Chapter 2 - Jack and Jill
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"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"Now?"
"No."
"Now?"
Mom turned around in her seat to glare at Mack. "Stop distracting your father. He's driving."
I peeked at her scolding face and Mack's sullen expression from behind my book. "How much longer till we get there?"
Mack nudged my arm discreetly. "Excited to see Gabriel?" she mouthed with a knowing smirk. I bumped her back, not quite so gently.
Luckily, neither Mom nor Dad noticed. "Ten minutes," Mom replied.
"You can already smell the ocean," Dad added. "It won't take too long at all."
Mack passed me a little slip of paper. Gabrosie all the way!
What is that? I wrote back.
You guys' ship name! Gabriel + Rosie = Gabrosie!
That is the cheesiest thing I've ever seen.
Suit yourself. You know you want him.
I glared at my little sister, balling up the note and chucking it at her forehead, causing her to laugh. I did not want him...like that. I was just...anxious, nervous, excited, and a million other things at the prospect of meeting him again after freaking fourteen years.
That was normal, right?
~~~~~~~~~~~
The humidity in the air made my thin white tank top cling to my skin and my shorts already felt a little wet from my sweat. Yeuch. I tied my hair into a ponytail in an effort to keep myself from sweating buckets before I even fully stepped out of the car. Darn you Dad, rolling the windows down and letting that air seep in wasn't a good idea, I told you so.
Mack threw her arms up in the air. "I feel so free!" she cried dramatically.
Mom swatted her behind. "Go into the cabin and unpack already. The Faynes are running a little late, but no matter. We can settle in and meet them when they get here!" She went to the back of the car as my dad popped the trunk open.
Let me just say, lugging a fifty-pound suitcase plus an oversized bag up an entire two flights of stairs was exhausting. I was huffing and puffing like the big bad wolf. I shouldn't have brought all that stuff. What was I thinking?
I took a sweeping look at my surroundings as I waited for my breathing to become normal. The cabin was rather spacious, made out of some greyish wood that was smooth as a stone due to years of the winds sanding away the once-rough edges. There were large floor to ceiling windows in the kitchen and adjoined dining room, and a nice little patio out back. I also saw a balcony peeking out from the side on my way in from the top floor. This might as well not even be a cabin. House, or even mansion would've been a more appropriate thing to call it since it was so big. I mean, three floors? How often did beach cabins have that?
I finally caught my breath, God, I needed to start working out again, and peered down the hallway of bedrooms. Hm...three bedrooms? Oh, and plus the two grand suites on the second floor. Five bedrooms? I shook my head. Damn.
I walked into the one farthest down the hall. When I opened the door, it swung open with a creak and the sunlight spilling in from the open doors highlighted my toes.
The room was of average size, not much different from my bedroom. A full bed was pushed against the left wall, covered in a light blue blanket and white pillows. There was a desk in the far right corner with an ancient lamp resting on it, and a set of French doors that connected to the balcony, which faced the ocean.
I loved it already.
The minimal furniture was fine with me; I didn't need an entire recliner and coffee table. A quick peek in the closet and the bathroom, then I was done.
As soon as I poked my head out of my room, Mack poked her head out of the room directly in front of mine. I blinked in surprise. "Found your room already?"
"Yeah," she grinned. "Look." Mack ushered me into the tiniest room in the whole cabin. "The bed's like, my perfect size."
"It's so small."
"That's why it's my perfect size," she said in a 'duh' tone. "Can I see your room?"
After taking a sweeping look around, she commented, "I think every bedroom in the house has an en-suite bathroom." She cracked open the bathroom door and turned the light on to take a closer look. "Hey, Rosie! You've got one of those Jack and Jill bedrooms!"
I frowned in confusion. The term sounded somewhat familiar, but I couldn't quite match a definition or picture to it. "A what?"
"You know, those bedrooms that share a bathroom? See? This door opens," Mack replied, walking to the other end of the rather small bathroom and turning a knob that I could swear wasn't there before. It lead to another bedroom with a similar color scheme to mine. Practically everything was the same. The bed even looked the same.
I suddenly got a feeling of unease in my stomach. "Why don't you take this bedroom? It's pretty nice," I commented off-handedly. Oh, God. If Mack took the bedroom across from mine, and the adults were sleeping on the second level...
