Chapter Seven
By the time I got home, my little circle of friends were gathered in my driveway. I'd texted Allie, asking her to get everyone over to my house for an emergency meeting. Lucky for me, my father went back to the office, albeit reluctantly. He kept asking if I was sure I was ok and I kept telling him yes. If I was going to keel over at least my friends would be there to take care of me.
"So what's the big emergency?" Schylar asked.
"Yeah, we were in the middle of a mani/pedi," Kaylee whined.
"Let's go inside," I said, leading the way through the kitchen door. "Anyone want something to drink?"
"No," they all said.
"Nat, just spill the beans," Allie said. "I'm caddying for Diane at six..."
"Wilson thinks I have The Sickness."
They all sort of just stood there, dumbfounded, gathered around the door. Schylar was the only one who wasn't surprised and was at my side, hugging me within seconds of it coming out.
"Does that mean you're going to be one of them?" Chris asked, fingering the bowl of fruit on the counter next to where he stood.
I drew back from Schylar and walked over to where Chris stood, landing me in the mix of all my friends.
"If you're asking if I'm going to pull a Cecil, then the answer is no. Besides, Wilson doesn't even know if that's what I have."
"But it's a possibility," Allie said. "Otherwise you wouldn't have asked us all here."
"It's just a cough," I said. "It could be nothing. People cough without a reason all the time..."
"But you're seventeen," Oppie said. "You're supposed to get The Sickness when you're fourteen."
Allie smiled. "Sometimes it happens later and we all know..."
"She's late for everything," Dreama said smiling, the gesture completely genuine. "You lucky bastard." She hugged me tightly. "Just do me a favor. If you do become Elite put in a good word for me." She pulled back and looked at me. "You know, with Cyrus."
"If I do become Elite, I'm not going to suddenly start talking to him. He ignored me for three years. That makes him a complete asshole in my book."
"Well that's a relief," Allie said. "I really hope he doesn't think just because you might become Elite he can talk to you again. You're not going to talk to him," she commanded.
"Why can't she talk to him?" Kaylee said. "They were best friends."
"Key word was 'were' in that statement," Allie said. "He dropped her like a bad habit."
"I'm right here," I said.
"I know but I also know you. He'll swoop in, bat those long black eye lashes at you, and it'll be over. But—" she came over and gripped my hand "—you're not going to talk to him. Shun his ass!"
My jaw just dropped. I didn't know what to say. She was a little firecracker, that much I was used to, but she'd never commanded me before. She always saved that for the Triplets.
"Ok, I think everyone is just a little excited." Schylar stepped forward and pulled Allie away. "It's her choice if she's going to talk to him. Then again he might just continue to not talk to her anyway. We don't know what's going to happen so there's no point in being rude about it."
Chris wrapped an arm around my waist and propped his chin on my shoulder.
"You're not going to forget about us, are you? If you do become Elite?"
"She already answered that question," Oppie said.
"Oppie's right. I am not forgetting about anyone. You guys have been here for me through just about everything. I'm not going to give that up. Ever."
"But you'll be smarter," Dreama said.
"And faster."
"Not to mention stronger," Kaylee said, finishing up the Triplet circuit.
"Yes, I'm going to be a mutated freak with multicolored lines. It's going to be so fantastic."
"Well, like you said, you don't know if you'll actually become Elite," Schylar said with a sigh. "And school starts on Monday."
"OoOo yeah, are we still doing the first day sleep over?" Oppie asked.
"That's a question for Allie," I said. "She's hosting."
"Oh we are still doing our before school ritual. And no one is going to ruin it. Not even Cyrus McCourt."
*
I ended up canceling with Union. I didn't feel like going out that night. There were way too many things on my mind to even consider going on a date. More than likely I would space out again while he was talking and I really didn't want to do that. If I went out with him, I wanted to be able to pay attention to what he said.
So I stayed in and cooked myself dinner, fighting off the cough every five minutes. The shit had become clockwork since the incident in the coffee house. I was in the middle of halving the pot when someone knocked on the back door. Only my friends did that, everyone else went to the front door. The possibility of one of my friends coming back made me smile.
I wiped up the drops of sauce from my pasta off the counter as I walked over to the door. When I looked through one of the glass squares that formed the window, I froze. I stood there, staring, unable to blink or move.
Cecil looked back at me, his head tilted a little to the side.
I squeezed my eyes closed and I was sure I looked silly, standing in my own kitchen like that but I was pretty sure Dr. Wilson said hallucinations came with the package. After a good couple of minutes, I cracked open an eye. Cecil still stood at the back door, a little irritation shining through the patience he usually had with me. Well, back when we were friends he had patience. I didn't know if he still had it now. The fact he was still standing there had to say something, though, right?
