by Lara Henley
“Come on you two, take your seats so we can eat,” Aunt Silvia said as she sat a dish of lasagna down on the table.
Russ and Lizzy moved into their sets. “Russ will you say the prayer.” My aunt has prayer before meals. My mother always had prayer before meals. I had no idea if I was in heaven or hell. This place truly made me miss my parents. It even made me miss my friend Lucy. Speaking of Lucy, I needed to look her up tomorrow. Russ said the prayer and the family began to pass the food around. I couldn’t help but smile. Even little Lee put his game down and was engaging in the meal. They talked about their days and their plans for the weekend. They reminded me of the Cosby’s. I honestly didn’t think that families like that existed. I thought about the story Drake told me, and maybe, just maybe, it could come true one day.
“So Misty, what are your plans?” Russ asked, breaking me from my thoughts.
“Um, I don’t know. I thought I’d try to find a job. I don’t have any skills though.” Russ rubbed his head.
“I think I can help you out. I know the owner of the diner over on Pico Street. I can give him a call and see if he has any openings for a waitress.”
“Oh honey, that would be great,” Aunt Silvia said before I could answer.
“That would be great. It would cut out time looking for a job.”
“Done, I’ll call them tomorrow.”
“Thank you so much Russ. I don’t even know how to thank you.” I picked up my fork and continued to eat.
“It’s not a problem, Misty, we are family.” There was that word family again. It was so nice to sit around a table and eat together, and the food was amazing.
“This lasagna is amazing Aunt Silvia.” She winked at me and I had two more platefuls before I stopped eating. I was as stuffed as a pig. I didn’t think I could remember a time that I ate so much.
“Mommy, can I show Misty my room,” Lizzy asked.
“Not tonight honey. We got a late start. It’s bath time and then off to bed. You have school in the morning.”
“Aww, but that’s not fair.”
“I tell you what, Lizzy. As soon as you come home from school tomorrow, you can show me your room. We can have a tea party.” Her eyes got big with excitement and I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Oh, I can’t wait! Mommy can I be excused?” Aunt Silvia nodded and Lizzy shot up and ran up to her room. She was such an animated girl that I couldn’t help but feel bad for Lee. He was just so quiet and reserved. Made me want to know what was going on in that head of his. I was going to have to go to the library and look up Asperger’s. I wanted to know effective ways to try and communicate with him. Once the kids were upstairs Aunt Silvia and I went to the living room. Russ (or Uncle Russ) went into his office.
“Ok, baby girl. Let me have it,” she looks at me with worry and sadness in her eyes.
“What do you mean?” I knew she wanted to know what had happened over the years. I didn’t want to talk about those dark times.
“Tell me about your life. I have missed so much of it.” She sipped a cup of piping hot coffee she had brought with her to our chat.
“I will admit it wasn’t all fun and games, but I survived it. It isn’t something I like to rehash. It’s over and I’m here with you now. I want to move forward with my life. No looking back.”
“Baby girl that is the saddest thing I have ever heard. No 18 year old should sound like the world is a doomed place. You are supposed to be happy and carefree. I guess this is my fault.” She started to cry again. I reached over and wiped the tears off her cheek. I felt a small electric spark when I touched her. I didn’t know what it was, but I felt an instant connection to her. I think she felt it too because she stopped crying and had a puzzled look on her face.
“I’m tired. Do you think we could continue this conversation tomorrow?”
“Of course, you must be dead tired.” She hugged me and pointed for me to go up to my room.
“Goodnight Aunt Silvia,” I said going up the stairs.
“Goodnight baby girl.”
Once inside my room I changed and crawled into bed. All I could think about at this point was having a relationship with my aunt and family. It was a good thought as I drifted off into a deep sleep.
Chapter 10
Drake
When I saw her fall to the ground my heart almost stopped. She had been through so much earlier in the day. She couldn’t take too much more. I got out of my truck and ran to her aide. Her aunt seemed to be a lovely woman. I waited until I thought she was safe before I left. When she told me to call her I was overjoyed. That meant she wanted to see me again.
