When Fall Breaks

by Julie Solano

  “Well . . . if you need to talk about it, you know I’m here.”

  I can sense the disappointment in her voice, and know she would like to hear more about the dance, but I really need to release my handsome hostage. He must be suffocating about now.

  “Thanks Mom. I’m gonna change so I can run, okay?” I say, trying to get her out of the room so I can figure how to sneak Brody out of my house.

  When she turns to leave, I shut the door behind her, locking it this time. I tiptoe across the room to the closet.

  “Brody,” I whisper. “Brody, you can come out now.”

  When he resurfaces, I am in awe of his non-brotherly appearance. He is shirtless, and I’m astounded by his chiseled abs. I actually find myself counting them until I’m distracted by the sight of his gym shorts hanging low on his waist. I can’t take my eyes off of his perfectly toned, hot, body.

  “Pip? Are you enjoying the view?” he chuckles. I raise my head quickly, just in time to find him cocking his head back and looking at me with pleasure. His lips curl up in his endearing smirk, and his eyes are sparkling with amusement.

  I feel the heat rise in my face. Oh my goodness . . . he caught me staring again.

  “Did you hear your mom?” he questions playfully. “She loves me, like a son . . . that’s so sweet.” Then he stops and looks at me with intrigue. “But, you’re not looking at me like a brother . . .” he snickers, then lifts his hand gently up to my chin to push my mouth closed. He smiles down at me and lets go, “That’s better.”

  I’m mortified, that once again, I’ve been caught gawking at my best friend; not to mention, my subliminal fascination, left my mouth hanging wide open. I am so embarrassed that I’ve been rendered speechless.

  “It’s okay, Pip. I love when you look at me like that. Come here.” Brody pulls me into a hug. We stand there for a short while holding each other loosely. His chin rests on the top of my head.

  He finally breaks the silence. “I would love to stay here with you like this all day, but I’d better get out of here before we have some explaining to do. Listen Pip, if you need anything today, I’m just a text away. Make sure to let me know. I’ll keep my phone on me.”

  “Thanks, Bro. I appreciate how safe you make me feel. Thanks for staying with me last night. You’re the best, best . . . fffriend a girl could have.” I give him the biggest hug I can manage. I love how strong he feels when he holds me tight. I could stay in his arms forever.

  “So we’re still in the fffriend zone, huh?” he chuckles, ribbing my stuttering over the word “friend.”

  “Bro, you’re more than a friend to me. You know that right?”

  “I know Pip . . . It just feels good to hear you say it. You’re more than a friend to me too. If you haven’t figured it out by now, you should probably know that I like you. . . like a lot.”

  “Well, you should know that I like you back . . . like a lot,” I giggle.

  “We’re gonna have to figure out what to do about Caden. He’s not gonna take this well,” I whisper softly.

  “We’ll work on that . . . for now, I’d better get out of here.”

  We hug one more time, pull open the blinds, and I send him quietly out my window.

  He hasn’t been gone for two minutes when I hear knocking on the glass.

  “Brody? What are you. . . ?”

  “No it’s not Brody!” I hear Jenna’s sassy voice make her way into my room. I walk over and look down to the ground. “So are we not using the front door anymore, Bestie? I just saw Brody using this secret escape route! Jenna says, pointing at my bedroom window. “What is going on?” she squeals with curiosity. “Was there a fire, or was someone taking the walk of shame this morning? Never mind,” she shakes her head, “We’ll get to that in a minute; we have a lot to talk about. Help me in, I want to try out the new entrance, but I’m not quite burly enough to make it all the way up there.”

  I reach down grabbing Jenna under her arms. She climbs up the siding, catches her foot on the windowsill, and falls through the window, plummeting onto the floor. She sits giggling on all fours looking up at me as I hold up four fingers on my right hand, judging her highly acrobatic entrance.

  “Gotta say, Brody’s entrance was a little more graceful.” I laugh, “But I guess he couldn’t afford to be that loud at one in the morning.”

  “Shut up! No Way . . . What was Brody doing in your room at one in the morning . . . and . . . why did he come back this morning?”

  I can’t answer. Silence fills the room for several seconds when I finally see recognition in her eyes. Her mouth drops in awe.

