I noticed my idiotic brother's face squished against the window while I was making my way to the front door.
“Was that Zachary Hastings?” Rowan asked the second I entered the living room.
“Were you staring through the window like a creep until I got home?” I teased.
Rowan didn’t look amused. If anything, he looked like he wanted to punch me.
I chuckled and sank into the plush sofa.
“Rowan, don’t you find it suspicious that Zach changed overnight?” I inquired. Rowan and Zach had been good friends. But I knew my brother, and if it came down to choosing a friend over his sister and Jackie, he’d side with us no matter what the circumstance.
“Yeah. Zach was practically tripping over his own feet for Jackie. Now, he acts like she’s Satan’s reincarnation” Rowan voiced.
“Something’s not right.” I muttered. “And I have a feeling Carmen plays a big role in making this happen.”
“Carmen Stone?” Rowan scoffed. “She might just kill Zach with one of her STD’s. That’ll be fucked up karma.”
Carmen Stone was the tall, slim redhead with catlike eyes who badmouthed Jackie in the cafeteria. She was gorgeous with her ivory skin and blood red tresses. Rumors flew around school about how she slept around like there was no tomorrow. She didn’t have any boundaries. Sabotaging relationships was her forte.
Carmen and I hadn’t properly spoken before. She wasn’t in any of my classes. I often spotted her hanging off the arm of a boy. And if she wasn’t in company of a male, she was alone and unapproachable.
“I’m going to go see Jackie now.” I told Rowan. “Don’t wait up for me for dinner. Anna will most probably force me to eat there.”
I stood up. My head spun and I almost crashed to the ground if it weren’t for Rowan. He was at my side in a flash. His strong arms supported my weight.
“Are you okay?” He asked. His eyes, a replica of mine, burned with concern.
My eyes widened. I abruptly stood straight.
“I’m fine.” I said with a strained voice. I was supposed to be acting normal. I wasn’t supposed to give off signs of my illness. Was this a symptom?
“Head rush.” I excused feebly. “Bye now.” I said.
Rowan’s eyes followed my every move. Thankfully, he didn’t stop me.
I stepped out into the L.A. heat. Jackie’s house was in the same neighborhood, only six houses down from mine. I made my way down the sidewalk. My white converse shoes were the only source of noise besides the faint sound of passing cars. Since the houses were massive, they were fairly situated apart and it took longer to get to Jackie’s house than one would think.
Without warning, I gasped and doubled over in pain. I sunk to my knees and retched. It felt like knives were scratching the inside of my stomach. I felt like vomiting but nothing came out.
I don’t know how long I sat there on my knees and palms, gasping for air. A worried voice brought me back to reality.
“Are you okay?” A pre-teenage girl asked. She stood beside her bike with an anxious expression. It looked like she had yanked out her headphones, for it dangled from her hand.
I was overtaken by the urge to yell at her. It was the same question Rowan had asked me. Are you okay? No, no I wasn’t okay. I was dying and no one knew it.
I tamed my emotions and waved a hand in the air.
“I’m fine.” I lied.
The girl abandoned her bike and helped me up. I shot her a grateful smile.
“Are you sure?” She asked, hesitant.
I wanted to strangle her and hug her at the same time.
“I’m sure. Thank you.” I replied.
She nodded and got back on her bike. She glanced back at me one more time before riding off.
I felt like crying. The pain had vanished as quickly as it had come. That was definitely a symptom of my illness. I was scared and tired. I suddenly wanted nothing more than to tell someone. I couldn’t handle this on my own. I needed someone to talk to.
Jackie’s house came into view. I was surprised I hadn’t noticed I’d carried on walking. I shook my head and resisted the urge to slap myself. I couldn’t just dump my secret on Jackie. I came here to resolve her issue with Zach, not whine about my own predicament.
I rang the doorbell. The mahogany door swung open minutes later. I sucked in a breath. An attractive young man stood in the doorway. His smoldering dark eyes captivated me the second they landed on me. He pulled his lips apart for a blinding smile.
“Sei bellissima.” He said in a husky voice. “Good afternoon.” He greeted in English.
I blushed under his gaze.
“Grazie.” I replied.
His eyes widened slightly, as though he didn’t expect me to understand Italian.
“I’m Aberto De Laurentis, but call me Abe.” He smiled lazily and held out a hand.
I shook his hand. My cheeks remained hot.
“Mia Evans.” I whispered.
“Come in.” He said moving aside.
My heart hammered in my chest as I brushed past him.
“Jackie’s in her bedroom.” He said. His English was faultless but there was a shadow of an accent in his velvet voice.
I nodded distractedly. My heightened senses were well aware of his tall, sturdy physique standing right behind me.
My eyes widened as they surveyed the hallway. Jackie’s mother decorated her house in extravagant ornaments. I always admired her distinct sense of style. Several items in the house gave away her Italian heritage.
I noticed with a dawning feeling, that Jackie’s Italian relatives were visiting. I glanced back to confirm my thoughts with Aberto but he had already disappeared. I furrowed my eyebrows and continued making my way through the toy littered hall. Two children ran past me. They squealed and screeched as they bumped into furniture. I entered the living room and all but dropped my jaw.
Jackie didn’t lie when she said she had about thirty cousins. Many of them lounged in the living room. A young girl picked at the beads of one of the sofa cushions. I scrunched up my face. What a shame.
“Mia, bambolina, come here.” Anna Thorne, Jackie’s mother, beckoned.
I approached her with a genuine smile. Anna was like a second mother to me. She was just a smidge less crazy than her daughter. She was tall and curvy and exceptionally easy on the eyes. Before she’d had Jackie, she’d been a fashion model. Age had done nothing to her but well.
“Sorry for all the noise.” Anna giggled and pulled me in for a hug. “Are you here to see what’s wrong with Jackie? She threw a chair at me when I tried to talk to her.”
