next to me the second Kenny said that. I chanced a glance at Kyran, whose eyes were facing forward, his expression solemn, but I could clearly see his hands bunched up into tight fists on top of the table. Waves of invisible heat radiated from him to me and I started to wonder how on earth he could do that. Kenny must have felt it also because he turned his head toward Kyran briefly before turning his attention back to me, grinning.

  “I don’t know…” I avoided his gaze. Being near him made me uneasy enough, I really didn’t want to set foot in his house unless there were like a thousand people present.

  “It will be at my house, just the four of us. It would be great if you’d come.”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  “You do that. Let me know if you’re in by Wednesday afternoon.”