Two-Faced

by Melissa Pearl

  “Yeah, it’s going okay.”

  “You’re keeping the lines of communication open, like I suggested?”

  “Yes, Mom.” I tried not to groan. Mom was all about talking it through, but she hadn’t met Piper yet and she definitely hadn’t met her on a bad day. That girl could get in a mood. Personally, I didn’t know how Scott handled her, but when it came to Piper, he had finesse like no other. I didn’t know why he was studying creative writing and literature; he should’ve been joining the circus. He’d make a world-class lion tamer.

  I grinned at my own joke and shook my head, tuning back into my mother’s voice.

  “...You’re going to be with her for the rest of the year. You want to enjoy it.”

  “I am enjoying it.” Mostly.

  I picked at my navy blue blanket with the peach trim.

  “Good. I just want you to be happy, sweetie.”

  “I am, Mom, really.” Kind of.

  I threw a small ball of lint onto the floor.

  “And Eric? How’s he doing?” I could picture Mom standing in the kitchen, leaning against the counter as she stared out the window out our large back deck. The counter would be covered with all colors of vegetables as she prepared dinner for her and my dad.

  “He’s good.” I grinned, my insides warming at the very mention of his name. “He’s taking me out soon, so I better get going.”

  “Where to?”

  “The basketball game. Eric’s stepbrother is playing tonight.”

  “Oh, well, isn’t that wonderful.”

  “Yeah, it—“

  The door clicked open and I glanced up to eye my stunning roommate. Her sharp green eyes hit me, her right eyebrow raising a touch as she spotted the pile of clothes I’d ever so neatly dumped on the floor.

  “Mom, I gotta go.”

  “Okay, I was just calling to invite you to lunch on Sunday. Layla’s coming over with the kids and they’ve been asking to see their Aunt Caity.”

  I grinned.

  “Okay, I’ll try to make it.”

  “Wonderful. Around midday.”

  “Okay.”

  “Later, Mom.”

  “Bye, honey.”

  I touched the red END button and dropped my phone on the bed.

  “Sorry about that.” Shuffling to the end of my bed, I grabbed the clothes on the floor and began folding them.

  Piper didn’t say anything, but gave me one more pointed look before hanging her bag on the hook behind the door and pulling out her laptop.

  I stood and straightened my shirt. I probably should have tried for some kind of communication, like Mom said, but I didn’t want to. The disappointment that things weren’t working out really stung. The first time I met Piper, I thought she was cool. Her and Scott met with me while I was in the middle of my Liam/Mason crisis. Scott used to know Mason a long time ago.

  I was so friendly and warm when Piper first walked into the dorm room, but after a month of messiness, she couldn’t hack it anymore and totally went off at me, telling me I was a messy slob and she couldn’t live like this. She drew an invisible line down the center of the room and we basically hadn’t spoken since.

  I opened my mouth to tell her I was getting ready to go out, but changed my mind. Instead, I flagged the idea of getting changed. Grabbing my phone off the bed and my cards out of my wallet, I shoved them in the back pocket of my skinny jeans and quietly left.

  Closing the door behind me, I leaned against it and let out another sigh.

  A year of this? Could I honestly bear it?

  I’d had such high hopes for college. I had dreamed up so many scenarios — my going to class and being completely rapped by lectures, me studying hard in the library, Eric surprising me and sneaking us into a dark back corner where we could make out, Piper and I having girly-movie nights, eating chocolate and swooning over gorgeous actors.

  None of that had happened. College was turning into a hard slog and I’d only been there five weeks.

  My phone buzzed and I pulled it out of my back pocket.

  Running late. See you downstairs in ten.

  I smiled at Eric’s text. He was always so good at keeping me in the loop. Sending a quick reply, I took my time heading down the hall, stopping to use the bathroom on the way so I didn’t have to subject myself to long lines at the game.

  As I wandered down the hall, my mind walked through the rest of the evening. I wondered where Eric and I would end up after the game. An image of a cool, sandy beach fled through my mind and I grinned. Oh yeah, that’s what I’d be pushing for.

