In the Middle of Nowhere (Willow's Journey #1)

by Julie Ann Knudsen

  The temperature rarely reached above twenty degrees during the latter part of December. It seemed as if there was some sort of precipitation falling from the sky everyday whether it was snow, sleet or freezing rain. I thought I would be stuck inside the house with my mother and brother during the whole week of winter break, but instead I was just stuck with James. Even though the three of us had off for vacation, my mother was never home and the mysterious visitor on Christmas evening was the reason why.

  After my mother informed me that I should basically move on with my life and forget about my father, I quickly realized why she had been so insensitive. The reason was at least 6’6”, had thick, brown hair, graying at the temples and had to duck down before entering the kitchen where I had remained. This giant of a man proceeded to brush the snow off the top of his very tall shoulders.

  My mother stood next to him, cleared her throat and spoke nervously.

  “Willow, this is my ummm … friend, uhhh, Mr. Roberts. Brian, this is my daughter, Wil …”

  Mr. Roberts held his hand up and kindly interrupted my mom.

  “Brian. I insist you call me Brian.” He leaned his massive frame toward me and extended his huge hand.

  “Nice to meet you, Willow.” He smiled widely as if trying to impress me with his straight, yellow teeth. His teeth reminded me of horse teeth, which, like the rest of him, were big and tall.

  His hand was so enormous I could barely wrap my fingers around it, so I just held onto the tips of his fingers and shook. I couldn’t bring myself to return the fake grin or enthusiastic greeting. I could only stare at my mother in disbelief.

  “Mr. Roberts and I,” my mother started, but stopped when Mr. Roberts frowned and shook his head.

  She smiled and continued. “I’m sorry. I mean Brian and I work together over at Orchard School.” My mother turned back toward “Brian” just in time for a friendly wink.

  I sat there, silent. What did she want me to do? Congratulate them for working together or for the fact that they were obviously more than “friends” since it was the first time my mother had groomed herself in years.

  I still wouldn’t respond. I just stared. All three of us felt the tension and my mother politely excused the two of them, but not before Mr. Roberts ended the awkward introduction with, “It was very nice to meet you, Willow.”

  I didn’t answer. I just kept on staring. Finally, they left and went into the family room where my mom promptly kicked James off the television so she could spend some time with her gentleman caller.

  Immediately, James pitched a fit, which delighted me. I hoped she was embarrassed in front of “Brian.” My mother bargained with my bratty brother. She helped him disconnect his gaming system and told him he could hook it up to the TV in her bedroom and play for a little while longer.

  James was somewhat content, but stomped up the rickety old stairs anyway. I was so surprised by how powerful his scrawny, little legs were and thought he might crash to the cellar below.

  My cat, Princess, ran into the kitchen and hopped onto my lap. I could tell she wanted me to pet her. She rarely wanted to be touched. I assumed she was wary of the stranger in our home just as much as I was. As I sat there, I could feel my blood boil with each stroke of her fluffy, orange fur and had to control myself, afraid that if I kept going, I might skin the poor thing alive.

  • • •

  By mid-week, I was going stir crazy. My mom was off and running around with her new man and I was stuck home babysitting my brother. I told her it wasn’t fair that I had to stay in, but she promised I could go wherever I wanted on the weekend; that she’d stay home with James.

  I passed the time by chatting with my friends back in Massachusetts on FunForum. I told them about my mom and her friend and how I couldn’t understand how she could date someone else. Gabby’s parents were divorced, so both her parents had been dating others for quite some time and she assured me that I’d get used to it. I told her that I doubted it.

  One afternoon I sat on my bed surrounded by my comfy pillows, on the Internet, connected only to Becca.

  “And now Sarah is mad at Gabby for talking to her boyfriend, Pete, while she and her family were away for Thanksgiving visiting her grandparents in New York …” and on and on Becca went with her tales from Mass.

  Becca said she felt like she was stuck in the middle of their fight. Even though I was actually glad to be away from all the drama, I still missed them very much, especially during times when I was feeling lonely.

  Talking about Thanksgiving made me think of my own holiday fiasco and how Michael had shown up on my doorstep. I had not seen nor heard from him since. He hadn’t returned to school and his MyWeb page was untouched, no new updates or postings. I was very worried about him, but I didn’t know what to do.

  I was supposed to hang out with Erica and Taylor over the weekend. If I got enough nerve, maybe I’d ask them what they knew about Michael and his situation. I figured that if he had grown up on the island like he had said, they would know him well. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. I’d have to wait and see.

