Falling Behind (Falling Series)

by Dee Avila

  “Morning, Sweetie. Can you work inside with me, today? Next weekend we’ll get the yard work done.”

  “Sure, what do I need to do?”

  She motioned over toward the breakfast bar that separated the kitchen and dining room. “Grab the polish and start cleaning the hutch and then, when I finish the fan, you can dust the table.”

  I grabbed the polish and cloth she’d pointed to and moved over to the hutch, removing all the pictures, knick-knacks and china. “I talked to Reese, last night. Well, actually, I was at her house and Josh came by.”

  “Titus, I thought I told you to let her be. You need to pull away and let her relationship run its course, Honey.” She let out a long frustrated sigh and looked down at me.

  “Mom, I know but she called me and asked me to stop by.” She started to interrupt me. I put a hand up to stop her. “Let me explain. Candice’s boyfriend is abusive. Reese and I both have noticed bruises on her. Reese gave her two weeks to deal with it and she hadn’t; so, Reese was going to tell her mom about it and see if she could help Candice. Reece was going to try and get Candice to spend the night last night, only Candice left the dance with Alex and went to stay at his house.

  “Reese told her mom and Diane called Candice’s parents. George showed up at Reese’s and had her take him to get Candice at Alex’s. Reese was worried that she did the wrong thing by telling her mom. So, she asked me to come by so she could tell me her side of the story.” I took a deep breath and Mom rushed a question at me.

  “What do you mean he’s ‘abusive’?”

  “I don’t know how bad it is. But it’s bad enough for Reese to need to tell her mom. Reese was freaked out about it and said she was scared for Candice. I noticed bruising on C’s face last night and some marks on her neck.”

  “I thought those were hickeys.” Mom stepped off the chair and slid down into it.

  “So did I, at first. Until I saw the look of dread in Reese’s eyes when she saw that I noticed them. I still haven’t gotten the story on those and I don’t know that I want to know. Anyway, Reese was upset and thinks that Candice hates her. I tried to explain that Candice was probably just upset that she got caught lying and trying to stay the night at Alex’s and she’d get over it, soon. Reese blames herself.”

  “Why?”

  “Because she didn’t show up to the party at The Orchard because her boyfriend wanted “alone time”. She thinks if she was at the party that she could have stopped Candice from going to Alex’s and that they could have told her mom, together.”

  “Did you tell her none of it is her fault?”

  “Of course I did, Mom.” I looked over to see her eyes, which were shinning with so much happiness only ten minutes ago, were now shining with tears and worry.

  “Good. Now tell me what happen with Josh.”

  “Oh, he showed up; banging on the door because she had told him she needed to be home early and then, when he came by to check up on her, I was there.” I rolled my eyes. It irritated me just thinking about him. “He woke up Reese’s mom, so I walked him outside to talk. That’s when he started accusing me of sleeping with Reese and wanting something I couldn’t have. When I told him to shut up and explained that I was there because our friend was in trouble and what had happened, he started back peddling and apologized. I didn’t need the apology. Reese did. I could care less what he thought I was doing, but I care about Reese; so, I explained everything to him very slowly, so his dumb ass would get it.”

  Mom stood up and came around the table and hugged me. She gripped me tight. “I’m proud of you. I know you don’t like Josh, but smoothing everything out for Reese was the right thing to do.”

  “Yeah, I know.” I squeezed her back before stepping out of her embrace and turning to finish my polishing.

  “Let’s get this room and the bathrooms done and then you can go. I’m sure you want to go check on the girls.”

  I nodded and started polishing faster. I can’t believe she’s letting me off so easy today, usually we work for hours every Saturday.

  Chapter Nine

  Reese

  My eyes felt like they were glued shut. It hurt to touch them. They felt swollen. I didn’t understand why. I finally pried them open and made my way across the hall to my bathroom. Looking in the mirror, I grimaced at the swollen mess that was my eyes. Letting the cold water run over a washcloth, I brushed my teeth. Taking the now cold and wet cloth, I washed my eyes and face, leaving it covering my eyes for a minute before one of my sisters started pounding on the door. I removed it and my eyes looked a little better. A little better, but not much. That’s when I saw what Mom had observed last night. Four hickeys covered my neck, two on each side. Hopefully they cleared up before Dad got back. I let my hair out of the ponytail from last night and tried to use it to hide them. I didn’t need the twins seeing them. I was pretty sure I failed. I finally opened the door and Maddy was standing, nope, dancing in front of the door.