  4

  Eric

  Caity was waiting for me when I got there. I ran across the grass toward her, collecting her in my arms and giving her a tight squeeze. She giggled into my neck and kissed me before I lowered her back to the ground. Her smile was gorgeous, and I had to kiss her one more time before I could take her hand and walk her to the game.

  “So, how’s my girl?”

  “Great.” She grinned, but it looked forced. She’d seemed a little off throughout the week and I was trying to figure out why. My guess was Liam’s death. We’d chatted about it a bit, but hadn’t really had time to get into it. I wondered if I should raise the issue on the weekend. I was hoping to go surfing and figured she might like to come along. I hadn’t asked her, but was confident she’d say yes. I loved the way she liked to watch me surf. Not because I was an arrogant prick and liked to show off, more because I liked having her as part of it. She surfed a little, but didn’t love it as much as I did.

  The ocean did something to me that I couldn’t explain. Everything around me fell into place when I was on the water. I could think clearly, see clearly and I loved losing myself in the movement of the waves beneath my board.

  I’d never experienced anything that could take me outside of myself like that.

  Making out with Caity was pretty close. I squeezed her hand, thinking about our pre-Christmas getaway.

  “Want to go surfing this weekend?”

  She glanced up at me. “I have lunch with my family on Sunday, but if Saturday works...”

  “Yeah, Saturday’s good.”

  We smiled at each other, but I couldn’t help feeling how out of sync we were that particular week. We’d hung out most evenings like we always did, but Caity wasn’t her usual sparkly self and I didn’t know how to fix it. Maybe I should spill the beans about what I had planned, give her something to look forward to. Glancing down at her pretty face, I decided that after the game, I’d take her out for ice cream and let her in on my little secret.

  Rounding the corner, we merged with the crowd heading for the stadium. I spotted a few classmates and said hello as they walked past, joining in with their banter and enthusiasm over the game. Home games were always the most exciting. I put my hand in my back pocket, double-checking I hadn’t forgotten the tickets. Connor had dropped them off to me the day before, and we’d ended up chatting for an hour. It was really awesome to see him again. He was feeling a little friendless and it felt good to hang with him for a while. It wouldn’t take him long to fit in. The guy was one of the nicest human beings I’d ever met.

  I pulled out the tickets as we neared the gate, handing them over and checking our seat numbers again. Although it was a Wednesday night game, it’d still get a good turnout because it was the first official game of the season. The Bruins’ two exposition games had been dynamite. Coach Bleekman was new and he’d been training hard with the team, pulling their standard up a notch. I’d heard only good things about him. Professor Hoffman was a huge fan and that was good enough for me.

  I glanced at Caity, deciding to keep that piece of news to myself. It still concerned me that she didn’t like the Prof. I didn’t know what she saw in him, but I wished she wouldn’t. I couldn’t imagine that guy having a bad bone in his body. He was too nice...too friendly.

  Leading Caity up the steps, I found our seats easily and nestled down. She placed her fingers on my leg. Man, I loved the
way they felt. Placing my hand on hers, I ran my digits between hers and smiled down at her. The rumble of the crowd surged around us, but it was easy to tune them out when I had the world’s prettiest girl beside me.

  Her eyes warmed when she glanced at me and she didn’t need to say anything. My girl-next-door was head over heels for me and that felt way too good.

  “And please welcome...” the announcer started up, “our guests for the night...The Stanford Cardinals.”

  A cheer went up on the other side of the stadium as the team in red came running onto the court. Caity and I clapped along to welcome them, but actually stood and cheered when the announcer called forth the Bruins.

  I raised my arm and whooped loudly as Connor ran onto the court, his blue and yellow uniform looking pristine.

  “That’s him?” Caity pointed at the court.

  I leaned down to her ear and pointed with her. “Yeah, the guy with the crazy curls.”

  She grinned and raised her hands above her head, clapping loudly.

