Wrong Place, Right Time Page 17

  I think love her. I want to tell her and although I've never said those words to someone, something tells me that now is not the right time to say it. But it's there. I can feel it slip into my veins when she speaks. I'm addicted to her. A grin creeps onto my face.

  "You're right. You're so wise. That's why you go to a fancy university and I don't. You got the good brain genes."

  "Stop," she demands even though I can tell through the phone that she's smiling. And rolling her eyes. "You can always go to college if you want to and, um, actually we should probably talk–"

  "Yeah, hey, what are you doing tomorrow? I'll come over after I get out of work. I think I get out at two."

  "Um, okay, yeah that works–"

  I hear the yank of the front door opening, and a fat old man stumbling through the door followed by the slam of the screen door. "Hey, Sweet Cheeks, Al just got home," I whisper. "I gotta go. Bye." I hang up and get off my bed. I open my door and walk quietly down the hallway using the light on my phone to guide my way, only slightly afraid that an obese man with a bald head could come barreling down any second. I reach the end of the hall and look to my left.

  "Hey, son," Al slurs, lying on the sofa with his legs dangling off like he was too lazy to lift them onto the sofa with the rest of his body. I shine the light on him and he blocks his eyes with his pudgy forearm, which makes me scoff.

  "The light isn't that bright, Al. Relax," I tell him.

  "My eyes already adjusted to the dark," he lazily spews out.

  "It is dark in here. Hmm, I wonder why that could be? Maybe because you didn't pay the bill with the money I gave you?" I accuse, getting irritable again quickly. Al just grumbles nonsense. "You drank it, didn't you? You drank our electric bill. Again. Jesus, Al. What the hell?"

  "I got it. I made it back playing cards tonight at the bar," he grumbles and feebly attempts to reach into his pocket, but gives up halfway and lets his arm dangle off the sofa like his feet. What a fucking mess.

  "What is it? You were never this bad when I was a kid, so what is it? Is it the job? Just because you're on disability doesn't mean you can lie around like a pile of shit and drink all day. You can't drink our damn bill money anymore." I want to say more. I want to yell at him because all he had to do was go to the office and hand over the cash. I only asked him to do one thing this month, because I've been busy with Amelia and work, and he couldn't even do it. I single handedly support both of us while he drinks his disability checks. But I can't yell any more than I have. The truth is I probably deserve to be paying all the bills. He did it when I was a kid and now it's my turn to pay the bills. He somehow managed to hold the fort down during my childhood, even though my sister played a huge part in that. Now it's my time to have things under control. I wish I wasn't stuck here. I wish he didn't need me to take care of everything. I don't think I've ever been more frustrated in my entire life. I sure as hell wish I didn’t feel obligated and guilted into staying here.

  I turn away from him and walk the whole two steps to the kitchen to throw away my beer bottle. Before I turn back around to him he starts snoring. I grab my hair and yell, "Fuck!" He's not even going to remember any of this when he wakes up tomorrow.

  He twitches on the sofa and manages to say, "Relax, we can argue tomorrow."

  I look at him, seeing him for the disgusting pig he has become throughout the years, pissed at the person he became after my mom left us. His snoring starts again and I walk back to my room half wanting to punch the wall and half wanting to just collapse in defeat.

  32

  –– Amelia ––

  I flick my bedside light off and wiggle back down inside my covers. My anxiety has been running high since my parents brought up Todd, and the fact that I'm going back to school in a couple months. Maybe what we have really is just a summer fling to him. I groan at the thought and roll over, taking all the covers with me. I don't have much experience with guys, but I'm falling fast and it's scary. It's especially scary when my relationship is with Todd Bartlett, a guy who has self-proclaimed that he doesn't do serious relationships.

  I turn over again and stare at my atrocious ceiling fan, dark wood paneled with very outdated glass shades. The blades are spinning on the highest setting and I try to focus on one and follow it on its route around and around and around. My brain refuses to quiet down. Every other thought is questioning whether I should talk to Todd about school or just wait and go with the flow and live in the moment. My mom mentioned Justin and I honestly can't help but wonder how things would be if I started spending more time with him. I do like Justin and I enjoy the time I've spent with him at The Diner.

  I put my hands over my face and say, "What am I even talking about?" Justin has nothing to do with this, and my mom bringing him up was completely out of left field. I sigh.

  There's one fact that I just can't ignore anymore, regardless of what my parents or anyone else thinks: I'm falling love with Todd. In fact, I think I am in love with him.

  I'm not going to bring up me going back to school at the end of summer. It's decided. I can wait a little longer to bring up what will happen when I leave. I don't want to talk about the end of our relationship. I just want to be in it 100% while I still can. I can't wait to see him tomorrow. My body starts buzzing and I roll over onto my stomach with a grin on my face.

  The bells attached to the door jingle and I look up from my computer. "Hi, Mrs. Jacobson! It's good to see you!"

  "It's good to see you too, dear." She walks in wearing a white skirt suit with a black blouse, accessorized with a chunky gold necklace and large, matching earrings. Her white hair is up in a sophisticated roll, reminiscent of Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's. She is the epitome of dignity and class. She takes off her sunglasses and puts them in her large clasp purse.

