“Nothing.”
“Really? You’re going to look me in the eye and lie to me? What the hell, Brie? And, who was that guy? I thought you were meeting Jake here.”
“Okay. I’ll tell you. Everything. Just please, take me home. Now.”
“Get in my car,” he said, defeated. “I’ll come back tomorrow with Carlos and get your car home.”
Brie looked at her phone. She drew in her breath when the screen showed it was a call from Jake. She muted the sound, watching the screen. It finally went off. But, it lit up again with a text. WTF Brie ANSWER!
WTF? He’s asking me WTF? Brie tried to draw in a deep breath, but couldn’t. With her insides coiling into a tight ball, she concentrated on that breath that she needed. It’s okay, I’m okay. Her heart raced; she could feel it, actually see it palpitating through her dress. Relax, this is just another one of those anxiety attacks. It’s panic, but I’m okay. Just as her hands started to tremble, Leif snatched the phone out of her hands, shocking her, bringing her back. He pulled the car over.
“Give it back. You have no right.”
Leif scrolled through the texts. “Guess again, and he’s right. What the fuck, Brie. He’s been texting you all night, and you don’t have the decency to answer him? Do you remember what you said last night? You told me, ‘Don’t sabotage this.’ I won’t have to. You are.”
“You don’t know anything.” Brie turned away from Lief. “You don’t know what he did.”
“So, tell me. Start with, who was that guy sitting in your car in the back of a dark parking lot? If you have a boyfriend, you don’t pull that shit. If he’s a friend of Jake’s, then Jake wouldn’t be texting you all night looking for you.” He turned her phone off.
“For your information, I didn’t leave with Ryan. He just kind of showed up.”
“What? You went out there, to the back of a dark parking lot, by yourself? That was stupid, Brie!”
“What? I’m at school. I was going home. I drove myself, remember? How else was I supposed to get home? What is wrong with you?”
Leif rubbed his forehead. “Forget it. Just, don’t go anywhere by yourself until we know the cops have found Rick, all right?”
“What? You think he’s around? Here?”
“I don’t know. Just trust me on this, and don’t take chances. Now, what’s going on with Jake?”
“Leif, I’m not the one who was wrong. I didn’t even see his texts until after . . . after I saw him with this girl, Ari.”
“Really? All right, so what would Jake have thought if he saw that guy Ryan sitting alone with you in your car?”
She gritted her teeth. “I. Wasn’t. In. Ryan’s. Arms.”
“Brie, calm down. Get a grip—and talk to me.” Leif pulled back onto the road. He sighed and glanced at his sister. “Tell me what happened in there.”
“Jake’s friend told me he was waiting for me, at my panel. But, when I got there . . .” She drew in a shaky breath. “This girl, Ari, who had been really pissy at me because Jake was looking for me when I wasn’t in school. I mean, I thought she was my friend. She was, they were—”
“Hold up. Slow down, you’re not making any sense.”
“Okay, tell me if this make sense. Jake and that girl, Ari, had their arms around each other, and it wasn’t just some innocent hug. He was getting ready to kiss her. I didn’t even see Ryan until I got back out of my car to check the tires. So, don’t you dare tell me that Ryan, sitting in my car, is the same thing.”
“Look, I get what you’re saying. Just give him a chance to explain. I’m not saying you didn’t see them together, just that you only got a snapshot of it. It’s easy to jump to conclusions. Sometimes you have to remove yourself from a situation to really get it. Can you do that?”
She nodded. “But, I can’t. Not tonight. If he comes here, I can’t.”
Leif pulled his car into the garage. “All right. If he comes here tonight, I’ll head him off—Damn.” He laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Brie scowled.
“With all this drama, I forgot. I’ve got a surprise for you.”
She looked skeptical. “A surprise?”
“I guarantee this will help. I found something you lost.”
“I didn’t lose anything. Did I?”
“Okay, maybe not something. Someone?” He watched her. “Obviously, you’re still confused.” He strung her along with a grin. “Maybe this will clear it up for you. How about, some dog?”
