“Ok,” Morgan called from somewhere behind us.
When we reached the top of the stairs, Taylor began turning on lights as we made our way down the hallway. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad you came, but the house isn’t exactly ready for you,” he chuckled. “Virginia kept everything, and some of these rooms are still a little messy.”
“I’ll live,” I shrugged.
“So what gives?” Taylor stepped through a doorway, and then closed the door quietly behind us.
“I fucked the intern at work.” I turned my head so I wasn’t looking him straight in the eyes. Taylor was my big brother, and I knew that he was going to be disappointed in me.
“Shit!” he hissed.
“Oh, it gets worse.” I moved to sit down on the bed. “She’s my boss’s daughter.” I placed my elbows on my knees and dropped my head to stare at the space on the floor between my feet. Taylor shifted to sit beside me but didn’t say anything. “She came in my office this afternoon and told me she’s pregnant,” I let the words fall from my lips knowing it was better to get it all out like ripping a Band Aid off as fast as possible.
“Whoa!” Taylor whistled as he slowly processed what I had said. “Man when you screw up, you sure know how to do it big.”
“What the fuck am I going to do?” I swallowed as I lifted my eyes to finally meet his. “I’m gonna lose my job over this.”
“Are you even sure this baby is yours?” Taylor gripped the back of his neck.
“No,” I shook my head. “She said it was, but Christina has been around. We weren’t dating so it could be anybody’s. I’d like to think that she was being honest with me though.”
“Until she proves it’s yours, I wouldn’t trust her word.” Taylor shook his head as he stood. “Anything else?”
“She’s blackmailing me with sex, dude. She told me today that she wouldn’t tell Daddy about us if I kept fucking her,” I scoffed.
“Ty! What the fuck, man? Where in the hell did you meet this piece of work? I thought you had standards.” He shook his head as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Sorry to be such a disappointment,” I muttered as I turned to stare out the dark window.
“I’m not disappointed; I’m worried.” He moved closer to the doorway before pausing to look back at me. “Ever since Mia walked away, you’ve never been the same. It’s like she took a piece of you with her.” He stepped through the door and shook his head. “She’s back, you know. Showed up yesterday with her dad at the hardware store,” he paused before continuing, “on crutches. She seemed so lost and defeated. Maybe you can get some closure over the next few days.”
“Maybe,” I mumbled.
“Why don’t you change into something comfortable and come hang with us downstairs. CJ is going to bed soon, and I’m sure Morgan would like to catch up.” He looked hopeful as he waited for me to answer.
“Sure, bro. Give me a few minutes to get out of this stuffy suit.” I smirked as I began tugging at my tie. I wanted to burn the thing. It was the same tie that Chrissi had played with earlier in the day. If I tried hard enough, I could probably still smell her on me from when she climbed into my lap.
“DO YOU PLAN to stay in bed all day again, or are you going to actually join us for breakfast?” my brother, Daniel, called from the doorway of my childhood bedroom.
“Go away!” I grumbled as I rolled over and tugged the covers over my head. I wasn’t in the mood for his teasing today, and I had no desire to leave the warm confines of my bed.
“Mom said I was to use any method necessary to get you up. So, get up or I’m going to come over there and jump on you,” he taunted. Daniel was my little brother, and a surprise to our family. I’m six years older than he is, but he thinks he can boss me around.
“Don’t you have school today?” I mocked as I threw the covers back from my head.
“Delay,” he shrugged. “It’s fucking cold out there.” He made a shivering motion as he smirked at me.
“You better not let Mom hear you talking like that,” I warned.
“I’m eighteen; I can talk however I want.” He shrugged, but not before looking over his shoulder to make sure neither of our parents were nearby.
“Right,” I rolled my eyes.
“Well, get up.” He tossed his arms out as he started to move closer.
“Yeah, yeah,” I muttered as I sat up and winced. My ankle was still quite tender and throbbed, letting me know that I needed to pop a pain pill.
“Hey, you ok?” His face grew concerned as he stopped near my bed.
