After I picked Brian up from work, I spent the next day making another couple batches of chocolate chip cookies for the Nazarians. Brian ate some too, which seemed to put him in a better-than-usual mood.
"You got plans tonight?" He asked me, and I felt my face heat up a bit, grateful that my back was to him as I stirred the dough on the kitchen counter.
"Um...." I tried really hard to sound nonchalant. "So the friend with the concussion? Asked me to come over again. Apparently it's really boring having a concussion...."
"That's nice of you," Brian said through a mouth full of cookie. "I can drive you and pick you up if you want. Just let me know the times. I'm going out for dinner with some friends. Cool?"
"Yeah!" I smiled at my spoon, and sighed with relief when Brian excused himself to catch some sleep, without any further questioning.
Layla texted me at some point: "Yo Mary. Party at my place tonight. Don't come before 8."
I rolled my eyes and ignored it.
I checked in on Rubi to see if there was any update with her mom. Apparently the infection was under control, and she'd be coming home in a day or two.
Before long I found myself back on Noah's porch, again being greeted by an incredibly enthusiastic Josh.
Josh guided me by the hand to the kitchen, adjacent to the beautiful family room where Noah had apparently relocated to. Once again, his pretty mom greeted me warmly. "Molly! How nice to see you again!" She then turned her attention to Josh. "Let's let Noah visit with his guests. Come on, Josh."
"Bye Molly!" He hugged me, and followed his mother through a door to some other area in their large home.
Once again, I was not the only visitor at Noah's house. My homemade cookies were still warm. Layla, however, had brought an entire cookie bouquet that she had bought from one of those fancy boutiques. Balloons were attached and the cookies spelled out 'G-E-T W-E-L-L N-O-A-H'.
"Mary!" She beamed at me. "So sweet of you to stop by to see Noah before my party!"
"Oh, I don't know if I can come...." I stammered. "I just came by to.....pluck Noah's nose hairs for him....."
Noah laughed. Layla made a face. "Eeeeew! Yeah, right. Come on, his mom doesn't even want us here because he needs to rest. I want to introduce you to all my friends. Mary, you know you'll have more fun with me than with the Invalid over there!"
I thought fast; at least.....I thought I did......"Layla, I would love to. How bout some other time? Um.....my boyfriend's picking me up from HERE later, and...."
"From Noah's house?" She gasped, and I saw a glimmer of admiration in her eyes. "Damn, girl. You do know how to play the game! I definitely want you to meet some people tonight. You can really make Ryan jealous! Not sure Mr. Brain Damage here is quite going to do the trick, right?"
"Nice, Layla," Noah grumbled from his place on the couch. I bit my lip and looked at him uncomfortably, but he was scowling at the tv.
"Noah, tell her she should socialize! Get to know our crowd. What's your bedtime tonight, like 9:15?"
"Which is exactly when I told Ryan to pick me up." I piped up. "Here. And..... he doesn't have a cell phone, so I can't text him and tell him I'll be at your place....."
"Lucky for you, I live virtually next door. Which is why you're coming with me. You'll be back before you turn into a pumpkin and Prince Charming comes to rescue you here, I promise! Noah!" She whined. "Tell her!"
"You totally botched that fairy tale," Noah answered, still wearing his uncharacteristic scowl. "Listen, Mary does what she wants. Not like I invited her here or anything...."
He looked at me quickly and I smiled back. "Well....that stung! Sure, Layla. I guess I can hang out at your place....."
Noah slumped a little more in his chair, but I figured it was nothing compared to how I felt at his complete and utter dismissal. I kept smiling, though. Seemed to be the only way to survive Hinsdale. Layla beamed as though euphoric.
"Yay! Come on, Mary, let's go get ready! Oooh, we're going to have so much fun! G'night, Noah! Hope your head feels better!" She called, as she sashayed out of the kitchen and out the back door, and I hung back for a second, realizing I hadn't yet given Noah the plate of still-warm cookies in my hands.
"Um..." I wrinkled my nose and looked down at the aluminum foil covered paper plate. "You probably don't want these anymore.....I mean.....Layla's look a lot better but.....I don't know what to do with them and so....maybe you can give them to Josh I guess?"
I glanced at him, feeling rather pathetic and silly, and he looked like there was something he wanted to say, but all we both heard was Layla, bellowing from the back yard: "MARY! Come on!"
