Walking inside, I call out for my dad and sister. The house is empty. I hate a quiet home. I make a simple dinner before changing into work clothes. The culinary arts is not one of my talents, so I make the only specialty I can cook; pasta. I scribble a note for Skylar and dad to tell them there’s leftovers in the fridge before leaving for work at Chloe’s Café.
Chloe was my mom’s best friend, both born and raised in this town and were friends since preschool. She’s Skylar’s godmother, and she was just as devastated and grief stricken as the rest of us were when the time came to say goodbye to mom. I love working for Chloe, mostly because she reminds me so much of mom. It’s more of a second home than work and has been for the last two years. Chloe lovingly forced me to take the last few months off, but along with returning to school, I need to return to all aspects of my life. I’m hoping the faster I try to force things back to normal, the faster I’ll be normal again. It’s a long shot, but it’s worth a try. What else can I do?
The charming café is nestled on the corner of the main strip in the center of town. A cranberry red and black striped awnings hang over the bay windows. The front door also has the same curved awning with Chloe’s Café written in black calligraphy on the glass. Familiar bells jingle as I open the front door and step into the shop inhaling the sweet aroma of homemade treats and rich coffee beans. Chloe looks up from wiping the counter and scurries over embracing me in a heartfelt greeting. She pulls back and inspects me at arm’s length.
“You look good, Scarlett. I’m so glad to have you back, baby girl. The café hasn’t been the same without you. This is only if you’re ready though. You can take all the time needed and this job will be here waiting.” Her eyes sympathetically search mine for any trace of uncertainty. Her obvious concern doesn’t turn my stomach like everyone else’s does when their glare penetrates me. Hers is more sincere and genuine. It puts me at ease and reinforces my decision to come back. In some ways, I need the café more than it needs me.
After I assure Chloe I’m ready to be back here, I go to the staff room and put away my bag and exchange my sweater for a beige barista apron. Two hours into my shift the café quiets but I need to keep busy so I offer to unload a shipment in the back that arrived earlier this afternoon.
While working I get an eerie sensation I’m not alone. I pull out an ear bud and hear footsteps behind me grow closer. My heartbeat gets louder. Just as a hand touches my arm I spin around to face my attacker. I let out a sigh of relief when I come face to face with Hunter.
“You scared the crap out of me!” I smack his chest. He laughs lightly and then his face becomes more serious. He moves closer and palms my cheeks, then brings his soft lips to mine.
“I’ve missed you,” he breathes against my lips. The familiar touch makes me melt into him. I run my hands from his hard chest to his hair and pull, intensifying our embrace. He moans into my mouth and deepens the kiss and presses into me, backing me into a shelf. He moves his mouth to my jaw and along my neck placing kisses in his trail. His hands wander as he reaches under the back of my shirt and caresses my lower back. I break away, both of us breathing heavy.
“Chloe wouldn’t be too happy if she came back here and found us going at it against a shelf.” My voice comes out strangled in my attempt to keep it hushed.
He pulls back and stares into my eyes. “Hmm, unfortunately that’s good point,” he agrees breathlessly.
Hunter smiles his cute-boy-melt-my-heart smile and peeks up under his long lashes. “Can you take a break? I want to tell you something.”
I grin at him and stand on my tiptoes to kiss him once more. “Sure, let me go tell Chloe.”
Hunter and I sit in the empty corner of the café, sipping coffee. “So, my father told me this afternoon he has a medical conference in New York next weekend. He wants me to attend the conference and watch his speech. He thinks it would be a great learning experience for me. The conference details what drives physicians during the difficult years of schooling and how the result is worth the blood, sweat and tears when you’re helping people every day.”
“Hunter, that’s great news. I’m so glad he’s decided you should go with him.”
Hunter takes a sip and beams. “That’s not the exciting part. I mean, of course I want to learn about the struggles and advantages to come and blah, blah, blah, but the best part is Riley’s boarding school is only thirty minutes away, so my father and I are going to drive there and surprise him. Hang out for the day.”
