Relief washed over me in a calming surge the moment I pulled onto Liz’s cul-de-sac and into her driveway, like her house had a secret force field that could wash away all my problems. I wished that were true, then I could forget about everything that happened prior to my arrival. Maybe tomorrow wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe the Central Falls student body would forget about me standing up to the most popular guy in school. And maybe, just maybe, I could force my brain to erase the memory of my conversation with Ryan and Jessica in the library.
Dee pulled up and parked beside the curb, and I waited so we could walk in together. Liz opened the front door before we could even knock, her features unreadable. She left us standing there as she turned around and ambled toward the living room. Dee and I glanced at each other, shrugged, then followed Liz’s lead.
“Am I gonna be the one to break the ice?” Dee asked.
Liz just stared at her, like she was waiting for an apology.
Dee’s shoulders slumped. “Fine. I’m sorry for what I said about you and Ryan at lunch, but you know, and everyone else knows, it’s the truth.”
“Same,” I said. “I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but I don’t want to lie to you, either.”
“It’s just…” Liz began, but paused as she sorted through the cabinets for her dad and brother’s liquor stash. “It’s just that when Ryan and I were together, it meant something to me. It felt amazing at the time, and nobody was there to experience it but us. Then you guys come along and make fun of what we had, like he used me for that summer.”
“He did!” Dee and I shouted simultaneously.
“You deserve better than him,” I said. “And, deep down, I think you know that. You need a guy who will treat you like a goddess and be a total gentleman in public, and then dominate you in the bedroom. Or the living room. Or the kitchen. Whatever.”
Liz and Dee laughed.
“It’s the truth!” I added, even though I was chuckling with them.
“Okay, okay,” Liz conceded. “Let’s forget about Ryan Carter and his stupid friends, especially Jessica, grab our cups and beverage of choice, then head outside to the patio. It’s too nice outside to sit in here.”
“Ummm…I hate to ruin our little shindig, but I need to tell you guys about my run-in with Ryan and Jessica during study hall today,” I said, proceeding to explain that I had taken a nap, then woke up to find Ryan standing there, staring at me. I had to be creative, because I couldn’t come out and tell them about my secret ability, even though I wanted to more than anything.
“What’d he do after that?” Dee asked, completely engrossed.
“Nothing. Jessica walked in, crossed her arms, gave me the stink eye, then they left together.” I omitted a few pieces of that story, as well. Obviously.
“Okay, enough with the weird-ass day we’ve had,” Liz exclaimed. “Let’s go drink and talk about something else.”
“Like, how hot your brother is?” Dee suggested, which only received an eye-roll from Liz. “Seriously, where is he?”
“Probably at work, or at his girlfriend’s house.”
Dee pouted. “Can’t blame a girl for trying.”
We exited the living room through French doors and stepped straight onto Liz’s back patio. It was unfinished; the wooden beams were in place, but the roof was missing. She claimed time and time again that her dad and brother would get around to fixing it, and they never did. I was pretty sure the structure was erected the summer after our freshman year, so it had definitely been a couple of years.
Scruffy, Liz’s Poodle/Schnauzer mix, galloped over to all three of us, shoving his snout against our hands. He panted so much he looked like he was smiling. I scratched his head a couple of times, then he was off, fetching a tennis ball near a tree in the backyard, so he could bring it back, hoping we’d eventually throw it.
Liz, Dee, and I sat down on iron patio furniture, the seat cushions stained and faded from sunlight. The round table separating us was a glass-top. I placed my cup on it, waiting for Liz to work her magic with the martini shaker. She was the best out of all three of us when it came to making liquor concoctions. Dee and I tried it once… Once. The result? A sticky mess all over the kitchen cabinets, floor, and in our hair. Neither of us knew the lid didn’t lock in place. The experience was awful, and from then on out, Liz was the only one allowed to mix drinks, which was perfectly fine with me.
“What’s it gonna be this time?” I asked, nodding toward the silver shaker.
“Whatever I could find,” replied Liz.
Dee scrunched her nose. “I’m officially scared.”
“Just kidding. It’s coconut rum and pineapple juice—less rum, more juice.”
“You gypping us?” I teased.
Liz squinted against the afternoon sun. “A little. Dad and Jared haven’t restocked, so I don’t have much to work with.”
Dee leaned backward, tipping her chair. She stretched out her hands, and then used her palms as makeshift pillows behind her head. “I can picture it now: an island paradise. Just me in a bikini and Johnny Depp dressed as a pirate. He’ll ask where all the rum went and I’ll say, ‘Right here, baby. It’s all right here.’” She ran her hands provocatively over her chest and down her stomach. “I’ll pour it all over my body. Just a little, though, because that shit isn’t cheap.”
Liz and I laughed so hard we almost fell out of our chairs. It was too bad Dee didn’t have my ability; otherwise, she could live on that island with Johnny for as long as she wanted. They could drink a heap of imagined rum and watch fake sunsets. It’d be a daydream come true.
“And what happens when you two drink all the rum?” I asked.
Straight-faced, Dee responded, “I haven’t gotten that far yet. Give me time. I’ll think of something.”
Liz finished mixing our drinks, and they tasted divine, especially after the weird day I had. Even without her using alcohol this time around, I was surprised at how much I didn’t miss it. And I could totally picture Dee’s mini getaway with Johnny Depp. Coconut and pineapple together was tropical bliss in a glass.
