by Cox, Suzanne
“You’re kidding. That would be so awesome on horses. Do you know anybody who has one we could ride?”
Louise rolled her eyes. “Alexis. I’m trying to tell you how easily you could get hurt.”
“But I didn’t get hurt and I wouldn’t have.”
“You were standing up on a jet-ski steering with your foot. That’s an accident that’s not even waiting to happen. It’s on the verge of happening.”
“Was I really?”
“Were you what?”
“Steering with my foot.”
“You don’t remember?”
“Kind of, but not really. If I think hard and try to replay it in my mind I can see what’s happening. Only it’s a blur, like I was zoned out or something.”
Louise leaned toward me. “Like you were zoned out, or you were zoned out?”
I played with the door handle, not sure if I could put it into words. “The whole world shut down. There was only me and the course. I don’t remember thinking of getting all the fints and jawas while it was happening. I saw myself on the course, in my head, for an instant before I started and then my body did it, like pre-programmed. I can’t explain how I could do what I did, but it felt good. Do you know what I mean?”
Louise studied me. For the first time I saw her as more than my aunt. She was in her mid thirties and fit like an athlete.
“You’ve played bodinwa before, haven’t you?”
Gripping the steering wheel of the parked car Louise faced forward. “Yes, I have.”
“You’re good like me, huh?”
The dark head nodded. “But I still don’t want you doing that again. Mr. Branton can teach you some of the tricks and how to be safe, but not hot-dogging.”
“That’s not what it was, Aunt Louise. I did it because I knew I could. I’m not sure how I knew, but I did.”
The car door snapped open and Aunt Louise climbed out. Before I could move she’d bent back in so she could stare at me with her steely eyes. “Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.”
The door slammed and she strode into the house, leaving me sitting in the hot car. I’d only been here a week, and it already felt like a lifetime.
***
“What kind of bird will live in my house, ‘Lexis?”
A desperate one I thought, but pretended to study the seriously odd collection of popsicles sticks Jared had glued together. You weren’t supposed to have favorites or at least you weren’t supposed to act like you did. That’s what Aunt Louise had told me. But Jared, with his black hair and shiny dark eyes had attached to me the first day, and I had attached right back. We resembled each other enough to have been brother and sister, which I thought was neat because I was an only child and liked the idea of a little brother.
“I’m not sure, Jared, but I bet he’ll be really happy when he moves in.”
The boy nodded and glued on another stick. I glanced across to one of the other picnic tables where Channing was filing her nails while her kids did their arts and crafts project.
Channing had spent the past two days reviewing her weekend. While her parents had gone on a trip, her twenty-three year old cousin picked her and her shadows up and took them to New Orleans. Channing had offered to take me with them next time, but I doubted Louise would let me go. Maybe I’d ask anyway, next time.
I turned back to help one of the kids put paint on her birdhouse, and a shadow fell across the table.
“Hi, Alexis.”
Eric had appeared from nowhere and was now standing beside my table. My palms suddenly felt sweaty.
“Ummm… Hi Eric.”
Great, Hi Eric. Why couldn’t I think of an interesting conversation starter? Why couldn’t I think at all?
He sat on the bench of the picnic table. “How do you like living in Louisiana so far?”
“It’s okay, kind of hot.” What was I saying? This place was a sweaty prison, and he was the only nice thing that had happened. Except for Bodinwa, but that had ended badly. Of course my interest in Eric could eventually lead to a similar bad ending.
“Only kind of?”
“Yeah, it’s really hot.” I’d already noticed how his shirt stuck to his chest, which was a nice thing about the heat.
“What are you doing here?”
“I work with my dad in the summer. He has a construction business and we’re building that new building.” He nodded his head in the direction of a half finished cabin.
“Are you going to Channing’s party Friday?”
“Yeah, are you?”
I hadn’t asked to go yet, but I was counting on a yes and hoping Aunt Louise wasn’t holding the bodinwa thing against me.
“He better be there.”
Channing had left her table and now grabbed Eric’s arm and was holding it next to her body.
I thought he seemed uncomfortable, but that could have been wishful thinking.
“I need to get back to work.”
He pulled himself loose and walked away. I wondered if he’d have stayed longer if Channing hadn’t butted in. I’d never know. The other girl studied me for a few seconds, then left without a word, an obvious stay away from the guy I’m interested in even if he’s not interested in me warning.
***
“Alexis, are we going to have this drama every week?”
“No, only when you make such a big deal over me asking to go to a friend’s house.”
Louise leaned against the kitchen counter. “I’m not making a big deal. I’m saying that we have plans on Friday night.”
“You have plans. And there’s no reason that you, Mr. Branton and the Sanfords can’t get together like you always do. I don’t have to be here for it.”
“That would be rude to Brynna and Myles.”
I tried not to give a self satisfied smile. “They’re going too.”
Louise’s brows narrowed. “Are you sure? I haven’t heard their parents mention it.”
Rocking onto the back legs of the chair, I shrugged.
“Maybe they haven’t asked yet.”
“Maybe I’ll call them.” Louise watched me between narrowed slits of eyelids for several seconds.