Startled, I set the plate on the counter. "Hope you feel better. Good night," I tried to smile, but am afraid it came out as more of a grimace.
Back at her house, Layla wasted no time. "I'm actually really glad you're here," she smiled sweetly. "Will you help me get ready?" She breezed through the kitchen without so much as a cursory nod at Consuela, who was busily setting food and drinks - apparently alcoholic drinks - out on the enormous, white granite island. I trailed behind her, through a hallway in the kitchen and up a staircase, down a long, wide second floor hallway to Layla's bedroom. Only to call it a bedroom is not exactly accurate. Layla had a suite.
"Is this.....your room?" I stammered, positive at first that it must be her mom's.
"Yeah. Duh....." she eye-rolled, and I followed her through the huge room, big enough to furnish not only a bed, but a couch, two chairs, a table, and a large armoire. She led me into her closet, itself larger than my entire bedroom. My mouth dropped open as I surveyed her expansive wardrobe.
"Wow," just escaped from my lips. I couldn't help it. I had never seen so many pairs of shoes, all meticulously lined up in two rows on both sides of the closet. A fuschia-colored velvet cushioned chair punctuated the white carpet, and on either side rows and rows of shirts, pants, dresses, sweaters, jackets and every other conceivable garment in every imaginable color lined up orderly. There were easily hundreds of hangers, but the closet was ample enough that nothing needed to be squished and wrinkled, like in my closet. Everything draped nicely, as if it had all just appeared there directly from the mall.
She looked judiciously at the bounty, one hand resting on her chin, and then proceeded to pull one hanger after another. "Help me pick an outfit for tonight, will you?" She said distractedly. She laid the dozen or so choices on her gray and white chevron-patterned bedspread and began stripping down to her underwear.
"Layla, it doesn't matter which of these outfits you choose," I sighed. "You're like.... gorgeous. No matter what you wear you're stunning."
"Hmph," she flung on the first fashion statement, a silky black tank top and gray skinny jeans. "What do you think?"
She regarded herself in the full length mirror beside the closet, and I peaked over her shoulder, watching her as she made duck lips and other instagram-worthy faces. "It's um.....good...." I shrugged. The outfit likely cost more money than everything in my closet put together.
Her face lapsed into a sour expression. "Uck. No." She discarded the tank and jeans to the floor and kicked them to the side, then pulled on a shimmery pink mini-skirt and silver top with peak-a-boo shoulders.
"Better?" She asked, holding her hair on top of her head in a makeshift up-do as she again studied her reflection carefully.
"Yeah! Sure....." I nodded, but she made another face, and another outfit ended up in the discard pile.
This went on for a while, before she finally decided on a red, sequined t-shirt dress. Truthfully, by this point I'd been contemplating the easiest way to sneak out of her house and maybe beg Noah to just let me eat cookies with Josh at his place, when she turned to look at me, a strange new fire in her eye. "Your turn," she said matter-of-factly.
"Huh? Oh! No, Layla, I'm good."
I backed cautiously away from her as she circled me like a lion with it's prey. "Come on, Mare. Borrow something sexy. Those boys won't be able to keep their eyes off of you tonight! Won't that make that little boyfriend of yours jealous?"
"Um..." I stammered, looking anywhere that wasn't directly at her. "I don't want to make anyone jealous! And I'm comfortable in my own clothes. Nothing sexy for me, thanks. Besides. Like anyone can compete with you? Guys at school like.... stop what they're doing to watch you walk down the hall....."
She stopped in front of me, smiling like a Cheshire Cat. "They do, don't they? Well. I'm doing your make-up at least. Sit."
She shoved me back to the bed, retrieved a basket filling to the brim with various lipsticks, eye shadows and other make-up, and perched in front of me.
"Close your eyes," she instructed, and began applying eye shadow.
I could almost relax, as she blew the errant powder off my face, and gently yet skillfully continued to apply different substances to my face with different brushes and applicators. It reminded me of Emma and my sleepovers with my old friends. When I opened my eyes to Layla's beautiful face, she for once appeared unguarded. She looked younger somehow, with no trace of her usual attitude, as deep in concentration as she was in playing make-up artist. She smiled slightly and said a bit huskily, as she brushed mascara onto my lashes, "You're beautiful, Kerrigan. I mean. I've been around beautiful my whole life. I wouldn't just say it if I didn't mean it."
