by Kimi Flores
A pebble skirted across the sidewalk when he kicked it. “It’s not, but when you've lived there your entire life, people tend to judge your lifetime of shortcomings.”
“You mean the whole punk kid thing?” I joked.
“I guess that’s part of it.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’m still searching for the full meaning myself.”
He wasn’t giving me reason to think this had anything to do with his sister’s death, but my instincts told me it did.
“God, doesn’t that sun feel good on your skin?” He switched topics, letting me know it was time to drop the subject. I’d just have to let him take the lead if he wanted to discuss it further.
We continued to stroll down the street and like I’d done before, I watched how he took everything in. From the kids laughing as they ran through the sprinklers to the cars taking their time as they rolled down the road like they were in no hurry. Everything seemed to bring meaning to Blaine. And in turn, it brought a new reality to me. I’d lived here for over a year, but I’d forgotten the pureness of living in a small town.
He reached over, plucked a single daisy from a shrub along the sidewalk and handed it to me.
“Thank you, daisies are my favorite.” I sniffed the orange center. “I haven’t found that magical he loves me pedal yet, but…” Where the hell did that come from? I brought the flower back up to my nose and flushed with embarrassment as I peeked to the side at him.
Glancing at his shoes, he had a huge grin on his face when he looked back up. God, he was so handsome when he smiled at me like that.
Suddenly shy, we continued our small talk as we walked to my house. A few doors away, I noticed James, the mailman, standing on my front porch. He looked frustrated as he jerked his hand away from the mail slot on my door and leaned down to pick up the envelope that had fallen.
“What’s he doing?” Blaine asked the question that was also in my head.
“I don’t know.” We sped up our pace until we were close enough to see what was going on.
Blaine burst out laughing when we saw James attempt to slip the mail in the slot again and one of Fritz’s front paws stuck out and swiped back and forth. His claws were fully extended and caught the mail before he pulled the envelopes inside.
James looked back at us. “Oh thank God you’re here, Andie. What is wrong with your cat?”
I gave Blaine a death glare. “Don’t say a word.” I turned to James. “I’ve never seen him do that. Does he do it often?”
“No, but this past week it’s like he has a sixth sense and just knows I’m coming. I even tried tip-toeing up the stairs today and he still caught me.” James handed over the rest of the mail as Fritz’s paw came out again.
“I’m so sorry. Has he scratched you?” I could only pray he hadn’t.
“No, but I’m sure your mail has seen better days by the time you get it.” He grimaced.
“Yeah, he has a thing for my mail, but I thought he was attacking it once it hit the floor not while you were delivering it.” Reaching out to offer an apologetic hand shake, I felt mortified and offered a solution. “I’ll go get one of those curbside mailboxes so you won’t have to deal with this. Again, I’m so sorry James.”
“Don’t worry about it, at least you don’t have a Chihuahua who tries to bite my ankles like Mr. Rickles does.” He waved on his way out.
James barely reached the sidewalk before Blaine busted out in a belly laugh. With my hands on my hips, I stared and waited for him to quiet down. “What is so funny? Fritz could’ve really hurt him and I’m sure being bit on the ankles isn’t exactly a walk in the park.”
Once he collected himself, Blaine wrapped an arm around my shoulders and chuckled. “I’ve survived the War of the Wrinkles, avoided the tooty jets, and witnessed the mailman narrowly escape being mauled by Fritz the guard cat all before we even had lunch. I think I could get use to this quiet life.”
I stopped breathing for a second and felt warm all over. My heart filled with something that had been foreign to me for as long as I could remember—hope.
Chapter Five
Blaine
Sweat dripped down my back as I rounded the corner. My legs were beginning to quiver while I mentally started counting the steps until I was home. I’d pushed myself harder today, trying to clear my head. I hadn't been able to get Andie off my mind. Each day, I sat in the backyard trying to study, but I’d see her movements through her workshop door and my attention would instantly fly back to her.
