by Caity H.
“Olivia!” Patty smiled warmly at me. She opened her arms and gave me a hug. Once she let go, her eyes traveled behind me. “And you must be Ryan?”
He stepped up beside me, shaking her hand. “Yes, I am. It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Diamond.”
“Please, call me, Patty,” she said, moving forward and allowing the other three to come in as well. Steve smiled politely, shaking Ryan’s hand before following his wife further into the house.
Cassy’s eyes left Lex and gleamed in delight upon seeing Ryan. I bit my lip to keep my nasty remark to myself. “I’m Cassy,” she breathed, pushing her chest out.
“Ryan.” He nodded curtly. The disappointment in Cassy’s eyes was evident, but she quickly moved on, slipping her hand into Lex’s. He held her hand limply, nodding to me as he shut the door behind him. The two of them walked into the kitchen, Lex nodding in Bethany’s direction. She gave a small wave.
“You didn’t mention that particular Cassy was coming,” Ryan mumbled. My heart seemed to stop. They’d acted like they didn’t know each other, but what if they had been together in the past? “I’m pretty sure she’s sleeping with one of the guys at work.”
I turned on him, eyes wide. “But she’s with Lex.” I glanced toward the kitchen. Cassy leaned against Lex, but he seemed void of emotion toward her. She looked up at him, pushing her lower lip out and giving him the puppy dog eyes. His face was stone cold as he glanced down at her, eyes hardening. “I wonder if he knows…”
“If he considers their relationship to be exclusive, then he probably doesn’t know. Nor is he going to like when he finds out,” Ryan gave a grim smile.
Bethany groaned, parting her hair. “For our sake, I hope he doesn’t find out tonight.”
Me too.
Mom moved out of the kitchen, pointing at the three of us. “Food is ready. We’re all going to dish up and go outside.” She disappeared back into the kitchen. I wasn’t entirely sure what we were having for dinner. I knew there was a salad, and something had been in the over earlier.
Ryan headed in first, Bethany and I trailed behind him. “Wow, this all looks really good, Debby.”
Mom smiled her thanks, and turned to me. “Make sure your friends know where everything is.”
I saluted. “Yes ma’am.” I glanced over, and realization hit me. Salmon for dinner, that explained the fish smell. Mom walked outside. I could see that everyone else was outside, leaving just us three to get our food.
“So, this should be fun, huh?” Bethany joked, glancing at the two of us. I was a bit nervous about the conversations that would no doubt come up. Ryan and I hadn’t even talked about our backstory. I would probably be mute most of the night to avoid giving away our lack of a love story.
“So much fun.” Ryan winked, putting food on his plate.
I followed suit, and soon we were all walking out of the house and toward the picnic table where everyone else sat. Lex and Cassy sat together. He still seemed to be angry with her for unknown reasons.
The three of us sat down at the table. Ryan sat in between Bethany and I, my mom and the Diamond’s sitting on either side of us, with Lex and Cassy on the opposite side. Everyone started eating, commenting on how good the food was, and talking generally about their days.
Before long, the questioning began.
“So, Olivia, how did you and Ryan meet?” Patty asked.
“We met at the frozen yogurt place in the mall,” I answered. Cassy’s features hardened, almost in fear. She looked away from Ryan.
“Oh, how cute,” Patty crooned, sending a smile toward Mom.
Ryan smiled at me before he added in. “You think that's cute? Babe, you should tell her about our first conversation.” Babe? We’d talked a little bit about playing the part, and acting like we were going out. But I hadn’t realized pet names were part of that.
“What do you mean?” I questioned.
“You know,” he started, “Bethany had to tell me you thought I was cute because you were too shy to tell me, then I put my number on your yogurt cup?”
“Did he really?” Cassy smiled. She'd never smiled at me before.
“Yeah,” I replied slowly, unsure of why she was acting interested.
“Oh, that's so adorable!” She cooed. “Lex, how come you don't do anything cute like that?”
“Maybe I would if you weren't constantly throwing yourself at other guys,” he said casually. My jaw dropped at his words, and the rest of the table seemed to have a similar reaction. What was his problem?
