We haven’t spoken since Friday. I spent most of the day yesterday avoiding him as much as possible. I want to ask so many questions, about his mother, his sisters, about him. But I can’t, because curiosity is a two-way street, and I’m not prepared to answer my own questions.
Instead, I turn my attention to a long blade of grass, plucking it from the earth and turning it around and around my fingers. We sit in silence, but it is not an uncomfortable silence. For that, I am grateful because I wouldn’t know what to say to him if I had to speak.
“Why me?” He asks out of nowhere.
I turn my face to look at him. He’s staring off into the field beyond, but I don’t think he really sees anything. I don’t understand the question, but I don’t think that he was really talking to me.
“Why you?” Wyatt turns to look at me now, his clear blue eyes clouded over with something I cannot understand.
“What are you talking about, Wyatt?”
“Don’t pretend like you can’t feel it, Marley.” I flinch at the name and hope he doesn’t notice. I’ve gotten better at pretending that I am my persona, but it still hurts.
“Don’t pretend like you can’t feel me the same way I feel you. It’s been driving me crazy for weeks. I can’t get close to anyone, yet all around here you are. No matter where I turn you are infiltrating my life.”
Wyatt’s gaze unnerves me, he holds my eyes with his, I don’t understand what he’s saying, but to know that he feels the same insane pull that I do somewhat makes me feel better.
“I can see that you’re hurting, Marley. I see it as clearly as I see you. I don’t want to care, I shouldn’t care. I don’t know you, you don’t know me. We are two strangers thrown together because there is no one else who could understand.”
“So what is it you want from me? To change schools? Quit my job? To move back to Georgia? You confuse the hell out of me. I don’t think we’ve ever had an actual conversation before, and yet you’re over here talking this nonsense.”
“I don’t know what I want.” Wyatt runs his hands through his hair. He turns his face away from me. “Maybe it’s not what about I want. Maybe it’s about what I need. Maybe it’s about what my sisters need.” He laughs humorlessly. “Adele couldn’t stop talking about you on Friday. ‘The girl with the pretty hair,’ she called you. In that one hour you did something I can never repay.
You didn’t shy away from the conflict that is my mother, I saw you, Marley. I saw how you reacted to them, to her.
No one, I mean no one, has actually tried to do something for those girls.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“But you did.” Wyatt touches the back of my hand with his, and I have to hold my breath to keep from gasping at the contact. Because it just feels right.
“You wanted to protect them, I saw your body language and how you reacted to my mother leaving. She didn’t go far, you know, just next door to the bar. Nobody has ever felt so strongly before.”
“I find that hard to believe,” I reply, my cheeks warming. I want to blame it on the heat.
“Maybe we could be friends. I’ve decided that you need friends.”
“I thought you didn’t have friends.”
“I don’t but last time I checked neither do you.”
I don’t argue with him-because Kala and her friends-they’ll never accept me. They don’t know me, but then again, neither does Wyatt. Can I really lie to him? The whole point of this is to detach myself from everyone. Despite the pain I know it’s going to cause when I have to confess, I find myself saying, “Okay.”
***
When Wyatt said he wanted to be friends I didn’t know that meant he would actually acknowledge my presence.
In class, he made it a point to talk to me and said he’d meet me for lunch.
Now I’m standing at the end of the line in the cafeteria, not sure what to do. Kala walks in front of me, heading toward a table full of people I hate. Do I walk toward the unknown? Do I sit with a boy who never even looks up during lunch? Or do I sit with people who are familiar to me? Their faces and names are different, but their attitudes are the same ones that I grew up around. They’re comfortable to me, and that’s why I hate them.
If I’m going to survive, then I have to make wise choices, but I suppose that one unwise choice won’t kill me.
So when Kala drops down in her usual seat I don’t follow. Instead I keep walking toward the boy who could destroy me with one glance.
“Took you long enough,” he says. Wyatt doesn’t look up from his hands. I place my tray on the table and sit across from him.