I rubbed my fingernails against my shorts, then pretended to check them for cleanliness. “Maybe you should.”
I knew, in fact, that Brynna and Myles were asking permission to go right now. I wished the decision was up to my mom. I’d never had to do all this asking and convincing before. Maybe because Louise never had any children she thought you were supposed to be on top of them every minute, which was completely ridiculous.
With the phone in hand Louise paused, squinted at me, then put it down.
“What?”
“I’ll give them a few minutes.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll let Brynna and Myles have a little more time to get their story out before I call.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
She snorted. “This is beginning to smell a lot like a planned attack to me.”
The phone rang, letting me off the hook from having to come up with a response. But maybe Aunt Louise hadn’t been expecting one. Louise put the phone down and went to stir the beans she had cooking on the stove. “I guess you’re going.”
I smiled. “Thanks, I promise it will be fine.”
“It better be. And I’ll take you and drop you off.”
Not this again. “Please, can’t I ride the four-wheeler?”
“No, it will be too dark.”
“What if you drop me off and pick me up down the road?”
Louise put the spoon down and crossed her arms. “I’ll let you out and pick you up at Brynna’s. You can walk over from her house.”
I nodded. It was better than the alternative which was being dropped at Channing’s doorstep. I decided there was no point in arguing about driving her car. She’d been adamant that wasn’t going to happen. I trotted up the steps to my room to gather up my dirty things and headed
back downstairs to the laundry room to wash my clothes. Placing the pile on top of the front loading washer, I opened the cabinet and filled the cup with liquid detergent then poured it in the receptacle in the washer. I picked up the clothes watching a pair of underwear slide over the side and into the space between the washer and dryer. With a sigh, I stuffed my armload into the washer while wondering how I’d reach the underwear.
I stepped back, stared, then turned to the closet and pulled out a broom. Poking the stick end in the crack, I fished for them, finally dragging out the underwear. Something else came with them. In the other room Louise clattered some plates and I tore my gaze away from the floor to watch the door for a second. My eyes were drawn back to the item I’d uncovered.
The yellow t-shirt wasn’t mine. I bent over to study it, not wanting to put my hands on it. Dried blood, lots of blood, was crusted all over the shirt. My heart slammed against my ribcage. This was Louise’s shirt. I was almost certain she’d worn it sometime that first weekend I’d come here. I slid the shirt back and forth along the floor with the broom stick then decidedly shoved it back into the space between the washer and dryer. Nausea made thick bile rise in my throat, and I could hardly take a breath. The sheriff had wondered if I’d been out the night the woman had been killed. I hadn’t. But maybe Louise had.
Chapter Twelve
I waved to Louise and walked toward Brynna’s front door, but as soon as she was out of sight, I shot around to the back. I had no intention of showing up at the party with Brynna.
“Hey, did they tell you Brynna left already?”
I halted in mid flight as Bailey, the more normal of the Sanford children, came around the corner of the house.
“I didn’t see her outside, so I thought I’d go on.”
The younger girl nodded. “Don’t know how you got Brynna to go to a party like that anyway.”
I shrugged.
“I wish I could go. They have really cool parties.”
“Do they?”
“Yeah, I watch them from a tree over there sometimes.” The girl pointed in the direction of a group of trees between the two houses.
I made a mental note that Brynna’s sister might at anytime be watching me when I was outside.
“I’ll be seeing you.”
I escaped to the edge of the lake and followed it to Channing’s house, which already vibrated with music and moving bodies. Someone scooped a plastic cup full of red liquid and handed it to me the instant I walked through the door. I took a drink and swallowed hard. An entire bottle of alcohol must have been dumped in the mix. I took another drink, got used to the taste and took a third. As the liquid churned into my stomach I remembered the nightmares and put the cup down.
At the top of the stairs, Channing and Jana, both wearing silky short dresses with thin straps on their shoulders, danced wildly, holding on to the banister. Channing bent forward and the top of her dress flapped open, but she didn’t seem to care. Jana had her hands on her butt, rotating it in circles, steadily pulling the dress up until her tiny white panties showed. I wondered if this was what Bailey meant when she said they had cool parties, but I doubted it.
Across the room, I spotted Brynna next to the wall, frowning. I kept scanning the room and finally found him. Eric. He was with a group of guys. Myles was with them and dipped his head when he caught my eye and shook a can of soda at me. Eric turned too and looked at me with that hard stare he’d given me the day at the lake with Channing. He’d been friendly the last two times I’d seen him, so I didn’t know exactly what this look meant.
“There’s food in the kitchen if you’re hungry.” Celina caught my arm and dragged me away, ending the moment with Eric. We stopped in the kitchen among platters of food
“Where did this come from?” I knew Channing certainly didn’t cook it.
Celina swallowed a shrimp. “Channing called the caterer her parents use for all their parties.”
I filled a plate and slid onto a barstool to eat. Celina disappeared into the other room, but before I finished the first mouthful, Myles and Eric came in and loaded plates. Myles sat on a stool beside me but Eric placed his plate next to me and stood at the bar.