Cassy blushed. “Lex.”
“You're the one who asked,” he told her. She frowned and turned away from him. I took another bite of my salmon, watching the tension between Lex and Cassy rise.
“So, Ryan, where do you go to high school?” Mom smiled, breaking the silence.
“I'm out of high school actually,” he answered.
Lex caught my eye, raising an eyebrow as if he was secretly judging my choice of boyfriend. Like he could really judge me on the boys I dated.
Patty raised her eyebrows. “Oh? Are you going to college somewhere?”
“Not yet.” Ryan shot me a glance. Had he not expected the conversation to go toward his education? He obviously never met any of the families of his previous girlfriends.
“You’re young,” Patty shrugged. “What do your parents do?”
“My mom doesn't work, and my dad is a retired fireman.” He replied, taking a sip of his soda.
“Any siblings?” Mom asked.
Ryan smiled charmingly. “No, why? Do you have more children who are in need of a great…” he trailed off, looking at me.
“Boyfriend,” I filled.
He grinned at me, snapping his fingers and extending his index finger my way. “Yes.”
Mom laughed. “No, I just curious. If you two get married, I want to have you at my house for the Holidays, not some sibling’s house.” Ryan's cheeks burned brightly with embarrassment.
“Planning ahead again are we?” I laughed.
“I'm a planner.” She winked. Ryan shifted in his seat, the smile seemingly forced. She leaned over and patted his hand. “Don't worry, Ryan. I won't plan the wedding till she has a ring on her finger.”
This time it was Lex who choked on his soda. Cassy glanced at him momentarily before returning to her food. Lex continued to cough for a minute or so before regaining his composure.
“Are you alright?” Patty finally asked.
“Whatever,” he mumbled.
“The thought of me being married to someone handsome is hard for him to believe,” I answered. Lex glared at me. I shrugged my shoulders carelessly.
“Who said he was handsome?” Lex asked.
I smiled sweetly at Ryan before turning back to Lex. “I did. My mom is probably trying to figure out what our kids are going to look like, and your parents don't seem to think he's ugly. Plus, you seem to dislike him for no reason, which aims to say you’re intimidated by him.”
Lex scoffed, swallowing more of his soda. “Who says someone like this guy could intimidate me?”
“I did. Weren't you listening?” I sighed.
“I freaking hate Bridges. She's turned you evil,” he grumbled, glancing at Bethany who glared back at him, undaunted.
“Lex,” Steve bit out the warning.
“And who do we have to blame for turning you evil?” I muttered. Bethany covered her mouth, laughter in her eyes.
“Olivia!” Mom snapped. I pressed my lips together to quench the laughter ready to spill out, and avoided looking at Bethany. If we met eyes both of us would lose it. She really had trained me to be a bit more evil. I would have to thank her for that later, being able to stand up against others was something I’d never really been able to do.
Steve shook his head, setting his fork down. “So, Ryan, you work at a frozen yogurt place?”
Ryan nodded. “Yes, sir. But I'm not planning on working for a yogurt stand the rest of my life, obviously.”
“T
hen what do you plan on doing?” Steve reached for his cup, taking a drink of water.
“I'm hoping to follow in my dad's footsteps and become a firefighter,” Ryan replied. My heart melted. It was so sweet he wanted to follow his dad. I wondered what kind of career options Dad would’ve wanted for me.
“That's a very noble career choice,” Steve said with a smile.
Lex rolled his eyes. “I'd follow my dad's footsteps, but he doesn't have what one would call a noble profession.” Steve glared at Lex, who shrugged innocently. “What? Last time I checked, you still make women chestier, skinnier, and all around trashy.” He rolled his eyes. “Plastic surgery is a joke.”
“Plastic surgery gives hope to a lot of people. I don’t only work on women who want enhancements,” Steve growled. “Or did you forget that burn victims get plastic surgery as well?”
“Yeah, but how often does that really happen?” Lex glared at Steve. Patty glanced at Mom, then back to Steve and Lex. It looked like she was trying to figure out how to intervene before something bad went down between the two men. Lex and Steve had been at odds with each other for a while. I didn’t know what happened, but it was obvious something had.