The next couple of steps I took were hesitant but I finally made it to the door. I didn't open it, not really knowing how to feel about the fact he was here. I left it closed and talked through it.
"What are you doing here?"
More emotion than I'd seen in years sprung up on his face, worry leading the pack by a mile, closely followed by another I didn't recognize. Which I should considering I used to know him so well.
He didn't say anything, just continued to stand there, waiting for me to open the door or maybe something else. I shook my head and folded my arms over my chest.
"What are you doing here?" I repeated.
He looked me over once and then turned, walking down the two steps that lead to the door. I ripped it open faster than I imagined and ran after him. People weren't lying when they said the Elite were fast. He was halfway across the patch of driveway when I caught up with him. I grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop. I barely noticed that he was beefier than the last time I'd touched him but he stopped, tensing under my touch.
"You can't just show up here and then not say anything. What are you doing here, Ce?"
I don't know why I said it, it just popped out and I almost plastered my hand over my mouth in surprise. From his reaction, I was certain no one had called him that since I last did. And I wasn't even going to think about that. His hands curled into fists at his sides and he slowly turned around to face me.
"I just wanted to make sure."
"Make sure of what?"
What I imagined him to say didn't come out of his mouth. I expected him to address my health, if I was ok, that he was sorry...the ideas of mine were numerous even if I ignored the 'sure' standard. But what he did say was pretty much a blow.
"That you were home and not out with him."
I let go of his arm instantly and took a step back, trying to keep my bottom lip from trembling. His voice was completely ice cold and unemotional. Maybe I was delusional. Maybe I was wrong about the person he used to be. Maybe I thought it all up in my head, put a veneer on the boy I remembered. The only thing I knew was he never talked to me like that before, not even when he was mad at me.
"That's all you have to say to me?"
Even though it was humid outside, I suddenly felt really cold, like my heart turned to cold stone. I pulled the light sweater I was wearing tighter around myself, continuing to stare at him, waiting for something else, anything else really. When he remained silent and that indifferent demeanor came back, I just shook my head and walked back to my door.
"Stay away from him, Tally. He's no good for you."
I whirled back around and glared at him. "What I do and who I see is none of your business."
"It is when he's only interested because of me."
"You?" I dropped my hands and clenched them into fists. "I haven't talked to you in three years. THREE! We're not even a part of each other's lives anymore. Why would you think someone would be interested in me because of you?"
"I just do. Tally, I know this guy and he's...rotten. The coating and show he puts on for everyone else isn't the real him."
"How would you know?"
"Just trust me. He wasn't good then, he's not good now. No one pulls that kind of turn around in just a couple of months. Date Chris, date Schylar, date anyone else but not him."
"I think you're wrong about him. I think you're wrong about a lot of things. I don't know what possible reason you have for all of this but it's not because you care about me. You've made it perfectly clear that you don't. Leave me alone, Cyrus, and don't come back here. You're not welcome."
My getaway was simple. All I had to do was walk to my door, open it, and go inside. I really didn't think he had anything else to say but just as my foot touched the brick of the bottom step, he caught my arm. I stopped instantly but didn't turn around to look at him. There was nothing else I wanted to say to him and I sure as hell didn't want to look at him. I felt him step up behind me, the strange warmth he had now that he was Elite set my nerves on alert.
"You'll understand soon," he whispered. "Then I'll be able to explain everything. I promise."
I turned my head and looked at him over my shoulder.
"It's just a cough."
His face was expressionless but his eyes held a little bit of a sparkle.
"I said the same thing, remember? In the beginning."
"Then you died and you became what you are now and I don't like it. I don't want to be Elite. I don't want to be like you, a person who can turn on their friends and pretend like the past fourteen years hadn't happened."
"That's different. You don't understand now but you will, like I said. When you're one of us..."
"Is that all you care about?" I asked turning to completely face him. "The possibility that I could be like you? It's the only reason you're here now, talking to me, isn't it?"
His eyes flicked to his right, in the direction of my backyard, his face staying completely still. I saw him check the urge to look over, turning his whole head, but his features took on that expression he was so famous for giving me. He was shutting down. Part of me started to panic, not like in the coffee shop but normal. I got the feeling like he was about to bolt, the moment coming to a close not that we were having one. I didn't want him to go yet, despite what I said.
"I have to go," he said softly. "Just stay away from him for now, Tally. He's dangerous. I know he doesn't seem like it but he is. Believe me."
"Why should I?"
"Because you know I would never lie to you."
A cold smile spread across my face, my brain finally coming to its senses and ending the war of should I or shouldn't I.
