The Road That Leads to Us

by Micalea Smeltzer

  I couldn’t help but chuckle. It seemed that every time I tried to say something meaningful Willow always had to go and say something silly afterwards. At least she didn’t call me, or my dad in this case, Yoda.

  “I could eat,” I admitted. Shocker.

  “Sit.” Willow pointed to one of the shiny metal barstools.

  “You’re going to make me something to eat?”

  “Don’t get too excited,” she warned, rifling through drawers.

  I grinned and steepled my hands in front of my mouth in the hopes that my glee wouldn’t be as noticeable.

  “Stop grinning,” she said, despite the fact that her back was turned.

  “You can’t even see me,” I defended.

  “I can feel it,” she countered, opening yet another drawer.

  When she found a package of English muffins she broke them apart and stuck the four halves in the toaster.

  She then rummaged in the pantry, returning once she’d procured a jar of peanut butter.

  She stood on her tiptoes to grab plates from a cabinet and then slathered the English muffin halves with peanut butter. She slid one plate across the counter to me and carried her plate around, pulling out the barstool beside me. She sank into it with a dramatic sigh.

  “Liam sucks,” she said without preamble.

  I chuckled, picking up one half of the English muffin. “He does…but he worries about you, the same way you worry about him.”

  Willow worried her bottom lip between her teeth, not eating her food.

  “You want to talk about it?” I prompted, brushing away the fine blonde hair shielding her eyes from me.

  She lifted her head slowly, and from the intensity of her gaze I knew she was working through whatever it was she wanted to say.

  “Maybe I’m overreacting…”

  “But?” I prompted, since there was clearly more she wanted to say.

  “But what if I’m not,” she finished forlornly. “I worry about him out here by himself. He has no family here, and the friends he’s made we don’t know them. They could be horrible people.”

  “Ollie’s not horrible. Weird,” I added, “but not horrible.”

  She giggled at this, but it wasn’t the normal happy sound I was used to from her. It was more forced. Like she knew she should laugh but didn’t want to.

  “I don’t want drinking to become an addiction for him, or for that to be a gateway for drugs. Liam…he might come across as crass to most people, but he’s actually really sensitive.”

  “You want my honest opinion?” I smoothed my hands down her arms and smiled in satisfaction when she shivered.

  “Yes,” she whispered, almost breathless.

  “I think you’re worrying about nothing. Liam’s a smart guy, and he’s determined to make it in surfing. He’s not going to do something stupid to screw it up. You have to trust him.”

  She inhaled a shaky breath and her head dipped in a reluctant nod. “You’re right. I don’t worry much, but when I do it’s usually over something stupid.”

  I held her chin captive so she couldn’t look away. “No, not stupid,” I said adamantly. “You have a big heart and it’s nice that you worry about him, but Liam’s a grown up. He can take care of himself.”

  “I know.” She nodded.

  Letting the subject drop she picked up her English muffin and took a bite. Peanut butter smeared across her lips and I couldn’t resist clasping my hand behind her neck and pulling her to me. I angled my mouth over hers, kissing away the peanut butter from her lips. She hummed softly and her hands landed on my chest, tugging on my shirt.

  “Ahem.”

  We jumped apart like we’d been caught doing something far worse than kissing.

  Liam stood in the center of the kitchen. We’d been so lost in conversation, and each other, that we hadn’t heard him approaching.

  Willow tucked her hair behind one ear and said, “What do you want, Liam?”

  “You say that like I’m not allowed to be in here.” He smirked, turning and opening the refrigerator. “My house, remember.”

  “You don’t have to be an ass about it.” Willow picked up her English muffin and took another bite. “It was just a question.” The words came out garbled sounding around her food.

  Liam poured himself a glass of milk and leaned across the counter from us.

  “You know,” he began, staring down at the liquid, “I can’t say I’m surprised you guys ended up together, but I also can’t say I’m happy.”

  Beside me Willow rolled her eyes and huffed a dramatic sigh. “You act as if you have a say in the matter.”