The drive to my parents’ house seemed to take an eternity. When I finally pulled up to what I called a baby mansion I stayed in the car for a bit. I wasn’t ready to go in and face them about my life choices. It was completely dark out and I could see the lights in the house were on. That meant they were home. Sighing, I got out of my truck and made my way up to the garage to punch in the code to get in. I decided to greet my parents before unloading the truck. My dad would probably help me get the stuff out. Our house was the biggest on the block. We had a 4,000 square foot home made completely of fire red brick. The trim of the house was a creamy gold color. It was very pleasing to the eye. My mother was a wanna be decorator. She never made a real business out of it, but she did decorate quite a few homes and businesses.
As the garage door pulled up I was taken back to the time Sara and I got caught having sex in there. We had just gotten back from the beach and we were hot for each other all day. We swam, we ate, and we made out. I wanted her so badly when we got home that I took her right then and there. Well needless to say, my mother walked in on us. She was not at all happy about her son doing it in the garage at the age of sixteen. She had my dad have the sex talk with me. If they only knew Sara and I had lost our virginity to each other six months earlier. With the garage door finally up, I walked to the door that leads into the house and opened it. I saw the last thing I expected.
I saw legs in the air and groaning sounds coming from the couch in the living room. Oh God, did I just walk in on my parents? In twenty-one years of life I have never once walked in on them. It could be due to the fact that they were never around. I cleared my throat as hard as I could. My dad popped up from the couch.
“Shoot, son! We weren’t expecting you for a few hours.” My father’s face had turned beet red.
“Yeah, I got in a little while ago, but I stopped at a friend’s house before I came home. I made really good time.” Misty was no friend of mine, she was my future. My mother poked her little head up and smiled sheepishly.
“I’ll just go get my stuff out of the car and pretend this never happened,” I said.
“Good idea. I’ll help you in a few minutes,” he said, as I turned to walk back out. I heard my mom giggling and saying something under her breath. Yeah, now that image would be burned into my head forever. I just shook my head. At least they still had that fire in their relationship. When I got to my truck, I began to unload the contents when my phone buzzed. I hoped it wasn’t Sara. I didn’t want to be bothered right now. I pulled it out and started smiling from ear to ear. It was from Misty.
Hey Drake. It’s Misty. Just wanted to say Goodnight before I went to sleep. I had a lovely dinner with my family. I’m really tired. I hope you call me tomorrow. TTYL
Me: Goodnight Peaches. Glad you had a nice dinner. I wouldn’t miss calling you even if the world were ending.
I put the phone back in my pocket, took a box from the trunk and turned around. My dad was standing there. He nearly scared the piss right out of me. I jumped back so hard that I dropped the box I had in my arms.
“Jesus Dad! You scared the crap out of me!” He was laughing so hard he was hunched over.
“Sorry I thought you heard me walk up,” he said after slowing his laughter. I noticed a difference in my father. It was like he had softened up a bit. He was no longer the inaccessible attorney who had be
en hard on me, always pushing me to be the best. Seeing him look so carefree was odd to me.
“I’m glad I can amuse you,” I said because he was looking at me and smiling ear to ear.
“Sorry, I thought it was funny. It looked like you were going to pee yourself!”
“I nearly did! It is pitch dark out here and you’re sneaking up on people.” I think I probably would have heard him if I wasn’t engrossed in reading the text from Misty.
“Come on. Let’s get you unloaded and into the house,” he said while grabbing the box I had dropped.
Over the next hour, my father and I carried my stuff to my room. I figured that he would start in on me about my career choice, but he didn’t. He helped me without saying too much.
“So are you happy you are out of school?” Who the hell was this man?
“Yeah, I guess. I’m eager to start at The Gallery next week.” I prepared myself for him.
“I’m glad son. You should do what you love. You should follow your path in life. Did you know I wanted to be an actor when I was younger? Your grandfather wouldn’t have it. He made me follow his job choice. I regret giving you hell about your art history major. It’s what you love.” I had no idea what to say to him. Who was this man standing before me?
