Anything Less Than Everything

by Adkins, Heather

  “We dated in high school, you know.” It took me a second to realize she meant Aaron and her. Her smile was so catty, but I knew she was looking for a reaction, so I refused to give one.

  “Oh?” I said nonchalantly. “He never mentioned it.” Her smile froze in place. Score one for Brooke.

  “Well,” she said, recovering. “How long have you two been together?” Now it was my turn to freeze. She thought we were a couple. Interesting. That explained the cattiness, but it also explained why she approached me. She wanted to know what kind of claim I had on Aaron, to size up the competition. Part of me wanted to play along, to keep her away from him for his own good, but I knew I’d end up looking like an idiot when the truth came out in the end. I looked around for Aaron and met his gaze. He smiled at me. I really wished he would come over to bail me out, but it looked like I was on my own.

  “Actually,” I said. “Aaron and I aren’t dating. We’re just friends.” The initial look of surprise on her face quickly changed to triumph.

  “Oh, I should have realized that,” she said. Lots of names for this girl flew through my head. I settled on one. “Well, lovely to meet you. I think I’ll go circulate some more. Tasha?” Tasha jumped up like a puppy, ready to follow.

  Ashton made a beeline for Aaron, feeling secure in his singleness. I wanted to go to him, to save him from her, but I knew that would look pathetic. Besides, I had no claim on him, as Ashton had made perfectly clear. He was smart, and surely wouldn’t fall for her, anyway, but if he did...well, he was a big boy.

  I watched as Ashton threw her arms around his neck, in full flirt mode. Aaron smiled, but it was a polite smile, not a “I’m-so-excited-to-see-you-again-after-all-this-time-let’s-get-back-together” smile. She was talking animatedly, often touching his arm as she spoke. Apparently, Aaron was saying something hilarious, because she threw her head back in laughter. Tasha did whatever Ashton did, minus the arm touching.

  This display made me sick to my stomach. The fact that it was bothering me upset me even more. I had no right to be jealous. Obviously whatever I had felt in those shared moments on the hill was wishful thinking. I was reading too much into his words. And glances.

  I was watching all of this pretty attentively, so I saw Aaron look around, stopping when he found me, and I saw him politely disengage himself from the conversation and walk over to where I was still standing, all alone like an idiot.

  “Hey,” he said, handing me a can of Diet Coke. “I was on my way to bring you this when I was held up.”

  “I noticed. Ashton seemed very happy to see you.” I tried to keep my voice even, but I noticed a note of bitterness in it. Fortunately, Aaron didn’t.

  “Yeah, she usually is.” I wasn’t sure what this meant, but his face was pretty expressionless, so I let it go.

  “You hungry?” he asked. I nodded. “Burger or chicken?”

  “Burger,” I answered. Aaron disappeared again, coming back a few minutes later with two plates. Mine held a burger fixed just the way I liked it, his a chicken breast. We sat on the low wall surrounding the patio as the rest of the group joined us. Ashton happened to choose a seat right next to Aaron, of course.

  Despite having to witness her incessant flirting, it was a fun night. The rest of Aaron’s friends were really cool, very similar to the people I hung out with in high school and probably would have hung out with in college had it not been for Spencer. Ugh. I had not thought of him in several days, and I really didn’t want thoughts of him invading my time with Aaron.

  As we got ready to leave, an increasingly sloppy Ashton slipped her arm in Aaron’s, batting her eyelashes at him. “It was sooo good to see you. It’s really been too long.” Aaron smiled, so she continued. “How long are you in town for?”

  “Only the weekend,” he said. “Then back to school.”

  “Well, she said, here’s my number if you want to get together before you go.” She slipped a piece of paper in his hand and walked away, looking back at him as she did.

  Aaron stuffed the paper in his pocket without looking at it, then turned to me. “Well, that was interesting. You ready to go?” After all that, I was more than ready.