  “About time! I almost peed myself. We really need another bathroom!” She yelled as she pushed past me, slamming the door behind her.

  “Good morning, Sweetheart. How are you feeling this morning?” Mom was standing at the stove. The scent of pancakes, bacon and eggs filtered through the air. My stomach grumbled as I inhaled the delicious aroma.

  “Mmmm, that smells good. I’m doing okay.” I leaned in to kiss her on the cheek and whispered, “When’s dad going to be home? I would be a lot better if I knew he wasn’t going to come home and kill me.”

  Mom’s laugh filled the small kitchen. She whispered back. “I don’t condone what is all over your neck.” She pierced me with a death stare and pursed lips. “But I don’t want your dad to kill you. He won’t be home until this evening. I have to pick him up from the airport. After breakfast your sisters are going over to your Aunt Janice’s we’ll take care of those things, then.”

  Smiling, I squeezed her shoulders. “Thank you, Mom.” I shuffled around her, gathering plates and silverware. I helped make the twins’ plates before making my own. I sat down and bit into a forkful of maple syrup and butter covered pancakes. I let out a soft mmmm of approval. I loved Mom’s pancakes. I was savoring a smoky bite of bacon when my cell phone buzzed. I looked down and saw it was Candice calling me. “Mom, it’s Candice. Can I go talk to her?”

  “Of course. Let her know we love her.”

  “Will do.”

  I took my plate and jogged to my room before sliding my phone on to answer it.

  “Hey, C.” I paused, not sure what she was going to say to me.

  “Hi. I can’t talk long. I just wanted you to know I don’t hate you. Thank you for telling your mom.” I could hear her mom talking in the background. She was still mad at me. Her mom was forcing her to say this. The smile on my face slid off. Tears pooled in my eyes, again. I just wanted to hide under my pillow.

  I cleared my throat. “I’m sorry.”

  “Yeah, me too.” And then the line went dead.

  I fell into bed, sobbing. I hated crying. I hated that I loved her so much that her being mad at me, for doing what everyone says was the right thing, broke my heart. I cried for her. I cried for me. I cried because I didn’t want to have sex again with Josh. I cried because I couldn’t turn him down. I cried because Candice could have died the night Alex choked her. I cried because I gave Josh my virginity. I cried because he took it. I didn’t know if it was two minutes or thirty minutes that I laid there, face down in my pillow, with hot tears dampening my jersey pillowcase, my breakfast cold and forgotten on the dresser. The next thing I knew, for certain, was that Mom was holding me.

  “Shhh, Baby Girl, it’s gonna be okay. You don’t have to stay with him and Candice will forgive you.” Mom spoke softly into my hair.

  What did she mean “I didn’t have to stay with him?” Of course I did. But how did she know I wanted out? Oh God, what did I say while sitting there crying? No, no, no.

  “Yes, Reese, it’s going to be okay,” Mom repl
ied.

  Crap! Did I say that out loud, too? How come I can’t determine what I’m thinking and what I’m saying?

  “Maddy, get a cold, wet cloth, please.” Mom’s voice sounded clear and strong.

  “Mooomm.” Maddy whined.

  “Maddy, go.” Mom waited a second before she continued. “Okay, Reese, it’s just you and me. Tell me what’s going on.”

  I shook my head. I couldn’t tell her about Josh. It was nothing compared to what Candice was going through. I opened my eyes. “How long have you been in here? Wait, how long have I been in here?”

  “Over an hour. We heard you scream and came running in here. That’s when we found you curled up in a ball. You would mumble, cry and then scream.” She turned my face to look at her. She was still holding me in her lap like I was a small child. I guess to her I was. “You scared the crap out of me. I’m still not convinced you’re okay.”