Riley is Hunter’s younger brother by two years. When Riley began high school last year he started to hang around guys who weren’t the types of teenagers parents would want their impressionable children to be around. Against the advice of Hunter, Riley continued down the wrong path and ended up in some serious trouble. Before events escalated to the point of no return their parents shipped Riley to a military-type boarding school in New York. The two brothers were close when they were younger. He doesn’t talk about it much. It’s hard to get Hunter to open up when it comes to himself and his family. We’ve been together for so long now but sometimes it still seems as though he’s holding back so much from me. Riley is a touchy subject, so I never ask questions, but there’s a lot of holes that leave me lost. He misses his little brother, so I’m happy he gets to see him again.
“Riley will be stoked to see you guys. Sounds like you have yourself a boys weekend planned.”
His grin turns into a loud laugh. “Scarlett, I’m going to a medical conference with my father and then to a boarding school stricter than most prisons. I’ll be lucky to make it back with my sanity still intact.”
A smile creeps onto my lips. “Just make it back to me in one piece.”
“I’ll always come back to you,” he promises.
The door chimes and Chloe’s sister, Michelle walks in with her daughter, Cassandra. Chloe comes out of the backroom and rushes to hug her sister and niece. Break time over anyway. Hunter stands to leave just as Cassandra approaches us.
“Hi Scarlett. Hunter.” She pulls out an ear bud and lets the cord hang while music muffles from the end.
“Hi Cassandra, how’s it going?” I ask, taking our empty mugs from the table and bringing them to the counter.
“I’m good, thanks. I just wanted to ask how Riley’s doing.” Cassandra and Riley dated for a bit before he was sent away. His absence must be hard for her. It sucks that Riley can’t contact anyone from home.
Hunter smiles. “He’s doing better now. It was a rough beginning, and he’s still adjusting to all the changes, but he’s okay. I was just telling Scarlett that I’m going to visit him this weekend.”
She smiles but I can see there’s a tad of jealousy in her eyes. “That’s good. Tell him I said hi.” She puts the bud back in and returns to her mom.
A few hours later, I’m walking down Meadowbrook once again as I hear familiar music welcoming me home; Grayson’s guitar. I always thought it was in his favor that apart from my family’s home, the only other neighbor near us is Mrs. Harrison on the other side of Grayson’s home. The eighty-five-year old widow is a sweet lady and keeps to herself. She likes to stay inside her home mostly and never complains the music is too loud or anything. This could be because she’s extremely easy going or extremely hard of hearing. The verdict is still out.
I love listening to Grayson sing and play his guitar. He plays a couple cover songs to popular bands but generally he plays songs he wrote, which has this super unique alternative rock sound with a touch of country. I can’t get enough of his music. It comforts me like a security blanket. It’s as though he can sense my mood because he always seems to play songs that correlate perfectly with my emotions. My personal therapy seeps through the windows of my bedroom virtually every night.
Strolling by the open garage door, I watch him play the very first song he wrote; At Day’s End. The song is about all the little things that happen during the day and the overall effect little things have. The part that always gets me is whe
n Grayson sings about reminiscing of the day as he rests his head at night. It’s hard to believe that he wrote that song when he was only thirteen. He still almost always has his head buried in a notebook scribbling lyrics. Grayson once told me there was always a song to help you get through any crisis. I wish I had that much passion to help me through my suffering now.
I can’t help watching him; eyes closed, singing with his silky voice so full of emotion, fingers effortlessly strum his guitar. I envy his confidence when he plays and the creativity behind the lyrics. Above all else, I envy him because he lives a normal life.
When the song is finished and the guitar fades into silence, he opens his eyes and locks them directly with mine. He stares at me for a moment and I can’t tear my gaze away. He winks at me and a lazy smiles traces the corners of his mouth. I didn’t even realized I stopped walking. I smile back and wave awkwardly then keep walking to my house as I hear him jog up behind me.
