Last Train Home

by Megan Nugen Isbell

  “Don’t patronize me, Riley. You know the rules and I really don’t like it when you blatantly disregard them.”

  “We weren’t doing anything, Mom. We were just hanging out.”

  “I don’t know what was going on in here, but I trust you to make the right choices. You’re a seventeen-year-old girl, but he is a seventeen-year-old boy and there’s a big difference between the two.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I sneered, forgetting that I was trying to be nice.

  “I’m just saying you need to be careful.”

  “You’re really reading way too deeply into this,” I said, standing up from the bed and passing her in the doorway, but then I stopped and looked at her with nervous eyes. “You’re not going to be all weird around Alex, are you?”

  “Should I be all weird around him? After all, according to you, nothing was going on in here,” she said, the sarcasm thick in her voice.

  “Nothing was going on. I promise. We were just kissing.” I figured if I told her part of the truth, she might drop it, but she continued to eye me with concern. “I’m sorry. I’ll leave the door open from now on. And I mean all the way, not just a crack.”

  “I just don’t want you to do anything you’ll regret.”

  “Mom, you don’t need to worry…I’m good. Everything’s good,” I said and gently touched her arm as a sign of goodwill. I was good. Everything was good. Maybe not in the way she thought constituted good, but I thought everything was turning out perfectly, considering my situation.

  She didn’t say anything else to me. She just sighed and walked down the hallway into her bedroom. I trotted quickly downstairs, not wanting to worry Alex too much. When I walked into the kitchen, his brow seemed to be slightly furrowed and his face was more serious than I’d seen it before. He was unloading the brown paper bags and I walked over and began putting things away.

  “Is everything okay?” he asked quietly, gesturing upstairs with his eyes.

  “Yeah, everything’s fine,” I assured him as I reached up and put away a can of cream of mushroom soup.

  He looked relieved and then he came over to where I was standing in the corner.

  “That’s a relief,” he said, stepping closer and then I felt his hand wrap around my waist. “I was afraid she was going to forbid you from seeing me or something.” He smiled in a cute, seductive way that made my heart flutter.

  “I told her nothing was going on upstairs.”

  “You’re a good liar,” he whispered as he leaned in and kissed me softly before turning away to finish putting away the groceries.

  Chapter Fourteen

  As Friday drew closer, I wasn’t dreading the party at Kurt’s house nearly as much as I thought I would. Alex and I had grown closer and each day, we’d begin our lunch period with my friends and then we’d make our way over to his friends. However, the second we’d sit down, Adrienne and the ho-patrol would get up and leave. She’d glare at me and roll her eyes, but I would just smile and sit a little closer to Alex. She seemed to be getting used to the fact that I wasn’t going away, and nothing made me happier than to see the disappointment on her face.

  When Friday finally came, I was actually looking forward to the party…well not so much the party as much as I was looking forward to a night out with Alex. After school, I kissed Alex goodbye and practically ran to my Jetta and then headed home. When I walked in the house, my mom and grandma were gone. I had no clue where they were. My mom was probably still at work. I wasn’t really sure. She took shifts at the hospital whenever they were available, so it wasn’t uncommon for me to come home and find the house empty. I actually kinda liked it. There was no one to answer to, no one to bug me about my day and I could just be alone.

  I threw my backpack on the bed once I was in my room. I looked around and felt overwhelmed when my gaze landed on the paint supplies in the corner. I’d managed to wash the walls, which turned out not to be so bad, and just as Jesse had said, the walls were definitely much dirtier than they appeared. Unfortunately though, I hadn’t gotten to the taping part. I’d been too busy doing homework…well, maybe not homework if I was being truthful with myself, unless texting and talking to Alex counted as homework.

  Jesse wouldn’t be over till noon the next day though, so I told myself I’d get up early and do the taping then. He’d never know the difference and he’d be super impressed that I’d gotten everything done.