  Chapter 24

  I woke up the next morning to drizzly gray skies. Yuck. It matched my mood after seeing Ashton-the-Ex drool all over Aaron the night before. She didn’t deserve him. Unfortunately, he had not asked my opinion. He didn’t mention her on the ride home, though, or while we watched a movie in the upstairs bonus room. At least not until his phone dinged with a text message. He checked it and muttered, “How did she...?” before sliding it back in his pocket without responding. Still, I was not happy. That was unfair, but at least for the moment I didn’t care.

  I stretched my arms out toward my toes, trying in vain to loosen the muscles that were still sore from Aaron’s and my hike. Ugh. Just thinking about the hill and the moment that wasn’t sent a rush of conflicting feelings through my heart. Rush of conflicting feelings? When had I become such a cliché? The only thing to do, really, was to go on like nothing had happened. Because it hadn’t.

  I made my way over to the bathroom to get ready, but a sound from within gave me pause. Someone was already in there. Throwing up.

  I knocked softly. “Aaron? Are you in there?” More retching was the only answer. I cracked the door and saw him curled up on the floor, resting his face on the cool porcelain of the floor. He looked up at me, but didn’t say anything. I took a washcloth from the towel holder, dampened it and handed it to him. “You okay?” He nodded, but his flushed cheeks and glassy eyes told another story.

  He pushed himself up to a sitting position. “I must have eaten some bad chicken or something last night,” he said. Without thinking, I reached over and placed the back of my hand on his forehead, then his cheek.

  “You’re burning up,” I said. “How long have you been in here?”

  “I don’t know, since four? What time is it now?”

  “After eight.” Poor baby. He looked so pitiful, his height and strength no match for whatever bug was raging through him. “Think you can get up?” He nodded, and I helped him stand and got him a drink of water.

  “Go change,” I said. He did, and I went downstairs to see who was home. Maggie and Sara had both spent the night with friends and were not expected home until later. John had already left for work, and Liz had left a note on the counter that she would be gone all day at some Women’s Show with her girlfriends. We were on our own.

  “Good news,” I said, coming into Aaron’s room, where he lay on the bed. “You can have your pick of TVs. Everyone else is gone.”

  “Bonus room,” he said. “It’s close to a bathroom.” I winced a bit, but grabbed his pillows for him and followed him to the end of the hall and the bonus room.

  After getting him settled, I went back to the guest room to change and get myself decent. I poked around in the kitchen, finding some Gator-Ade and a straw, and took it up to him. He gave me a weak smile as I set it down on the coffee table.

  “What else?” I asked.

  “A blanket maybe? I’m freezing.” I nodded and went back to his room to get a blanket, and rummaged in the bathroom for a thermometer and Tylenol.

  Back in the bonus room, I tucked Aaron in, and handed him the thermometer. “Under your tongue,” I instructed. Surprisingly, he didn’t resist. I sat on the edge of the couch beside him, and took out the thermometer when it beeped. “101.3,” I said. “You are hot, my friend.”

  “You’re not so bad yourself,” he replied, giving me a weak version of my smile. I could feel my cheeks reddening, even though I knew he was just joking around.

  “I’m really sorry, Brooke,” he said.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “That I’m sick. It kind of ruins the plans I had for us today.” I rolled my eyes at him good-naturedly and moved to the end of the couch, placing his legs in my lap.

  “Hopefully your plans included spending the day with me, yes?”
He nodded. “Then mission accomplished. I hate that you’re sick, but I came here to see you, not the sights, so don’t worry about me. Just get better.” He smiled.

  “Well, do you at least want to take my truck and go shopping or something? I don’t want to infect you with this plague.”

  “I’m not doing that, Aaron. I’m staying here and taking care of you. Besides, I’m around germy kids all the time. I’m immune to everything. Here,” I tossed him the remote. “You can control this, but only because you’re sick.” We made it through the first commercial break of some retro sitcom before Aaron had to make a run for the bathroom. It was incessant, and I cringed each time I heard him vomit.

  I’d decided to give him some privacy, but after ten minutes I felt the need to check on him. I hovered in the doorway, not wanting to be in the way. Finally, he seemed to have everything out of his system. “Man, this sucks,” he said as he pulled himself up and splashed some water on his face.