Mack laughed at me, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "I know what you're trying to do," she sang. "But my decision's final. I'm taking the room across from yours. Gabriel can have this one."
A glob of my saliva went down the wrong pipe and I started coughing. "What?" I exclaimed.
"Mom told stories about you two a lot," she said, examining her blue fingernails. "And you guys seemed pretty close, so I thought I'd just let you two renew that lovely friendship of yours." Mack laughed and darted out of my reach when I tried to lunge at her. "I'm going to unpack. See you later, Posie," she teased.
I winced at the nickname. My dad used to call me Rosie-Posie, then shortened it to Posie. I had an eccentric great-aunt on my mom's side who came up with an even worse nickname: Roly-poly. I'm not even kidding, the woman called me that every single time I saw her. Roly-poly.
I shuddered again at that damned nickname as I strode back into my claimed room and started to unpack. The process took little over an hour, and by then, I could hear my mom yelling at my dad to get the beach stuff out of the car so we could hit the waves. Typical Mom. I smiled to myself. My parents had the weirdest relationship ever, but hey, it worked and they were still in love after twenty years, so I'm not going to complain.
After changing into a blue and white striped bikini, I pulled on a pair of ripped jean shorts, grabbed my beach towel, slathered on disgusting sunscreen, and tied all of my hair up on the top of my head, letting pieces of it fall down to create a messy look. When I walked out into the hallway, Mack's door was open and I could see her pulling a loose t-shirt over her bathing suit.
I called to her, "Last one in the water has to do dishes!" and sprinted down the flight of stairs, snickering at Mack's complaints and yells.
I burst out of the sliding back door and let out a squeak of pain as my feet sank into the scorching sand. I heard a soft thump behind me and turned around for a second before my sister's blonde mane blew past me. I scowled at her. That sneak! She just jumped off the balcony! I forced myself to go twice as fast, but it was too late. By the time I made it to the shoreline, Mack was about seven feet in. I was pretty athletic, if I do say so myself, but compared to Mack, I was way out of shape.
She smirked at me. "Guess you're doing the dishes." Then, after tugging of my shorts, I jumped in the water and engaged in a full on water fight.
I really needed to stop making bets with Mack that were based on athletic ability.
~~~~~~~~~~~
It was nearly six in the evening and the Faynes still hadn't shown up. Mack and I were leaning towards the 'they probably ditched us' side while our parents insisted that they probably got caught in traffic, or got lost.
Mack and I had stayed in the water until our fingers and toes turned into wrinkled prunes. Only then had we hauled ourselves out and tanned in the last rays of sunlight. It was summer, and even at six, the sun was still shining, not as brightly as before, but nevertheless, was bright enough to count as daytime.
I brushed another tendril of hair behind my ear as I flipped the page of my book. If the Faynes didn't show up soon, and I'd already told my mother this, we might as well eat dinner without them. The only things I'd had to eat today were cinnamon Pop-tarts and a meager ham and lettuce sandwich for lunch. I was famished.
I rolled over onto my back, resting the book at my side and staring up at the fading sky. Just as my eyes were about to close in the sheer peacefulness of the setting, the rumble of a car engine caught my attention and I swiveled around, turning towards the house. The back of the house faced the beach, and a little gravel driveway lead to the left side. Another car, a silver Honda, was now parked directly behind ours, and the driver's door opened.
My parents shot to their feet like excited little kids and raced to greet our old neighbors, as did Mack. By the time I got there, the Faynes and our parents were chattering away. I found myself craning my neck, unconsciously looking for Gabriel. I chided myself, Rosie, stop it. He's just your old neighbor. Just a neighbor. But my stomach churned at the thought of seeing him again.
Mrs. Fayne turned to look at Mack, who was standing a couple feet in front of me. "Oh, Mackenzie!" She crushed Mack to her chest as if she were her long-lost daughter, and I swear I could almost hear Mrs. Fayne cracking every bone in Mack's back. I tried to hold back a laugh at the panicked look on Mack's face. "You're so beautiful! Why, you're practically the spitting image of your mother!"
Mack mumbled a quick thank you and stepped back after shaking Mr. Fayne's hand. Finally, Mrs. Fayne's sights settled on me and her mouth dropped open. "Rose?"
