by Jo Ho
Marley shot the other girl a smile. She was rewarded with one of her own, although it was weak. The girl couldn’t seem to keep her eyes on Marley, dropping them quickly to the carpet.
“Hi, I’m Marley,” Marley said as Cassie mumbled something back, which may or may not have been words.
“That’s fine, I’m good with where I am,” Marley said, trying not to frown as she studied the other girl. She had ginger hair that wasn’t quite straight and thick glasses that made her eyes look owlishly big. She was dressed in jeans and a sweater that swamped her small frame doing nothing good for her. Beyond the fashion crisis, Marley could see that Cassie was uncomfortable. She would have thought it was only first day nerves until she noticed that she seemed particularly nervous around her parents.
Why? Who would be nervous around their own parents?
A woman, Cassie’s mother, had been hidden away from view behind a wardrobe door but she stepped around it now… It was all Marley could do not to gasp out loud.
Cassie’s mom was beautiful.
Like Gisele Bündchen stunning. Everything about her screamed model. She even moved with an effortless grace that seemed to glide over to Marley.
“I’m Cassie’s mom, Angie, and this is my husband Tom,” she said, stretching out a hand to Marley.
“Nice to meet you all,” Marley said as she took her hand she noticed how incredibly soft her skin was. Marley made a mental note to remind herself to ask Cassie what her mom’s skincare regime she used.
Between Tom and now Angie, Marley found herself slightly blinded by their beauty. Glancing at the awkward looking Cassie, she felt an instant pang of compassion for her. It must be tough when she looked so well, normal, and her parents seemed to have stepped out of the cover of Vogue. With his usual impeccable timing, Paul came into the room just then but stopped dead at the sight of them.
“Oh, OK. Didn’t expect to see you here. I’ve loved all of your movies, by the way, even that bad one,” he said to Tom as the other man laughed.
“Everyone says I look like him, but I just don’t see it myself.”
Angie slipped her hand in his gazing at him adoringly.
“You are much better looking, dear.”
While Paul smiled at them, Marley snuck a look at Cassie — for some reason, despite the sweet display her parents were putting on, the other girl looked like she wanted to be swallowed up by the ground. Paul dumped his boxes by Marley’s bed taking a walk around the room, checking it out.
“This is nice. You girls get to have your own bathroom.”
“Well, no, we have to share,” Marley replied, showing that there wasn’t another one in the room.
“I meant you don’t have to share with the rest of the floor.”
Tom shot a wry look at Paul. “It’s amazing what perks you can get when you donate a ton of money to the school.”
“Well, on my behalf of my daughter, thank you very much for your donations.” Paul replied.
Tom smiled as Angie went back to helping her daughter unpack. Paul moved to help Marley, but she gestured “away.”
“I’ve got this. You don’t need to help.”
Paul looked as if he wanted to argue but knew better than to do so.
“I’d step away if I were you,” Tom joked. “I’ve learned never to mess with a woman’s clothes.”
Taking his advice, Paul joined Tom at a table next to the window. The two sat and chatted about nothing interesting. Somewhere between sports and politics, Marley zoned out of their conversation, focused on setting up her new home until she had things mostly where she wanted them. There were still a few unpacked boxes containing her course books and stationery, but the bulk of the work had been done. Looking over to Cassie’s side, she saw it was the same for her.
Angie opened an oversized Chanel bag that had been sitting by the window next to Tom and fished out a gift-wrapped box which she handed to Cassie now. Surprised, Cassie took it.
“What is this?”
Angie smiled at her and gestured for her to unwrap it.
“A big part of the Cuthbert tradition.”
Wondering what it was, Cassie opened the box to reveal a beautiful pair of peep-toed shoes inside. There was a fabric flower stitched onto the front of each shoe, but even from where she was standing, as pretty as they were, Marley could see that the shoes were not new. Cassie, however, couldn’t be more delighted.