“Oh my God! Roxy? She’s here? How? Where?”
“Calm down. I found her at the pound. Rick turned her in there a few weeks ago. He showed them his bite. Said she attacked him and that she was a stray. There were already four applications on her for adoption by the time I found her there.”
“What? No!”
Leif touched her arm. “No, they didn’t give her away. I had to bring proof that she was ours. I got a chip put in her this afternoon at the vet. She’s here now, in your room.”
“Oh, Leif, thank you!” Running into the house, she left everything behind.
Still in the car, Leif turned her phone back on. He entered her passcode: 0226. The same passcode she used for her laptop. February twenty-sixth. The day their father died, the day their lives changed forever. The alerts came through: another text, two missed phone calls, and one new email.
Email? Who would email? Leif navigated to the email. Ryan. That guy must not have her number. If she’s smart, she won’t give it to him. I don’t trust him. But, at least she wasn’t alone in that parking lot.
He navigated to her texts. Really? Dream Guy? He smirked. Dream Guy. Shaking his head, he entered Jake’s number into the contacts on his own phone. Jake had also called again. The other phone message came from Mia. Leif grinned. Good to know her one girlfriend came through for her.
On his second phone, he navigated to the picture he had sent, and then made a call. “Hey, did you run that plate I sent you? . . . Yeah, a black pick-up. It’s him? . . . Well, fuck me. He was there . . . yeah, at her school. He must have let the air out of her tires. Huh? . . . Never mind. Where? . . . Okay. Yeah. I’ll call back. Give me an hour.”
Chapter 25
“Hey!” Leif called up the stairs. “I know it’s late, but you want some leftovers? Maria made dinner for me before she left.”
“I already ate,” Brie yelled back. “What is it?”
“Chicken molé and black-bean rice.”
“Be right down.”
Leif grinned. Comfort food, he thought as the doorbell rang. “Crap, not now, not yet,” he said aloud to no one. “Yeah?” he asked over the intercom.
“Hi,” the voice chirped back. “Is Brie here?”
Leif relaxed. “Just a minute.” Brie was already at the bottom of the steps.
“It’s that girl that came over yesterday,” he said. “You okay to see her?”
Brie nodded, going for the door. “Yeah.”
Leif waited, and then nodded a greeting at his sister’s friend. “Hi, Mia.” Good, another person has seen me tonight. He checked his watch. Just after ten. “All right, you know where I’ll be, in the kitchen eating chicken molé,” he said, leaving the girls to themselves.
A half hour later, Brie found him in the theater room, watching the local news while working on his laptop. “Guess what?” She plopped down in the seat next to his.
“I’m clueless, give me a hint. What am I supposed to be guessing about?” He turned off the news, shut down his laptop, and pocketed the spare phone and flash drive.
Brie hesitated, watching him tuck away the two items. “Guess what I found out from Mia? Oh, never mind, you’ll never guess.
“She came to drop off my sketches. She said my Quarterback sketch had the highest bid. Can you
believe it? There was a three-way bid going on it: Troy’s dad, the PTA, and one other. Troy’s dad stopped bidding when he found out that the PTA wanted to buy it for the school athletic showcase, to go with the trophy—you know, after they win States.”
“Really, highest bid huh?” He checked his watch.
“Do you have somewhere to go?”
“Huh? No,” he said, stretching. “By the way, did Mia say anything about your other friends?”
She tucked her legs under her, and when she started massaging her hand, he reached over and clamped his hand over hers. “Tell me what happened.”
“Mia said Jake and Ryan got into it. I don’t know. She said Jake went after Ryan, and they were yelling at each other, but Jake’s friends pulled him away before it turned into a fight. You’re right, Leif, I shouldn’t have been alone with Ryan.”
“It’ll work out. Take Roxy, and go get some sleep.”
“Really?” Leif groaned. Awakened by the doorbell, he switched on the light next to his bed and checked the time. Quarter after twelve. “Yeah?” he asked from the intercom in his bedroom.