I sipped from the plastic cup I’d rescued from the table, after I’d decided one nightmare wouldn’t kill me. Myles tapped his soda can on the counter. “Be careful with that stuff. It’s harsh. You should drink soda.”
“I didn’t come to a party to drink soda.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s a party and you’re supposed to drink the punch.”
“She does have a point.” Eric added and turned up his cup.
As I lifted my glass again, Myles grabbed my arm. His usual smile was missing. “I mean it, be careful.”
I was shocked at first. Then the strong drink got the best of me, and I giggled. “Yes sir.”
Myles shook his head. “Some people have to learn the hard way.”
“Yep, that’s me. I have to learn the hard way.”
Myles frowned then got up from his stool without a word and left. Eric took his seat.
“I’m glad you came tonight.”
For a moment I couldn’t look at him, couldn’t collect my thoughts.
“Why…” I took a breath. “Why were you looking at me like you were furious a minute ago?”
“Was I?”
“You know you were. You did the same thing that day I saw you on the lake when I was with Channing. Now you’re completely different. What did I do to make you so mad?”
“You haven’t done anything, I guess.”
“You guess?”
He was quiet for a moment, sliding his cup back and forth along the counter. He sighed. “You showed up here, in Lebeaux.”
My heart stopped. He was angry that I was even here?
I pulled away from him slightly. “I didn’t have any say in coming here. I promise you I didn’t want to.”
Catching my upper arm, he pulled me toward him. “You know I don’t mean it like that.”
“How do you mean it?” I asked, barely able to get the words out.
“I can’t seem to get you out of my head, Alexis.”
I stared at his hand still on my knee, fingers tightening then relaxing, making my stomach flutter in response. His hair brushed the side of my face as he leaned closer, his next words soft against my ear.
“This isn’t going to be a good thing, you know.”
I nodded. I knew exactly what he meant. The thought made the blood pound in my head so severely it drowned out nearly every other sound, except him.
“Channing likes you.”
“She wants to date me.”
I forced myself to lean away so I could see his face. “Is there a difference?”
He squeezed my knee. “A big difference. I’m not dating Channing, never have…” He paused, let go of my leg, grabbed his drink, took several gulps then set it back on the counter. “And I never will.”
He bent forward to rest his forehead against mine, breathing the sweet fruitiness of the punch against my skin. “I want to dance…with you.”
I shivered with uncertainty. No matter what social circles I’d learned to adeptly navigate, I wasn’t the girl that cute guys, that any guys, asked to dance. Probably why the cute, popular girls let me be their friend, no threat from a plain, average Jane. I glanced at the punch and wondered if it had an inner truth serum in it because I’d never had that particular revelation before. Eric caught a wisp of my hair and tugged it, pulling my mind back to the question at hand. Truth serum? The truth was, at the moment, I wanted to dance with Eric about as much as I needed to breath.
A fresh drink had appeared next to me though I didn’t know how it got there. Not that I really cared. I took two giant swallows and stood.
“Is this a yes?” Eric held out his hand.
I took it. “Yes.”
The other room was dark, and the music thumped louder as we entered. I stumbled and Eric caught my arm.<
br />
“You okay?”
His words sounded a little slurred. When I looked at him, his eyes were bright in the low light. Had we drank that much? I didn’t think so, yet my legs wobbled slightly with each step I took.
In the huge living room, bodies were crammed together and Eric pulled me closer than I expected. Everyone around us was pressed tightly together, some kissing and others doing more than a little kissing on the mouth. Another couple bumped us and Eric put his mouth to my neck and nuzzled then kissed. I liked it and moved my body more to the beat of the music. My head was dizzy. I couldn’t see well in the flashing lights, but I could have sworn a girl’s shirt had been pulled off. I leaned my head back only to see Jana with her dress to her waist, dancing feverishly with a guy I hadn’t met. The strap of my own dress slipped down and before I could pull it up the dress was tugged nearly off me. I grabbed at it and Eric smiled then bent and nipped my bare shoulder. Then from nowhere a hand grabbed my upper arm and spun me around.
Channing leaned in toward me, her pupils bright and visible even in the dark. “I want to dance with Eric now.”
“Um, sure.”
She gave me a shove, sending me flying across the room. I slammed into the back of the sofa just as Myles caught me. The tempo of the music changed and the room came alive with thrashing bodies. I could see Channing had taken Eric’s shirt off and pulled the hem of her dress up near her waist as she gyrated in front of him.
“I think we should go now,” Myles said.
“No, I want to stay. It’s just starting.”
“I know. That’s what I’m afraid of.”
“I’ve got thirty minutes before Aunt Louise picks me up at Brynna’s and I’m staying.”
“In thirty minutes you won’t be worth picking up, that is if you would even remember how to get back to the house. Which if you didn’t she’d come hunt you down, and you’d be in deep shit then, Alexis.”
“I’m going to dance with Eric again.”
From behind Myles someone said “Oh, my God.” Then before I realized it, Brynna had me by the shoulders propelling me through the crowd and out the front door. I wasn’t even sure I walked. I thought, momentarily, Brynna might have lifted me completely off the ground, which made me laugh. Myles was right, I was smashed.