  “Nooooo, he stayed the whole night in here?” she pauses, widening her stare, and looking back and forth between my door and me “ . . . and he made it out alive? Holy crap, you’d better start talking. And, you can’t leave ANYTHING out.”

  I proceed to tell Jenna about my night with Brody, my dead teddy bear, my ripped up picture, and Brody’s threat to Pistol. She seems shocked when I tell her we decided not to call the police. “The thing is, I’m not sure if it was even him. It could’ve been Chelsea or CJ. I think we may have made a lot of people mad last night.”

  “Well,” Jenna replies, “I can tell you one thing; after you left, a lot went down. That’s what I came over to talk to you about. I saw them making out, Kaitlyn.”

  “Who?”

  “Pistol and CJ. After your stellar performance with Brody, which by the way, was the talk of the dance, Pistol ended up with CJ. They disappeared for quite a while, but then resurfaced grinding out on the floor. Her dress was all the way up to her waist! Gross! I wanted to puke . . . Then I saw them make their way into the corner, where he proceeded to shove his tongue down her throat. They were all over each other, Kaitlyn. They took off right after . . . together.”

  I stare at Jenna, not knowing what to say. She’s just confirmed that my boyfriend is cheating on me with CJ. A pang of jealousy and anger start to swirl inside of me. I know I overheard Chelsea talking to CJ about messing around with him, and I had my suspicions, but it feels terrible to hear my best friend was an eyewitness to them grinding and making out . . . on our date. I start to wonder how long this has been going on. Judging from her response, I’m sure Jenna is reading the disgusted, yet puzzled look on my face.

  “Oh, sorry. I hope I’m not being insensitive. I just figured with the way you danced with Brody, and him staying the night in your room, that you’re pretty much done with Pistol. Are you okay?”

  “Ya, I’m okay, just thinking.” Another haunting notion pops into my mind, “Jenna, if Pistol was with CJ, who do you think broke into my room?”

  I can see her mind reeling, “Well, I know it wasn’t Chelsea. She and Peyton were with your brother until after I left. They were having a helluva time. I think Caden really likes Peyton. There were lots of sparks last night. It was actually kind of cute.”

  “Sparks?” I’m very curious about my brother’s newly developing relationship with Peyton.

  “Ya, like I could see fireworks shooting off their noses from the friction of their eskimo kisses. It was kind of intense.” Jenna suggests, biting her lip and shrugging her shoulders.

  “What do you think of Peyton?”

  A look of contemplation spreads across her face as she pauses a moment before answering, “Well, I don’t think she’s like the rest of her crowd. She’s actually pretty sweet. Caden wasn’t even grinding with her. I think he truly respects her, Kaitlyn. He was so cute. After he watched you dance, he was trying to swing dance like Brody. She didn’t even give him heck when they got all tangled up and fell to the ground during the Pretzel. She just went with it. I could tell they were having a great time.”

  “So watching her and my brother for one dance has you convinced she’s alright?” I ask incredulously.

  “No, Ty and I hung out with them a lot, and she’s pretty cool. She has a sense of humor. There’s a brain in there. You might actually like her.”

  “Ya, I gu
ess I’ve never heard anything bad about her. It just scares me because she’s so close to Chelsea, and we both know HER character. I just think the company a person keeps, can say a lot about them. Well, I trust your judgement, but I’m keeping a close eye on that relationship. I will not have my brother’s heart clawed out by one of those prissy kitties.”

  “Na . . . I think she’s okay . . . let’s give her a chance. Ty seems to think she’s decent too.”

  “Ahhhh, so you and Ty, huh?”

  Jenna smirks and becomes a little starry-eyed.

  “You look a little smitten. I know you didn’t go to the dance with him . . . so how did you end up together?”