I felt my cheeks redden, and not from the make-up. "I don't know about beautiful. But everyone always used to tell me how much I look like my mom. And I think she was the most beautiful person I'd ever seen...."
Suddenly, without warning, Layla kissed my nose. "I'm sorry you lost her, Molly. I can't imagine how much you miss her. I mean.....I complain about my mom. But at the end of the day I can pretty much call her any time I want. At least you have brothers, right? Are they cool? I always wanted a brother...."
It took me a second to remember to blink. "Um....yeah, for the most part I love having brothers. Well, one of them's kind of......dead to me, but my oldest brother, Brian....he's pretty much my best friend."
"Awwww...." Layla said, as if I had just said something absolutely precious, instead of what really was the result of major family dysfunction and heartbreak. But I was not about to share that story with her....
"Okay," she pushed herself up and ran to her closet to retrieve a pair of red stilettos, which I would have absolutely broken my neck wearing. "Let's go check out the status downstairs, shall we?"
"Miss Molly, I make you a snack," Consuela pushed a plate of carrots and sliced cucumbers in front of me. She said my name the same way Rubi's Abuela did: 'Moe-Lee.'
"You didn't have to do that," I smiled a grateful smile. "That was really nice of you. Gracias."
Layla rolled her eyes and smirked. "You're such a kiss up, Mare. Consuela, we've got it from here. You're dismissed. 'Kay?" The snotty smile and tone of voice she used made my face heat up, but Consuela was clearly immune to Layla's....charms. She gave a brief little head nod and disappeared. Part of me wanted to go with her.
Layla's guests began to arrive in force. All vaguely familiar faces from our high school, but no one that I really knew; Layla's friends didn't include our lunch group, of course. I wondered why she had deemed me worthy.
"Mary, you gonna dance with my boy, Harrison here?" She cooed at me as I tried to stay invisible. My brain instantly remembered the video she had shown me of Noah 'dancing.' I shook my head with a smile, and headed to the couch, where I could sit and watch from a safe, anonymous distance.
Layla plopped beside me. "Don't you want to meet anyone? Mingle?" Her pretty hazel eyes looked forlorn, her bottom lip actually pouted.
I had to laugh. "It's a bit overwhelming, ya know? Where should I start?"
"Okay," she cozied beside me and spoke into my ear so that I could hear her over the loud music and party noise. "Harrison Evans is like.....the hottest guy in school right now. He totally wants to dance with you. If you're up to it." She pointed to a rather large boy standing guard by the alcohol, a crowd of kids, mostly girls, flanking him on both sides. He was good looking, I suppose, in a generic kind of way. He had light brown hair and light colored eyes, that didn't sparkle.
She continued to point out various boys and girls in the room, telling me little side notes about them, including who they had dated, who they had messed around with, who they'd had sex with. "Of course, your buddy Noah has history with pretty much every girl here!" She laughed off-handedly, and my stomach did a little lurch.
"And that," Layla continued, gesturing with her martini glass, "Is Eric Andersen. He spends more time on his hair than anyone you've ever met." Eric did have a beautiful shock of blonde hair, perfectly fluffed and resting across his forehead. Layla giggled. "He just keeps it that way because the girls all love it. Watch this. HEY, ERIC!" She called, impressively loud across the room. "COME HERE!"
Eric smiled at the girl he had been talking to and came at Layla's bidding. "Have you met Molly Kerrigan yet?" She batted her eye lashes as he sat on the other side of her on the couch.
"Hello, Molly Kerrigan!" He had a friendly smile and a friendly voice, and truly his hair was even more of a marvel up close.
"Molly's new this year," Layla informed him, and began stroking Eric's hair.
"Oh yeah?" He grinned, clearly loving the attention. "How do you like Central so far?"
At least now my smile was genuine. It was just so amusing, watching girls fawn over Eric's hair. At least three other girls walked by and petted his pretty mane. I almost laughed out loud. "Oh, it's great! Classes are hard, but the kids are nice."