I laughed at her. She seemed to find that her daughter throwing furniture was normal. Her eyes held nothing but motherly concern.
“I’m here to talk to her.” I reassured her.
Anna kissed me on the forehead.
“What would we do without you?” She asked. “Before you go upstairs. I want you to meet some people!” She exclaimed.
Anna pulled me out of the living room and into the bright kitchen. Five women sat on stools.
“Mia, these are my sisters, Amalia, Anita, Alcina, Antonia and this is my niece Maria.” Anna introduced with a massive smile.
I glanced at each of their faces. They all had the same dark hair and tan complexions. Anna was the tallest of the six women. The youngest, Anna’s niece, had lighter brown hair. She balanced a baby on her lap.
“Hi.” I grinned.
The five sisters, including Anna, were stunning. The niece, Maria, was just as gorgeous, but looked more down to earth in her sweatpants and messy bun.
“It’s nice to finally put a face to the name.” Maria smiled. She held the baby in one arm and stood up to hug me. Surprised, I hugged her back.
Amalia, who I presumed was Maria’s mother and Anna’s eldest sister, offered me a kind smile.
“Mia, beautiful.” She said.
“Molto affascinante!” Alcina agreed.
“Aberto and Mia would make pretty children.” Antonia muttered.
I blushed under their heavy gazes. I didn’t know what to say.
“Mia came to console Jackie.” Anna declared, swooping in to my rescue. She rested her hands on my shoulders. “She’s in her bedroom, bambolina. Go knock some sense into her.”
I needed no further encouragement.
Making my to Jackie’s bedroom was like walking through a jungle. Kids popped out of nowhere, scaring the heck out of me. I had dodged a flying ball and intentionally thrown Barbie by the time I made it to her door, barely unscathed.
“GET OUT, NOW!” I heard Jackie bellow from inside her bedroom. Her door was flung open and a young girl hurried out. Her face was pale and fear was clear as day in her chocolate brown eyes.
The girl shot me a warning look as I approached the door.
“Don’t go in there.” She whispered, and I held back a laugh. I swung the door open and stepped inside.
“ISABEL!” Jackie yelled, enraged. She blinked.
“Mia?” She wondered.
“In the flesh.” I replied cheekily.
“What have I done to be graced with your presence?” She muttered.
“I’m here to make sure you don’t finish that.” I said gesturing towards the massive jar of peanut butter. “Jackie, that’s enough to feed the whole of Africa. You’ll get sick.”
“No!” Jackie wailed. She threw herself on the bed. Her long hair scattered everywhere. “I want to be fat. Fat people are happy.”
I scratched my head. What logic was that?
“Idiot.” I sighed. “Who knew you liking a guy would turn you into such a softie?”
Jackie shot me a cutting look.
“Who knew getting rejected felt this bad?” She snapped.
Jackie wasn’t crying. She lacked her usual cheerfulness and looked utterly dejected and empty, and that was so much worse. We sat in silence for a few minutes. I wanted so badly to fix this situation.
Jackie wouldn’t open up to me in her uncharacteristic, sullen mood. I glanced at her iPod dock and smiled.
Yo, I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want,
So tell me what you want, what you really really want,
I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want,
So tell me what you want, what you really really want,
I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna really really really wanna zigazig ha
Jackie stared at me like I had gone mad. I stared back at her with a determined grin. I moved my hips and arms to the beat, like we had done in the fourth grade. I started singing along.
If you want my future forget my past,
If you wanna get with me better make it fast,
Now don't go wasting my precious time,
Get your act together we could be just fine
I jumped on her bed. I had the lyrics memorized by heart. Jackie struggled to keep a neutral face as her body bounced up and down.
I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want,
So tell me what you want, what you really really want,
I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna really really really wanna zigazig ha
I sung louder. I threw my arms in the air. Jackie laughed.
“You’re insane!” She yelled over the music.
“I love you too.” I winked.
She got off the bed. We sung along.
If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends (gotta get with my friends)
Make it last forever friendship never ends,
If you wanna be my lover, you have got to give,
Taking is too easy, but that's the way it is
I grinned as Jackie doubled over in laughter.
“This is the part where you kissed Ricky!” I reminisced.
Jackie had convinced a boy named Richard and I to join the talent show at our school back in the fourth grade. Even then, Jackie didn’t own an innocent bone in her body. She had smashed her lips against Ricky’s after the song’s chorus, causing her dad to almost die of a heart attack. Ricky had run off stage screeching ‘cooties’ while Jackie shrugged and returned to performing.
We had won ‘most interesting performance’ that day. Jackie smiled. The song eventually came to a stop. I pressed ‘pause’ as the next song on her iPod came on.
“Can you tell me what exactly happened yesterday?” I asked.
Jackie’s smile dipped, but she didn’t melt into a puddle of despair.
“I called him. We talked. I told him I liked him as more than a friend. He asked me out. The next morning, he’s spouting off insults at me and making babies with that tramp Carmen.” She explained through gritted teeth.
“You only called him once? You didn’t send him a text afterwards?” I interrogated.
Jackie looked at me weird.
“No.” She said. “I would’ve called him again but I lost my phone that day and Isabel was using the home phone. So, I figured I’d just wait and talk to him at school.”
I straightened my back and stared at her with wide eyes. That’s it! It was too much of a coincidence.
“When and where did you find your phone?” I asked.
“I guess it was in my schoolbag all along. I found it there when I got home from school today. Mia?” Jackie’s expression was a mix of frustration and confusion.
“I’ll explain later.” I said and hugged her. “I have something to do.”
I exited Jackie’s house with a newfound determination. If Carmen thought she could screw my best friend over and get away with it, she was a monochromatic shade of wrong.