"You've lied to me before, Cecil. You said you would always be there for me but you weren't. Two years I had to talk to a gravestone by myself. So don't say you would never lie to me." I fought off the urge to cry, even though tears were blurring my vision. "I don't know what the deal is between the two of you but I don't want any part of it."
"Then stay away from him. If you go anywhere he might be, make sure Schylar or Chris is with you. Under no circumstances should you ever be alone with him."
"I was alone with him today and nothing happened. He was nothing but nice to me. Something you haven't been in years. From where I stand you could learn a lesson or two from him."
"You don't know what you're talking about."
"Neither do you."
I finished walking up my steps and went into the house, slamming the door behind me. If I had anything to say about it, I would not become Elite. I didn't care if I had to have a whole body transplant. I did not want to be like them.
*
The next morning, Allie and I hit the course earlier than ever. Sleep was nonexistent and I was highly caffeinated. You'd think because I worked in a coffee shop I would be immune to the affects of coffee but I wasn't. Just like everyone else, if I had more than one cup, I was wired.
We were on the 18th hole and I was studying the ball. The stupid thing had landed in a bunker, sunk deep in the sand. My irritation level was up and for some reason it was making me cough more.
"This is a hard one, Nat. It's really in there."
I sighed. "Where am I?"
"Plus two."
"Damn it." I closed my eyes and rested my forehead against my club.
"What's wrong? You only play this badly when something's on your mind."
"It's nothing. I just didn't sleep last night."
"Because of the cough? Or because you canceled on a perfectly good boy?"
I tried not to grit my teeth. "In hindsight I probably shouldn't have canceled."
"All you need is a nice night out. Luckily, I have just the thing in mind."
"What do you mean?"
I finally got an idea for a shot and stood up. If this worked, the ball would be out of the bunker and on the green, sparing me one shot.
"The sleep over. Everyone's coming and I have a perfect night planned."
The ledge was a good couple of feet up in a slope. I closed my eyes after looking at it one last time. I figured it all in my head, seeing it play perfectly there in the black of my mind. I waited for the next burst of cough and then smacked the ball.
The second Allie let out an appreciative grunt, I knew it landed right where I wanted it. I opened my eyes and caught her smiling at me.
"Nice one. Where did you come up with that?"
"Don't know. It just popped into my head. Help me up."
She hauled me out of the bunker and exchanged my club for a putter.
"How was Claire last night?"
"She was a complete angel. Asked me where you were though. She made you a get well card. It's in my locker. Remind me to give it to you when we go back in."
I nodded and looked at my ball placement. It was a good twelve foot putt but putting was my specialty.
"Emilie said she had fun. I think I should worry about a babysitter replacement."
"Please. I could never replace you. Plus I don't do babysitting. Too much time around little people makes me nervous."
I laughed. "How do you ever expect to have kids?"
"Who said anything about having rugrats? I have six siblings, Nat. I'll be happy when we go to college and I don't have to share a bathroom with three other people."
"Can't be too bad. They should already be off at college, or leaving soon."
"Jamal, Charity, Tasha, and Levi are already gone. I'm just waiting on the other two now."
"That means you're down to sharing with one sibling."
I glanced at the pole and then the ball. I coughed, I hit, it sank, and I smiled. Maybe this morning wasn't a total bust.
"You're lucky you're an only child." Allie grabbed the ball and replaced the pole. "No hand-me-downs, no previously set expectations, all the TV time you could ask for."
"It's also lonely as hell," I said. "Sometimes I would give anything to have a sibling." We started back to the clubhouse. "Especially when Dad has to work late and I'm the only one home."
"Yeah but then you blare your music and dance around in your underwear."
I tilted my head back and laughed. "I've only done that a handful of times."
"You know what I'm thinking? You should do a parody of Tom Cruise in that movie where he slides in on his socks."
I shook my head. "That is way over done. Besides, no one wants to see me in a button down shirt and sunglasses."
"If you were wearing only that, I'm sure we'd have a few takers."
"If you did it we'd have more than just a few."
"Ladies!"
We both looked up and I shielded my eyes against the rising sun. Schylar was walking in our direction, Chris, Corey, and oddly enough, Union, in tow.
"Boys!" Allie called back.
They never came out to meet us while we were on the course. This was definitely odd. Or maybe it was just what Cecil said to me the night before. I didn't believe him, not on any level. I had pretty good creep radar and Union had yet to register. The encounter last night, now that had busted the scale completely.
"What brings you out here so early?" I asked. "I thought only a girl could get you out of bed at this hour."
"Ha-ha," Schylar said, reaching us and pulling me in for a tight hug. "The last time I checked you were a girl. But I would be more than happy for a demonstration."