“Really Mom, you’re giving these to me?” Her eyes were wide with shock and rapidly filling with unshed tears.
Angie smiled, beaming with pride.
“Your grandmother wore them when she was married, I wore them when I went on my first date with your dad, then again when we were married, and now I am passing them on to you.”
“But, I thought they were only for those kind of occasions?”
Angie shook her head. “They are for landmark occasions and I can’t think of a bigger one than the first woman in our family to go to college. We are so proud of you, honey.”
Cassie could barely contain herself as she hugged her mom tight.
“Thanks, mom, I promise I’ll look after them.”
Marley smiled at the two of them even as she felt a small ache in her heart, knowing that this was something she would never experience. She had no mom, and there would be no shoes or anything else that would be handed down to her.
She looked away from them and caught her dad looking at her. She saw from the expression on his face that he knew exactly what she was feeling. He didn’t say anything but gave her a wink to see if she was OK. She nodded that she was fine.
Cassie carefully put the shoes away onto the top of her wardrobe as Angie pulled out her cell and held it up high so that the camera looked down on them. As soon as Cassie saw what she was doing, she moaned and flung up her hands to cover her face.
“Just one Cass! It won’t kill you!” Angie pleaded, but Cassie kept shying away from the phone.
“I don’t want to, Mom. Can’t we just get through this without you posting anything on Instagram?” Cassie asked, obviously used to this kind of request.
“But my fans have been looking forward to this for weeks, honey. They’ve been hearing all about my only child going off to college. They’ve watched you grow up on my timeline, you can’t deny this bit of joy for them. Please, dear, I only want the one picture?”
From his seat at the table, Tom called over.
“You know she won’t leave until you say yes, sweetie. You should just get it over with.”
“Come on Cassie, I just gave you the shoes, can’t you do this tiny thing for me?” Angie asked, batting her lashes at her. “I just want to record this momentous occasion.”
Sighing with feeling, Cassie looked up at the camera sullenly.
“Fine,” she said as Angie smiled gratefully and instantly adopted a sultry pose. There was the sound of a camera click and then the swoosh of a picture being posted to Instagram. Staring at her phone intently, Angie suddenly beamed.
“My gosh, it already has three thousand likes! All these people know you’re here and wish you well!”
“Yay,” Cassie replied without any enthusiasm. Tom must have finally noticed how agitated Cassie seemed or he simply felt sorry for her. He got up from the table and went to his wife, picking up her bag from the floor.
“Honey, I think it’s time we left our daughter alone so she can get to know her roommate,” he said. As soon as the words left his mouth, Angie became anxious as her brilliant blue eyes began to shine with tears.
“You’ll call if you need anything, right? Anything at all?”
Faced with their imminent departure, Cassie suddenly didn’t look as sullen, in fact, Marley noticed she seemed unsure.
“Even if I don’t need anything, I’ll call you guys once a week, OK, to let you know how I’m doing?”
Tom enveloped her in a hug. “You better.”
As Angie folded Cassie into her arms, Paul approached Marley, his eyes wrinkled
with concern and uncertainty. He kept his voice low as he spoke to her.
“If this doesn’t work out, you know you can leave at any time. Or even if you just need a break from it all. I've got a room ready for you in the new apartment.”
Marley nodded.
When Paul had learned that Marley had been accepted at Blackville University, the first thing he had done was to quit his job. He was a history professor and was certain that he could find something in the Boston area. Despite Marley assuring him that she would be fine, Paul would not hear of her moving to the East coast by herself. As luck would have it, BU needed someone with his skill and experience, so the two had made the move from out West a few weeks ago. Paul had found an apartment to rent on Zillow and had made sure that there was enough room for Marley. Whenever she decided to go home, she would have her own space.
Marley’s shrink had made it clear that it was important she have that.
“I’ll be fine, dad. Stop worrying,” Marley said.