  Her eyes scanned mine before she patted my head back to her chest. I closed my eyes again, and took several breaths in through my nose and out through my mouth. “I’m okay, now. Candice called. Her parents made her call and tell me she wasn’t mad at me and to say thank you. But Mom, I could hear the hatred in her voice. I could hear Cecilia coaching her on what to say.”

  “Reese, she will forgive you. Just give her time. Now”—

  Maddy walked back into my room. “Here, I’m going to watch T.V. I can tell I’m not wanted in here.”

  “Maddy.” Mom chided.

  Maddy was already gone. Mom looked down at me. “Let me get them over to my sister’s house before we continue this conversation.”

  “Okay.” I whispered my throat sore and voice horse.

  Mom released me and stood to grab my plate of food. Before we made it to the kitchen there was a knock on the front door. I groaned, louder than I meant it to be. Mom turned, questioning me with her eyebrows.

  “I don’t know. I just don’t feel like dealing with Josh, yet,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. I headed for the door, but Mom stopped me.

  “Let me get it.”

  I nodded and hid in the kitchen. Yeah, it was a chicken shit move, but I really didn’t want to see him right now. Especially not after balling my eyes out because he took my virginity, the one thing that should have been mine to willingly give away to someone that I really, truly loved.

  “Hi, Titus, come in.” I heard Mom say. I pushed off the counter, where I was leaning, anxious to see him.

  I stopped in my tracks when I heard him ask Mom, “How is she?”

  “Not good.” Mom’s voice lowered, but I could still hear her. “Something is going on with her and Josh, but I’m not sure what. Has she said anything to you?”

  “No, but I noticed something was weird the other day. And it’s something other than him thinking I want his girlfriend.”

  I stepped closer to the door to hear them, but heard nothing more than a noticeable click from a door shutting. I looked around the corner, but they had gone outside. I waited in the kitchen popping grapes into my mouth. I wasn’t hungry; but I needed something to do with my hands and mouth so I didn’t run out there screaming at them to stop talking about me. I couldn’t tell them what was going on but I could start planning what I would say.

  The front door opened and Titus and Mom came back in. I came around the corner and took in all of Ty. He really was gorgeous. His ice-blue eyes shined, his black hair was disheveled and perfect. The black t-shirt with bright blue writing matched his hair and eyes exactly and made everything pop. Even his dark-wash denim jeans were perfect, just tight enough. My gaze finally landed on his eyes and he smiled slowly, as if unsure how I would react. I smiled back and stepped close to him, squeezing my arms around his waist.

  “Hey, Ty, what’s going on? Why aren’t you helping your mom?”

  He chuckled. “I helped her this morning. We got everything done we needed to. I wanted to come check on you and C. I went over there, first; but her parents wouldn’t let her out of her room. They told me she was doing okay. Upset, but okay.”

  I led him over to the couch and we sat down, my leg brushing against his jeans. “Well, that’s good; I guess. I mean, as long as she’s okay.”

  Titus turned his head toward me and quirked his right brow up. “Did you get attacked by a curling iron?”

  I laughed and mom came back from the kitchen, laughing and caring two plates. “Go pull your hair up and put on a t-shirt or tank top so we can get rid of those.”

  “Be right back.”

  “Hickeys.” Mom said.

  “Oh, I see.” Titus laughed.

  “Enough laughing at my expense. Let’s get rid of these before Daddio gets back, huh?”

  “Yeah, I’ll work on these while you eat some fruit. You haven’t eaten all day.”

  “Mom, I’m not really hungry.” I groaned, but grabbed more grapes, popping them in my mouth as my mom pulled a chair directly in front of me and sat down with a plate containing spoons. Frozen spoons. “Mom what are you”—

  “Hush. Unless you want your dad to see these, you’ll be quite and let me work on them.” She handed Titus two spoons. “You cover the two on that side with the back side of the spoon, press hard and hold them there until they are no longer cold. Then we’ll get new ones. Make sure you press hard or it won’t work,” She instructed.