  “Kaitlyn, he is the most handsome, sweetest guy I have ever met. So you know how I’ve been sorta stalking him at school, hanging around the gym, and peeking into the locker room? Well, I think he’s kinda been doing it back. Anyway, I was dancing up on the speaker scanning the crowd. Every time I spotted him, I caught him watching me. As soon as our eyes would meet, we’d both look away. But we knew we were watching each other. And then, every time I saw a girl go up to him, she’d walk away with her head down. Finally, our eyes met, and locked. When we didn’t look away, I could see his huge dimples pop out from across the room. He smiled, and didn’t take his eyes off me. Then, he pointed at me, and motioned for me to come over to him. My heart just about fell out of my chest. Do you know how long I’ve been working to get his attention? Anyway, when I finally got up the nerve to go over and ask him to dance, he said, ‘I knew if I sent enough of them away, the right girl would show up eventually. You know, Miss Jenna, I don’t like to dance, but I’ve got a special one in me that I was saving just for you.’ Kaitlyn, he was waiting for me!” Jenna squeals. “I felt like I was in a fairy tale. I’m pretty sure I could feel Fairy Godmother sprinkles zapping me when he grabbed my hand, and pulled me out to the dance floor. And for not liking to dance, girl you should see him move. That boy can shake it.”

  I am so excited for my best friend. I know she has liked Ty since we all hung out at my house last year when my dad had the end-of-season football barbecue. He is a pretty great catch, I have to say. He’s the center on the football team, handsome as heck, and has the best heart of any guy I know. In his spare time, he helps take care of his little diabetic brother, and is a volunteer counselor at some of the Kelsey Creek Children’s Camps.

  “Kaitlyn, we danced together all night, and he asked me if we could set up a movie night this weekend with the whole gang. I think he might actually want to get to know me!”

  Our conversation is interrupted by the chime of my phone. I pick it up and look at the message, thinking it’s Brody checking on me. “Hold that thought,” I say holding up my finger and looking down at my cell.

  Pistol:

  I saw you last night. I didn’t know you were allowed to have those kind of sleepovers. How long has this been going on Kaitlyn?

  “Oh my goodness, Jenna it’s him,” I hold out my phone so she can see the text from Pistol.

  Jenna’s jaw drops in disbelief. “That’s creepy Kaitlyn. How did he see you?” She sounds worried.

  “I’m not sure. I thought I shut my window and my blinds after Brody came in. Holy Hell . . . What do you think he saw? Do you think he was in my house?”

  “Think Kaitlyn. Is there a way he could’ve seen you from the outside? Could he have seen Brody sneak through your window? Maybe he’s just making it up, to see if you confess to something.”

  “No, I’m positive my blinds were shut. I had to open them for Brody to climb out this morning . . . and Caden made sure to lock all the doors after the break in.”

  I’m in a panic, my breathing has accelerated, and I can feel heat spreading into my face. I pull my cool hand to my warm forehead, and wipe away a bead of sweat. There is no possible way Pistol could’ve seen Brody and me. Fumbling for an explanation, I ask, “Wait, Jenna, you don’t think he saw Brody leaving my room this morning, do you?”

  “I don’t think so. There was nobody around when I saw him climb out your window. It’s the Saturday morning after Homecoming, Kaitlyn. That’s one of the latest nights of the year. Everyone is sleeping in.”

  The thought of Pistol sneaking around my bedroom late at night or early in the morning scares the heck out of me. I mean, I know he’s possessive, but creeping around and spying on me takes it to a whole new level.

  Jenna purses her lips and points at my phone. I focus on the lines in her brow as she shakes her head back and forth. “Do not respond to that text. You need to tell Caden and Brody. They might be able to figure this out.”

  “Noooo. We can’t tell my brother. He doesn’t know Brody was in here last night. You know that Caden will kick his ass if he thinks Brody and I have a thing. I can’t imagine what he’d do if he found out Brody slept in my room. And, like you said, maybe Pistol’s just messing with me by pretending he saw something he didn’t.”

  Jenna takes a deep breath and blows it out. I pull my fingers through my hair. We stare at each other, contemplating what to do. Tension plagues the room. We both jump when my phone chimes again.

  Pistol:

  I think he likes your Jack O’ Lantern pajamas as much as I do ;(

  I drop my phone and my legs give out on me. I start shaking, and collapse to the ground. Jenna bends down next to me and grabs my phone.

  She picks it up and reads the latest message. “Oh hell, those are the pajamas you’re wearing right now. Has he ever seen them?” Jenna asks in shock.