  I signed off FunForum with Becca so I could go and grab lunch downstairs. Earlier that morning, my mom took the ferry over to the mainland to spend the day with Brian. She said they were going to take advantage of “after Christmas” sales and have lunch together. How sweet. I wanted to vomit.

  I was on my way to the kitchen and about to pass my brother who was, once again, glued to the television and his Vampire Hunter game, when I stopped.

  “Want lunch?”

  Nothing.

  “James!” I yelled.

  “What?” he turned to me.

  “Want me to make you some lunch?”

  He shook his head. “Already ate,” he said, as he held up a paper plate with hard, uneaten crusts from a peanut butter sandwich.

  I was surprised he took the time, not only to eat a sandwich, but to make it, too.

  “Kay,” I said and went into the kitchen to search for some food for myself. I decided on a bagel and was just about done spreading some cream cheese on top when the doorbell rang.

  “I’ll get it,” I shouted to James.

  At first I thought it was my mother and that maybe she had forgotten her keys, but when I glanced at the clock and saw that it was only one, I realized she wasn’t due home until dinnertime. I put down the knife and bagel, licked my fingers and headed for the front door.

  A chilly blast of wind, littered with tiny snowflakes, greeted me when I opened the door and nothing else. An unfamiliar car sat in my driveway and when I took one step outside to investigate, I found Tessa leaning against the side of the house, smoking a cigarette.

  “Hey. What’s going on?” I asked confused.

  “Can’t smoke in my mom’s car.”

  Just then the wind picked up and blew some flyers out of the overstuffed mailbox, which was attached to the side of our house.

  Tessa motioned with a swing of her head as she took another drag. “You might wanna get those.”

  I carefully sidestepped Tessa, trying to avoid the plume of smoke that surrounded her, and grabbed all the mail.

  It was so cold that I started to shake. “Want to come in when you’re done with that?” I asked, referring to her cigarette.

  “Nah. I’m fine.”

  “Then what are you doing here?” I asked as I moved back inside the front door, trying to seek refuge from the cold.

  Tessa moved closer. “I wanted to know if you wanna come over to my house and hang out.”

  I glanced back over my shoulder at my brother. “Can’t. I’m babysitting.”

  “Bring him.”

  “No,” I snickered. “I don’t think so.”

  Tessa looked over her shoulder at James. “Can’t he stay home by himself?”

  I shrugged.

  “How old is he?”

  “Gonna be nine.”

  “He’s old enough,” Tessa said as she flicked her butt on top of a snow-
covered azalea bush. We both watched as the glowing paper melted the surrounding snow, turned it into water and finally extinguished itself.

  She looked at me. “I used to stay home by myself all the time when I was only six.”

  “That’s not saying much,” I gestured toward the Range Rover, which was still running in my driveway. “You’re driving all over the place and you don’t even have your license yet, or permit, for that matter.”

  Tessa wagged her finger in front of my face. “You’re wrong. I got my permit yesterday,” she said and smiled from ear to ear.

  “You did not.”

  “I swear. I have my new photo ID in the car.”

  Tessa pleaded. “Come on. Just for a bit, to celebrate the fact that I got it. What the hell else do you have to do?”

  I looked at James who was practically in a catatonic state as he played his game.

  “Plus,” she said, “I’m freezing my ass off out here.”

  I hesitated, but caved. “Alright, just for a little while. Let me get my coat and I’ll meet you in the car.”

  Tessa turned and walked away as I closed the front door behind her. Gingerly, I approached my brother.

  “James, would you care if I went out with a friend for a little while?”

  “No.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Positive,” he answered then quickly cheered and hollered after slaying the King of the zombies.

  “Okay. Listen to me,” I said as I stood in front of the television, blocking his view.

  “What?” he moaned. “I’m listening.”

  “First,” I instructed him, as I grabbed the cordless phone off of an end table. “Keep this with you and you can call my cell phone any time.”

  James took the phone and put it on his lap. “Fine. Anything else?”

  I thought. “No eating or drinking. I don’t want you to choke.”

  “I’ll be fine, Willow. I’m not a baby, you know. I’m just gonna sit here and play my game.”

  “Okay,” I said reluctantly. “Also, you can’t tell mom and if you keep it a secret, there will be a reward in it for you …”

  I thought quickly, “… like a new video game or something.”

  James rolled his eyes. “Fine. Please move now.”