I flashed a grin. "The one and only." I immediately ran to her and we embraced tightly, my bathing suit probably making wet marks on her shirt, but she didn't seem to care. She was like my second mother as a kid, memories like that didn't go away easily. I found that I'd grown closer to her height, but was still a couple inches short. The Faynes were a tall family.
Mr. Fayne was still looking at me in shock. "Rose...you're so grown up. I can't believe it," he said in an awestruck tone.
Mrs. Fayne smacked him on the arm. "She's almost nineteen for God's sake, of course she's grown up," she snapped, but I could see tears welling in her eyes. Oh, no, no, no, I couldn't stand it when people turned on the waterworks. "You've grown up into such a beautiful young lady!" she cried. "And to think, we weren't there to witness a single second of it."
Mom butted in, "That's not your fault, Linda. Besides, we can catch up now, can't we? We've got an entire summer."
"True, true," Mrs. Fayne laughed. Then a scowl crossed her face. I nearly laughed. That scowl had been aimed at Gabriel and me countless times when we were younger and got into trouble constantly. "Where's Gabe? He ought to be part of this little reunion, too."
My heart skipped a beat at his name and I closed my eyes briefly. Why? Why did that always have to happen? For all I knew, he could be a completely different person from the one he was.
Her husband sighed. "The lazy bum's probably still sleeping in the backseat." He walked over to the passenger door of the car and threw it open, shouting something.
A sneaker-clad foot appeared out of the car first before the rest of him followed. I stifled my gasp. Holy- when did Gabriel get...
"Damn," Mack muttered from beside me. I decided that I'd reprimand her for saying a bad word later. There were more pressing matters at hand. Like...the boy in front of me. Actually, 'man' would be a better word. And goddamn, when did he get hot?
As soon as he stepped out of the car, he squinted and held his hand up to shield his eyes from the sun that was still out. He had kind of a muscle-y figure, but in a more slender way, you know what I mean? I was sure that my mouth was on the ground and my tongue was just flopping around somewhere. Whoa, calm down there, Rosie. Looks aren't everything.
His eyes swept over to where we were standing and I tensed. My parents were standing slightly in front of us so maybe I was too short for him to see. I got a sudden urge to just go run and hide. Hide before he saw me.
My mother rushed to him first, tiptoeing to ruffle his hair. "For God's sake, Gabe! You've gotten so tall!" They both let out a laugh, and my knees turned to jelly. His laugh. It was practically the same one he'd had when we were kids, just in deeper tones that did weird things to my stomach.
Dad and Gabriel shook hands and I saw the old fatherly-son bond kind of reignite itself. Before they'd left, the Faynes were practically family. Very close family. "Good to see you again, son," Dad greeted.
"You too, Mr. Lively," Gabriel replied smoothly, with a faint smile on his lips.
Mack dashed forward and surprised everyone by tackling him with a hug. He took a step backwards to steady himself but hugged her back anyway, chuckling. "So, you're Mackenzie. Nice to meet you. I'm Gabe." I was starting to wonder why he didn't call himself Gabriel anymore. It suited him much better than Gabe in my opinion.
"You can call me Mack," she replied easily. "Everyone else does. And I've heard so much about you!" Mack slid a sly smile over in my direction. Oh, no. "Sometimes," she fake-whispered, "Rose talks about you in her sleep."
Everyone burst out laughing and Gabriel's eyes found mine for the first time, a teasing smile lingering on his mouth. "Oh, she does?" His eyes weren't the light grey that I remembered them to be, but rather an olive-tinted hue.
"I do not!" I cried indignantly, shooting daggers at Mack. "I don't sleep-talk!" The last thing I needed was for Gabriel's ego to get inflated to the point where it wouldn't fit in his room. Speaking of rooms...
"No need to get so defensive over it," Mack laughed. I noticed that Gabriel had moved out from behind her and now stood about a foot in front of me, making me realize how truly short I was.
Mom muttered something like, "Let's give them a moment," before everyone simultaneously filed into the house, chatting quietly.
I gulped and forced myself to look up. I nearly laughed out loud when I realized I could see up his nostril. Rosie, get a hold of yourself! But it was too late. I let a tiny bit of laughter escape before squashing the rest of it.
He looked down at me, quirking an eyebrow. "What's funny?"