He looked as if he had a lot more to say but casting a quick glance at the other family, decided against it. Wrapping her in a bear hug, Marley clung to him, breathing in the familiar sandalwood that came from the wooden beads he wore on his wrist. They had been a gift from her mom, back before things had imploded. Marley was always surprised that he still wore them, so many years later, but the only explanation Paul had ever given for that was that their relationship hadn’t always been bad, and despite everything, she was still the only woman he had ever loved.
“It’s not like you’re going very far, is it?” Marley grinned suddenly, lightening the mood.
“That is true,” Paul replied. “I guess I’ll see you around.”
Marley watched as Paul waved then left. Cassie’s dad had a harder time dragging his wife away, however, as Angie clung to Cassie suddenly, tears streaming from her eyes.
“You’ve got all your cards, and we’ve given you cash to tide you over,” Angie said between sobs.
“I’ve got plenty of money, Mom, don’t worry,” Cassie said. Eventually, Cassie was able to detach herself. She gave her parents a watery smile of her own as they finally left.
And then it was just the two of them.
“They seem kind of attached to you,” Marley began, trying to engage Cassie in conversation.
The look Cassie shot Marley made her uncomfortable. She hoped she hadn’t said anything wrong. Cassie raked her eyes over Marley, from top to bottom until she couldn’t help but feel as if she were assessing her critically.
“Only child and all that,” Cassie finally replied.
“Same here.”
“Where’s your mom?” Cassie asked, looking nervous as if she wasn’t used to holding conversations with anyone other than her parents.
“Gone. She left when I was little. It’s no big deal. I got over it a long while ago,” Marley finished quickly before the sympathy came. She didn’t need anyone feeling sorry for her. She was just fine. Cassie must have sensed her reluctance to talk about it further as she changed the subject.
“So what’s your major?”
“Journalism. I’m hoping to be a reporter. I love discovering stories, finding things out, especially about people. One of my favorite things to do is people watch in a coffee bar. How about you?”
“Creative writing. I like to read.” Cassie broke eye contact suddenly, cheeks flushing red with embarrassment. Marley stared at her curiously wondering what her deal was. Why was she so… awkward?
“Hoping to be the next J. K. Rowling?”
“Something like that,” Cassie mumbled, turning away. And just like that, it seemed their conversation was over as Cassie focused on rearranging her things.
Great.
And people thought she was weird.
Chapter 5
Across the hall, Tyler Jones was also unpacking her things, but unlike the commotion and noise that seemed to be everywhere, in here there was only an oppressive silence.
Through the hallway, Tyler could see a girl being hugged by her movie-star-good-looking parents as they bid her goodbye… and the sight was like a knife in the heart. The pain was so intense that she almost gasped. It was only a hug, so how could it affect her like this?
Whenever this happened, whenever the pain came, and as she had done so for the last six months, Tyler focused on her breath. Breathing in, she counted…
One… two…. Three… Four… Five…
On six, she exhaled. She repeated the meditative exercise she had found on YouTube until the stabbing pain lowered into a dull ache.
How much longer was she going to feel like this?
Looking at the only box she had brought with her, Tyler took out her things. There were a few pairs of jeans, tank tops, button-up shirts and sweaters, but other than underwear, all she had left were her study things. The only personal item she had brought with her lay in the bottom of the box. Her sole possessions in the world fit in this one box.
She didn’t know whether she should be amazed or sad.
To think there was a time when she had had so much stuff that there wasn’t room for it all. Reaching in, she carefully fished out the framed photograph.
In it, she beamed out at the world, her arm around her younger sister, Ally. The photograph had been taken a few years ago when Ally was only seven, and Tyler, fifteen. They shared the same cheesy grins, the same green eyes and glossy chestnut hair. Speckled across Ally’s nose were a handful of freckles, but where Tyler’s hair was cut into a neat bob, Ally’s hung in two longs braids on either side of her face that she kept tied with matching ladybug bands. It was her fascination with the tiny creatures that had earned her the nickname “Bug”.