Thank God, she took several breaks throughout the day, leaving me in peace to get some of my own work done. I’m not proud of it, but I might’ve placed Fritz by the door a few times and patted his butt until he went inside and bugged her. That didn’t work with most cats, but he couldn’t get enough of Andie. I can't say I blamed him. All he had to do was give her a few demanding meows and bat some beads off her table and she would stop what she was doing to cater to the ugly fur ball.
One thing was clear, I needed to find a new place to study. My entire career was resting on how well I did on that damn test.
My body pounded as I slowly made my way up the path to her front porch. I was beginning to stretch my calves on the steps when I saw a group of people headed in my direction. Taking a closer look, the first thing I noticed was golden-blonde strands flying in the air as a teen girl in one of those specially designed hand controlled tricycles quickly approached.
She had a huge smile on her face while she spun around, placed her pinkies on the hand pedals and yelled out to the couple behind, “See I told you I’d beat you guys just by using a few fingers.”
I grinned and leaned against the railing, watching the adults come to a stop.
“Cheater,” the guy coughed before winking at her.
Finally noticing me, the woman spoke first, “You must be Blaine.” She had the same golden waves and porcelain skin as the teen girl.
I chuckled. I didn’t know how the entire town seemed to know me when I’d only been here just over a few weeks. “Um, yeah. Nice to me you...”
The dark-haired guy, who looked so familiar, got off his mountain bike and stuck his hand out. “Nice to meet you. I’m Kyle, and this is my wife Aurora and our daughter Angel.”
That’s why he looked familiar. I’d seen several movies Kyle Austin Reed had starred in.
“I’m Blaine,” I replied, awkwardly since Aurora had already pointed that out.
Kyle’s practiced smile was friendly. I imagine he had to perfect that since he was in the public eye. “Sorry, word gets around here pretty quick when we have a newcomer.”
Raising my eyebrows, I confirmed, “Yeah, I’ve noticed.” It wasn’t that I minded people knowing who I was. Back home, if you’d lived in our community for a decent amount of time, most people knew who you were.
Right now, though, I was over four hundred miles away from home and it was throwing me.
Thankfully, Angel broke the uncomfortable silence. “Is Andie around? I want to show her my new bike.” She clapped her hands, obviously excited.
I looked at the front door like it had the answer. “Not sure. Her bedroom door was still closed when I left for my run.”
I watched Aurora’s expression change from excitement to concern as she addressed her daughter. “She might still be in bed since she wasn’t feeling well last night, honey. Let me go check on her.”
Kyle placed his hand on her arm as she passed. “Are you sure, mon amour? Why don’t we just let her sleep?”
She leaned in and placed a tender kiss on her husband’s cheek. “Because I know she’ll be irritated if I don’t tell her we came by.”
Feeling like an intruder, I gave a wave goodbye, headed upstairs for my room and grabbed a change of clothes. On the way to the bathroom, I saw Aurora knocking on Andie’s door, then she peeked her head inside before entering and closing the door behind her.
That was strange.
Andie hadn’t said anything to me last night about n
ot feeling well. We’d eaten dinner together and watched Undercover Boss. She’d even joked around about auditioning for the show herself.
That’s when I’d learned she worked with multiple boutiques that sold her jewelry across the country and she’d hired several adults with high-functioning autism to help her package the items for shipment.
She said it gave them purpose, and not only did she enjoy being with them, but they were her hardest working employees because they loved having a ‘real’ job.
Each time I learned something new about her, I was drawn even closer. I thought maybe she felt the same so I really didn’t understand why she hadn’t told me about not feeling well.
More importantly, why was I so bothered she hadn’t said anything?
By the time I’d taken a shower, changed and headed downstairs, Kyle, Aurora and Angel were all sitting in the living room. The front door was wide open and Andie was fiddling around in the kitchen, still looking half asleep.
I stepped around the island and took in her disheveled appearance and a warning siren started to blare, immediately reminding me of all the times I’d seen my sister look the same after a long night of drinking.
My blood began to boil.