"I can see up your nose." Damn it! This was like one of those 'I shoulda hadda V8 moments'! Why the hell did I say that?
Something like humor flicked across his face before it settled into a cold, hard mask that made chills go down my spine. "Hm."
His eyes dropped down before going back to my face and I had an urge to slap him. Of course. I was in a bikini for crying out loud, and he was a guy. I just thought he would've been more...gentlemanly after he treated the rest of my family. I was expecting the same courteous personality that he'd shown them, but that's not what I got.
"Let's go inside."
I blinked. No warm hello? No joyful reunion? Not even a handshake? "What?"
"Did I stutter?" he snapped. What the hell? What did I do? "I didn't think so. Let's go."
Wordlessly, I followed him in, ignoring the curious looks that we got from our family members. "I'm going to shower and change," I told them as I followed Gabriel up the stairs.
Mom rushed after me and called both of us to a stop. "Let's get the rooms sorted out and then you can go wash up. Linda and Bill have the bedroom right across Dad and I on the second floor."
"I'm in the balcony room," I added.
"I'm in the little yellow room," Mack yelled from the dining table, munching on a banana. "There's only one more room up there anyways, and it's the one without our stuff in it. Gabe can have that one."
"Oh." Mom shrugged. "Guess it's all figured out, then. Go on, Rosie." I got halfway up the stairs when she said, "And dress nicely! We're eating out tonight!"
When Gabriel and I reached the third floor, the silence between the two of us was so thick, even my mom's favorite butcher knife, which sliced through slabs of meat with ease, couldn't have cut it. I headed in the direction of my room, aware of his footsteps behind me.
I walked into my room and popped into the closet, grabbing a bath towel before spinning around and smacking my head into a hard chest. "Ow!" Why'd he follow me in here? Didn't the guy know what boundaries were? Usually, I wouldn't be this irritable but my mood was considerably sour after what happened on the driveway.
He glanced at me bemusedly. "You're clumsy," he stated, folding his arms over that ridiculously firm chest of his. I bet he could've dented a car if it crashed into him.
And you've turned into an ass, I thought bitterly. What happened to the warm, caring boy I knew as a child? The one who was always there to help me when I scraped my knees, the one who always came over to my house every other day for dinner?
Instead of voicing my thoughts, I asked, "Why are you here? We're supposed to be getting ready for dinner."
"I didn't know which room I was supposed to go in."
I sucked a breath in through my teeth. I was not looking forward to telling him about the Jack and Jill bedroom thing. "It's the one next to mine. Go into the hall and it's the door a few feet closer to the stairs."
Gabriel walked out without a single word of thanks. I scowled at the empty room once he was gone, wrapping myself in the towel. No manners either? What happened to the perfect manners he used around the rest of our family?
Shaking my head at this rather depressing turn of events, I turned the knob to the bathroom, coming face to face with Gabriel. Oh, God, he looked downright pissed.
I laughed nervously. "Did I mention we have to share a bathroom?" I squeaked.
Gabriel's face contorted. "No," he growled. "Get out. I'm using the bathroom."
"I have to take a shower!" I shouted, taking a step closer to him. He was still standing in his doorway. Hm...
"Go use another bathroom," he ordered.
I felt like pulling my hair out. What was the matter with him? I'd had enough of this bullshit! "That's it!" I yelled, and put both hands on his chest, shoving him out of the bathroom with all my strength and slamming the door in his face. I grinned smugly.
When the lock clicked, I heard his furious pounding. "Rose! ROSE! Goddammit, OPEN THE DOOR! You're going to pay for this!" he bellowed.
I started humming obnoxiously loudly and turned on the water in the shower, drowning out his voice.
I took an entire half hour in the shower just to spite that jerk.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Dinner had gone surprisingly smoothly, save for the few light kicks that Gabriel had aimed at my shin.
Gabriel, or rather, Gabe, was the perfect gentleman towards everyone else...but me. I didn't know what his problem was, but if that was how he was going to act, then so be it.
I had no idea why, but I'd had a ridiculous fantasy going on in my head about us finally reuniting one day after being separated for fourteen years. We'd hug, and laugh, and cry, and at last catch up on every single detail of our lives without each other. Then, we'd resume our friendship and maybe...no. I willed myself not to think of it. It was impossible now, anyway, since he seemed to have no interest in being my friend anymore.