  Titus nodded took the spoons and pressed them into my neck. I jumped at the cold metal pressing hard into my left side. Then I jumped again when Mom pressed her two into my right side.

  “Reese, sit still. I know they are cold and it’s uncomfortable, but you did this to yourself and just be thankful Titus and I are willing to help.” Mom pressed in harder and so did Titus, copying her movements.

  “Will this really work?” Titus asked, his gaze glued to my neck.

  Mom shrugged. “It’s supposed to. I Googled it, last night. This was the first option. There was something about using a coin, but one review said it was painful. I thought about doing that one.” She looked intently at me. “You know, to teach you a lesson.”

  “Well, I’m glad you decided against that method.”

  For twenty minutes, we sat there making small talk as they held the spoons to my neck. When a timer on mom’s phone went off she got up, taking the spoons from Titus and going back to the fridge. “We’ll let you rest a while before we start, again.”

  “Look Diane, they already look much better. We probably only need to do it one more time. Luckily, they’re kind of light.”

  Mom nodded. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  Titus got up and sat in the chair in front of me. His eyes raked over me before they settled on mine. He grabbed my hands. “Reese, talk to me. Tell me what’s going on with you and Josh. I know it’s more than me antagonizing him. What. Is. Really going on?”

  “I don’t know what you and my mom think is happening, but it’s nothing. There is nothing to say. He gets upset because he thinks you like me. I’ve told him over and over again that it isn’t like that. He’s wrong. But, Ty, I need you to…” I dropped my head and felt my heart break as I told him he needed to go. “I need you to leave me alone. I need to put some distance between us to give my relationship with Josh a chance. I can’t make him believe there’s nothing between us without asking you to do this.” I looked up into his shocked face. “I’m so sorry. It has to be this way for now.”

  Titus dropped my hands and left without another word. I fell onto the couch, crying once again.

  Chapter Ten

  Titus

  I saw it in her eyes, when she lifted her head. She didn’t want to be telling me to leave. She didn’t want to give her relationship with Josh a chance. Why? Why did she just break her heart and mine? There was a reason Reese felt like she had to give them a chance and, after talking with her mom, I had a pretty good idea what that reason was. The dickhead took her virginity. He stole it from her. Furious, I forced myself to go home and not go looking for him. His time would come. He would
get his and I would deliver it.

  Storming into my house, I stopped when I saw Mom sitting on the couch, phone pressed to her ear and tears streaking down her face. She met my eyes with a sad smile. “Okay, Diane, I’ll talk to him. Thank you, again, for calling.”

  Great! Diane had already filled my mom in. Not that I wouldn’t have, eventually; but I hadn’t even made it home before she called. “Diane called, huh?”

  Mom patted the seat next to her. “Have a seat, Ty. We need to talk.”

  I sat down, stretching my legs out and throwing my back into the couch. Resting my head back on the pillow, I closed my eyes. “So talk.”

  “I told you to please be patient and let Reese be. When will you learn to listen to your mother? I was a teenager myself once, and know what I’m talking about. She needs time and space.”

  “Yeah, she told me to leave and to put some distance between us. But I’m sure you already knew that, right?” I glared at my mom. Her and Diane were worse than gossiping teenagers.

  “You’re right, I did. Diane heard it all and called me to let me know that you left hurt.” She squeezed my hand. “I know what Reese said she wants; but when you left, she fell apart. Diane said she’d been crying all morning over Josh and Candice, and then started crying all over again about you. This time it was worse. Her heart is breaking, Son; and you need to be there for her by not being there for her. Don’t hate her over this. She thinks she’s doing what she needs to do for her relationship with Josh.”

  I sat up and twisted my body to face her. “How the hell am I supposed to be there without being there, Mom? That makes no sense.”

  “By doing what she asked you to do, and not hating her for it.” Mom patted my hand, lovingly.

  This sucked. Everything was falling apart. This year was going to be the year I got together with Reese. Not the year I lost her, completely. Then there’s the whole Candice situation. I don’t even know how to help her. “I get it, Mom. I’ll try.” I fell back on the couch.