Layla let out a silver peal of laughter. "Nice? I am pretty much your closest friend so far - you will not count Noah. He just wants to get in your pants. And I, Mary Colleen, am not nice. I'm fucking fierce, and basically the coolest bitch you'll ever meet. But nice? Pick a different adverb!"
I bit my lip to keep from laughing, and to keep from correcting her.
"You mean adjective, Layla? How many of those martinis have you had, huh?" Eric teased her, and she pouted attractively.
"Oh, whatever, nerd. I haven't had enough! You two get better acquainted. Mary, don't forget to pet his head!" Layla flounced across the room and disappeared into the crowd.
"So," Eric scooted a bit closer to me on the couch. "Molly Kerrigan, why does everyone call you Mary?"
I scrunched my nose. "Well.....Layla likes to tease me, I guess....."
"Yeah, but not just Layla...." he began, but never finished, because at that moment he was again distracted by a mob of cheerleaders who seemed to need his undivided attention in order to also pet his head.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket. Still only 8:30. I texted Brian hopefully:
"Any chance dinner is done early? I'm ready to be picked up"
Then I stared at the iPhone screen, willing him to reply, but after a minute or two it became clear that I was pretty much stuck.
Beside me on the couch Eric, the boy with the amazing hair had graduated from being petted to some serious making out with either Lara or Lauren; even if I could see their face at the moment I'm not sure I could tell them apart, as connected at the hip as they always seemed to be. And now I'd never be able to tell whichever of the pair was making out with Eric, because they were, well, connected at the face. I tried not to pay attention, but they inched closer and closer to me, completely engrossed in each other, and before long they were edging me off the couch. I finally jumped up, giving up the entire spot to them.
Layla's formerly serene and spacious family room was now wall-to-wall teenagers. Drunk teenagers. It was loud and messy and made me think of another party in another house with another group of teenagers, and suddenly I just knew that I had to get out of there. Going back to Noah's clearly not an option, I resorted to my old lunchtime trick of hiding out in the bathroom.
After weaving through the crowd, I locked myself in the powder room. Or at least, I thought I had locked myself in.
I hadn't managed to get off the toilet when I heard the door knob jiggling, and then someone was entering.
"Hey, occupied!" I called, but the football player named Harrison entered anyway, closing the door behind him.
"Sorry. Hey. You're the one Nazarian calls Mary. Right?" I hastily pulled up my pants, gaping in shock. He put his hand on the wall beside me, casually leaning against it, clearly with no intention of leaving.
He smiled his smarmy smile and I sighed angrily, edging past him to wash my hands at the sink.
"It's Molly," I clarified. Now why the hell are you in here?
"Molly..." he said slowly, smiling, his eyes working their way over me. "So tell me, Molly. This whole Mary nickname. Is that as in Virgin Mary? Are you a virgin?"
My heart pounded, and I spun around to face him as he moved closer, so that I was stuck between him and the sink. "Virgins are my specialty, Molly." He placed his hands on my hips and leaned close, his breath hot on my face. Don't panic.
"Good for you!" I pushed his hands off of my body, but he grabbed each of my hands in one of his. I tried to pull away, but his grip was firm. Unwelcome.
"You're beautiful, Molly. I'm not going to lie. I've been hoping to get you alone for awhile...."
"I have a boyfriend...." I said automatically.
"Nazarian's not here...." he leaned his face closer, and I arched backwards, trying to remove my hands from his vice-like grip.
"Noah's not my boyfriend...."
I was going to cry. And I was going to have to knee him in the groin, because I was not about to let this happen.
But then the bathroom door opened again.
"Occupied!" Harrison yelled ironically, not turning his face from me.
I turned my face to see who had come in just as his mouth landed on my cheek.
"Mary!" Layla and one of her friends who happened to be in our history class stumbled in. "You can't have all the boys to yourself!"
"Mary and I are getting to know each other a bit better....." Harrison mumbled, as Layla and her friend came up behind him and began kissing his neck, their hands wrapping around him, distracting him momentarily so that I could make my escape.
I elbowed past him, out the bathroom door, and out of Layla's house.
I made my way back across the lawns, wiping away the tears. I shivered in the cool night air, but there was no way I was going to spend one more minute inside Layla's house. I sat on the bottom step of Noah's porch and glanced at my phone. Only 9:05. I was mid-eye-roll when I heard, from the darkness of the porch behind me, "What, Layla's party's not your scene, Mary?"