He doesn’t have any food, he never does. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
“How do you know?”
He lifts his gaze to mine, it’s intense, and it unnerves me. The feelings that Wyatt stirs inside of me leave me confused and intrigued. I want to explore these feelings, but you can’t build a relationship on lies. Been there done that.
“Because I don’t plan to. I promise I won’t hurt you, Marley. I don’t break my promises.”
“I don’t believe in promises, they’re just empty words. I don’t know you. You could be saying this today, and something else tomorrow.”
“How many people do you think know about my sisters?” He leans forward and lowers his voice. I become aware of the stares and the whispers. “You know who they are. Granted it was only a matter of time, but still. I didn’t know how to handle it. But you did.”
“You confuse me.”
“I could say the same about you.”
“Are we ever going to have an actual conversation?”
He raises an eyebrow, his clear gaze burning into me. I want to turn away, but can’t.
“You tell me.”
We sit in silence, daring the other to break eye contact. It’s here that I realize that Wyatt is like me. He is hiding more secrets than anyone at this school will ever know. He is carrying a heavy burden on his shoulders; I can see it in the dark circles underneath his eyes. His black-rimmed glasses do nothing to hide it.
His hands rest on the table, but every once in a while his fingers twitch. Wyatt holds his demons close to his heart.
I know all this because I do the same thing. Makeup can only cover so much evidence. Nightmares make it impossible to sleep. I carry secrets that I do not want anyone to know.
I am the strength that my father does not have. I fear that Wyatt is the voice of his sisters. I’ve only seen his mother once, but I have a feeling that he is responsible for doing everything she chooses not to do.
His clear blue eyes look almost colorless behind his glasses. I think he looks better with them on.
We spend the rest of lunch not talking. Instead, we take turns studying each other. When he’s looking the other way I let my eyes roam over him, his strong jaw, covered in light stubble. His nose is straight and a tad too long, his mouth looks soft. Those beautiful clear eyes glance at me, and he smiles. It’s just a ghost of a smile, but it’s still a smile. I don’t smile back, I can’t.
When the bell rings we get up, Wyatt takes my barely touched tray and dumps it. “See you at work,” he says, before walking away.
I begin to walk in the opposite direction but Kala steps in front of me. “What was that?”
“What was what?”
She rolls her eyes, pushing her hair out of her eyes, “What was with Wyatt? He never lets anyone sit with him. Why’d he let you?”
“We’re friends I guess.” I push past her and begin walking.
“That’s the thing, he doesn’t have any friends. He doesn’t talk to anybody, and yet he talked to you.”
“If you didn’t notice we weren’t really talking.”
Kala shakes her head. “I know what I saw.” She walks away without saying anything else. People sure are weird around here.
Chapter 6
Marley
Springtime at the club is insane, so I’m learning. Tony had warned me when I first star
ted, but today is the first day I’ve been around to see it. The morning was spent with Brenda in the Café. It was packed. The past few weeks were nothing compared to this.
Wyatt and I had spent the whole week having lunch together, it was awkward. Neither of us said much, but he made a comment yesterday about how much work we were going to have, now that it’s April. It appears that he was right.
Brenda’s helping me with two sections until her afternoon replacement, Kenneth, gets here. I’ve never worked with Kenneth before, only seen him in passing. It will be interesting to work with someone else. Brenda is a bitch to everyone except the diners, but we figured out how to make it work.
Wyatt and Tony man the other side of the dining room, they work effortlessly together. There are moments where Tony runs around like a chicken with its head cut off, trying to manage the kitchen, the dining room, and the Café. But Wyatt is always there to keep him on track.
TheCafé is near the tennis courts, more casual than the dining room. I only work there Saturday mornings so I don’t know who mans it when Brenda and I are done.
“I’m out,” Brenda says as she passes me. I nod to her and shift my tray so I have a better grip on it. A tall guy with light brown hair comes out of the break room just as she goes in. She hands him her notepad with the two current orders she has on it.
