Spring Breakdown

by Melody Carlson

  “So much for the buddy system.” DJ just shook her head.

  “She’s with a guy,” Casey insisted. “Isn’t that the same as a buddy?”

  DJ was about to answer, but Seth was tugging Casey away. “Come on, my little Orange Crush.” He pulled her to him like she was his personal plaything—like he owned her, body and soul. DJ turned away in disgust. Why did Casey put up with that?

  “Who wants to go to a movie?” Taylor asked as she began reading the choices from the paper. It didn’t take long for everyone to agree on a hot new release.

  “I get to drive the general’s car,” Taylor announced.

  “I’m going with her,” Harry joked. Then Rhiannon and Bradford said they’d ride with them.

  “And we’ll go with Lane.” Seth slipped his arm around Casey. “Ready, Babe?” She just smiled, nodding her head like a silly bobblehead doll.

  “Looks like you’re stuck with me,” Lane told DJ with an apologetic smile.

  “You know, I’m pretty tired,” she said. “I think I’ll pass on the movie this time.” She glanced around the messy patio. “Besides, I need to clean this up.”

  “We can’t leave you with all this mess,” Lane said quickly. “I know.” He reached into the pocket of his khaki shorts then tossed his keys to Seth. “You take my car and I’ll stay here and help DJ.”

  And before she could make an argument, the others took off and it was just her and Lane—and, of course, Grandmother, although she was still off in her room. DJ went right to work clearing things and, to her relieved surprise, so did Lane. In less than an hour, the place was spotless. “You do good work,” she told him.

  “So East Coast boys are good for something.”

  She laughed. “Want to see if there’s anything good on TV?” DJ handed him the remote then settled into a comfy club chair (avoiding the sectional where he was seated) and waited as he flipped through the channels. She knew that what they were doing was completely innocent, but she also knew that someone like Eliza could pop in and jump to all kinds of conclusions. Not that she expected to see Eliza any time soon. DJ’s guess was that Eliza had gone out with one of the admirers from the photo shoot—probably clubbing. Not that DJ thought that was a smart thing to do or that Grandmother would approve. Anyway, it seemed unlikely that Eliza would be home soon.

  Finally it was getting late and DJ really was tired. “Do you mind if I call it a night?” she asked him sleepily.

  “Not if you don’t mind me crashing here until the guys get back with my car.”

  She glanced at the clock then shrugged. “They should be back pretty soon anyway.” She told him good night, trudged to her room, crashed in bed, and fell sound asleep.

  DJ was the first one up the next morning. She tiptoed to the bathroom where she tugged on her swimsuit, then quietly crept back through the room again, trying to avoid waking Taylor. DJ had to smile to remember the old times and how she used to stomp around and make noise when Taylor was sleeping off a hangover. Thankfully those days were gone. At least she hoped so. DJ actually bent down to look at Taylor, even sniffing to be sure. Convinced that all was well, DJ quietly went out the patio doors and then slipped into the pool to swim laps. It felt delicious to slice through the smooth water. She had the pool to herself and nothing to think about but the day ahead. Maybe she’d go surfing again if she could talk Casey into joining her.

  Finally, satisfied with her workout, she climbed out and sat on the edge of the pool. Unfortunately she’d forgotten to bring a towel, and before long she was shivering in the cool morning air. Just as she was about to get up, she felt someone draping a towel around her shoulders. Thinking it was Taylor she turned around with a smile. “Lane?” she said in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

  He gave her lopsided grin. “I actually spent the night.”

  “What?”

  “Seth pulled a jerk stunt last night.”

  “Huh?”

  “He and Casey never even went to the movie. Harry tried to call him, but his phone was off. So Taylor drove the guys back to my grandparents’ place, thinking I’d be there. Naturally, I wasn’t. So I got stuck here all night. Taylor said it was okay. Hope you don’t mind.”

  She stood up and stomped a bare foot onto the cement. “Actually I do mind. I mind a lot!”

  “Sorry.” He stepped back.