  I left my brother and grabbed my wool Pea Coat off a chair near the front door. I still held the mail in my hand and quickly flipped through it. Most of it was junk mail, as usual, but one small, red envelope caught my eye. It was addressed to me, but had no return address on the front or back and I didn’t recognize the handwriting. I wondered who it could be from and was just about to open it when Tessa beeped her car horn. I threw the mail down on top of an antique side table, grabbed my scarf, put on my coat and decided I’d open it later.

  • • •

  Tessa drove me to her house and pulled up next to Jaques’s pickup.

  I turned toward Tessa before climbing out. “Are your parents home?”

  “Of course not. My dad is away at some seminar and my mom is in the city hosting some fancy luncheon.”

  Living out in the boondocks, I quickly realized that whenever anyone referred to the “city” they were talking about Portland.

  I followed Tessa inside her foyer, which was fully decorated for Christmas. A huge, evergreen wreath, accented with metallic gold poinsettias, hung from one wall and garland, made up of fresh holly and bright red velvety bows, snaked up the curvy iron banister all the way to the third floor. Electric candles glowed softly in the windowsills. It smelled like a field of Evergreen trees.

  “Your house is decorated so beautifully,” I commented.

  Tessa continued walking toward the back of the house. “The gardener did it.”

  Tessa made her way into the kitchen and immediately stepped into her walk-in pantry.

  “You hungry?”

  “No thanks. I ate,” I lied.

  “What’d you eat?”

  I didn’t have an answer because I remembered I never actually did end up eating the bagel and cream cheese. Tessa had rung the doorbell before I even took a bite.

  “Actually, I guess I forgot to eat.”

  Tessa peeked her head around the doorframe. “How the hell can you forget to eat? I’m starving and there’s no food in this place. Wanna order a pizza?”

  “Sure,” I shrugged. “But I didn’t bring any money.”

  “Don’t worry, I—“ Tessa started to answer, but her brother interrupted us, appearing out of nowhere.

  “Did I hear someone say something about pizza?” Jaques asked loudly as he entered the kitchen. He looked cute in a navy blue sweater and tight pair of jeans.

  “You wanna order some pizza with us?”

  “Sure, count me in,” he said as he plopped down on a stool at the island.

  “And here.” Jaques leaned back and reached into his pants pocket. He pulled out his wallet and threw it on top of the island. Tens and twenties spilled out of it.

  “It’s on me,” he half smiled. He seemed like he was drunk.

  “How’s it going, Willow?” he slurred.

  “Good,” I said as I stood awkwardly in the middle of the huge room.

  “Come here,” he said as he patted the seat next to him. “Come join me.”

  I looked at Tessa. “Go ahead. I’m just gonna go in the study to grab the phone book and some take-out menus. You guys decide what you want on the pizza.”

  Slowly I walked over to Jaques and he pulled another stool out for me. Reluctantly, I sat.

  “So, young lady, what brings you here?”

  I didn’t want to, but I felt I had no choice but to look Jaques in the eyes. The blueness of them was dulled by the fact that the whites of his eyes were completely bloodshot. He was either drunk or stoned and I was a bit unnerved considering it was the middle of the day.

  “Not much. Just gonna hang out with your sister.”

  Jaques looked around. “Where is that slutty sister of mine, anyway?”

  Just then Tessa came into the kitchen with a phone book and a stack of menus tucked under her arm.

  “Shut the hell up, Jaques!” she yelled.

  Jaques, whose eyelids were half closed at this point, struggled to open them and mocked his only sister, “Sorry, Tess. I thought you liked it when I called you a slut.”

  With the reflexes of a wounded animal in the wild fighting for survival, Tessa hurled the phone book and menus at her brother. The menus flew through the air and the phone book slammed straight into his stomach. Jaques was so wasted he barely flinched.

  “Why don’t you go back in your drug cave and curl up and die?” she hissed at him.

  Jaques pushed the phone book onto the floor. “Chill out, dude.”

  Tessa pointed down the back hallway from where Jaques had come. “Go, Jaques. Get outta here. Now!” she screamed.

  Jaques stood, uneasy on his feet at first, got his balance and slowly sauntered away.

  I looked at Tessa. She rolled her eyes. I was alarmed by this interaction. Apparently she wasn’t.

  “Remember you were afraid for me to drive you home last time and I told you it was better than having my loser brother do it.”

  Tessa bent down, picked up the phone book and menus and placed them on top of the counter. She shot me a look, as if to say, “I told you so.”

  She chose a menu and opened it up. “So? What do you want on your pizza?”

  CHAPTER

  THIRTEEN