  “I don’t,” Liam agreed with a shrug. Leveling a glare on me, he said, “But if you hurt her I’ll kill you.”

  I threw my hands up in the air. “Why does everybody threaten me?”

  “Because you’re the guy!” Willow and Liam said simultaneously.

  “Dude, get used to it.” Liam picked up his glass and strolled around the counter. He clapped me on the shoulder harder than necessary. “No one is going to make this easy on you.”

  He started to leave the kitchen but turned back when he reached the archway.

  “And if you two think for a second I won’t know if you get in bed together. You’re wrong.” He pointed two fingers at his eyes and then us. “Remember, your dad is only a phone call away,” Liam warned Willow.

  “You’re ridiculous,” Willow huffed, glaring at him.

  Liam merely chuckled. “Love you too, Willie. Goodnight you guys.”

  With those parting words he headed back down the hall and into a room. The sound of the door closing echoed around the house.

  “I was planning to sneak into your bed,” Willow admitted, “but now I better not risk it. My dad might be accepting of our relationship, for the moment at least, but if he finds out we’ve been sharing a bed he will lose it…and that’s putting it mildly.” With a shrug she returned to eating her snack.

  I nodded reluctantly.

  “Maybe we should leave tomorrow,” I suggested.

  “Dean!” She cried, laughing at me.

  “What?” I asked innocently. “It’s a legitimate proposal.”

  “You know I wanted to go on this trip to visit Liam. We can’t leave tomorrow.” She wiped crumbs off of her mouth.

  “We came. We visited. We can leave.” I pointed in the direction of the door. “I don’t think he likes us being here,” I hissed under my breath.

  “That’s because Liam is a hermit. He’ll get over it.”

  I wanted to remind Willow that not everyone was like her, so easily accepting, but I opted to keep my mouth shut.

  We finished our snack and cleaned up before making the reluctant trip upstairs.

  When we topped the steps we both paused, waiting for the other to say something first.

  Finally I bent and kissed her forehead. “G’night, Willow.”

  She exhaled a shaky breath and I could see relief in her eyes for some reason. “Goodnight, Dean.”

  ***

  “Up and at ‘em!”

  Cold water landed on my body, followed a moment later by raucous laughter.

  I sat straight up, spluttering and shaking from the frigid water.

  “LIAM!”

  I blinked my eyes open, shook off the water and looked around blearily to see Liam standing over me with an empty pitcher of water, and Willow storming into the room.

  She was a force to be reckoned with as she barreled forward, blonde hair billowing around her shoulders, and lifted her hand to smack the back of Liam’s head.

  “Ow!” He groaned, reaching up a hand to apply pressure for the spot. “What was that for?”

  “The fact that you’re asking that question is proof of your stupidity,” she huffed, hands falling to her waist.

  Liam was unperturbed by what Willow said and simply glanced down at me lying soaking wet in bed. I was still in shock from the iciness of the water.

  “Get up,” Liam said u
nnecessarily. “We’re going to swim with sharks.”

  “Pretty sure I’m already swimming with them,” I muttered, and climbed out of bed.

  Liam was forced to step out of my way.

  “There’s no time for a shower,” Liam said, heading towards the door.

  “Of course there’s not,” I grumbled, rifling through my bag for a pair of swim trunks.

  “I’m so sorry,” Willow mouthed, before backing out of the room and closing the door behind her. A moment later I heard her war cry and a loud thump.

  I ran to the door and slung it open, bursting into much needed laughter when I saw that she’d tackled Liam to the ground.

  “That’s my girl,” I crowed. “She’s a lion.”

  Liam grumbled on the floor and Willow extracted herself from the mess of limbs.

  “You better leave him alone!” She called back to Liam before slamming the door closed to the room she was staying in. I knew she didn’t slam it to make a point or be dramatic, because Willow always slammed doors. She couldn’t help it.

  Liam sat sprawled on the floor. “She’s crazy, that one. You sure you can keep up with her?” He raised a single dark brow.