“Afternoon,” Kenneth says in a smooth southern accent, nodding his head at me before signing into the computer.
The next hour blurs together, my face hurts from the smile I have plastered on it, my feet are screaming for me to release them from my shoes, and I revel in it. For me, this is mindless. Sure I could go without the snooty rich bitches who look down on me, and the perverted old men staring at my boobs in the tight button up and my legs in the short skirt.
“Marley, break,” Tony calls out. I flash a thumb up in his general direction. Most of our interactions are nonverbal. It only took me a few days to catch on to all the signals. If this were the restaurant I worked at in Georgia, we’d just yell at each other, but The Club is more dignified than that.
“I’m going on my ten-minute break,” I tell my only table. “The tall man with brown hair will take care of you until then. I’ll enter your drinks, and he’ll bring them out to you.” The two women smile at me and look over at where Kenneth is. I think they like the change-up from the way their eyes light up.
I can’t blame them of course; he’s a good-looking guy. I catch Kenneth’s attention on my way to the kitchen, “Two martinis for thirty-seven,” I say. He’s been running alcohol for me all afternoon. I’m sure it gets tiring. It’s still another long three years before I’m allowed to serve alcohol, and that’s only under Tony or Brenda’s supervision.
Wyatt is sitting at the table in the break room when I enter. We haven’t spoken except briefly this morning. Even though we’re technically friends our interactions with each other say otherwise.
“Guess that means my time’s up.” Wyatt gives me a sad smile. He’s not wearing his glasses. Without them, his eyes look duller.
Wyatt
My feet had begun to hurt about an hour ago, and I’m still scheduled to work the dinner shift. While the tips are good when it gets like this, at the end of the day you never want to work another shift again.
We all enjoy the rush; Tony thrives in the chaos, even if he seems frazzled most of the time. Brenda will straight-up tell you that she just wants the tips, Kenneth, like me loves the adrenaline rush it gives. And from what I saw from Marley today, she loves it too.
But now, as it’s beginning to die down, everyone’s a little weary. Marley’s smile dropped a little, Tony is running around like a madman, and Kenneth looks almost bored.
I’m entering my latest order into the computer when Jenny, the hostess, walks in. “Your mother just dropped the girls off,” she says, crossing her arms.
“Son of a bitch,” I shout, slamming my fist into the computer stand. Jenny raises an eyebrow but doesn’t comment.
“Your section is full, I have other guests waiting, I can’t play babysitter, and neither can Margie, she has enough to deal with today.” Jenny’s tone is hostile.
“I’ll figure it out. Where’s Tony?”
“Dining room,” she answers before spinning on her heel and walking away.
Great, she’s pissed. Another issue I have to fix. Jenny, for whatever reason, doesn’t like me. She tolerated my sisters because they were just kids, but she made damn sure I knew how she felt whenever they were here without my mother or Mary accompanying them. She also didn’t appreciate the fact that Margie occasionally watched them in her office if I couldn’t leave. I understood she was just looking out for her aunt, but Margie offered, I would never abuse her kindness.
I check on my tables before I seek out Tony. “I could call in John I suppose, see if he can work,” he muses.
“No, don’t, he came last time this happened. I hate to call Mary, she deserves time off, but I have no other choice.”
“If this is about your sisters I can take them,” Marley says from behind me. I stiffen. She must have noticed my reaction because she adds, “I saw them in the waiting room. I have twenty minutes left. I’ll be happy to take them for you.”
“And do what with them?” I ask coolly, turning to her.
She shrugs. “I don’t know, take them to my house, or yours, just hang out with them until you get off.”
“Adele needs a car seat.” I can’t believe I’m actually considering this.
“We’ll trade cars.”
“I don’t get off until eight.”
“That’s fine.”
“They don’t know you.”
“So you’ll introduce me. Look, Wyatt,” she places her hand gently on my arm, “You’re my friend, you need help. Let me help you, it’s only for a few hours.”