  I pushed the painting from my mind and flung myself onto the bed until I was stretched out on my stomach. I kicked off my shoes and reached into my backpack. I didn’t have a ton of homework, but I wanted to get it out of the way so I wouldn’t have to worry about it the rest of the weekend. I pulled out the tattered copy of Animal Farm Mrs. Davenport had given us earlier in the week. We’d finished with The Scarlet Letter and were now moving onto this gem. I opened the faded, yellow pages to chapter eight and started reading.

  I was working on my reader response after finishing the assigned chapters when I heard the sound of the front door opening and then the voices of my mom and grandma. I just kept working and a few minutes later, I heard the heavy sounds of my mom’s footsteps clanking up the stairs. She knocked on the door, which was open a crack and pushed it open.

  “We’re home,” she said walking into the room.

  “I can see that,” I said as I continued to write, not bothering to look up.

  I knew I was being unnecessarily sarcastic, but that didn’t stop me. It was just the way our relationship was now. It was my way of showing her how mad I was about it. But, if I was being completely truthful, I really wasn’t mad anymore. Just as I’d admitted to Jesse, I actually kind of liked it in Carver. I had friends and I had Alex. I was happy here, for the most part. But, for some reason, I couldn’t let up on my efforts to push my mom away. If I did, then she would win and I wasn’t ready to admit defeat yet.

  “What are you working on?” she asked, ignoring my jab and sitting down at the foot of the bed.

  “English homework,” I said flatly as I continued to write. “I want to get my homework done before I leave.”

  “Leave for where?”

  “Alex is taking me to a party.”

  “Oh,” she said and I could tell she wasn’t happy that I hadn’t kept her apprised of my plans. I really had been trying to be better with that, but I’d dropped the ball this time. “What about painting?” she continued. “Weren’t you supposed to have this room taped off for tomorrow so you and Jesse could start working on it?’

  I set my pencil down and looked towards the paint supplies.

  “I’ll get it done in the morning.”

  “Don’t you think that’s a lot to get done before tomorrow afternoon?”

  “I said I’ll get it done,” I sighed, just wishing she’d leave me alone.

  “Alright,” she said standing up, but I knew she didn’t think I was making the right choice in going to the party when I hadn’t finished prepping the room.

  “Seriously, Mom. It’ll be fine,” I said, looking up at her.

  “I’m sure you will be,” she said and then walked out of the room.

  I just shook my head and turned back to my work, trying to ignore her negativity.

  When I was done, it was just after five o’clock. I put my books away and jumped in the shower and then focused on what I would wear to the party. It has to be something hot, I told myself as I scoured my closet. I finally settled on a cute black tank top, which was embellished with small silver medallions down the v-neck. I paired it with dark jeans, which hugged my curves and a pair of black boots, and I pulled a long shimmery silver necklace over my head. I put on my makeup and then dried my hair and flat-ironed it so it hung long and sleek down my back.

  It was nearly six-thirty when I was done and I went downstairs to grab a piece of leftover pizza we’d ordered the night before. Grandma was watching the Royals game on TV and Mom was reading in the recliner. I sat down on the couch next to my grandma and quick
ly ate the pizza. When I was done, I ran upstairs to brush my teeth. I couldn’t have garlic and pepperoni breath when Alex came to get me.

  Just as I was rinsing with some Scope, I heard the chime of the doorbell. I grabbed my purse and trotted downstairs to find Alex standing in the living room. He smiled when he saw me and I got all nervous for a second.

  “Hi,” I said as I walked over and stood by his side.

  “Hey.” Our eyes met and I wanted nothing more than to reach up and start kissing him right there. Instead, I just took his hand.

  “Have fun,” my grandma called, tearing her gaze away from the game for a moment and smiling at us.

  “Be home by midnight,” my mom reminded as she lifted her eyes from the book she was reading.

  “I know,” I said as I pulled gently on Alex and led him to the door.

  “Did you do this on purpose?” he asked once we were standing beside his car.

  “Do what?”