  We all took our seats as we watched the guys warm up. I kept my eye on Connor, looking for signs of nerves, but he seemed confident, pumped for the game.

  Caity leaned forward in her seat, watching the players with interest. I rested my hand on her back, glad she was getting into it. She’d had a tough few days and I wanted her to switch off and relax a little.

  “I... They...” She spun to face me with a frown.

  “What?” I leaned forward.

  “They seem really hyper.” She pointed at the players in blue.

  My gut sank as I recognized that look on her face. I tried to ignore it and shrugged. “Yeah, they’re probably really pumped for the game.”

  “Yeah, I guess.” Her eyes grew tight at the corners.

  Oh no. What was she seeing?

  “But, Eric, they look really pumped. They’re all twitchy. Look at their eyes and they’re dripping with sweat. The game hasn’t even started yet.”

  I glanced back at the court and frowned. The guys were jumping around like they normally would, their sneakers squeaking on the shiny court as they focussed on each other and the game about to begin. I raised my hand toward them. “What are you talking about, babe? They aren’t sweaty yet. They look completely normal to me.”

  Caity’s blue eyes grew wide and she slowly turned back to the court. My stomach twisted into a tight knot, which I chose to ignore. I didn’t want her seeing anything...not when it came to Connor. If she’d been pointing at the red team, different story, but I wanted her to leave the Bruins alone. I wanted Connor to be the awesome guy I grew up loving. I didn’t want him to have any skeletons in his closet.

  5

  Caitlyn

  It was obvious Eric didn’t like that I was seeing something weird about the Bruins’ players. He kept his eyes on the court, his body moving with the ball as the players dribbled it up and down the court. He jumped up to cheer every time the Bruins scored and I should have joined him, but I couldn’t.

  My eyes were too focused on the players in blue. I’d never seen anything like it. Usually I pulled masks away and saw emotion, but that night I was seeing something completely different. For one, the masks didn’t seem to exist. All I could see were jittery eyes and erratic, jumpy behavior. Skin that would usually have a sweaty shine from exertion was dripping. Their blue shirts were soaked through, big sweat patches taking over so they melded into one soggy piece of fabric. They jumped and shouted, shaking their heads like hyper kids who’d had a bottle of food coloring for breakfast.

  What was going on?

  Were they high?

  I’d never really been around drug users. Drunks, yes. My ex-friends from high school knew how to party. I guess some of them had tried a little weed, but it wasn’t widely spread amongst them. I didn’t feel like I’d witnessed any full-blown highs, but down there on the court...it had to be. There was no other explanation.

  I wanted to yank on Eric’s jeans and pull him back down to sit beside me. I wanted to point out everything I could see, but bunched my fingers into fists and pressed my lips together. He didn’t want to hear it and I didn’t want to ruin the game for him. I’d have to talk to him about it afterwards.

  Slumping back in my seat, I crossed my arms and decided to focus solely on Connor. He was jittery, but not to the same degree as some of the others. I felt bad for Eric. I could tell by the way he talked about Connor on Monday that he idolized the guy. Connor was only a year older than Eric, but Eric obviously thought he was pretty cool.

  At halftime, Eric shot out of his seat and offered to go get us some drinks.

  “I’ll come.”

  “No, that’s okay. You sit and relax.” He shot me a brief smile and patted my leg before taking off so fast I had no chance of catching him.

  I squirmed in my seat, trying to pretend it wasn’t a huge avoidance tactic on his part. Sliding my hands under my thighs, I eyed the stadium, watching those closest to me. I flicked off a few masks to make sure I wasn’t going insane.

  What I saw all seemed standard. The girl two rows down from me kept throwing demure smiles at her boyfriend, but underneath her mask, I could see her nibbling her lip and looking anxious. I wondered what the story was there. Maybe she wasn’t sure if she wanted to be dating the guy. Maybe she was worried how to tell him.

