by Laurel Veil
“Hope you’re hungry,” I said.
Bri looked at me funny. “Sista, please.”
I laughed. But then I stopped suddenly. “Bri, look!”
She turned. “What am I looking at?”
“That’s Trent’s car,” I pointed at a black Challenger. And then I pointed at a silver F-350, “And that’s Chase’s truck!”
She gasped. “Are you sure?”
“I’m positive. Do you think they’re here together?”
“I don’t know why they would be, but everyone else in your life seems to be connected somehow. There’s only one way to find out.” She looked at me. “Let’s go!” I pulled around back and found a parking spot that was somewhat hidden.
“We need to be discreet,” I instructed. “If they don’t see us, and they are together, maybe we can overhear their conversation.”
We got very quiet. I was so nervous that my knees were trying to knock. I had no idea what I was about to find behind the door of the Gnarled Oak.
A tiny, energetic hostess with sleek, black hair pulled back in a knot stood at the podium. “Thanks for joining us for lunch. Table for two?” she said with a smile. Her eyes were blue and lined in black to match her hair.
I froze. I wasn’t sure what we wanted. Luckily Bri was one step ahead of me. She already had scanned the room. “We’ll take a booth, if you don’t mind…” She smiled. “…in the back.”
“Not at all. This way please.” She picked up two menus and walked us to a booth against the far wall. It was dark in there even during the day, which worked to our advantage. They kept the shutters closed and the lights dim.
The Gnarled Oak had a cozy feel. The floors were made of a glossy dark-stained oak, and the walls were covered in warm burgundy paint. The drapes that flanked the shutters were thick like the table linens and covered in rich complicated patterns. The ceiling was tall, and beautiful oak beams ran across it. Ornate tapestries hung on the walls. I hadn’t noticed all these details the first time I’d visited. I was too entranced by Trent.
We quickly sat down and scooted as close to the wall as we could. The way we held our menus reminded me of a spy I had seen in a cartoon, except he held a newspaper instead and had holes cut in it for his eyes to peer through. The image almost made me laugh.
Barely moving her lips, like a ventriloquist, Bri whispered, “They’re here. Across the room in the corner behind you.”
“So they are together,” I said quietly.
“Oh, yeah,” said Bri enthusiastically.
“What do you mean?” Ugh! I wish I could see.
“They seem real relaxed. Chummy…like old buds.”
“I don’t know, Bri. Maybe I should just confront everyone—my mom, my dad, Trent, Chase…”
“Why? So they can lie to your face? You already know they’re doing stuff behind your back. I say, find out for yourself what’s going on, and then you’ll know it’s the truth.”
She had a point. “You’ll help me?”
She gave me her best “Are you kidding me?” look and arched her brows. “Don’t I always?”
“Oh, crap! Chase is coming this way.”
Bri looked down and rested her head on her hand so she could block the side of her face. I copied her and did the same. He came closer. I don’t know why, but I felt afraid. It’s not like we were doing anything wrong. He walked past us and went into the restroom.
We looked at each other and sighed with relief. The waitress approached us, and we quickly ordered so we could resume our positions before Chase came out of the restroom.
A few minutes later, he headed back to his table. Trent stood to meet him, and they walked out together.
It was such a strange feeling to watch Trent from a distance without his knowing I was there.
“I’m glad that’s over,” said Bri.
“Me too.”
A few minutes later, the waitress brought out our grilled chicken caesar salads and iced tea.
“Well, I guess we might as well eat up and enjoy.” I picked up my fork and dug in.
“This place really is nice,” Bri said through a mouthful of chicken. “The food is delicious.” She took a sip of tea. “Any thoughts on why everyone you know—except me, that is—is keeping secrets from you?”
I sat there for a while, trying to come up with an explanation. I took a sip of my tea as well and said, “I don’t know…but there has to be a good reason for all of this…right?”
XV
85 %
I was quiet on Sunday morning. “What’s the matter, Ashley? You’re not getting sick, are you? You’ve hardly said two words all morning.”
“I’m fine. Just tired, I guess,” I told my mom.
“You should cut back on your hours at work. I don’t like your being there at night anyway.”
“Maybe,” I agreed, so she’d drop it.
“Well, this should perk you up.” She nodded at the TV. “A cold front is going to be pushing its way through in the next few days. They’re predicting thunderstorms.”
My mom and I were heading home from church and about to pass The Egg and I. “You want some breakfast?” I asked.
She nodded. “Sounds good.”
We didn’t have to wait long to be seated. I loved this place. They always had classical music streaming, and the interior was bright and cheery.
“I’ll have a Colorado Jack scramble with wheat toast and orange juice, please,” I told our waitress, without looking at the menu. I knew it well, and I was starving.
My mom ordered a waffle that could have fed an entire county, and we shared a carafe of coffee.
I decided it was time to do a little investigating.
“So have you seen Dad lately?” I asked. I looked off, pretending not to be too interested in her response, but then I turned back so I could try to read her face.
She swallowed then looked down. “Seen him? I haven’t even spoken to him since…” She paused and acted like she was concentrating. “Well, I couldn’t tell you the last time. It’s been a while.” She took a sip of coffee.