  Liam and I had known each other forever, but we’d never been close. Still, growing up together he knew that where Willow was loud, I was quiet. While Willow blurted her thoughts and feelings, I thought through what I was going to say. We were as opposite as day and night. The moon and the sun. But you can’t have one without the other. That’s why we worked.

  “I’m sure.”

  Liam grinned from his spot on the floor. It was a genuine smile too. The first one he’d thrown my way since we showed up.

  “Good luck.” He finally said before coming to his feet. “You’re gonna need it with that one.”

  He disappeared down the hall and into what I assumed was his bedroom.

  I finished changing and met them downstairs.

  I couldn’t believe I was about to swim with sharks.

  I’d never had the daredevil gene that Willow had. Her parents were the same way though, so it made sense that she had an adventuresome spirit as well.

  Liam drove and I got stuck in the back. That was fine though. It gave Willow a chance to talk to Liam.

  We arrived at a dock and Liam parked his Jeep in the lot.

  “Is that…?” I began.

  “Ollie,” Liam finished for me. “Yep.”

  He got out of the car and we followed.

  Ollie and a blonde girl stood beside a VW van. He had his arm slung over her shoulder, pulling her into him. Her hair was long and bleached from the sun, not a salon.

  “I hear we’re swimming with the sharks today!” Ollie called as we approached.

  “You better not do anything stupid,” Liam grumbled.

  “Me? Do something stupid? Never!” Ollie feigned shock. To Willow and me, he said, “This is my girlfriend, Talia.”

  Talia started to say hello, but Ollie cut her off by giving her an exaggerated kiss. There was a whole lot more tongue involved than I wanted to see this early in the morning.

  “Ollie,” Liam groaned, “boat. Now.”

  “My girl needed a kiss,” Ollie crowed, spreading his arms out wide before heading for the dock.

  “You can force-feed her your saliva later.” Liam clapped him on the shoulder.

  Beside us, Talia gave an apologetic smile as we followed behind the guys.

  “Sorry about that.” She frowned. “Ollie is…”

  “Ollie?” We finished for her.

  She laughed. “Yeah. He’s a bit exuberant, but you get used to it.” She shrugged, smiling at us. She was shorter than Willow and her hair was a darker shade of blonde. “It’s one of the things I love most about him. That he’s not afraid to be true to himself.”

  I had to smile at her words. It was one of the things I loved most about Willow.

  As if sensing this she glanced up at me and I couldn’t help but lower and kiss her. It was the briefest of kisses, barely a touch of our lips, but it felt like so much more.

  Liam and Ollie stopped beside a large boat and someone was already on board.

  “Hey!” The guy yelled down. The guy was on the lanky side and sporting a pair of black-rimmed glasses. His brown hair was styled in dreads that were tied back with a ponytail holder.

  We filed onto the boat and the guy held out a hand for Willow and I to shake.

  “Jeremiah,” he introduced himself.

  “Dean,” I said. “Nice shirt,” I commented when I noticed what he wore.

  The shirt was blue, but that wasn’t what caught my eye.

  It was the Pokémon on it. It had an image of Magikarp on it as well as its evolution to Gyarados. Between the images of the Pokémon it said: If you don’t struggle you don’t improve.

  Words to live by.

  Beside me Willow snorted. “Pokémon right?”

  Jeremiah and I nodded.

  She shook her head and looked at Jeremiah apologetically. “Dean’s going to think you guys are bonded for life now. You’ve been warned.”

  Jeremiah shook his head. “Pokémon is a brotherhood.”

  “Don’t be sexist,” Talia laughed, sitting on the edge of the boat. I didn’t know how she didn’t fall off the way it was bobbing up and down.

  “And sisterhood,” Jeremiah added, hands raised in surrender.

  “Let’s get this show on the road!” Ollie smacked his hands against the boat in an uneven rhythm. “Daylight is wasting!”

  “Here Ollie. Eat a Snickers.” Liam tossed a chocolate bar at Ollie.

  Ollie caught it easily and stared at in puzzlement. “Why?”