“I’m fine.” I swallowed back the tears that threatened to spill every time someone asked me that. “Now, unless you want to see me with no pants on, you need to leave.” I pointed at the door.
“Thanks for the warning,” he chuckled. “I don’t want to see what you have going on, but now if one of your friends was around…” He winked, but then ducked when I threw a pillow in his direction.
“Get out!” I screamed as I shifted on the bed. Daniel scurried out the door, leaving me there half fuming, half sulking as I began to dwell on my current situation. Joe had called the other morning, letting me know that the show would go on without me, as if I needed to be told. I knew dancers were a dime a dozen, and someone was always going to be ready to replace me. Garrett had checked in a few times assuring me that Shannon would never be as good as I was, and Daniel had mentioned he’d heard that Ty was back in town. I don’t know why he was, or how long he was staying, but I had no desire to even see him.
As I sat on the edge of the bed, I stared out the window. The glass panes were covered in small ice crystals where winter was making itself known. A fresh blanket of snow covered the ground, and the smell of the woodstove in our family room was wafting down the hallway. Very few people in Cherryville had central heat. This area of New York just got too cold for it to be cost worthy. So when you sat at home you were either really warm in your family room, or cold in your bedroom.
I shoved a slipper on my good foot, and placed a sock over the air cast before hobbling to a standing position and grabbing the crutches. My sweats hung on me, and my mother had been trying to fatten me up for days now. When I glanced in the mirror, I gasped. Dark circles ringed my eyes from the lack of sleep I’d been getting, and my hair looked as if a bird had taken up residence in it. A Johnson High sweatshirt was hanging off one small shoulder as I gripped the crutches the best I could. I released a groan before beginning my trek out to the kitchen. I knew my parents and brother were all waiting on me, and despite my depressed state, it felt good to be wanted.
“So,” my father said as he stuffed another piece of toast in his mouth. “I’ve got a few errands to run. Wanna come with? It’ll get you out of the house for a few hours.” He sipped his coffee as he looked over at me.
I lifted a shoulder as I pushed the eggs on my plate around with my fork. “I don’t know. Isn’t it like negative a hundred degrees out today or something?”
“Honey.” My mom placed her hand on my forearm. “You’ve got to eat. You’re not fooling us.”
I turned to see her sad eyes as she watched my plate. I wasn’t really hungry. I couldn’t remember the last time I had breakfast. I’d trained my body to not want it. A chai tea or a coffee was usually it for me until I had a light salad for lunch. “I’m really not hungry,” I murmured. “Besides,” I sighed, “every pound I put on over the next few months is one more I’ll have to lose when I get back.”
“Honey,” she tried again. “You’re as thin as a rail. There’s nothing left of you. You need the nutrients to heal properly.
I knew this, but the fact that they were pushing the issue was driving me crazy. “Fine!” I growled as I shoved a forkful of eggs into my mouth. I gagged on reflex and paused to make sure the food would stay down. “Happy now?” I barked as I forced a swallow.
“Don’t make me the enemy. We’re all worried about you. We’re sorry you got hurt, but happy you’re home. Why
not take this time to relax and think about something other than dance?”
“What?” I gasped. “Dancing is my life! I don’t want to think about anything else.”
“Ty’s back.” My mom changed the subject as she sipped her coffee. “I saw him the other day. Maybe you should go say hey. He’s staying over at the Cooper place.”
“I don’t want to see Ty. I don’t want to think about something other than dance. I don’t want to be here,” I cried. “I want to be dancing as the snow queen in The Nutcracker. None of you seem to understand anything that’s happening to me right now!” I shoved back from the table, grabbed my crutches, and hobbled to the door. After slipping a boot on my slippered foot and wiggling into my coat, I grabbed my mom’s keys, and made my way outside.
“Wait! Where are you going?” my father called as he raced to the door.