“Hey, Scars,” Grayson breathes as I turn back. “How’s it going?”
“Hey, I’m good. I’m a lot better than you’re probably doing after today. Have you talked to Kayleigh?”
“God no, I couldn’t be more done with her. Too much drama for my life. Don’t get me wrong, she was cool and all, but I like things simple. She really knew how to complicate everything she touched.”
“Yeah, she sort of thrives on that. With all her younger brothers and sisters she demands attention when she can get it.”
“I noticed that. I guess it just wasn’t meant to be,” he says to the ground. I wonder how sad he actually is over the break up. Maybe his bad-boy exterior is just a front for a lonely guy. He looks up and catches me staring at him, again, which makes my cheeks grow warm.
I hate how that makes him smile.
“Well, I’ll let you get home. I’ll see you tomorrow at school.” He turns to leave.
“Grayson, wait!” I call after him remembering the message from my dad about his sister. “My dad wanted you to know that Alyssa and the baby are both doing well and if she stays on bed rest going forward she should make it to her due date.” He appears relieved his big sister is okay. “Oh good. My mom hasn’t been answering my texts so I figured she was still at the hospital with her. At least someone keeps me updated. Thanks.”
I chuckle. “No problem. Good night.”
“Night, Scars.”
Inside my house I head straight for my bedroom, knowing the house is still empty. After changing into my black lounge pants and a tank top, I open my window a crack and lay on my bed, listening to Grayson’s silky voice until I drift away into a dreamless night.
Chapter 3
The next several days seem to pass in a slow haze. Returning to my routine didn’t have the promising effect I thought it would. Rather than feeling like the person I once was, I feel more like a zombie going through the motions of everyday life. Unsurprisingly, no one is the wiser. After spending the weekend relaxing at home, with Hunter away in New York visiting his brother with his dad, I begin to realize that whether I spend my days in a depression or try to break through, is completely up to me. Unless someone cares enough to see through layers of fake happiness and how insanely confused, scared and alone I am, it’s all on me. The question I face is whether to shed my old self and begin a new life, or stumble in darkness afraid of opening myself again? I’m still not sure which person I want to be. I’m not even sure I care enough to put the effort in, but at least I thought about it.
Monday morning brings a new sense of drama, providing a nice distraction from my internal battle. Hunter returned from his weekend in New York quieter than usual. He looked exhausted when he picked me up in the morning to drive to school. His eyes were red and puffy and hair messy, instead of the usual styled perfection.
Not a word was spoken until lunch time. “So I tried to call you last night. I wasn’t sure what time you were coming home. How was the trip? Was Riley surprised to you guys came?” I ask Hunter as we carry our food trays to our usual table in the cafeteria.
“Sorry, it was late when we got home. Riley was um... well he was definitely surprised.” Hunter grinds his jaw. I can tell there’s more to this story, but, I also know Hunter well enough that he doesn’t want to talk about it. Once again he leaves me in the dark when it comes to his life and I’m left wondering if he’ll ever let me into his life the way I need to be.
After school, I come home to the answering machine blinking a red light indicating a message. I press play.
“Hey Scarlett, it’s Sky. If you get this before I come home could you bring dad his dinner tonight? I made us Eggplant parmesan and of course he forgot it. Again. Call me when you get this. Thanks, baby sis!”
I open the fridge door to find two plastic containers with the food Skylar made. I grab one to bring to the hospital. The wind whistles through the closed kitchen window and makes me shudder.
I despise the bitter-cold air.
The air that hurts your face.
Reluctantly, I step onto the porch and the rickety faded-white boards creak under my sneakers as the crisp air sinks into my skin. I pull the zipper of my sweater to my neck. The wind whips my long dark hair viciously around my face as the multi colored leaves twist and twirl dancing in the air, bringing in the fall season that approached far too quickly. I glimpse toward the dark and cloudy sky and quicken my pace hoping to arrive at the hospital before it starts pouring rain. The clouds are picking up speed above me forming a gloomy, nauseous pit in my stomach. Storms scare me.