  “You look pretty hot,” he said, reaching up and touching the silver medallions on my tank top. I felt my breath quicken as his fingers made their way from the decorations on my shirt to my bare skin. He caressed the line of the deep scoop neck, leaving a trail of goosebumps behind his touch. By this point, he had pushed me gently against the car so I was I pinned between it and him. He continued tracing my skin with his finger when he leaned in and kissed me softly on the lips. My heart was pounding now and I wrapped my arms around him and eagerly began kissing him back.

  “We should get going,” he said softly as he finally pulled back a few moments later, leaving me breathless and frazzled. He smiled slyly at me as if he knew exactly what he had done to my composure. He walked to the other side of the car and got in. I took a deep breath, trying to pull myself together, and then got in the car beside him. He smiled at me again and then started the car and pulled away.

  ****

  Kurt lived on the outskirts of town. While not as far out as Jesse, it was far enough out that I knew a party could be thrown there and the neighbors wouldn’t complain. The beaters I was used to seeing in the school parking lot swarmed Kurt’s old red farmhouse. Alex pulled his car next to a beat up Ford truck and when we got out, I could hear music pumping from the house. I was shocked that it wasn’t country. Instead, it was a dance track you might hear in a club. There were people outside being loud and stupid, but Alex took my hand and they shouted hello to him as he led me past them. He just waved and we walked onto the porch and into the crowded house.

  “Looks like we’re late,” I said, leaning in as I tried to be heard over the loud music.

  “I just didn’t want to get here till the party started,” he said smiling at me. “What fun would that be if no one was drunk so we could make fun of them?”

  “Good point,” I laughed as I looked around the crowded living room searching for any familiar faces. I recognized most of them from school, but they were still strangers. Then my eyes focused on the corner of the room where I saw my cousin David talking to a girl I’d seen in the cafeteria. She was a cute blonde and David seemed intrigued with her. It was actually kind of uncomfortable watching my cousin putting the moves on someone.

  He must have sensed me watching him because a moment later, his head turned and then he smiled and raised his hand in a quick wave. He nodded in a way that said he was a little busy at the moment and would talk to me later. I nodded back and then David’s attention returned to the girl.

  “Your cousin seems to be having a good time,” Alex whispered in my ear.

  “Yeah. It’s actually kind of disturbing,” I said and then we heard a loud and obnoxious voice interrupt us.

  “Hey! Alex!” I turned to see a sloppy Kurt approaching us. He had a red plastic cup in his hand that was sloshing around with beer and as he draped his arm over Alex’s shoulder, I stepped back, afraid he might spill it all over us.

  “You didn’t waste much time,” Alex said, pointing to the beer.

  “Hell no, I didn’t!” Kurt shouted and then looked at me. “Help yourself, Riley.” He gestured towards the kitchen, which I guessed was stocked with an assortment of alcohol.

  “Nah, I’m good.”

  “You didn’t tell me she was a saint,” Kurt said sarcastically to Alex. “There’re juice boxes in the fridge if you’re interested.”

  I heard Alex laugh, but then he looked at me and when he saw I was rolling my eyes he knew I wasn’t amused. His laughter abruptly stopped and stared at Kurt.

  “What?” Kurt laughed. “I was only kidding!”

  “Just knock it off, okay?” Alex told him.

  “Lighten up, asshole,” Kurt said with a laugh and then walked away.

  Alex turned and looked at me.

  “You’re not really mad, are you?”

  “No.”

  “He didn’t mean anything by it. He was only messin’ with you.”

  “I know. I’m fine. I guess I just need to chill out with your friends. They already don’t like me.”

  “They do like you, but even if they didn’t, would it matter? I like you and that’s all that counts.”

  He took my hand and pulled me to him. His hands were resting on my hips and as I looked up into his deep brown eyes, he was smiling at me in a way that made my heart melt.

  “And, I happen to like you a lot,” he said quietly before leaning in and kissing me.

  “Oh, please,” a hateful voice interrupted. We both pulled apart and saw Adrienne, sans her posse, glaring at us.

  “Adrienne,” Alex said calmly. She continued to stare at us and I felt myself getting nervous. I realized I was probably holding onto his hand a little tighter than I should be, but I didn’t loosen my grip. She just made me so angry.