“I need time to think.” I wiped the tears from my eyes. “I’ll be careful, I promise.” I hopped on one foot as I climbed in the car. Luckily my injured foot was the left one, and I didn’t need it to drive. “I’ll be back later.” I slammed the door closed and cranked the engine as my dad stood there watching me. After giving the car a minute to warm up, I put it in gear and took off to the only place I ever felt truly at home… my old studio.
AS I DROVE ALONG the deserted road, I couldn’t get over the weather. Snow was coming down so hard that visibility sucked. I had the heat on as high as it would go, but the car had yet to warm up, and you could see my breath every time I puffed out air in frustration. “Damn you, winter! Why couldn’t any of this happen when it was nice out?” I growled as I inched along toward town. I couldn’t see much of anything, so when I came upon the stranded driver, I slammed on the brakes and almost ended up in the ditch myself.
“Shit!” I hissed as my foot slammed on the brakes. I used my other foot to brace myself forgetting that it was hurt, and then yelped in pain. The car began to skid, its rear coming around toward the front, and the lone figure on the roadside dove for the ditch.
When I came to a stop, I sat there trying to control my breathing as my heart slowed. “I’m ok,” I muttered to myself as my foot throbbed, reminding me of the mistake I’d just made. “Who the hell is out this way?” I wondered. The area of town I lived in was on the outskirts. My parents almost lived in the next county. If they’d put their driveway just a few more feet to the left, I would have gone to a different school. No one came out here unless they were heading to see us. “Probably one of Dan’s friends. Stupid kids,” I grumbled as I rolled down my window to try and get a better look at the person.
“You know standing in the road is a bad idea!” I shouted into the falling snow. The figure straightened before shaking their head, brushing the snow off their coat, and slowly turning to face me.
“You should learn to drive in this crap better then,” the voice growled before facing me and causing me to suck in another breath. There, standing not ten feet from me was none other than Tyler Cook.
“Tyler? What the hell?” My eyes widened as I tried to get a grip on what had just happened.
“Morning.” His lips pulled into a lopsided grin as he began walking toward my lowered window, all anger slowly melting away.
“What are you doing?” I stuttered. He just shrugged as he kept moving closer and finally leaning over the top of the car to stick his head through the window.
“Tay sent me, said something about your dad needing this order of pellets.” He waved his arms toward the bed of the truck that was wedged on the snowbank along the road. “I wasn’t counting on the roads being this bad. Cherryville winters suck!” he huffed as a low laugh rumbled out.
“Ditto,” I groaned. It was weird sitting here talking to him. We hadn’t said more than a handful of words to each other in years, and yet in the last few weeks we’d had two conversations that almost seemed normal. “My parents...” I let the words trail off.
“They don’t get it, do they?” He dropped his chin and kicked at the ground. Ty always understood me, and if he didn’t, he’d pretend that he did. When we were together back in high school, he always supported my dancing no matter what. I knew there were a million things that he would have rather been doing all those nights we spent in the studio, me dancing and him watching, but he stayed for me.
“I don’t think it’s that,” I murmured. “They just don’t understand why this is so bad,” I huffed, causing tiny snowflakes that were floating through my window to take off and swirl between us. “Crap!” I hissed, embarrassed as I reached up and touched my hair. In all the excitement of trying to keep from hitting him, I had forgotten that my hair was a mess, and I wasn’t wearing any makeup.
“What?” Ty smirked as he appraised me. “I’ve seen you at your worst,” he chuckled as I felt my face redden. It wasn’t that he hadn’t seen me like this before, it was more like I didn’t want him to. We weren’t together. I’d walked away years ago and never looked back. I honestly didn’t understand what was happening right now. He was nothing like the Tyler I had talked to at the charity ball.
“Do you want a ride back into town?” I swallowed as I looked away from him. I knew if I kept staring I might end up doing something that I’d regret. “Is Tay at the store? I could drop you there,” I kept rambling to try and keep my voice steady.
“That would be great.” He rubbed his gloved hands together as he rushed over to the truck. He reached in, grabbed the keys, and then trotted back to my car, rounding the front before climbing into the passenger side. “I’m gonna kill my brother,” he sighed as he closed the door, and tugged the snow hat off his head. I giggled, and his head snapped in my direction. “What?”