  “C’mon,” I said, reaching for his hand. “Back on the couch.” He didn’t resist, but took my hand and let me lead him back to the makeshift bed. “Maybe a nap? You can’t have slept much last night.” He nodded and snuggled down into the nest of covers.

  Not long after he fell asleep, his phone started ringing. I grabbed it to silence it, not wanting to disturb his sleep. Five minutes later, it buzzed again. Then again. I finally decided I should answer it, in case it was his mom or something, but when whoever was on the other end heard my voice, they hung up.

  When Aaron woke up, I told him about his phone blowing up. He was scrolling through his missed calls when it rang again. “She is not going to quit, is she?” he muttered under his breath. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but she--Ashton, of course--talked so loudly I could hear every word. Aaron even had to hold the phone away from his ear. The conversation went like this:

  AARON: Hello?

  ASHTON: Hey! Where have you been? I’ve been trying to call you all day!

  AARON: Uh, this really isn’t a good time, Ashton. I’m not feeling well.

  ASHTON: Oh, no! What’s wrong?

  AARON: Stomach virus.

  ASHTON: Poor, poor Aaron. Do you need anything? I could come over or something...

  AARON: No! (I noticed the unequivocal tone in his voice.) Brooke is here. She’s taking good care of me.

  ASHTON: Oh. (I noticed the defeated tone in her voice.) Well, maybe you can call me when you feel better!

  AARON: Um. Maybe. I really need to go. Sorry.

  ASHTON: Okay. Feel better! If you...

  Aaron hung up before she could finish and closed his eyes. I wasn’t sure if it was from frustration or feeling badly. Before I could ask him, though, he was off the couch and rushing to the bathroom. I secretly hoped it was the conversation with Ashton that had made him nauseous.

  And that is how the day went. Aaron would sleep, wake up to go puke in the bathroom, and then we’d talk for awhile. It actually wasn’t as bad as it sounds.

  “I feel awful,” he said. It was after lunch, which I ate downstairs, afraid the sight and smell of food would make things worse. He’d seemed a little perkier since his last nap, though.

  “That’s because you’re sick,” I said, feeling his forehead. Still warm.

  “No. I feel awful about being sick while you’re here.”

  “Aaron, I told you, it’s fine. This is what friends do.”

  “Yeah, right. I can’t exactly picture Brandon helping me sip Gator-Ade from a bendy straw.” He thought for a second. “Maybe that’s an advantage of having a girl for a best friend.”

  “Maybe,” I said. “But you’d do the same for me.” He didn’t say anything, because he knew I was right. And he had done the same for me. Since the day we met, he’d been taking care of me, coming to my rescue, dropping everything to be there for me whenever I needed him. Maybe I hadn’t needed him to fetch me liquids and hold my hair back, but the emotional nursing he’d given me had probably been much more important.

  The awkwardness of yesterday seemed to have been forgotten, and to tell him all this was to risk bringing it back, but I did it anyway, telling him exactly how much his friendship meant to me, hopefully driving home the point that next time I would fight for us. I was careful, and managed not to slip and reveal more than I wanted to, though how I don’t know.

  He listened carefully, his eyes never leaving mine, then smiled weakly. “So just shut up and let me take care of you for once, okay?”

  He squeezed my hand that he had taken at some point during my speech. I hadn’t even noticed. “Yes ma’am.”

  Chapter 25

  When I woke up the next morning, it was to the smell of bacon and the sight of a very small person sitting on the bed watching me.

  “Hi,” I said, after the initial surprise passed.“You must be Maggie.” She nodded. “It is very nice to meet you, Maggie. Do you know if your brother is up yet?” She nodded again.

  “He’s making breakfast. He always makes me breakfast when he is home. It’s chadishun.” I smiled at her pronunciation.

  I shouldn’t have been surprised that Aaron had a special tradition with his little sister, but I was. Every amazing character trait of his surprised me, if only because such things were such a rarity among people, especially boy people. He’d probably even make pancakes for Ashton. Ugh. Just the thought of her gave me the creeps. Aaron hadn’t mentioned her, and hadn’t responded to the multiple texts she sent later that evening, at least not around me. But still. It wasn’t even about my feelings for him. Okay, so maybe it was about my feelings for him, at least a little. But mostly I just didn’t want my best friend, my Aaron, getting sucked in by someone like her. He deserved better.