It hurt my heart to see kids and their dads not working through things, and falling away from each other. I didn’t even get to know my dad in my teen years, he was gone so soon.
“Lex,” I murmured calmly. His blazing green gaze turned on me, cutting through me. “You’re being rude.”
“No more than normal,” he muttered, dropping his fork onto the plate with a loud clank. Cassy looked over at him, raising an eyebrow. He turned to Mom, a bright smile on his face. “Thanks for dinner, Debby. It was delicious.” He pushed his chair back, and then started pulling out Cassy’s chair for her. She seemed startled, dropping her fork onto to the plate, her food half uneaten.
“Where are you going?” Patty sighed, resting her chin in her hand.
“Out.” Lex didn’t offer any further explanation. “Honeybee, why don’t you walk us to the door?” His glare made it clear I didn’t really have a choice in the matter.
I excused myself and the three of us walked back into the house and toward the front door. Lex walked briskly, pausing at the door for us. He glanced at Cassy. “Go to the car, I’ll be there in a minute.” Her eyes met mine briefly before she left.
“Lex-”
“Stop acting like we’re still five.” His voice was cold. “We’re not. You need to realize that we’ve both changed. I’m not the same guy you grew up with.”
“Oh trust me, I’ve noticed,” I muttered.
He frowned. “We’re not little kids anymore, Olivia.” My breath hitched in my chest. He never called me by my real name. It was Honeybee or bust. “So stop treating me like we’re the same kids, playing house. I’m getting sick and tired of it.”
My eyes, which had been staring at the ground, snapped up. “I’m getting sick of you being a jerk! You just disrespected your dad, and you’re treating your girlfriend badly.” I shook my head. “If you don’t like her, you don’t have to date her, but don’t treat her that way.”
He scoffed, crossing his arms. “When do you know anything about relationships? Ms. Forever Alone,” he taunted. “This thing with the frozen yogurt boy isn’t going to last, not when he has eyes for your best friend.”
What? “I know about friendship,” I faltered, unnerved by his words. “You don’t treat your friends like crap, or you lose them. If you keep acting like everyone is beneath you, you’re going to end up alone. Not even Cassy will put up with you forever.”
“Gee, thanks,” he sneered.
“You used to care about your friendships, about the people in your life,” I mumbled. “I miss that.” I turned away, heading back inside.
“I still care,” his words came in a whisper. My eyes searched for his, but he’d already started across the street toward his car where Cassy was waiting. Sighing, I went inside to rejoin the party.
Chapter Nine – Distant Memories
After everyone went home, Bethany, Ryan, and I moved to the living room. Mom cleaned up the kitchen and retired to her room, sending us a look that said to be quiet and behave, or else. I got that look a lot lately.
“So, that was fun,” Bethany mumbled, sipping a soda from the couch opposite of the one I was on.
“Totally,” I sighed, twisting the hair that had escaped my braid. Ryan was sitting on the other end of the couch, his back was against the armrest and his legs were stretched out far enough that I could almost touch them. “Are you going to continue to be my friend after tonight?”
He grinned, nudging me with his foot. “You really think I’m that bad of a friend that I would leave after being interrogated by your family?” I shrugged. “Ouch.”
“Sorry,” I cooed, patting his leg.
“You guys totally looked like a couple tonight, by the way,” Bethany blurted. I froze momentarily, not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
“I’m actually an actor she hired,” Ryan offered. I rolled my eyes, a grin slipping onto my face.
“I knew it.” Bethany shot a glance my way. “So, are we going to talk about what happened between you and Lex tonight?” Ryan’s head swiveled toward me.
“Which part?” I groaned, taking my braid out and shaking my hair out. I shivered, slipping the band around my wrist.
“When he asked you to walk them out,” Ryan filled. Bethany nodded her agreement.
I didn’t really want to talk about it, but it appeared I didn’t have a choice. The words flew from my lips in a brief explanation of what had transpired when Lex left. Bethany pursed her lips, shooting reciprocated glances at Ryan. I adjusted on the couch, my legs stretching out on the couch, brushing Ryan’s. “That’s what happened.”