I jumped up with a little shriek. "GEEZ! You scared the crap out of me, Noah!"
He laughed. "Sorry, Kerrigan, sorry! Why so jumpy?"
"Ugh!" I shuddered. "Maybe because you're sitting alone outside in the dark like a weirdo!"
He laughed again. "Sorry! And I'm um......sorry for what I said earlier. To Layla. She just.....knows how to push my buttons. Ya know?"
I looked at him, but it was too dark to gauge how sincere he was.
"What is it with you and her, anyway?"
"It's long. It's complicated. I don't want to talk about it."
"O....Kay....." I turned my back on him and willed my brother to show up.
"How bout you? You believe me now? That Layla's bad news?"
I spun to face him. "I disagree. She's.....got some stuff going on for sure. But she is not a bad person. I just.....parties like that.....where everyone's drunk and like....having sex...." I shuddered again. "You were right; Not my scene."
He scoffed. "What did you expect? That's how Layla lives her life. No supervision. No boundaries. Unlimited money and freedom to do whatever she wants. Most of those kids have all grown up with the same set of rules. Or lack of rules. Getting drunk and high and screwing around. What's wrong with that, Mary?"
I wrapped my arms tight around myself and shuddered again.
"I know a girl who went to a party like that. And someone put something in her drink. And then you know what happened? She woke up in a room and 3 guys were taking turns having sex with her. Very much against her will. So. Yeah. You won't see me drinking any time soon."
"Wow, Mary, that's a sad story."
"Ya know, quit calling me Mary. You act like I'm some innocent, virginal girl who can't take care of herself. I just.... I hate that....."
"Okay. Sorry!" He put his hands up, and I spun around, turning my back on him, and plopped back down on the bottom step. A few beats of silence went by. "So....your boyfriend's on his way, huh?"
I glanced at my phone. 9:10. "Any minute," I hoped.
I heard him move behind me, and the next thing I knew he was sitting on the bottom step, too, but he possessed the very good sense to keep a wide berth between us. "Molly.....I wish I could.....I mean....." he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. I looked at him sideways, out of pure curiosity. Noah Nazarian never seemed at a loss for words. "Your cookies were good," he offered at last. "Way better than Layla's. In fact....I didn't even try her's....."
I frowned at the sidewalk. "Her's are too pretty to take apart and eat. But trust me. They'll be delicious when you do."
He inched towards me a tiny bit, sighing again. "I prefer homemade chocolate chip to that sugary-frosted crap. Any day. I guess.....thank you. I really appreciate you bringing them. Josh does too," he added quickly.
I shrugged, feeling the tension in my shoulders soften the slightest bit. "You're welcome. And.....I really would have had more fun tonight plucking your nose hairs.....or painting your fingernails.....or whatever....."
He laughed. "I blew it. I know I did. I miss running with you. And soon it will be too cold...."
"When can you run again?" I looked at him at last, and his expression softened a bit, almost as though he were breathing a sigh of relief.
"Not sure," he looked at me with his dark, dark eyes, as his fingers played absently with the bottom cuffs of his pants.
"Well....so when do you go back to school? My shoulder is lonely without my partner." I offered a conciliatory smile. He rewarded me with an impish grin.
"I think I can go back on Monday. But no soccer which totally blows....."
"I'm so sorry, Noah. I get it. I really do. I used to be on the volleyball team at my old school. I know how much the team means to you."
He sighed, for once no trace of a smirk on his handsome face. "How come you didn't play on our team? Didn't want to try out?"
I nodded. "Yeah. I don't know. I miss it sometimes. But....this year I just need to kind of....keep things simple, I guess."
He looked like he was trying hard to understand. His brow furrowed, and I temporarily worried about his head and his brain and his concussion. Until he said, "Well then take my advice. Don't hang out with Layla."
I looked back at the street. "I wasn't planning on it tonight. But when you made me feel like you didn't want me here....."
"I know," He groaned. "I acted like a massive dick, Kerrigan! You've gotta let me make it up to you. I owe you.....water at Starbucks. For life!"
I giggled in spite of myself. "Oooh, big spender!"
He smiled again, and somehow I wasn't cold anymore. "You um.....have make-up on.....fancy!" He noticed, and I predictably blushed and looked at my knees.