Fuck! Had I missed something? Was Andie struggling with addiction, too?
Her hair was up in a haphazard bun with strands sticking out from the side and in the week and a half I’d known her, I’d never seen her in those ratty looking sweats before. “Hey, are you okay?” I tried to ease up on the harshness in my tone, but I’m sure some of it showed.
She turned around, surprised. “Yeah, I was just making some tea.” Her hands were a bit shaky as she reached into the cupboard and pulled out a box of Tangerine tea.
Aurora called out from the living room, “I offered to do it for her, but she’s too stubborn.”
Andie scrunched her eyes shut as if she were fighting a comeback, or was it from a headache? Either way, I didn’t like it at all. Ever since I barged in on her from my bath, she hadn’t had any trouble letting smartass comments roll off her tongue. What was holding her back today?
“Mom, you know we’ll ask for help when we really need it,” the teen retorted. “Otherwise, we’re good. Right, Andie?” Frowning, I wondered what that shared bond was all about. Maybe I was jumping to the wrong conclusion, but I had to verify it for myself.
I casually leaned in closer to Andie and inhaled, waiting to be assaulted by last night's alcohol. The only thing I smelled was the lotion that sat on her bathroom counter. The same lotion I’d fantasized about rubbing all over her body on more than one occasion.
She gave me a sharp look as if questioning what the hell I was doing, then she answered Angel. “Yup, sweetie.” Andie seemed to be in pain as she grimaced and winced while placing her hands on the counter. She took a deep breath to gather herself and I suddenly felt like shit for assuming the worst, but there was definitely something off with her.
I moved to the side and placed my palm on her back, slowly moving my hand up and down. I felt her relax under my touch as she peeked at me. A forlorn look filled her eyes, begging for something I wasn’t sure she even knew.
That look broke past my guards and pleaded with me to give her what I thought she needed, for me to take over for her. “I’ll make it, you go.” I nodded toward her friends.
Puffing out a breath of air, she nodded and whispered, “Thank you.” Another deep breath escaped her lips. I reached to help her, but she shook her head slightly, letting me know she had it from there.
I caught the expression on Aurora’s face and almost laughed. I wasn’t sure her eyes could bug out any more than they were. But when her gaze made its way to Andie, her face fell.
Standing in front of the coffee table, Andie shifted from foot to foot like she was trying to get her blood circulation going. “So how was the trip to L.A.?” She asked.
As I prepared Andie’s tea, I paid close attention to the troubled looks on Kyle and Aurora’s faces. Something was definitely up.
“We had the best time, ev-er,” Angel said. “Ohmygod, Andie, we went down to Venice Beach and saw this guy skateboarding barefoot while wearing these teeny tiny bright orange shorts. Half his butt cheeks hung out from the back. It was so gross.”
Well, at least that got a laugh out of Andie. I was always amazed at the power children had to change the mood in a room with one simple statement.
Andie glanced at me with a knowing smirk. Like me, she was probably picturing Speedo Sam on a skateboard.
Kyle threw his arms up. “Unbelievable. Out of all the things we did, that’s the one story you’re going to share?”
The teen shrugged. “I was traumatized. What do you expect?”
“Well, if that was the worst thing you saw, count yourself lucky.” Andie motioned to the front door. “Why don’t we go look at this new cool bike you got there?”
The smile that broke out on Angel’s face appeared to give Andie the inspiration she needed to move. “It was so cool to ride it along the strip. There were so many different kinds of bikes that I didn’t look like the only oddball not pedaling with her feet.”
“Sweetie, you are not an oddball.” Kyle got up and leaned down over her.
“Hey, I don’t mind being an oddball.” She shrugged. “It keeps people on their toes. You never know what you're going to get with me.” Angel lifted her arm as Kyle scooped her up and carried her out the front door. The women followed closely behind.
I figured Angel rode that bike for a reason, but I hadn’t immediately assumed she couldn’t walk. The medical side of my brain wanted to ask a million questions, but it wasn’t my place to say anything. I’d talk to Andie later.