They sat posed on top of their ponies, Oreo and Cookie, on yet another of their weekly rides in the countryside. Each day was one great big adventure and had brought such joy and happiness that neither of them had had a care in the world.
Until one simple text message had changed everything.
The ponies were gone now as were the cheesy grins. And Ally… God, Ally. Tyler hoped desperately that she was OK. It was at least a week before she would get to see her again.
Being away from her cherished sister hurt almost as much as losing their parents had.
From the time she had been born, Tyler was devoted to her sister. The two were thick as thieves. They did everything together; the eight years between them meant nothing. Tyler wasn’t one of those girls who craved attention from boys or needed to go out partying. She was perfectly happy staying at home. For her, family was everything.
Which was why, when her parents were killed in the car crash, her entire world was destroyed.
All it had taken was one careless moment on the phone. One glance away from the road. The boy who had killed them — and he was a boy, only seventeen years old — had been busy texting a girl when he had rammed headlong into Tyler’s unsuspecting parents’ car. Her mom had died instantly, but her dad… her strong, superman of a dad, had clung to life for days.
When he finally died, Tyler hadn’t even been in the room.
After not sleeping, eating or showering for over forty-eight hours, the nurses had convinced her to take a break. They said she would feel better when she was clean that she didn’t need to be glued to his bedside. Stupidly, Tyler had taken their advice — they went through this kind of thing on a daily basis, surely they would know what they were talking about?
It was while she was showering that her dad had died. She only discovered this when she returned and found Ally lying beside their flat-lining dad on his bed, inconsolable. Her poor sister had been alone when it had happened. Ally had screamed for Tyler until her voice went hoarse from the tears, but Tyler had been too far away to hear her. She never got to say goodbye to her dad. She hadn’t been there for her sister.
Some days she couldn’t get out of bed from the guilt.
It had taken everything she had to go to BU. To continue her studies like her parents had wanted her to.
They had been so proud when she had been accepted. Their daughter was going into pharmaceuticals! She would save her sister and the world with her medicine they had bragged to any who would listen.
Tyler’s choice was incredibly poignant to the family as Ally suffered from Chronic Kidney Disease. They didn’t know exactly how she had gotten it, but to help her kidneys perform the function they couldn’t do on their own, Ally had to have regular dialysis sessions at home. The family had all been willing to donate one of their own kidneys to her, however, in a cruel twist of fate, for whatever reason, they weren’t a match. Ally had been on the national donor list for a year now but there was still no sign of a match.
So to help her sister and in her parent’s honor, she would do this.
For them. For Ally. Despite how she wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out again, Tyler would do this for her family. She would do whatever was necessary to save her sister and be reunited with her.
A knock sounded on the door, startling her from her thoughts.
A guy stood there with curly black afro hair and dark caramel skin. He was a few years older than Tyler and carried himself with an air of gentleness. Dressed in an old leather biker jacket that seemed slightly too large for him, he shot her a quick smile that lit up his face and made his hazel eyes sparkle.
“Hey. I’m Si. Looks like my sister is going to be your roommate.” His voice was rich and deep and filled with a warmth that Tyler found herself instantly intrigued by.
“Hi, I’m Tyler,” she replied as Si’s eyes ran across her neat unpacking.
“Wow, a girl who packs lightly. Thought I’d never see the day.”
Tyler smiled but didn’t respond, not really sure what to say. It wasn’t like she was going to go into her whole sad story. Si looked away as his sister arrived. Having met the brother already, whatever she had expected his sister to be, she was wrong. Tyler found herself staring at a younger, female version of Si, except this girl had a big mass of corkscrew curls and wore dark, almost black lipstick. Her hair was dyed a harsh, unnatural black with red tips that looked almost like blood, and she was dressed in dark clothing popular with Goths. Tyler had to blink twice at her, having never seen a Black Goth before. She came into the room — reluctantly Tyler thought — took one look at her, then the room and immediately spun around.