"Haha. Yeah, um.....Layla's idea...."
He nodded. "Figured. For the record. I think you're prettier without extra stuff on your face...."
Wrapping my arms around my knees a little tighter, I found my mouth suddenly dry. "Thanks...." I could barely manage.
Cue the awkward pause. Then he cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair. "So, um.....who all was at the party?"
"Oh...." I faltered. "There were so many people there. Um....I think all the cheerleaders were there.....I know there were football players there. Lara and Lauren.... that quarterback with the two last names...."
"Harrison Evans," Noah snorted. "Let me guess. He hit on you."
I looked at him again, surprised. "How'd you know?"
He rolled his eyes and then rubbed them tiredly. "He hits on everyone. I eat lunch with the guy. He's.....mentioned you....."
I drew my knees up and hugged them to my body, shuddering a bit at the memory of Harrison's sour-smelling breath in the close quarters of Layla's powder room. "Well when I left Layla and.....Lara, I think? Or maybe Lauren? Anyway.....they had him um.....occupied...."
Noah snorted again, looking down at the ground, his hand on the back of his neck.
"You okay, buddy?" I asked, concerned that his head was hurting him.
He nodded. "Yeah," he exhaled, working his fingers over the back of his neck. "I fell asleep funny and my neck hurts," he shrugged. "And I know you're new.....and I shouldn't like.....burden you with this but.....I'm just so sick of the people, and the way things are around here. Ya know? And now I can't even do the one thing I love to do anymore."
My heart went out to him, for some reason I couldn't quite explain. I mean.....he lived in this wealthy neighborhood, residing in, until I had seen Layla's ridiculous home, the absolute nicest house that I had ever been in. He was rich, handsome, smart and popular. But he was sad. I put my hand gently on the back of his neck, fully exposed since he was looking down again, and gently rubbed back and forth. "You'll play soccer again, Noah. And before you know it you'll be away at some amazing college."
He smiled with his eyes closed. "You must think I'm the biggest asshole, huh? Over here feeling sorry for myself. I know these aren't really problems, Kerrigan." He paused, and leaned his neck into my hand a bit. "You're pretty tight with Fernando's sister, huh?"
"Rubi," I nodded, and kept gently massaging the back of his neck.
"Did you know that their mom is dying? Coach told us. Back in the summer."
"Yeah," I sighed heavily. "Rubi told me."
Noah shook his head. "I feel so bad for them, you know? I can't even imagine....."
I could. And I did. I saw my mom's face clearly in my brain at that moment. At the end her face, and entire body, really had been puffy from steroids. She always had to be on oxygen; for pretty much the last year, she had tubes in her nose. But this was better than when she had to be intubated, and couldn't talk at all. We watched a lot of TV with her in those days. She hated it. She had been an athlete in high school, too. If, at 16 she had been forced to days of bed-rest, it would have depressed her. Like Noah. But mom wore a brave face until the end. I only heard her cry at night, through the thin walls of our brick bungalow, when she was alone in her bedroom, or with Dad. She knew that she was dying too. Just like Rubi's mom. I wondered if Rubi's mom cried and if Rubi could hear her.
Sometimes grief creeps up on you. It's always present in your heart. It pings around in there, like a pin-ball. Sometimes it's someplace deep, where you can barely feel it, and other times it nags at the surface.
My eyes welled with tears. Noah noticed, and put a hand on my knee. I jumped up, spastically to my feet, putting some space between us as quickly as I could.
"I'm sorry," he spoke gruffly. "I'm not trying to....I'm not like Harrison Evans....."
"I know you're not!" I spun and smiled at him through my tears, which I hastily wiped away. I dug my phone out of my pocket. 9:25. Damnit, where was Brian?
Noah stood up slowly and faced me, with eyes that were huge and full. "Why did you come over tonight, anyway?" He asked in sort of a timid, reluctant, very un-Noah way.
I shrugged. "Because you asked me to."
He ran his hand through his hair and smiled, with only half his mouth. "Yeah, I know, but.....it's just that you said you wanted to hang out with me more than go to Layla's. I mean.....most 16-year-olds would rather go to a noisy party than sit in a quiet house with me and my mom and my special needs brother and watch tv....."
"Don't think too hard about it, Noah. You've got a concussion," I smiled at him, and he smiled back, but it didn't reach his eyes.