  “Hey, Adrienne,” I said as cooly as I could, wanting to show her she wasn’t bothering me, when she really was.

  “What is that doing here?” she spat at me.

  “Riley’s with me,” Alex said, putting his arm around me, which obviously didn’t sit well with Adrienne.

  “Yeah, I can see that. I’ve been seeing that since the day she got here. I guess you’ve really lost your touch with the ladies if you’ve settled for that.”

  I wanted to say something, but I was frozen as I listened to her spew the harsh words out at me. I still could not wrap my head around why she felt the need to berate and insult me when she didn’t even know me.

  “Actually, Adrienne, I think my touch has improved,” he said and I felt my voice return.

  “What is your problem with me anyway?” I finally asked. It was a simple question…one I’d wanted to know the answer to since my first day when we’d bumped into each other. I’d tried apologizing then, but she jumped right into attack mode. It’d been downhill ever since.

  She just stared at me with a smirk as her squinty blue eyes spanned over me. I seriously wanted to reach out and punch her in the face, but I just stood there, waiting for her answer.

  “My problem with you?” she sneered. “I don’t have a problem, but soon you will.”

  I felt Alex’s grip on my hand tighten and he pulled me closer as my eyes remained locked with Adrienne’s.

  “Enough, Adrienne. Stop being such a bitch. C’mon, Riley.”

  She finally broke her gaze from mine and stared at Alex for a moment before she huffed and flung her wavy hair before storming off. Alex had led me away from the crowded living room. He opened a door, taking me into a quiet den, quickly shutting and locking the door behind us. The music that had been blaring only moments before was now just a subtle hum and it was then I realized my eyes were warm with tears. I hadn’t wanted to admit she had gotten to me, but I couldn’t help it. I could understand her hostility a little, at first, but I really thought she’d get over it by now. She wasn’t getting over it though and she was determined to make my life miserable. I wanted to ignore her, to not let her bother me, but one can only take the insults for so long before breaking down and I’d had enough

  “I’m sorry ab
out that,” he said softly.

  I just shook my head and when I blinked a tear fell down my cheek.

  “Don’t cry,” he said, reaching up and gently wiping it away. “Don’t let her get to you.”

  “Ya know, it’s pretty hard not to let her get to me.”

  “I know, but she’s not worth it.”

  “That’s easy for you to say. She doesn’t attack you. She doesn’t sneer at you every day. I’m a pretty strong person, but it’s kinda tough to ignore it when I can’t even go out with you without wondering if she’s going to be around. I mean, I knew she’d be here tonight, but I was really hoping she’d just leave us alone. She’s never gonna leave us alone,” I said, ripping my hand away from his and sitting down on the old striped sofa.

  Alex came and sat down next to me.

  “I’m gonna talk to her,” he said, taking my hand again.

  “Why? What good’s it gonna do? She doesn’t care. She won’t care. All she cares about is getting you back.”

  “She doesn’t want me back. She just doesn’t want a girl around who’s hotter than her.”

  I felt my cheeks flush red at his words, but it still didn’t change how I felt.

  “That’s not true,” I said and looked down to stare at the tacky green shag carpet.

  “Hey,” he said quietly, gently raising my chin with his hand. “It is true. She’s completely intimidated by you. Ever since we were kids, she’s been the one everyone wanted, but then you show up and blow her out of the water. She’s just scared and the only way she knows how to deal with it is by being a bitch.”

  I laughed softly, but then looked away.

  “I don’t know,” I said doubtfully, shaking my head.

  “Don’t know about what?”

  “This. Us. You and me,” I said, slowly moving my finger between us.

  “What about us? Tell me.”

  “What are we even doing?” I asked, finally looking up and meeting his dark brown eyes again.

  “We’re hanging out. What do you mean?”

  “I mean, is it even worth it? Is it worth being chastised every day by Adrienne? Is it worth feeling badly about myself because she has some complex? I mean, I don’t even know what this is between us.”