They were silent for a few moments, still having a silent conversation via pointed looks. Finally, Ryan spoke. “Are you okay?”
I nodded stiffly. “Yeah, I’m … fine.”
Bethany groaned, rolling her eyes. “Olivia, give it to us straight. Are you okay?” The look in her eyes told me she knew I wasn’t. I couldn’t count how many times I’d cried to her over Lex; something he’d done or said to me. She was subject to far too many breakdowns due to Lex and my stupidity.
My eyes fell to the floor. “No.” Bethany frowned, again having a silent conversation with Ryan. I thought her and I had secret conversations, not her and Ryan.
“You’re way out of his league,” Ryan said, giving a small smile. “He doesn’t deserve you.”
I frowned, pulling my knees up to my chest. “Then why does it feel like it’s the other way around?” I rested my chin on my knees. “I miss the old him, the real him.”
“Maybe the real Lex is there, deep down,” Bethany shrugged, ever hopeful for the love she disapproved of.
“What was he like before?” Ryan questioned, propping up on his elbows.
I laughed, remembering the Lex before popularity became his mission. “He was a total nerd. He needed glasses, and his favorite subject was math. He wanted to be an astronaut, and he had the biggest crush on Tinker Bell when we were little. Yet he still judged the fact I liked Peter Pan. He played soccer because he enjoyed it, not because it got him the popular vote.”
“Old Lex was more fun,” Bethany chimed in. “Not that I would know. I didn’t get here in time.”
“A lot of people didn’t,” I sighed, remembering how the two of us had been inseparable, best friends. Forever. I still remembered the first time we met, all those years ago.
“Olivia,” Mommy called. I turned, skipping over to where she stood. Three strangers stood in front of her, a little boy with blond hair stared at the ground. “These are the Diamonds, and this is their son Lex.” She smiled again. Daddy stood next to her, his arm wrapped around her waist. “I’m sure he’d like to see your playhouse, why don’t you show him?”
“Can I?” I gaped, smiling brightly. “It’s the prettiest thing in the whole wi
de world!”
“I bet it is!” Mrs. Diamond said, ruffling Lex’s hair.
Mommy winked at Daddy. “It’s just a place holder for now, until Max has time to build her a tree house.”
Daddy nodded, glancing back at the Diamonds. “Yes. I had one when I was a kid, and I’ll be darned if my daughter doesn’t have one.” I smiled up at him. “Go on, show Lex the playhouse.”
I reached forward and grabbed Lex’s hand, pulling him toward the backyard. He pulled against me, but I was stronger and kept going. I stopped at my playhouse, the small door open. The pink roof was littered with glitter, and it sparkled in the sunlight. I pulled him into the playhouse. A small plastic table and two matching chairs sat in the middle of the playhouse. A fake sink and oven sat to the left, plastic muffins sat on top of the oven.
“Isn’t it pretty?” I beamed at my castle. Daddy often came and played with me. He would dress up and pretend to be a princess. It wasn’t fun to be a princess alone.
“Yes.” A grin lit up his face as well as he took in his surroundings.
I liked him. “Wanna be best friends?”
“Okay.” He turned to me. “Who are you?”
“Olivia Rayne Martin!” I cheered.
He scrunched up his nose. “That‘s a big name.”
“What’s your name?”
“Lex,” he said to me.
I giggled. “That's a small name.”
He giggled, too. “Can we be best friends forever?”
“Of course!”
The memory faded, and I felt my sprits drop even further. I missed my best friend.
Glancing up, I saw Bethany and Ryan were talking quietly, almost like they knew I’d drifted off into the past, enjoying the memories when Lex and I were close.
“I should probably get going,” Ryan said, glancing at his wrist. “I’ve got work in the morning, and I told my mother I would be home before too late.” He stood up, and took my outstretched hand, pulling me into a standing position. “What are you girls going to do?” he moved toward the door, Bethany and I close behind him.
“Stay up late watching romantic comedies and talk about our non-existent love lives,” Bethany said in a monotone voice.