And then, at last I saw my brother's car speed to a stop in front of Noah's house. I exhaled and started walking backwards towards it. "That's my ride. See you Monday!"
He waved with one hand, the other one stuffed deep into his pocket.
"Who was that?" Brian asked, his brow furrowed in the direction of Noah Nazarian.
"A friend," I said clearly.
Brian squinted at Noah in the darkness, which made me nervous. "Can we go please? You're later than you said you would be...."
"I know. I'm sorry," he grimaced, his eyes apologetic, before finally driving off.
I sighed with relief, then took a good look at my brother. Could he pass for Ryan Romanowski, high school football player? Maybe he could, to Noah, from far away, in the dark. He was big and broad, since he himself had also been a high school football player. He was handsome, with his blue eyes, dark hair that always stood up at the cowlick above his forehead, and easy smile. But lately I had noticed the crease in his forehead deepening. The tiny lines at the corners of his eyes were more noticeable, too. Had I contributed to that?
Then I noticed something else. He wore a dress shirt and only half of it was tucked into his jeans. He had missed a button, too, and it looked like there was a lipstick mark on his collar.
"Brian!" I stared at him, my mouth dropping open. "Were you...... on a date?"
My level-headed, non-emotional brother turned crimson. "Um....I was just at dinner. With a friend."
"Who's a lady!" I giggled, all thoughts wiped from my brain except evil ones of how I could tease my cool as a cucumber big brother, who if possible, was blushing deeper by the second!
He steered with one hand and put his other elbow on the window ledge, so his free hand could cover his mouth. "She's.....just a friend....." he insisted, unconvincingly.
"Brian!" I laughed. "I don't care! I'm glad you had a date! You're not a robot, you should have fun, too! In fact...." a dim realization slowly occurred to me. "I'm sorry if you cut it short to pick up your lame little sister."
"Oh. No, Molly, come on, it's fine."
I looked out the window. It really wasn't fine. It wasn't fair. Brian was 22-years-old, and basically parenting a teen-ager. And he was just such a good person, he didn't even try to make me feel bad about it.
I felt his eyes on me at the stoplight, after a few minutes of riding in silence. Then he began, rather hesitantly, "So...was that guy back there....your boyfriend?"
"No!" I answered quickly, and looked at him with wide eyes for emphasis. "I do not have a boyfriend. If I did, you would know."
He nodded. "Okay. So....the thing is....Ms. Willis called and let me know that you were telling the girls in your lunch group about your boyfriend...."
"Oh. That." I started to chew on my thumbnail, trying to figure out the best way to explain this to him. "So....it just sort of....happened. This one kid I take the bus with asked me to Homecoming. And I didn't want to hurt his feelings, so I told him I had a boyfriend. Then....this other guy asked me if I had a boyfriend....and.....it's just easier. If I pretend I have a boyfriend. They leave me alone."
Brian looked back at the road and nodded. "I think I get it. Guys in high school suck, huh?"
I smiled. "Pretty much."
He nodded again, and leaned his head in a way that informed me this awkward line of questioning was not quite over. "So....she also said that your boyfriend was that Ryan Romanowski kid. From the old neighborhood. You sure it's just pretend, Moll?"
I squirmed in my seat in embarrassment. "Yes! I haven't even seen Ryan since 7th grade! It was just the first name that came to my mind. I swear!"
He nodded, a little less convincingly now. "Alright, alright. Just. No secrets between us, okay? You can trust me, Moll. You can tell me anything. Always."
"Okay," I nodded, really hoping I could persuade him not to worry. "It was just embarrassing. To admit that I'm like....lying to people about dating Ryan. I didn't think you'd understand....."
He smiled his kind, fireman brother smile. "I get it, Moll. I do. Look.....whatever happens, I am - always - team Molly. And hey, I was in high school once, too. I know the guys are assholes. Just give it some time. It gets better. I promise."
Feeling a bit heartless, I guess, I grinned at him and teased, "When did you get so wise, Grandpa?"
His mouth dropped open, but still wore the hint of a smile. "Oh my GOD, when did you become a mean girl? I thought we were having a moment here?!"
I laughed, and shoved his shoulder.
"And now you're trying to cause an accident! You're grounded, young lady!"