  “Because your normal self is getting on my last God-damn nerve at the moment. Maybe it’ll work some magic on you like those stupid fucking commercials and make you tolerable for the day.”

  “It’ll only make me hyper,” Ollie explained, ripping open the paper.

  Liam made a grab for the chocolate, but Ollie promptly took a bite. “Too late now.”

  Ollie moved over to where Talia sat and the two huddled together, speaking in hushed tones.

  “Life jackets.” Jeremiah pointed to where a stack sat. “Put them on. All of you.” He moved his finger to point at Liam. “That means you too.”

  “Oh come on!” Liam groaned tossing his hands in the air. “I can swim.”

  “My boat. My rules,” Jeremiah said with an easy shrug. “Deal with it or get off.”

  Liam grumbled but grabbed one of the life jackets and put it on.

  We each put ours on and once Jeremiah was satisfied he started the boat and we headed out into the open ocean.

  With the sharks.

  Willow

  My hair blew in the breeze, tickling my neck. I leaned my head back, my eyes closed, and spread out my arms. Droplets of water flew up from the wake of the boat, hitting against me.

  Peace.

  That’s what I felt at the moment.

  From the way Dean was shaking beside me, I’d say he felt something more akin to terror.

  He’d get over it, though, and thank me later for the experience.

  The other space beside me on the bench dipped and I glanced over to see that Liam had taken a seat. Dark sunglasses were perched on his nose and he stared off to his right.

  Liam was a complex person.

  It made him hard to get to know, and even harder to love because you never knew what to expect with him.

  It had been hard on all of us—the kids of the Willow Creek band members. The media followed us all closely. Chronicling what we wore, when we messed up, (never when we succeeded), and speculated on what we’d do with our lives.

  Mathias, Liam’s dad, was known as the bad boy of the band and for some reason people expected Liam to follow the same path. I knew he hated being compared to his father—not because he didn’t love his dad, because he did, but because the media always made things sound a hundred times worse than it really was.

  Growin
g up with famous parents it was impossible to be seen as your own person.

  Liam was desperate to prove himself and I knew that was why he pursued surfing so hard. He put in long hours to perfect his sport and be the best. He wanted to be known as Liam Wade the surfer, not the son of Mathias Wade.

  “Don’t forget that I’m here for you,” I told him, raising my voice to be heard over the sound of the boat soaring across the water. “I might live far away, but there’s this thing called a phone and you can do this magical thing where you push buttons, and it makes words. You might not have heard it, but it’s called texting. And you can even push some buttons and call someone where you can actually hear their voice.” I faked a gasp. “I know, you’re probably mind-blown right now. I’ll give you a moment to process this profound information.”

  Liam glanced at me and cracked a half smile. “I’m good, Willie. I know you don’t think so, but I am.”

  “Then why are you so grumpy?” I paused. “Wait, let me guess. You’re on your man-period.”

  He snorted. “Man period?” He raised a single brow.

  “Yeah. It’s a legit thing.”

  “Explain,” he chuckled.

  “It’s where guys get all moody and broody and shit,” I explained. Wrinkling my nose, I added, “And guys tend to say ‘yeah’ a lot when I don’t think they mean to say it. And it’s more of a ‘yah’ instead of ‘yeah.’”

  Liam chuckled beside me, shaking his head. “You should write a book about all your weird observations.”

  “It’s fact, not a mere observation.”

  He laughed and shook his head some more.

  “I hate to inform you, but I’m not on my man-period.” He clasped his hands together and leaned forward, staring towards the front of the boat.

  “What’s your problem then?” I was relentless.

  He took a deep breath and let it out. “Don’t know, Willie. I guess I’m just me.”

  “You’re impossible,” I groaned.

  He smiled at this—an actual full smile. “We can’t all be sunshine like you.”

  “True,” I agreed reluctantly.

  “Ooh! Ooh! I know what Liam’s problem is!” Ollie yelled from the opposite side of the boat, raising his hand in the air like a school kid. He sat on the floor of the boat with Talia between his legs. Her back rested against his chest and she leaned up to kiss his chin.