I could feel the tension slowly dissolving as I continued to giggle which soon turned into an all-out laugh. “You,” I pointed.
“What?” He turned to face me more as his eyes scanned me trying to figure out what was so funny.
“I don’t feel so bad anymore,” I sighed as I tried to control the laughter. I reached up and ruffled his messy hair as he rolled his eyes and slumped back into the seat.
“Very funny,” he groaned. “At least I’m dressed,” he muttered as my eyes dropped to scan my attire.
“I’m wearing sweats. How is that not dressed?” My brows furrowed as I jerked my head in confusion.
“This is not appropriate attire for a cold ass day like this.” He picked at the sleeve of my coat before reaching for his seatbelt. “Better put this on in case you decide to kill us with your stellar driving,” he mumbled.
“Excuse me?” I scoffed. I knew he was kidding, that was just Tyler, but I was ready to kick his ass out of the car before we even started moving. “What kinda shoes are you wearing?” I leaned to the side as if I was trying to see his feet.
“Why?” He glanced at me skeptically.
“I just want to make sure they’re good for walking seeing as you’re getting ready to be on foot again.” I tipped my head as I turned to face him.
“Sorry,” he rolled his eyes. “Can we go now? I was hoping to get breakfast before heading back home.”
“No more cracks about my driving. I saved your ass.” I narrowed my gaze as I sucked in a deep breath and put the car in drive. What the hell was I doing in a car with Tyler Cook? It felt weird but in a good way. When I had woken up this morning in my depressed state, I’d never thought that things would go in this direction. I knew he was back, but I had planned to avoid him. I didn’t think things could be so easy for us. We used to be like this, but once we left this town, we both changed. We grew up and somewhat apart. It felt odd being back. It was almost as if we’d skipped over the last two years and were picking up right where we left off.
I COULDN’T HELP but stare at her as she sat there all flustered. Her eyes would dart to the side every few seconds as she tried to catch small glimpses of me. She thought she was being all secretive, but I knew better. I caught her every time, and every time she’d blush. “Is there something you want to ask me?”
I tipped my head toward her, sliding my bent knee into the seat as I turned in her direction.
“No,” she shook her head. “Why?” The words were so quiet that I almost didn’t hear her.
“You keep looking at me. You need to watch the road,” I grumbled as I ran a hand through my messy hair.
Her foot left the gas and began slowing us as she pumped the brakes. As soon as the car came to a complete stop, she turned to face me with anger rolling across her face. “Do you want to drive?” she growled. I knew this look. This was the ‘I’m pissed at you, and you better shut up’ look.
“Something wrong?” I smirked as I crossed my arms over my chest.
“Do. You. Want. To. Drive?” She narrowed her eyes on me as her face reddened. “Because if you don’t, I suggest you shut the fuck up!” she hissed. “I’m doing you a favor Ty. Stop pushing me!”
“Or what?” I taunted.
“Or I’ll,” she sputtered as she began frantically looking around. When both of us realized that she’d stopped on the edge of town, a small smile pulled at her lips. “I’ll make you get out.”
“That’s fine,” I shrugged. “It’s only a few blocks.” I turned toward the door and began to tug it open slowly.
“Oh for heaven’s sake,” she sighed as she tipped her head back and closed her eyes. Her foot pressed back on the gas causing my door to shut as she slowly made the rest of the drive into town. “You haven’t changed at all,” she muttered. “Still a stubborn ass with a need to tease and taunt me,” she murmured under her breath.
When we stopped in front of Cook’s Hardware, I couldn’t help but feel slightly sad. I was going to get out of the car and leave her there. It was a small town, so it wasn’t like we wouldn’t see each other again, but I was already missing her. This ten minute drive was a tease. “Wanna get breakfast?” I smiled hopefully as I put my hand on the door.
Beyond the Cherry Trees: The Cook Brothers Series Page 5