“I need to see Brie.”
Jake. Leif pressed the intercom. “Hold up. On my way.” He pulled on a pair of sweats. At least I’ll have a solid alibi. Now I can account for my entire night. He ran his fingers through his hair and hustled down the steps.
“Can I see her?” Jake asked.
“No. Not tonight, tomorrow. But, come in.” Leif swung the door open wider, then he led Jake into the room where he had slept on the couch earlier that week. “Have a seat. I’ll be right back.”
Jake glanced up the steps.
“Don’t even think about it,” Leif warned, leaving Jake where he was.
Returning, Leif held out a root beer to Jake. “Here.”
“A root beer?” Jake said, accepting the bottle.
“Did you want something else?” Leif smirked, holding out his own to tap the necks of their bottles together. “Cheers.”
“Yeah, cheers,” Jake mumbled, sinking into an overstuffed armchair. “I’m telling you I have no idea what happened, or why Brie took off like she did. I was late, but I texted her. The next thing I know, people are telling me she left. Then, I find out someone let the air out of her tires. You don’t think I’m pissed about that? When I find out who did that . . . and, I was ready to beat the crap out of this other guy.”
Leif nodded. “I warned you there’s baggage. You know all about that now. It doesn’t help that some people are being assholes to her.” Leif pointed at Jake with the mouth of his bottle. “By the way, she saw you at the show with some girl before she took off.” Leif took a swig. “That’s actually why she took off. It wasn’t about that other guy. He just happened to be there, after the fact.”
“Wait,” Jake said. “I—”
“I told her she needs to talk to you about that other girl and that other guy.”
Jake closed his eyes; his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down when he swallowed. “I wasn’t thinking straight. I only wanted to see Brie, but now that I think about it,” he looked back at Leif. “Maybe Ari was trying to come on to me.”
Leif said nothing, and Jake continued. “Ari lives next door to me. We’ve always been good friends. But, we got really close for a while. That was a long time ago, the summer before high school.”
Leif tracked Jake’s eyes as they darted about the room.
Jake shrugged. “We were just kids. But, we kind of drifted apart. Then, she seemed to come around more when she found out about me and Brie. Ari has a boyfriend. I thought she was glad for me, but . . .” he shook his head. “I don’t know. Her boyfriend seemed pissed tonight, too.”
“Girl next door, eh?”
Jake nodded, but looked back at Leif. “Tomorrow? She’ll talk to me, right?”
He nodded. “Yeah, tomorrow.”
Jake glanced back at the stairs, but then stood. “All right.”
Leif opened the door. “Oh, wait.” He picked up the sketch that was leaning against the foyer wall. “She asked me to give this to you if you showed up.” He handed over the matted sketch.
Jake’s eyes lit up. “The Deer Blind sketch.”
“There’s a note with the sketch.” He handed it to Jake. “You know I had to read it, first, right?”
Jake glared at him, but unfolded the note:
Jake,
I wanted to give this to you tonight at the art show for your birthday. I sketched it just for you. I couldn’t wait to give it to you. But then, I saw you with Ari at the show in front of my display.
I didn’t get why she was so mad at me when I came back. But, now I get it. Jake, I can’t deal with more drama. Don’t worry about me though. You don’t need to feel like you have to take care of me. I’ll get through this. But, I still want you to have this sketch of your deer blind.
Anyway, happy birthday,
Brie
He touched the broken heart by her name. “She’s breaking up with me!” He looked up from the card. “Leif, I’ve got to see her—now.”
“No can do, pal. I said tomorrow.” Leif stepped between Jake and the stairs.
Neither moved for a few tense seconds. “Then, tell her this for me. If she really wants me to have this? She can give it to me.” He stuffed the note in his pocket, but laid the sketch on the foyer table and walked out.
“Fair enough.” Leif shut the door. “Don’t give up on her, buddy,” he said, after Jake was gone.
Leif took the stairs two at a time, stopping at the top. There was Brie, sitting on the floor with her back to the wall, next to the steps. “So, you’re awake. Did you hear everything?”