That was a lie, plain and simple. I’d seen her with him with my own eyes. Why was she doing this? She didn’t appear to be nervous, but she definitely seemed uncomfortable.
“How are your classes going?” she asked, trying to change the subject.
“They’re great.”
“You like all your teachers this year?” she continued.
“I do, but I like Ms. Elliot the best.”
“Oh? Why is that?” she asked, smiling now.
I told her all about the beanbags.
“That sounds wonderful,” she said. “I wish I’d had a teacher like that when I was in school.”
Enough with the nicey-nice. I needed to do a little more probing.
“It’s pretty much the same old crowd at school, but you know, it’s the strangest thing…” I said.
“What’s that, dear?”
“Trent is in every one of my classes.”
I watched her closely. “Oh…that’s nice, honey.” Not quite the reaction I was expecting. I mean, I didn’t expect her to freak like Bri, but this was ridiculous. She didn’t seem surprised at all; it was like she already knew.
“Yeah, he’s a really nice guy,” I continued.
“He seems…nice.” She had a bit of difficulty swallowing her bite of waffle and reached for another sip of coffee.
Why wasn’t she grilling me with her usual third degree?
“I really like him,” I said.
She looked up; that got her attention. “Honey, you’re so young. And he…Well, he seems a little old for his years. Don’t ya think?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing.” She shook her head, trying to erase what she’d just said. But it was too late; it was already out there. She reached for her coffee. She was stalling, trying to allow herself more time to come up with a response. “It’s just that you’re about to go off to college. No s
ense in getting serious about someone right now. That’s all.”
“So…what about you and Chase?” I asked her.
“What about you and Dad?” Was what I really wanted to ask.
“What about Chase?”
“He sure is at the house a lot. Does he like you or what?”
“Ashley Devoe! He’s just a friend.”
“What?” It’s not like you and Dad are still together or anything, right, Mom?
“Well…” She calmed downed immensely. “It’s just that your father and I aren’t divorced.” Hmm, nice save.
I decided to give her a break. “How’s work going?” I asked.
“Exceptionally well. I sold a house already this month, and it looks like I’m about to close on a second!”
“That’s great, Mom!”
We finished up breakfast as we talked about her job, and then I offered to pay the check. I figured it was the least I could do after interrogating her.
“Oh, sweetie, you don’t have to do that,” she said.
“I want to, Mom. We’re celebrating your good fortune at work!”
That afternoon Mack called and asked me to come in. I wasn’t supposed to, but I had nothing better to do and was bored. Bri was with Cole, and the mysterious Trent hadn’t bothered to call. I refused to call him until we had officially defined our relationship.
As I drove to the theater, I thought about how I didn’t know what Trent did with his time when we weren’t together. I didn’t even know where he lived. Maybe that was something Bri could help me with a little later this week.
I stopped at a red light and saw the reflection of my car in the mirrored building on the corner. I still wasn’t used to it. It was gorgeous!
When I pulled up to the theater, I found a spot at the far end of the parking lot. Once inside, I found my way to the office and gathered the drawer for the register and headed straight to the café.
“Hey, Erica,” I said.
“How’s it going?” she asked.
“Can’t complain, I guess.” I looked around the café. “Do you know if Lindsey is working tonight?”
“She’s off, and so is Blake. If I had to guess, they’re probably going to the Moonlight Picnic in the park.”
“That sounds like fun.”
“Do you want to go there after work and hang out? I can drive,” she offered.
“Thanks, but I think I’ll pass. I’m heading straight home as soon as I get off. I’m a little tired.” I gave her the best sleepy smile I could muster. She shrugged and went back to her tasks.
This was like the umpteenth time Erica had asked me to do something. I’d always told her no. She was actually starting to get on my nerves, but I still felt bad. Out of guilt, I promised myself right then that if she asked me to do something again, no matter how much I didn’t want to do it, I would. And just like that, I suddenly felt a little better.
Five minutes later we were swamped. The movie crowds thinned out early, though. Everyone was probably heading to the picnic.
At last it was time to go. I was excited, because I helped wait on tables tonight and made nineteen dollars in tips!
I was almost to the door when someone poked me in the ribs. I jumped and turned around. “Hey, Angel. I’m glad you’re here.”
He raised his brows suggestively. “Oh, really?”
He really was handsome. He looked like he’d worked hard tonight. He already had removed his uniform bowtie and undone some buttons on his shirt. He apparently had run his fingers through his hair too; and it was a rumpled mess.
“Yeah, I parked way out in the lot, and I’m alone tonight. I was hoping—”
“That I’d be your escort?” he finished for me.
“Would you?” I gave him my most pitiful face. “I’m scared to walk alone that far at night.”
He answered me by bending his arm and holding it out from his side. I reached out and locked my arm securely through his like he was leading me down an aisle.
“What a gentleman,” I said, batting my eyes at him. I took my free hand and clutched his bicep as we walked. “And so strong too. My, what big muscles you have.”
Angel smiled proudly. “That’s the product of hours and hours at Fit City, baby.”
“That reminds me,” I whined. “I need to work out soon. It’s been a while.”