  I looked to my left and spotted a father and son. He was barking down at his boy, telling him off for pulling the finger at the rude heckler behind them. I whipped off his mask and saw his shoulders shaking with mirth, a touch of pride beaming from his smile as he tried to do the right thing and discourage his boy from being rude.

  Turning my attention to the stairs, I waited for Eric to appear with two drinks in hand. The crowd moved up and down the stairs like an army of ants, chatter, banter and laughter merging into a cacophony of sound. I whipped off masks as people passed me and put them back on. Yeah, I still had it.

  Then why couldn’t I replace the masks on the court guys? What I was seeing seemed to have nothing to do with emotion. If they were high, were the drugs in their system messing with me? Could I not spot their emotions because they were masked by whatever toxins were in their bodies?

  “Earth to Caitlyn.”

  I jerked and looked up to see Eric grinning down at me. I hadn’t even seen him come up the stairs. I took the drink off him.

  “Thanks,” I mumbled, popping the straw in my mouth and slurping down the Coke Zero.

  Eric sat down beside me, throwing his arm over the back of my seat. “So, you enjoying the game?”

  I pursed my lips.

  Eric ran his hand up my back, lightly squeezing my neck. “You still seeing...weird stuff?”

  I could tell he didn’t want to ask me that. It was so obvious he wanted me to shake my head and shrug off my initial observations as a mistake. But I couldn’t lie to him. I’d promised I never would. I opened my mouth to tell him the truth when the announcer stole my thunder, welcoming the players back onto the court with his booming voice.

  “Let’s talk about it later,” I shouted, standing up and clapping with the rest of the crowd. I wanted Eric to enjoy the rest of the game.

  “Yeah! All right!” Eric shouted as Connor dunked the ball and jumped away to reposition himself on court.

  Connor’s head was wet with sweat, his brown eyes wild as he ran back, clapping his hands and shouting at his teammates. They slapped each other on the backs as they ran past, stepping into position like hyper five-year-olds at a birthday party. It seemed so off to me and I wished I could explain it.

  I suffered the rest of the game in silence, trying to put masks on the players and failing with every attempt. By the time we left the stadium, I had a screaming headache and all I wanted to do was go to bed and sleep until Christmas.

  “Come on. I want you to meet Connor.” Eric grabbed my hand and pulled me through the crowd, weaving me around the back of the stadium so we could wait outside the entrance to the changing rooms.


  The night air was pleasant with a few stars twinkling above us. I leaned my back against Eric’s long torso. He wrapped his arm around my middle and rested his chin on my head. It was the perfect moment to raise my concerns, but it was too nice to spoil with serious chatter. Crowds of people streamed past us, excitement rippling through the air as people got ready to celebrate the win. I closed my eyes and relished the feel of his body behind me, wanting to lock the sensation into my memory.

  “Oh, here he comes.” Eric gently nudged me away and raised his hand in Connor’s direction.

  Connor spotted us and smiled, a broad one that looked as though it hurt his face.

  “Hey!” he greeted way too loudly. “So, you’re the gorgeous girlfriend.”

  I took the hand thrust toward me and tentatively shook it.

  “Hi, Connor. Nice to meet you.”

  “You, too. Yeah, you, too. Really great.” He grinned, his head bobbing erratically.

  I tried to reciprocate his smile, but his wild-eyed stare was freaking me out. I glanced up at Eric, but he seemed oblivious to Connor’s bizarre facials.

  “So, great win, man.” Eric slapped Connor’s shoulder.

  He threw Eric a dirty look, but replied with a chuckle. “Thanks, man. It was fun.”

  Eric didn’t even flinch, which meant I was the only one who saw the look. I tried in vain to put a mask over Connor’s varying emotions, but I couldn’t.

  “Hey, well, listen, I gotta split. The team is going out for a debrief and a little fun, but I’ll catch you guys tomorrow, maybe?”

  “Yeah, for sure.” Eric and Connor pointed at each other as Connor walked away.

  With a wide grin, Eric looked down at me, reaching for my hand and pulling me away from the stadium.