Nodding, she chewed her lower lip.
Lief sat beside her and sighed. “He’s broken. Is that what you wanted?”
She shook her head and gasped for a breath.
“Brie,” Leif put his arm around her shoulders. “It’s okay to let go. It’s okay to cry when you hurt, when you feel like your heart is collapsing and your head aches for relief.”
“How can I face him now?” she sobbed.
“You can face him because you both feel the same way. You’re both hurting, there’s no upper hand. He doesn’t want to let go, and I don’t think you do, either.”
She’s actually crying! The last time he had seen his sister cry was twelve years ago at their father’s memorial service. She was six. “It really is okay to cry, Brie. Sometimes it actually makes you feel better.”
Clinging to her brother, she gasped for air. A cold wet nose wedged in, pressing into her face. “Roxy,” Leif said, gently pushing away the whining dog.
The dog persisted, licking at her face. Laughing through her sniffles, Brie hugged her dog. “It’s okay, Roxy.”
Leif pushed himself up off the floor, but Brie grabbed his wrist, stopping him midway. “Thanks, Branch.”
Halfway up, he gave her a wink. “Don’t mention it, Cheddar. Now, go get some sleep.”
Chapter 26
Jake pulled the Jeep up his driveway and noticed the glow of light dancing from Ari’s backyard. She must be sitting out there on the patio, by the fire pit. He checked his phone; it was well after midnight. He sat indecisive, chewing his thumbnail, summoning his courage. He hopped out and unlatched the gate to her backyard.
“Can we talk?”
Ari stared back at him from the porch swing, then gave a conceding nod.
Jake sat on the bench by the fire pit, facing her. “I’m just getting back from Brie’s. I didn’t know what was going on at the art show. I went there for Brie. Ari, when you . . .” He hesitated. “Ari, I’m going out with Brie.” That is if she’ll take me back.
“No kidding.”
He sighed. She wasn’t going to make this easy.
“You know you’ll always be my friend. I want you to be friends with Brie, too. She thought you were . . . Ari, I can’t do this thing with you anymore.”
Silent, she stared back at him.
“This thing where we don’t know if there’s something more between you and me, because of what happened four years ago.”
He heard her draw in a long unsteady breath. Jeez, don’t cry. I can’t handle that right now. “Brie means too much to me. I went to the art show for her. Ari, I don’t wanna hide things from her.”
“Say it Jake. You don’t want to hide things from her, like I hide things from Greg. Say it.”
Jake shook his head. “You said it. I didn’t. You knew I had a thing for Brie.”
“You have a thing for Brie. Yeah, I knew that. But, this thing? This thing between you and me? Jake, before Brie came along, did you care one bit that I was with Greg?”
Jake felt his jaw tense. He stared back. She knows the answer to that question.
“Did you?” Smirking, she shook her head. “Forget it. I’m not going to make you say it. It doesn’t matter because we both already know the answer. Jake, I love Greg, but I felt like I was losing you, again. Like when you started going out with Sarah, when I didn’t exist to you anymore. I don’t want to lose your friendship again because you have a new girlfriend. I’m sorry I screwed everything up. For you. For me. I’m scared. I love him, but he has this whole other life that doesn’t include me. I don’t want to lose him.”
“What are you talking about? Ari, Greg is so into you.”
“You’re wrong. I don’t have normal competition. Even though he goes to Frederick Central, most of his friends go to the deaf school. If you knew how many of those girls would like to sink their claws into him. I don’t stand a chance of keeping him.”
“I don’t believe that,” he scoffed.
“After what happened tonight at the art show? He saw me come onto you. He had just dropped me off and parked the car. I was waiting for him in the lobby, but then I saw you. I was just playing around when I covered your eyes, but when you turned and looked at me, like that. I thought you were going to kiss me, and I wanted you to.” She grimaced. “God, this whole evening has been a nightmare. Kal had to give me a ride home. Greg wouldn’t even talk to me.
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