  “No, I don’t mean you. I understand that. What ticks me off is Casey. I can’t believe she’d pull something like that here. My grandmother will be furious if she finds out.”

  “Will she find out?”

  DJ bit her lower lip.

  “And to be fair, it might not be completely Casey’s fault. That Seth…well, I don’t like to dis on friends—not that he’s such a great friend, taking off with my car and all. But I don’t totally trust the guy.”

  DJ nodded vigorously. “That’s how I feel.”

  “Anyway, if you wouldn’t mind, I could use a lift back to my place. It’s only about five miles. I thought about walking.”

  “Just let me get dressed,” she said as she took off back to her room. Taylor was still asleep and DJ quietly got dressed, grabbed her bag, and met up with Lane in the kitchen. “Let me leave a note for Grandmother, just in case.” She quickly scrawled something and then they left.

  “I know Seth might be a jerk,” she told Lane as she drove, “but it totally irks me that Casey just lets him control her. She never used to be like that.”

  “Sometimes girls change for guys,” he said in a philosophical way, “and sometimes guys change for girls.”

  “Isn’t it better just to be ourselves?”

  “Turn left on the next street.” He sighed. “What if the changes we make for someone else are improvements, like Harry?”

  DJ nodded. “I have to admit I like Harry a lot more now that he’s quit drinking.”

  “And, don’t take this wrong, DJ, but you’ve been a good influence on me.”

  She glanced over uneasily. “Meaning?”

  “I like the way you embrace life—the way you’re so comfortable in your own skin, and that you don’t need to drink to have a good time.”

  DJ wasn’t sure that all that was true, but she thanked him anyway.

  “It’s this development,” he told her. Then they passed through security and he directed her to his grandparents’ house.

  “Do you mind if I go in and drag out Casey?”

  “You really want to do that?”

  She considered a confrontation with Seth and Casey, probably both hung over and probably not too happy to see her. “Maybe not.”

  “How about if I bring her back later?”

  “Will you check on her?” DJ asked quietly. “I mean—to see that she’s okay.”

  He nodded. “Sure.”

  Then she thanked him and drove back to the general’s house. And, yes, a part of her did feel sorry for Casey. But another part of her just didn’t get it. Why was Casey being such a fool? And why did Casey pick such loser guys? First she’d been with Garrison, which had been a train wreck from the get-go. Then she hooked up with Seth—knowing full well how it had been with him and Taylor before Taylor wised up and got sober. Maybe some girls had to be kicked around before they figured things out. DJ was thankful she wasn’t one of them. But, she knew that old saying, “but by the grace of God…” And so, as she drove, she prayed for Casey. She begged God to shake that girl up and straighten her out before her life got completely derailed.

  The house was still quiet when she got back, and now DJ wondered if she should tell her grandmother. But then she wondered…what good would it do? DJ tiptoed back to her room and was relieved to see that Taylor was awake now.

  “Where have you been?” Taylor was just out of the shower, tying the belt of her bathrobe and shaking out her damp hair.

  DJ quickly explained the situation. “I’m getting seriously worried about Casey,” she said finally. “It’s like she’s on a path to self-destruct.”

  �
��That’s a path I know well.” Taylor sighed as she towel dried her hair.

  “Lane promised to check on her and bring her back. And now I’m trying to decide whether to tell my grandmother…not that it will help matters.”

  “Why don’t we just talk to Casey?” suggested Taylor. “Do another intervention of sorts. And you can always hold telling your grandmother over her head. I mean, if she wants to keep doing stupid stuff.”

  “It’s worth a try.”

  But when Lane brought Casey home, it was obvious that she wasn’t in any kind of condition to talk. “Let’s give her time,” Taylor advised DJ as they watched Casey staggering down the hallway to her room. “That girl isn’t going anywhere for a while.”

  “And if it makes you feel any better,” Lane told them, “I read Seth the riot act. I told him he could pack his stuff and leave if he pulls a stunt like that again.”

  “Did he listen?” asked DJ.

  “Oh, yeah.” Lane nodded. “The other guys backed me up. We told him we’d throw him out.”