“Where is all of this coming from Dad? You seem to be so different. The last time we spoke you were riding my ass. You said I had no future.” I remembered the conversation like it was yesterday. I was studying for my finals and my dad called me. He told me it was a wasted career choice. That the art industry was going downhill. He grilled me for about twenty minutes before I was able to get him off the phone.
“Well, I just woke up one morning and regretted it all Drake. I was never really there for you and Sean. Look how Sean turned out. He is twenty-five years old, working at McDonalds, and lives with us. I should have just loved you both and not pushed so hard. I am trying to get Sean to grow up, but it’s not working. Maybe you can talk to him. I am thinking of retiring early and taking some time to get to know you boys. Be the father that I should have been.” I couldn’t even speak. This was the father I always wanted. I wanted to be accepted for who I was, not what he wanted me to be.
“Dad, I have no idea what to say. I love you and I’m sure things will be ok.”
“I’m sure they will son. I just hope I’m not too late with Sean. I know that you and I will work out our differences.” My dad strolled over to me and hugged me as though he never hugged me in my life. I was seeing a brand new man.
“I’ll let you unpack. Your mother cooked. We left you a plate in the oven.” What the hell?! She cooked? She never cooked.
“Have I entered the Twilight Zone? Mom doesn’t cook. She has never cooked a single meal my whole life, and all of sudden she is cooking and you are retiring.” My dad just gave me a dumb-looking smile.
“What can I say, we are changing Drake. She’s taking cooking classes and I must say they are paying off. You will see.” He turned and walked out of my room, shutting the door behind him.
I sat on my bed dumbfounded. I looked around my room to see they had changed it a bit. It felt like it had been ages since I’d been here. Normally I came home for the holidays, but I guess it had been almost a year since my last visit. My room was very big by today’s standards. I had a king size bed that sat in the middle of the room. There was a walk in closet and an attached bath. Most people would think this was a master bedroom. Our house, correction my parents’ house, consisted of five bedrooms, four baths, two living areas, and a basement. I loved my room; it was my oasis. I had the walls painted a cream color and I had a black and white bedspread on my bed. My parents thought it best to change it to a brown oriental theme. I would have to hunt down my old comforter. I started to put my things away when I heard a small knock on the door. “Oh Lord, what else can they shock me with today,” I said to myself.
“Come in,” I yelled out. The door opened slowly and she was standing there.
“What are you doing here, Sara?” She looked so different. Her hair was now jet black and she seemed to have lost some weight. Had everyone in my life changed and I missed it? Her eyes were bloodshot from crying. She made it perfectly clear she never wanted to speak to me again, but now here she is. I should have known I couldn’t get rid of here that easily.
“I wanted to see you. I wanted to talk things over.” Oh now she just wants to talk after wishing me dead and calling me an asshole.
“There is nothing to talk about, Sara. We just need a break.” I was in mid-sentence when There Goes my Baby by Usher went off on my phone.
“It’s someone else isn’t it, Drake? I knew it had to be. You wouldn’t just break up with me out of the blue.” She strolled over to me as I was looking at Misty’s picture on the phone. Why was she calling? I moved the phone away when Sara came closer.
“Hey, can I call you back in a few minutes; I’m in the middle of something,” I said as I answered the phone.
“Sure. I’ll be waiting.” I ended the call. I didn’t want her to know that Sara was in the room with me.
“Who was that, Drake?” Sara’s arms were folded and she was tapping her foot.
“No one that concerns you. Listen, what we had is over. We both just need to move on.” She smirked at me and moved closer. Although she looked a bit different, she looked the same. She was still wearing the Lady Gaga perfume that would drive me nuts. She took the phone from my hands and threw it on the bed.
“What are you doing?”
“Shh, you used to like when I did this.” She pulled my face close with her hands and pressed her lips against mine. I had to admit it felt good. It felt familiar. It’d been awhile since I’d gotten any. Sara always got her way with me.
The kiss grew deeper. She pushed us onto the bed and straddled me. I ran my hands through her hair getting lost in her. She started to kiss down my neck making it feel even better.