“Oh, come on, Ash. You make that sound like a bad thing.”
Suddenly his smile faded. I turned and saw a tall figure leaning against my car.
“I’ve got it from here,” Trent said, as he walked toward us.
I looked up at Angel again. “Thanks for walking me,” I told him. His smile returned as he looked down at me.
“No problem. Anytime.” He looked at Trent then back at me and touched my cheek before heading to his truck.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Ouch. It’s nice to see you too.”
I smiled finally. “Don’t get me wrong. It’s nice to see you. I just wasn’t expecting to.”
Trent’s smile returned. “I’m bored, and my uncle gave me the night off. You up for something?”
I was so tempted. “I’m pretty tired,” I said, shaking my head. “I think I’m going to call it a night.”
I unlocked my door and got in.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
I started the engine, rolled down the window, and closed the door. “No, why?”
He looked at me intensely, like he was trying to read my mind. “No reason.”
His eyes had that faraway look again. I wanted to reach out to him, but I couldn’t. I waited a minute longer to see if he’d mention that he’d had lunch with Chase the other day, but he didn’t.
“Well, I gotta go. My mom will be worried if I’m not home soon.”
It felt like he didn’t want me to go. He looked like he wanted to say something. But he didn’t. He simply nodded that he understood. I waited for him to let go of my door. Eventually he did and sent me off with a little wave.
Through my rearview mirror, I saw that he followed me home. He sat on the street until I went in, and then he drove off.
XVI
90 %
Bri picked me up for school. I’d texted her the night before and asked her to come early so we could grab a coffee and doughnuts, and I could fill her in on how brunch had gone with my mother.
“You look tired,” Bri commented when I got in her car.
“Mack asked me to work last night.”
“That sucks. You should’ve come to the picnic instead. That’s what Cole and I did. It was so romantic.”
“I did get to see Trent for a little bit.”
“Oh, really? Do tell.”
“Well, first I had Angel walk me to my car.”
“Oh, really?”
“Would you stop that? It was because I was parked far away. I didn’t want to walk alone. Anyway, when we got to my car, Trent was there. He asked me if I wanted to do something. I didn’t know what to do. I mean, I wanted to be with him, but the whole thing with him and my parents and Chase. I just told him no.”
“You told him no?”
“Yeah. I just told him I was tired. I told Erica the same thing a little while before that.”
“She asked you to do something again?”
“Yeah. Poor girl. She’s gonna end up hating me.”
“Did you tell him that you saw him with Chase or ask why your parents have his digits in their cells?”
“No, I’m sticking to our plan. If he’s lying, I wanna know. So, I’ll have to find out on my own.” I sighed.
“What are you thinking?”
“I gave him plenty of time to mention that he had lunch with Chase, but he never said a word. Not one word.”
Bri was quiet for a while. She knew how hard I’d fallen for Trent.
“Well, it’s like you said before—maybe there’s a good reason for all this. Meanwhile…” She raised her brows and cut her eyes at me. “Do you w
ant to do a little investigating tonight?”
I smiled. “What do you have in mind?”
Bri pulled into Crystal Doughnut. I got a potato, egg, and cheese wrap, and she got a raspberry-filled doughnut. We both ordered a large coffee. We sat at a picnic table outside, where we’d have more privacy.
Bri took a couple of bites, and then she laid out her plan. “First of all, we need to find out where that boy lives.”
“Should I just ask him?”
She looked at me like I was stupid. “Uh…well, he hasn’t told you so far. What makes you think he wants you to know?”
“OK. OK. So how do you want to go about doing this?”
“Let’s keep it simple. We’ll follow him in my mom’s car.”
“I like the way you think, woman,” I said.
“Of course you do.”
The best I could offer Trent today was a tiny half smile. It wasn’t much more than a twitch of my lip. I chose a safe beanbag between Bri and the wall. The bags were arranged in a half circle, and I wanted to keep to myself as much as possible.
Ms. Elliott could have been speaking Mandarin for all I knew. I couldn’t pay attention.
“Kayla, please be a dear and pass out our books. We’ll be reading as a class today.” After we each had a copy in hand, she asked, “Do I have any volunteers to read on behalf of our characters?”
I kept my eyes down. A few moments later, the roles were filled. We were starting our Shakespeare unit. Lacey was overly enthusiastic to play Juliet, and a guy whose name I didn’t even know read the part of Romeo. There were a couple of other parts assigned, but it didn’t involve me. I was thrilled to be all alone.
I was reading along, and content to do so, until I happened to look up and found Trent staring at me. I pretended not to notice and looked back down. No one else noticed either. They were all busy, including Bri, who was participating as well. She was too much of a ham to let an opportunity like this pass her by.
Trent rolled out of his beanbag and walked over to me on his knees. He didn’t say a word. He simply eased himself onto my beanbag and softly laid his head against my shoulder—his sweet, adorable head.
With every second my defenses lowered.
He didn’t bother to open his book; we shared mine. I reached up and brushed his dark, wavy hair from his eyes so he could see better. He nudged his head into my arm so that I’d rub his head some more. He was just like a dog. I giggled at the thought, and he looked at me and smiled.