  “Thanks.” DJ sighed. “Well, I guess I won’t be surfing today.”

  “Why not?” asked Lane.

  “Well, I’d been hoping Casey would—”

  “I know I’m not as good a surfer as you,” he said quickly, “but I rented my board for the week.”

  “So did I.” DJ glanced at Taylor now. “Should I go?”

  “Why not?” Taylor nodded. “You stayed home and cleaned up last night, Cinderella, so it seems like you should have some fun today.”

  “What about Casey?”

  Taylor narrowed her eyes. “You don’t think I can handle that girl?”

  DJ laughed. “I know you can. Probably better than any of us.”

  “Leave Casey to me today. You go and have some fun.”

  So that was just what DJ did. And what a great day for surfing it was—a perfectly delicious sort of day with blue sky and sun and good long rides on fast-moving waves. Only one thing could have made this day better, and DJ knew that he would be here tomorrow!

  16

  DJ had barely walked in the door of the general’s beach house when she sensed something was wrong. She could hear Rhiannon and Taylor talking quietly in the kitchen, but the tone of their voices sounded worried and somewhat urgent.

  “What’s going on?” DJ asked. “Is Casey okay?”

  “Casey’s just starting to feel better,” Rhiannon told her with worried eyes.

  “Yeah, after barfing her guts out for most of the day.” Taylor shook her head sadly.

  “Maybe this will make her think twice before she does—”

  “Casey isn’t our biggest concern right now,” Taylor interrupted.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Eliza never came home last night either.”

  DJ let out an exasperated sigh.

  “We didn’t actually figure this out until just a little while ago,” admitted Rhiannon.

  “It looked like her bed had been slept in,” Taylor told her, “so we just assumed that she’d come home and taken off again—probably with her mystery man.”

  “Then we realized that it was possible that Eliza hadn’t made her bed from the night before.”

  “But you don’t know that for sure,” DJ pointed out. “Maybe she did get home last night. Casey wasn’t there to see her, right?”

  “That’s true.” Taylor nodded. “But we snooped around and it just doesn’t seem like she came home last night.”

  “We think we would’ve seen her clubbing clothes,” Rhiannon said. “Because Eliza isn’t exactly tidy after a night out.”

  “And the shower would’ve been used,” Taylor said, “because Eliza wouldn’t think of going out again without a shower, but it was dry and no wet towels.”

  “That is strange.”

  “We could be wrong…” Taylor paused at the sound of footsteps and then Grandmother entered the kitchen.

  “Oh, I’m glad you girls are here,” she said. “I was thinking this might be a nice evening to go out for dinner. The general told me about a lovely little restaurant over on—”

  “I, uh, I don’t think so.” DJ tried to think of some good reason, but came up blank.

  Grandmother scowled. “Why not?”

  “Because we already ordered pizza,” Taylor said quickly.

  “Pizza?” Grandmother looked disappointed.

  “Besides, we’re kind of tired,” DJ said. “It’s been a long day.”

  “Are the boys coming over again?” she asked.

  “Not tonight,” Rhiannon answered. “I think we all need a night off.”

  “Maybe we can do something special tomorrow,” DJ offered. “Conner will be here then.”

  Grandmother just nodded. “Yes, I suppose that’s a good plan.” She turned to open the refrigerator and looked in.

  Taylor held up her hand like a phone and mouthed the word pizza. DJ nodded. And Rhiannon made the phone gesture too. Boys, she mouthed. DJ nodded again.

  “Perhaps I’ll just finish off some of these seafood leftovers from last night…” said Grandmother. “If no one minds.”

  “Help yourself,” DJ called out as she left the kitchen, heading for Casey’s room. Her plan was to get Casey to divulge more information about the whereabouts of Miss Eliza Wilton.

  “Hey, Casey,” she said as she walked right in without knocking. “I hear you’re feeling better.”

  Casey was sitting in a chair by the window, but she looked kind of limp and wiped out. “Uh-huh.”