  “No, I just got them . . . and he’s never seen me in pajamas before. I don’t know what to do,” I whimper.

  Jenna scrolls through my phone and begins to text.

  “What are you doing?” I demand.

  She whispers, “I’m texting Brody. He has to help us with this. This just reached a new level of scary.”

  “No. You can’t text him. You know Brody. He might get himself in trouble trying to deal with this. I don’t want him to ruin his chance for a football scholarship. I know this will go away if we just ignore it. He’s just messing with my mind. Pistol has CJ now. After last night, his big, fat ego is bruised and he wants to get his last dig in. He’s gonna be done after this. I know it.” I work to convince Jenna to drop it.

  Jenna’s face is solemn and resolute. “Okay, but if you get anymore crazy Peeping Tom texts you need to tell me right away. I know you’re caught up in trying to protect everyone Kaitlyn. But, you’re the one who needs to be protected. And, you can’t keep these kind of secrets from your best friends. I’m worried for you. This is seriously scary. Promise me you’ll say something if this continues, or I will hit “send” right now.”

  I look at her and shake my head back and forth, “I don’t think you need to worry, but okay,” I say hesitantly.

  “Okay, what?” Jenna demands.

  “Okay, I promise.”

  I BOUNCE MY WAY TO my locker in the student union of Jefferson High. I’ve got to grab my swim gear. I’m so excited that I get to leave school at lunch today. I’m headed to the qualifying meet, and after putting countless extra hours in at the pool, my coach thinks I have a shot at qualifying for Masters in the 100 Fly and 50 Free. I’m in high spirits as Brody jumps out from behind his locker and pulls me in for a secret “good luck” hug.

  “Careful Bro, someone might see us,” I warn as he tugs at the Miner Mascot logo on my team sweatshirt.

  Protectively, he slides behind me, drapes his arms over the tops of my shoulders, and shuffles me through the crowded area and into the janitor’s closet. “Is this private enough for you My Little Lady Miner?” he grins, spinning me back around to face him. His forehead lowers gently onto mine, and he gazes at me with interest. His eyes drop to my lucky horseshoe necklace. He slowly raises his hand and lifts the horseshoe to his lips. “Now you can wear this good luck kiss all day,” he grins. “Sometimes I wonder if I should’ve gotten you wings, you little Flyer.”

  “I think this horseshoe has done
just fine for me all of these years, thank you very much. It’s not the charm hanging from the necklace that brings me luck, it’s the charmer who gave it to me.”

  “You think I’m a charmer?” he grins playfully.

  “Well, I would never hang out in a dark broom closet on my own, so you’ve obviously got me under some kind of spell . . . unless it’s just the bleach and cleaners messing with my good senses. Something’s making me a little delirious . . .”

  “Ya, we’d better get you out of here. You probably shouldn’t be searing your lungs with all of these chemicals. I just wanted to wish you luck at your meet today.” Brody kisses me on the forehead, and pulls away. An unsuspecting grimace plagues his face, when he looks down at me and questions, “Hey, I don’t mean to bring this up, but I’m bummed that our playoff game clashes with your meet. Are you gonna be okay down at Shasta without Caden and me there? It’s going to be the first time you haven’t had us around since Homecoming, and it kind of worries me.”

  I hadn’t thought about my vulnerability without the boys, but the moment the thought sinks in, I hold my arms tight to my chest to control the shutter that fights to break out of my body. I put on my best poker face, but there’s no way I’m going to be able to hide this from Brody. It has been two full weeks, and though I haven’t actually seen Pistol, I’ve gotten frequent texts, that I haven’t responded to. In one text he’ll apologize and beg for me to take him back, and when I don’t respond, he becomes aggressive and insulting. I don’t see too much harm in the texts, so I haven’t told anyone about them, not even Jenna. If she finds out I’ve been keeping these texts from her, she’s going to kill me. She made me promise, but I know something’s going on with her right now. Her mom keeps pulling her out of school early . . . I don’t want to cause any more worry than necessary. Despite the fact that I don’t think Pistol will do anything to me, panic works its way into my mind every now and then. It may just be my overactive imagination, or the lingering paranoia caused by the Jack O’ Lantern pajama text, but I swear there have been times when I feel like I’m being watched.