“See, don’t you miss this? Don’t you miss us?” I actually kind of did. I was getting more and more confused by the minute.
“I’ll never hurt you, Drake, I’ll never leave you.” She was pulling at my shirt when everything came flooding back to me. I was about to make a huge mistake.
“No, Sara, we can’t do this.” I pushed her off me. “You need to go now.”
“But, Drake…..” I cut her off again.
“No, Sara, we are over. Please just go. This was a mistake.” She opened her mouth to say something, but then quickly closed it.
“You have hurt me more than you know and I will not forget it!” She stormed out and slammed the door so hard that my picture of Kyle and me surfing in Cabo fell off the dresser and broke into a million pieces.
I immediately grabbed my phone and dialed Misty back. It had to be pretty important for her to have called me. She picked up on the very first ring.
“Hey, Peaches, is everything ok?” I asked with fear in my voice.
“Yeah, I had a nightmare and I can’t sleep. I didn’t want to concern anyone in the house.” I was afraid of this happening. I knew there would be consequences from what that bastard had done.
“Was it about what happened earlier? Gosh baby. It’s entirely my fault. I wish I was there with you now.” I lay down on my back and held the phone to my ear.
“It’s not your fault that he tried to do what he did, Drake. You were there before anything really happened. I just can’t put it out of my mind is all. I wish you were here too.” She sounded so sexy in her sleepy voice.
“Baby, I can be there in less than ten minutes. I’ll hold you all night to help you sleep.” She chuckled a bit.
“I’d love that, but I don’t know how my aunt would feel about it.”
“Well in that case, how about I stay on the phone with you until you fall asleep?”
“That would be awesome. What shall we talk about? I’ve never really talked to a guy on the phone,” she answered.
“Whatever you like, I’m an open book.”
Misty and I ended up talking for hours. We didn’t get off the phone until damn near 2 a.m. She was so tired when we hung up. She had fallen asleep on the phone twice. We agreed to meet up in the afternoon, if her aunt wasn’t busy with her, so I could show her around the town. I wasn’t able to finish unpacking since it was late, so I got up and went to take a piss and a shower before bed. When I was washing my hands I noticed a red mark on my neck. “Shit a hickie!” Sara gave me a hickie. How would I explain this? It was always freaking something! This is what I got for letting her get her way. Maybe it would go away by tomorrow. Who was I kidding? I never had that much luck. I jumped in the enormous shower and quickly washed my body and readied myself for bed. As I dozed off, my last thoughts were of Misty.
Chapter 11
Misty
I woke up to the pitter patter of little feet in the hallway. My guess was that it was Lee and Lizzy getting ready for school. I heard Lizzy ask her mother if she could wake me for breakfast. Aunt Silvia told her to let me sleep. The last thing I remembered was Drake’s sweet voice telling me goodnight. I had a terrible dream and he was kind enough to stay awake with me until I could fall asleep.
I had felt that creep’s hands on my body, I felt him getting ready to rape me. The image of his face was burned into my memory and I woke up in a cold sweat. The sweat was so bad that my sheets were completely soaked. I began sobbing into my pillow. How could I let that bastard corner me like that? I knew better than to not know my surroundings. I felt so alone and lost again. I wish Drake could’ve killed him or chopped his balls off so he couldn’t hurt anyone else. What if Drake goes to jail for beating him? I would never forgive myself, NEVER.
I got up to take a shower because just thinking about it made me feel dirty. I scrubbed and scrubbed my body until it was nearly raw. When I got out the only thing I wanted to do was curl up in a ball and die. Instead, I called Drake and he turned my mood around. He was such a sweet guy and almost too good to be true. It scared me a bit that I’d grown so attached to him so fast. I sat up in the bed and noticed that it was raining outside. Probably why I slept like the dead the second half of the night. I loved the rain. It was so soothing and I always thought it was God’s way of washing the earth clean. My mother had always said that cleanliness was next to Godliness. I stretched my arms out then went to my bag to pull some clothes out. They were a sorry excuse for clothes but they were all I had. I needed to get a job quick so I could update my wardrobe.