I must be losing my mind because I hear myself saying, “All right.”
“Kenneth and I will cover you guys for a few minutes while you hash out the details,” Tony says, laying a hand on my shoulder. He knows how hard this is for me, he doesn’t know everything of course, but he knows how much it means for me to let Marley do this.
I walk Marley over to where the girls sit, in full view of Jenny’s watchful eye. Adele smiles at Marley, “Your hair’s pretty,” she tells her when Marley kneels down in front of her.
“Thank you, I love your hair.”
Ava scoffs and I shoot her a glare. “Be on your best behavior, Marley’s a friend of mine, she’ll tell me if you’re rude,” I warn her.
“Since when do you have friends?” she shoots back. She has me there.
“Since Sunday,” Marley calmly says. “I hope we can be friends as well. Your hair is pretty too.”
“That might work on naïve four-year-olds, but not on me.”
“Ava, you will watch your tongue.”
“Or what? You’ll ground me? You are not my parent.” I have to take a step back, my teeth grind together, my fists clench.
No, I’m not her parent, but I’m the closest damn thing to one, it hurts the way she defies me.
“Why don’t you call Mary? I’d rather be with her than with someone I don’t know.”
“Mary is enjoying her day away from you. I sure as hell don’t want to drop you on her lap when you’re in this mood.”
“Let’s go trade keys. We’ve been gone long enough. I have a full section. I have to ease Nash into it.” Marley grabs my hand, surprising the hell out of me. “I’ll be back in a few minutes,” she tells the girls, leading me away.
Marley
I let my tables know that Nash is going to take them over, they might not like it, but that’s the way of the business. Nash is a petite twenty-one-year-old. Her blue-black hair is cut in a cute pixie style. Dark eyes are surrounded by long, thick lashes.
I instantly liked her when I met her my third day of working. She’s different, she reminds me of Kala in a free-spirited way. Kala, who I’ve been avoiding all week becau
se I don’t want to deal with her questions about Wyatt. I can’t describe what we have. We are strangers, but sometimes it feels like we are more than that. Sometimes I feel like I could tell him the truth. I could tell him my name. I could tell him how jealous I am of his hair. I could tell him about my sister, and my mother.
But I don’t. I can’t.
Shaking myself of those thoughts, I clutch Wyatt’s keys and walk over to his sisters. Ava has her arms crossed over her chest; her blue eyes are cold, staring straight ahead. Her long curly brown hair hangs loosely down her back.
Adele is the opposite. She sits restless, her legs swinging and fingers tapping. “Are y’all ready?”
“Let’s get out of here,” Ava says, standing and grabbing Adele’s hand.
Ava leads the way to Wyatt’s Range Rover. She helps Adele into the truck and then climbs in after her.
I have no idea what to do with them. I haven’t been around kids, except for my sister, Dakota, but I’d rather not think of her. So I do the only thing that makes sense.
***
When we pull up to the house, Gran is walking out the door. She stands on the porch and watches as I get out of the car and open the back door. Ava already has Adele unbuckled, and so I help her down.
“Well, what do we have here?” Gran asks, smiling at the girls.
“This is Ava and Adele, they’re friends of mine.”
“Really? Well, it’s nice to meet you, girls. Marley never brings friends home.”
“We’re not her friends. She just got stuck with us,” Ava says snottily. “Our brother works at the club with her, and he needed a babysitter.”
“Even better,” Gran says. Her smile is still in place, despite the questions I can see burning in her eyes.
“Where are you headed?” I ask, trying to make this less awkward than it actually is.
“I was going to get something for dinner. I don’t know what I want to make. What do you think, Adele?” Gran bends down to Adele’s level. I watch as the little girl stares at my grandmother before giving her a wide smile.
“I like carrots and potatoes,” Adele says.
“I like those too. Maybe I can make chicken and gravy with mashed potatoes and carrots. What do you think?”
Forever (Destroyed by Love #1) Page 4