  “He makes shapes with my pancakes,” Maggie whispered, bringing my thoughts back into focus. “He might do it for you, too. He likes you.” She giggled a little behind her hand, and I noticed her eyes shined when she smiled just like Aaron’s.

  “I like him, too,” I whispered back.

  “You’re pretty. Are you going to marry my brother?”

  “No, no, silly. Aaron is my friend. That’s all,” I said. “What do you say we go find your brother, okay?” She nodded. “Wait here.” I grabbed some clothes and headed into the bathroom to change. I pulled my hair back into a ponytail and washed my face, but didn’t bother with makeup. It’s just Aaron, I thought.

  Maggie took my hand as we walked down the stairs to what, based on the smell, was sure to be an incredible meal. Aaron looked up from the griddle, where he flipped pancakes, and raised his eyebrows at my entrance with his sister.

  “Maggie,” he said, a note of scolding in his voice. “You didn’t wake Brooke up, did you?”

  “No,” she answered. “I was just there when she did.” He gave her a look, but I jumped in.

  “She’s fine,” I said. “It was actually the bacon that woke me. Looks like you’re feeling better.” He still looked a little weak, but he was vertical, which was a drastic improvement over yesterday.

  “Much,” he said. “You’re just in time to experience my culinary expertise.”

  “I didn’t know you were a man of so many talents,” I flirted.

  “Oh, you have no idea.” His eyes lingered on me, and I felt my cheeks turn pink, unsure of whether or not there was anything to that. He quickly looked back at the pancakes and slid one off with a spatula onto a waiting plate. Maggie clapped her hands together at the red-tinted school house he’d made.

  “It looks like kindergarten!” she exclaimed. She bounded down from the counter to go eat at the nearby kitchen table.

  “Very impressive,” I said. “Do you take requests?”

  “Hmm, sometimes, but it usually comes out better if you let me surprise you.” I started to look over the edge at the griddle, but he stopped me. “No peeking!”

  A couple of minutes later he slid a plate over to me containing a flower-shaped pancake. He handed me the syrup and then came around to my side of the counter with his
own plate.

  “So? How are they?” he asked.

  “Incredible. But they’re different from any other pancakes I’ve had. What’s in them?”

  “Vanilla. And a touch of salt.”

  “Interesting. It works, though.”

  “Kind of like us, right?” He bumped me with his shoulder, and I smiled and turned eight shades of red. But it was. Like us, I mean. Our friendship was unconventional, and beyond the comprehension of most we knew. But it was perfect. I needed to remember this. I had everything I needed from Aaron.

  “You’re so cheesy,” I said to cover my thoughts. Aaron just ignored me.

  “Thanks again for taking care of me yesterday,” he said.

  “Of course.”

  “Really. It meant a lot. I promise I’ll make it up to you today.”

  “Well, it sounds like there was quite a line waiting to take my job away from me,” I said. I hadn’t really planned to bring Ashton up. Fortunately, it came out teasing and not bitchy.

  Aaron pushed away from the counter. “Yeah, well, that was definitely not what I needed to make me feel better.” Tentative relief spread over me.

  “No? She seemed to assume it would.”

  “She assumes too much.” Now I felt confidently relieved. I’m not sure why I ever thought he’d be lured in by her.

  “So what’s the story with her?” I asked.

  “Are you trying to make me nauseous again, Brooke?”

  “Sorry,” I said. “She was telling me all about your relationship in high school, but you’d never mentioned her before. Not that you have to--” I rushed on, but Aaron interrupted me.

  “Relationship? Ha!”

  “You two didn’t go out?” I asked.

  “We went out. Once,” he said. “I didn’t really want to, but she kind of wore me down. She liked me because I was popular, but she didn’t really know me or even care to. We went to a party together, and once we were there she deserted me to talk to everyone about us, like we were a couple. I never asked her out again, but anytime we were at the same place, she would try to make it seem like we were there together, and she convinced a lot of people we were. Herself most of all.”