I took the piping hot mug of water out of the microwave and let the tea bag steep as I watched everyone through the dining room window. Thankfully, the front door was left open so I could still eavesdrop.
“Wow, this is a really cool bike. I might have to borrow it one day.” Andie placed her hand on one of the pedals to keep the bike steady as Kyle gently put Angel back on the seat.
From the looks on their faces and the snickering coming from the two, my guess was they were placing their bets for another challenge. Aurora had her arm gently around Andie’s shoulders, and while I couldn’t make out what they were saying, it was clear Andie was reassuring Aurora of something before hugs were exchanged.
It wasn’t lost on me that she was treating Andie like a fragile doll with that hug. I frowned again, bugged that I didn’t know what was going on, but I also didn’t want to come off as a jerk by meddling.
As he got on his own bike, Kyle turned back and waved at me. Well, shit, they knew I was listening. “It was nice meeting you, man. Let me know if you ever want a running partner. Andie has my number.”
I walked over to the open door and waved back. “Sounds good.”
Andie turned and put her hand on the new mailbox we’d installed yesterday, almost like she was trying to balance herself before she took a step.
Watching her walk so cautiously to the house had me on edge. I fought the urge to run out and help her, but as I stood there battling my impulse, she managed to walk through and close the door behind her.
She accepted the mug I offered and took a long sip.
I decided to bite the bullet and carefully asked, “Andie, I don’t mean to pry, but you don’t look good. Should I be concerned?”
“No,” she snapped defensively. “It’s just…woman stuff.” Swiping her hair to the side, she made her way to the massage chair that swallowed her whole the second she sat down. “I was cramping last night and took some pain meds that knocked me on my ass and now I feel stiff after being in bed for so long. I’ll probably just sit here for a bit then go for a walk to loosen up before I start working.” The chair began to vibrate after she pressed a few buttons on the controller.
With my arms across my chest, I stood over her. I wasn’t buying it. “What’s really going on? I know there’s something mo
re.”
Averting her eyes, she stared into the mug. I paused for a moment. Was it my place to keep pushing her? I was beginning to care about her and needed to know how I could help. “You can trust me, Andie.”
I expected her response to be a quick burst of denial. Instead I was greeted with a long moment of silence as she ran her index finger around the rim of her cup. She gave a grave nod and looked up at me, tears forming behind her lids, but her determination refused to let them fall.
Lowering my arms, my chest tightened as I waited for her to continue.
“I was diagnosed with a mild form of fibromyalgia when I was ten,” she started quietly. “I’m lucky though. It hasn’t gotten much worse over the years and I don’t suffer from depression or any of the other symptoms so many others do. I have good days and bad. Last night and today just happened to be tougher than others.”
I swallowed hard and nodded, feeling like a total idiot. Here I was studying to become a doctor, plus I already worked in the medical field and treated plenty of patients with the same diagnosis, yet I’d completely missed all her symptoms.
“It’s not your fault, you know.” She picked at a loose string on the throw pillow sitting on her lap.
I frowned at her. “What’s not my fault?”
“I see that look on your face.” She blew into her mug and took another sip as the chair continued to hum quietly. “You didn’t see what I didn’t want you to. I’m not one of your patients, Blaine.”
I puffed out a frustrated breath. “I still don’t understand why you hadn’t said anything.”
Biting her lower lip, she stared up at me. “Do you know how many people, especially in the medical field, think fibromyalgia is a crock of shit? Hell, even my own father said I was using pain to get attention.” Her eyes widened and she let out a gasp. “I mean, you know, he thought maybe that’s what was happening.”
My shoulders dropped. I knew exactly what she was talking about. It was pretty common to come across patients who were misdiagnosed. Sometimes it was just a guessing game when it came to figuring out the cause of a patient’s ailment but it pissed me off when physicians slapped on diagnoses without digging further. Not only was it frustrating for the patient, but it also diminished the credibility for people who legitimately had that disorder.