I shoved him away as he laughed, closely resembling a hyena. I hugged Chris, and then Corey. Allie was talking to Union softly a good couple of feet away so I figured whatever they had to say to each other was important. No need to butt in.
"To answer your question, we thought we would check on you before heading to the courts," Chris said. "And by the looks of it, we thought right."
"Meaning?" I asked.
"You got bags, beautiful," Corey said. "And then they have bags. What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Davidson said you canceled on him," Schylar said, clicking his tongue. "Why'd you do that?"
"Wallowing time. I don't want to be Elite and here I am, my body literally forcing me into it."
"The body wants what it wants," Schylar said, wagging his eyebrows.
"Is that all you think about?" I asked, perching my hands on my hips.
"I'm a teenage guy, what do you expect?"
"Cut it out, Schy," Chris said.
The two boys started exchanging obscenities which left me in a bubble with Corey.
"How's Bev?"
"Good. She's ready for school to start. You know how she is."
"Is she coming tonight?"
He nodded. "We will be on Allie's doorstop at eight o'clock sharp. You?"
"Dad wanted to keep me home but I convinced him I needed some friend time."
"Good. Wouldn't be a party without you."
Every year, our little group had a sleep over. We'd all been in the same daycare class and our parents all knew each other. So they came up with a pre-k sleep over. Back then we were allowed to sleep in the same room and in the same bed. But as we got older, the parents split us into two separate rooms to make sure nothing "hanky" happened.
"That's what I am, the life of the party."
Corey was pretty loveable so when he slung an arm around my neck and then proceeded to pull my hair out of my pony tail, I wasn't too perturbed at him. But when he took my cap off, it was on.
"Corey..."
He released me and held it above his head, grinning like the Mad Hatter from Alice In Wonderland. His normally sweet demeanor sometimes fooled people into believing he was nice. But he was a teenage guy and teasing girls was still part of his testosterone level.
"Don't pick on me. Come on." I held out my hand. "Give it back."
He shook his head. "Nope. You're going to have to chase me for it."
"I'm not running after you. I don't have the energy."
Schylar plucked my hat out of Corey's outstretched hand and gave it back to me.
"You can pick on her all you want but no physical activity. She shouldn't be out here as it is."
I constantly picked on Schylar, saying he had a multiple personality disorder. He could flip from picking on me to being the nicest guy on the planet. I was fairly used to it by now but the fact he'd implied I wasn't strong enough to play my favorite game...
That was blasphemy.
"Hey," I pointed at him after flattening the crown of the cap and sticking it in my back pocket, "I'm supposed to go about my life as normal. No one said I couldn't play."
"What was your final score?"
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"It was bad, right? That should be a clue. Normally you're sixteen under."
"Don't pick on her," Allie said, finally joining us along with Union. "It was an off day. She didn't sleep well."
"Insomnia," Schylar nodded. "Yup. You definitely have The Sickness."
I shoved him. "I do not. Teenagers get insomnia all the time."
"Yeah but you've been labeled." He grinned. "Other than what you were already labeled as."
"Which would be?"
"Delightfully—" I glared at him "—delectable."
"Double D's," Chris said, " are something she does not have."
I made a face at him. "How long did it take you two to come up with that one?"
"They've been working on it all morning," Corey said. "They were stalled out by the time they got here but I gave them a helping hand."
"I'm sure you did. Tell me, did the cab of Schylar's truck steam up while you were giving them a 'helping hand'?"
Allie and Union started laughing, while the boys stood there a little stunned. Guys generally had an aversion to gay jokes, but Corey, Chris, and Schylar were used to them.
"Did she just make a joke?" Corey asked.
"That's not the issue," Chris said.
"He's right. The fact that it was a good one and she got it right is what's...awesome." He broke into a grin and hugged me. "She's growing up," he said in a fake crying voice. "Oh dear lord whatever shall we do?"
"Let go of me." I shoved against him. "You act like I've never made a joke before."
"You haven't," Chris said. "Well, you have but your follow through was always horrible."
"Well then don't expect a repeat performance." I fisted my hand over my mouth and coughed. "If you're going to react that way every time, you can forget it."
Chris hugged me, tighter than he normally did. I was a little confused at first but then I quickly compared this to the way I'd acted when Cecil first got sick. It was the exact same thing. So I hugged him back and then Schylar started hugging me from behind and then Allie came in from the side with Corey coming in on the other. It was a big ole hugging fest.
Union stood off to the side, staring down at his feet where the toe of his sneaker dug into the grass.
"Aren't you coming?" I asked.
He looked up, his eyebrow arching. I motioned for him to come over and he smiled, jogging the two or three steps over. He smacked into our group hug and everyone laughed.
It was great to have friends, even if they were crazy.