Chapter 25
I walked down to Anita's after school, which was sort of my routine now. Abbie, Maribella's sister, was at the counter. I ignored her and pretended to browse the discount rack for awhile. Two older woman came in, chose a few items, paid and left.
"Maribella had a prior commitment, after school today. Which is why I'm here," Abbie called over to me.
I looked over. "Oh, I'm..."
"No one likes this store that much. I know you're my sister's friend," she said, sort of rudely.
"Oh, yeah." I was embarrassed, for whatever reason.
"She won't be here until after four."
I glanced at my phone. 3:15 P.M. I didn't want to wait around.
"Okay, thanks," I said, then turned slowly to leave.
Outside, I instinctively looked both ways down the sidewalk. At first, I saw no one. Then, a moment later, two guys crossed the street and went right into The Pod. One of them looked far too much like Bennett. Instead of waiting around to find out, I started the walk home.
It wasn't something I was known for, but I wanted to think the best of Bennett. I wanted us to work, because I felt good when I was with him. I liked how he looked at me. I had felt good with Sheldon, too. And Lily. But it was different then. I was different. Naive. Still, I wondered if I'd just replaced Sheldon with Bennett and Lily with Maribella. I wondered if I was just trying to fill in the gaps that I'd left behind in San Diego.
The pool was empty when I went in, after putting on my bathing suit and grabbing a towel. I jumped in, craving the warm water around me. It felt good. I felt good, better than I had in awhile. I could think clearly, swimming laps in the condo pool. No, I wasn't trying to replace Sheldon and Lily. They were just ghosts of my past. They weren't real, nor were they important.
I opened my eyes under water a few minutes later, and there was Bennett, swimming towards me. Above water, we smiled at each other. I was happy to see him, and had a flutter in my stomach. I decided not to mention him being at The Pod.
"Hello," he said, as if he was surprised to see me.
"Hi," I said back.
"I think we were... right here... when you kissed me for the first time," he went on, pulling me a bit forward.
"Oh yeah?" I joked. "I'm not sure."
"Liar," he laughed, sliding his arms around me.
Before he kissed me, I said, "At school, will you have lunch with me?"
"Of course. You're more than welcome at the football team's table." He said this seriously, but I couldn't tell if he was joking. He cracked a smile, the corner of his lips turning up slowly. I shoved him a bit. "I'm kidding, geez. You looked mad." He pressed his nose against mine. "We can eat wherever you want."
"Okay," I said.
"Any more questions?" he wondered.
I smiled, then kissed his lips once. "No."
"Good."
There was a knock on the apartment door later that evening, just after Caleb and I had finished dinner - pizza and bread sticks, our usual Monday dinner. I'd been quiet, thinking about how Bennett and I had made out in the pool for so long that we got pruney. Then we sat on the side awhile longer, talking, laughing, both of us wanting to stay there forever. Caleb was busy texting on his phone and didn't bother asking why I was so quiet, for which I was glad.
I opened the door to see Kelly, forcing a smile at me. My stomach tightened. How did she know where I lived?
"Can we talk?" she asked, motioning to the hallway.
"Uh. Okay," I said, stepping out and closing the door behind me.
She looked me up and down before talking again. "So, I know we aren't exactly friendly."
I snorted. "True."
"But my brother likes you. Truly."
"Okay?"
"He's my twin brother. We've been together every day since before we were born," she said.
"Right," I nodded.
"I'm not always nice to him, or you, for that matter..." I nodded again. "But I just wanted to say that if he likes you this much, I do, too. So, you're welcome to talk to me at school. And this is your personal invite to the party this weekend."
"Wow, thanks," I answered, full of sarcasm.
She didn't catch it. "You're welcome. Oh, and just do one thing for me?"
"Sure."
"Be there for him. He had a lot of people walk away from him when he was in trouble, and those were his best friends. He puts on a good front, but he's still dealing with that." Kelly looked honest, like she truly cared, just for a second.
I nodded. "I'm still dealing with stuff from my past, too."
She didn't say anything about this. She just turned and started towards the elevator. "See you at school."
Caleb was no longer in the kitchen, but my phone was buzzing on the counter, where I'd left it.
MY SISTER SAID YOU CAME BY THE STORE TODAY. Maribella.
I picked up my phone. YEAH, JUST TO SAY HI.
I HAD TO STAY LATE FOR DETENTION.
REALLY? WHAT FOR?
THIS GIRL I THOUGHT WAS MY FRIEND, TOTALLY STARTED A RUMOR ABOUT ME. SO I WROTE THAT SHE WAS A LYING SLUT ON THE BATHROOM WALL. SHE GOT ONE OF HER FRIENDS TO SAY THEY SAW ME DO IT.
OH MY GOD. YOURE SAVAGE.
IT WAS WORTH IT. EXCEPT NOW IM GROUNDED ALL WEEK.
DAMN, THAT SUCKS.
I STILL HAVE TO WORK, SO YOU CAN VISIT THE STORE TOMORROW?
OKAY, SEE YOU THEN, I finished.
"Everything okay?" Caleb asked, poking his head into my room a bit later.
"Just studying," I answered, nodding.
"I mean, the girl at the door earlier."
"Oh, yeah. Fine." I smiled at him.
"Okay, good. So, I'm off tomorrow, and Fox and I were thinking of taking a road trip. But we might not be back until Wednesday-"
"I'll be fine," I interrupted. That was pretty much my motto.
"You sure? You'll go to school?" He looked like he was not sure, at all.
"Of course," I let out a laugh. "Haven't I proven to the be trustworthy?"
"You have," he nodded. "I just don't know the rules about this stuff."
"We're making the rules up as we go, remember?" I laughed.
"Right. We booked a couple gigs coming up, I'll fill you in on details soon. Okay?"
"Okay, great."
"Oh, one more thing," he went on, his tone changing a bit. "Your Mom called me today."
My stomach turned. "What?"
"I guess she called your Dad and he told her you moved here."
"Fuck."
"She wants to see you for Christmas," he continued.
"Good for her," I snapped.
"I know you're still struggling with this, with her. With good reason. I just want you to know I'm on your side, Iris. You don't even have to call her back."
"I won't be calling her back," he said, not looking at him.
He nodded. "Okay."