“I think this one’s a keeper,” I told them.
They continued sipping and barely nodded their heads in agreement, sidetracked by the awesomeness Liz produced.
Liz set her glass down on the table, then inquired, “What do you guys think about Trevor Norris?”
“The guy who everyone teases because he has Chuck Norris’ last name?” I responded.
“That’s the one.”
I shrugged half-heartedly. “He’s all right, I guess. Why? Do you like him?”
Dee interrupted Liz. “Girl, you were all about Ryan, like, five minutes ago.”
Liz’s eyes darted back and forth between Dee and me, hesitating long enough that I thought she wouldn’t reply at all. But she did. “Even though Ryan and I were together, that doesn’t mean I can’t admire what we had.” Her shoulders became lifeless, and in a flat tone, she added, “But it’s time to move on, so…”
In a time like this, I wished I could tell Liz and Dee about my special ability. I wished there was a way to take them with me on my mini vacations, just the three of us. But I wasn’t sure if it would work; it was my imagination, after all, not theirs. Plus, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t treat me like I should be quarantined once they found out what I was capable of. It could go either way, but it wasn’t a risk I was willing to take. Not yet.
“I thought I heard you ladies out here.” Jared surprised us by slipping outside. I swear, with his rugged good looks and bright smile, any girl would be lucky to have him. And he worked on cars all day, which meant he was good with his hands.
“Sporting a beard now?” I asked, eyeing his facial hair.
He rubbed a few fingers over his scruff. “Yeah, the girlfriend likes it when guys look manly, but not too manly. I’m not fond of it, though; it itches like crazy.”
“I’m not complaining,” Dee chimed in, giving him a confident wink.
Jared laughed it
off, like he always did. He motioned toward the mixed-drink station we had going on. “What’s this?”
“Nunya,” replied Liz. “You’ve said hi. Now, go away.”
“Don’t think so, sis.” He reached for the alcohol containers. The labels were facing away from him, but he quickly turned them around, his eyebrows lifting. Liz made a feeble attempt to stop him. “Ah, I see. Not much of a party, but it’ll work for just the three of you. Next time, you might want to add a little more variety.”
Liz huffed. “Well, I would have if you and Dad kept the cabinets stocked. This is all I had to work with.”
“You could be like me and just drink beer,” Jared offered.
The three of us recoiled, and Liz made a gagging noise.
Jared chuckled. “What? It’s not that bad.”
A loud bang, bang, bang resounded from the front door.
“I’ll get it,” said Jared. He meandered inside, disappearing from sight.
“It’s probably his girlfriend,” Liz said. “She’s always annoyed about something, which only leads to the two of them fighting.”
“What’s there to fight about?” Dee asked. “I mean, look at him.”
“The last time she came over here, they got into it so bad, my dad made her leave,” Liz revealed. “He told Jared he didn’t want the neighbors thinking we’re crazy.”
Jared returned, and his face was scrunched up. His eyes wandered to Liz. “I thought you and Riley broke up?”
Liz’s eyebrows furrowed, and she squinted at Jared. Then her face abruptly slackened. “You mean Ryan? And we did…last summer. Why?”
“Because that’s who was at the front door,” Jared said.
Liz, Dee, and I simultaneously scooted to the edge of our seats and asked three different questions at once. Jared threw his hands in the air. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Not all at the same time. Jeez.”
Liz asked the most basic query: “What’d he want?”
“He wanted to speak to Kearly, but I thought that sounded pretty sketchy, so I told him to get lost. That kid’s fucked up, anyway. When he brought his Mustang into the shop a couple of months ago, he tried telling me how to do my job, like I didn’t work on cars for a fucking living.”
“He wanted to talk to me?” I questioned, ignoring Jared’s mini rant. “I swear to God, this has been the weirdest day of my life so far.”
“You need to find out what he wants,” Liz instructed.
Like I didn’t already know that.
A gust of air escaped my lips. “I’ll…try to figure something out. Maybe I’ll catch him tomorrow. It’s not exactly easy when Jessica is his metaphorical Siamese twin.”
Dee leaned forward, brows puckered. “Do you think this has something to do with him standing over you in study hall earlier?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
I couldn’t discuss what really happened. The only culprits who could’ve left that threatening, crumpled note on the library table were Jessica, Brittney, and Ryan. They were the only individuals in there at the time, and they were the only individuals who would taunt me. If Ryan was a perpetrator in this mess, if he knew what I was capable of, then it was likely he’d confront me head-on, curious and teeming with questions.
Or maybe he planned on blackmailing me. Maybe he found out, saw me disappear into one of my dreamscapes. He could easily threaten to blow my ability wide open—the school, the local news stations, everyone would know. I didn’t understand what he could possibly want from me; I didn’t have money or assets. I didn’t have any sort of political pull in town. Basically, I had nothing to gain and everything to lose. My life as I knew it would be extinct. My friends would no longer associate with the crazy girl with mental powers. I’d be on the next bus to the loony bin.
Liz’s sugary-sweet invention churned in my stomach.
“You okay? You look pale,” Liz said.
I choked out, “Yeah, I’m fine. I think I’m gonna head home. I just remembered Tabitha wanted me to clean up the living room before her friends came over tonight.” It wasn’t a complete lie, but it was enough to get me out of there. It also bought me time, so I could go home and figure out a plan. I’d be damned if Ryan Carter made my life suck more than it already did.
4