As I pass by Grayson’s house, he comes out of his front door.
“Hey, Scars,” he says, jogging down the stairs. Grayson is the only person who has ever shortened my name. If anyone else were to call me that it would be weird, but I can’t remember him ever calling me anything else. “Where you off to in such a rush?”
“Hey.” I hold the bag with my dad’s food up for Grayson. “Bringing dinner to my dad and working a shift at the café.”
“Well, my mom called and said Alyssa went into labor this morning. She’s doing well so far and I guess she’s getting close now so I’m going up. Hop in, I’ll give you a ride.” He nods to his truck. I hesitate for a moment and Grayson curls his lips into a charming smile. “Scars, it looks like it going to downpour any minute. Besides, I won’t speed and my hands will stay at ten and two. I promise I’ll be a good boy.” He says this with a grin I’m positive no girl could refuse. Shaking my head, I smile as he opens the passenger door for me. “Do you need any help with your seat belt?”
I smack away his hand. “Shut up and get in the truck before I change my mind and face the storm.” I tell him smiling.
He rounds the truck and hops into the driver’s side looking up at me through his impossibly long, thick eyelashes smiling. “Alright, alright, we’re going.”
We drive the short distance to the hospital chatting about everything from how unusually tempestuous the weather has been to the new guitar he’s been dying to get his hands on at the music store.
Grayson parks in the closest spot he can find and we scamper across the parking lot and through the glass turn style doors just as the rain hammers the ground. We both pause once we’re inside and watch through the front lobby windows at the storm whipping itself around, furiously shaking and bending the trees as if they were a flimsy piece of paper. I look up nervously at Grayson. He bumps my shoulder with his and smiles. “Don’t be scared, on the positive side, if anything really scary happens, we’re already at the hospital.”
I shove him toward the elevators. “So not funny. Let’s go, I need to drop this off and head back out for work. Thank God Chloe’s is down the street.”
We approach the elevators as the three nurses file out, leaving the two of us alone. Grayson presses the button for the maternity floor and the elevator ascends. No more than five seconds later the lights flicker overhead. My eyes grow wide and I stare at Grayson as the elevator shaft shakes slightly. Grabbing onto the silver rail around the mid
dle of the wall, I brace myself for the inevitable crash I fear is coming. My knuckles turn white as the blood drains from my hands. My eyes close. Grayson is suddenly by my side with his hand in mine whispering it will be okay. The lights flicker off completely leaving us in darkness. I can’t see anything, not even Grayson, but I still feel his hands on me.
“Grayson? What do we do?” I whisper trying not to panic ever more.
“It’s okay, Scars. The lights will be back on soon. The storm must have knocked out the power. Hospitals have crazy backup generators though, I’m sure the power will be back on any minute,” he says, not a trace of fear in his voice. I envy the fact that nothing bothers him. Sometimes I wish I could be more like that. More free from myself. I hate that everything scares me. I never used to be afraid. Then again, I never used to be a lot of things.
I struggle to level out my breathing. “Yeah, of course, I’m sure you’re right. I’m fine, everything is fine. Totally fine.” Blowing heavily through my lips I realize that I’m so not fine. The lights dimly return, but the elevator doesn’t move. Grayson pushes buttons on the panel board. Nothing.
“Hello?” he yells into the speaker on the panel board. “Can anyone hear me? We’re stuck in here.” He faces me. “Do you think anyone is listening?”
I shrug.
“Hello? Is anyone hurt in there? Please press the green talk button and speak clearly into the speaker on the panel board.” A voice crackles through the speaker on the panel board.
Grayson rolls his eyes and presses the talk button. He speaks slowly mimicking a robot voice. “There. Are. Two. People. In. here. We. Are. Fine.”
Edges of Gone (The Gone Series Book 2) Page 23