  DJ sat down on the end of one of the beds and considered her words. Part of her wanted to tear into Casey and give her a solid piece of her mind. But another part of her knew that could backfire. What DJ needed now was information. And it seemed the only one who knew anything would be Casey.

  “So, Casey,” she began carefully, “I hear that Eliza never came home last night either.”

  Casey nodded then put her hand to her forehead like it hurt. “That’s what Taylor and Rhiannon seem to think,” she said in a hoarse voice.

  “But you don’t?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “Because you weren’t here either.”

  Casey looked down at her lap.

  “Anyway…it seems you were the last one to talk to Eliza. You said she was going out on a date, right?”

  “Right.”

  “You assumed to a club?”

  “Yeah. She was dressing up.”

  “Do you remember what she wore?”

  Casey frowned. “Not exactly.”

  “Do you remember anything she said about who she was going with?”

  Casey leaned over and put her head in her hands. “I don’t feel so good.”

  “Are you going to throw up again?”

  Casey didn’t answer and DJ was afraid she was about to say something stupid and so she stood up. “Sorry you’re sick,” she said stiffly. “Seems like you might want to think about that—” Then Casey took off for the bathroom and DJ left.

  “Pizza is coming,” Taylor told DJ when she came back out.

  “And I called the guys and told them that Eliza might be missing,” Rhiannon said, “and Bradford said they’d be on the lookout for her.”

  “Should I tell Grandmother?” asked DJ.

  Rhiannon nodded. “Probably.”

  “It did occur to me that she could be pulling the same kind of thing I did last fall,” Taylor said. “Remember my little disappearing act after Casey humiliated me on MySpace?”

  DJ nodded eagerly. “She could be doing something like that. It wouldn’t surprise me. She might be in some swanky hotel being waited on and ordering room service and just letting us freak.”

  Rhiannon brightened. “You know, that does sound possible.”

  “But what if we’re wrong?” asked DJ.

  “What do we know for sure?” said Taylor as she reached for a notepad. “Let’s write it down.”

  “Her phone is turned off,” said Rhiannon
. “It goes straight to messaging and she hasn’t returned our calls.”

  “What did she take with her?” asked DJ suddenly. “I mean, if she was going to hole up in a hotel, wouldn’t she take an overnight bag or some personal items?”

  “Unless she wanted to make it look like she was simply missing,” said Taylor.

  “Did Casey see anyone picking Eliza up?” asked Rhiannon.

  “Casey can’t remember anything at the moment,” DJ said. “She hardly knows her own name.”

  “Very helpful.”

  DJ thought hard for a moment and suddenly knew what had to be done. “Whether or not Eliza is jerking us around, I need to inform my grandmother.”

  “I think so too,” admitted Rhiannon.

  “I agree.” Taylor nodded. “Just in case something really is wrong.”

  “Like what if she’s been kidnapped?” Rhiannon’s eyes got wide.

  “It doesn’t seem likely, but you never know.” DJ was trying to think of an easy way to break this news to Grandmother.

  Taylor suddenly pointed out toward the pool. “Although there are definitely some pervs around—you never know.”

  “Is our sleazy friend out there again?” asked DJ.

  “No, it’s a different guy tonight.”

  “Good. They probably gave the other jerk the boot.” DJ braced herself. “Well, I’m going to speak to Grandmother. Anyone else want to come?”

  They both shook their heads no, so DJ went alone. She knocked on the door, waited to be asked in, and then quickly broke the news. “Eliza seems to be missing, Grandmother.”

  “Missing?” She looked up from where she’d been eating at a small table by a window.

  So DJ gave the details, or as many details as she could remember. Grandmother’s face grew cloudy with concern. She pushed the plate away and closed her eyes as if she wanted to shut out this bad news.

  “I realize that Eliza might just be pulling a stunt,” DJ said finally, “but I felt you should know.”

  Grandmother’s eyes opened wide. “Of course I should know. How long have you known she was missing?”

  “Not even an hour.”

  “Oh. And she’s been missing since yesterday evening?”

  DJ nodded.