I thought of the conch shell I had stowed away in my suitcase. It wasn't terribly big, small enough to fit in my hand comfortably. Did he remember like I did?
Or maybe he already had a sweetheart back at home. That particular thought made my stomach churn even though I knew I had no right to be, God forbid, jealous. I couldn't be jealous over him. I hadn't seen him in fourteen years, I should keep my nose out of his business.
And the best way to do that was to avoid him altogether.
As we were walking back into the house, I asked my mom, "Can I show you something upstairs really quick?" Gabriel's eyes flicked towards me, then back at the stairs.
Mom smiled warmly. "Sure. What is it?"
I led her up to my room and pointed at the bathroom. "See? This is one of those Jack and Jill bedrooms. Gabe and I have to share a bathroom," I said pointedly.
Dad had followed us up here and was now peering at the bathroom. "Well, the bathroom's a decent size. You can share it, can't you?" Really, Dad, really? You want your daughter to share the bathroom with a non-related guy?
Fantastic parenting right there, I'm telling you.
Gabriel had appeared in my room too. Why was everyone in here all of a sudden, and why didn't I notice any of them come in? "Maybe it would be in everyone's best interests if I switched rooms," he spoke up politely, earning a death glare from me. "There's a room across the hall."
Oh hey, Mack was here. She folded her arms across her chest. "That's my room," she replied snippily.
"Wouldn't it make more sense for you to share a bathroom with me?" I asked her. "We're sisters."
Mack shook her head. "Even if we switched, I'm pretty sure he," she jabbed a finger at Gabriel, "wouldn't fit on the bed in there. I'd like to see him try," she added with a snort.
Gabriel ducked out of my room and went into hers, and we followed him. Seriously, I thought, getting squished by my mom and Mr. Fayne, does anyone know what personal space is? No?
He lay down on the bed and scowled when he couldn't fit his legs in the frame comfortably. "Oh." I almost laughed out loud at how big he was compared to the tiny mattress.
Mack rolled her eyes. "Yeah. I took this room 'cause it's the smallest, duh. I figured no one would fit it."
Mrs. Fayne shrugged. "There aren't any more bedrooms. Looks like the sleeping arrangements are permanent." She looked at the two of us. "You can share the bathroom and use it one at a time if you don't want to. No fighting," she aimed a stare at Gabriel.
Dad stepped up to him. "I trust you enough to share a bathroom with my daughter. Don't lose it," he said firmly, but there was a twinkle of humor in his eyes. No, Dad! You're supposed to be the one forcing us to sleep on different floors! Just because we used to be friends doesn't mean he's going to-
"Yes, sir," Gabriel said rather reluctantly, but his tone went unnoticed by everyone except me. I sniffed. Well, it was a lose-lose situation. I didn't want to share a bathroom any more than he did.
Mom nodded. "Well, it's been a long day," she yawned. "Everyone, get some sleep."
We all mumbled hasty 'goodnights' and 'love you's' before finding our rooms. I gave Gabriel one last cold glare before retreating inside. Of course, right as I opened the door to the bathroom to brush my teeth, he did the exact same thing.
I tore my eyes away from him and bent over my sink, wetting the toothbrush and squirting a glob of toothpaste on before beginning to clean my teeth. The two of us brushed in silence and when I finished, I went into my room without a glance back.
Honestly, it kind of hurt to look at him. He wasn't my Gabriel anymore.
After changing into my ratty t-shirt and shorts, I opened the French doors and walked out onto my balcony. The waves crashed in the distance and the luminous moon shone bright. I closed my eyes and leaned against the wooden railing, letting the soft ocean breeze run its fingers through my hair.
The peaceful moment was broken by the sound of a door opening and closing. I turned around slowly and saw him standing in front of his entrance to the balcony, staring at me as if I were a ghost. I sighed and turned away, going back into my room. I left the doors open so that the breeze could provide a nice little air current. Looking back on that, I shouldn't have done that, I mean, Gabriel was a guy after all, but nothing happened.
What a day. It was bad enough that I had to share a bathroom with that asshole, but I had to share the incredible balcony with him too?
I hated these Jack and Jill bedrooms.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Alex Pettyfer as Gabriel Fayne :D
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