  A woman comes in behind her and I recognize her immediately. With a perfectly-proportionate, gorgeous face that matches her perfect figure and voluminous long blonde hair, there's no way I wouldn't remember her. If Mrs. Jacobson is the epitome of dignity and class then this woman is the definition of blonde bombshell.

  "Amelia, meet Becky, my niece. Becky, this is Amelia," Mrs. Jacobson introduces us while holding her hand out as if Becky is on display. Becky gives me a short wave. I should have realized that Mrs. Jacobson was related to her when Becky came into the shop. They have the same button nose and blue eyes. I wonder if Mrs. Jacobson was a knockout like her niece back in the day. The thought makes me smile.

  "Hi, Becky, it's nice to officially meet you. I remember when you stopped by a little while ago. It's good to see you again," I politely tell her.

  She looks around the dim, dusty shop with raised judgmental eyebrows. Her eyes finally land on me and I sit up straighter, wishing her eyebrows would lower. She's been here before so I'm not sure what the sudden disdain is for. Sure, the shop is old, but maybe she just didn't take a good look around last time she was in. She gives me a tight smile and replies, "Good seeing you as well." We both look at Mrs. Jacobson who is just looking up from her wristwatch.

  "Becky is staying with me for a while this summer. She was having car problems on the drive up from Los Angeles to visit her parents in Seattle. It was a happy accident that the car wouldn't make it any farther right when she got into Cayden Springs."

  "Oh, I had car problems too a few weeks ago. I was in an accident, actually. I know how stressful it is." I give Becky a sympathizing smile and she responds by giving me a curt nod and pinched lips that could possibly be described as a smile, if I was an optimist. She's probably just tired or something.

  Mrs. Jacobson gasps, "Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that, Amelia. I had no idea! Thank goodness you're all right. I would have been devastated if anything had happened to you. You still have too much light and art to share with the world."

  It makes me smile that she cares this much. Mrs. Jacobson has always held a little piece of my heart. It's impossible not to adore her. I think we are mutual fans. "Thank you, Mrs. Jac
obson. It wasn't too bad of an accident. Anyway, what can I do for you today?"

  "Well, I just acquired a lovely piece from the––"

  She gets interrupted by the bells on the door. I look up, surprised that we'd have two visitors at once. I don't think that's happened in as long as I can remember. Instead I find that my smile is uncontrollably staring at Todd, still on the doormat just inside the door. Only he's not smiling back at me. In fact, he looks like he’s seen a ghost.

  "Babe! I knew you'd come back. How did you find me in here? You're so sweet," Becky squeals as she scampers over to Todd.

  She reaches up and kisses him. He doesn't object or stop her. My smile fades slowly like lava, my brain trying to hurry and compute what's happening. My eyes trickle down, and I see his hand so naturally on her lower back. My eyes start pooling, and I can feel the angry steam in me rising at the same time. Becky keeps talking but it's all background noise. I look back up to Todd who's staring back at me shocked...and guilty.

  Mrs. Jacobson rolls her eyes and grabs me by the elbow turning me back around toward my desk. In my daze, I go right along with her. She leads us slowly toward the back of the store.

  "Sweetie, I can tell what's going on and you're so much better than the both of them. I love my niece, I truly do, but she can be as dumb as a rock. Her moral compass doesn’t exactly point due north," Mrs. Jacobson admits and I almost smile. Almost. "Go in the back room. I'll say you're looking for something for me. Then I'll get Becky and myself out of here, and hopefully, if he has half a brain, he'll leave too. Keep your chin up, Amelia dear. Never let them see you cry."

  I nod and sniff, unable to say anything due to the shock and the softball stuck in my throat. She lets go of my elbow, and I make the few steps into the back room. For the first time I finally allow myself to breathe. Without thinking too much I start pushing and pulling things away from the back door that hasn't been used in ages. I pull the mop away, some random wooden stools, and some cleaning supplies.

  "Amelia, dear!" Mrs. Jacobson shouts. "I'm just going to come back another day. See you soon, sweetie!"

  I don't hear anything else because I shove the big metal door open with my shoulder and run out.

  33

  –– Todd ––

  "Yeah, sure, I'll see you," I lie to Becky in a low voice, even though Amelia is in the back room plotting my death. I finally get her hands and arms fully off of me as her aunt rushes her out the door.

  I take a huge sigh of relief that she's finally gone. I look around the store knowing Amelia is hiding from me.

  "Amelia!" I shout through the store wanting her to come out of the back room. "Amelia? Amelia, I'm sorry. That–that wasn't anything, I promise. I can explain." There's nothing but silence. "Amelia?" I start walking to the back. "Hey, Amelia," I tell her, rounding the corner to the back room, but I'm met with a huge mess and no Amelia. I notice the back door is slightly open. "Fuck." I step over the obstacle course and burst through the heavy door. I look up and down the alleyway, but I don't see her anywhere. "Amelia?" I'm met only with a quiet echo.

  I go back inside and run behind her desk. Her purse and computer are still here. She has to be coming back. I'll just sit here and wait until she does. I sit my ass down and notice that sometime in the last few minutes, rain started pouring. I can tell just by sitting in front of the desk that it's fat drops. I hope Amelia isn't out in it. I hope she comes back soon. I have to explain to her that Becky is nobody. A mistake I made before we were for-real dating. I grab my hair and groan. "I'm such an idiot!" I was stunned, frozen the second I saw Becky and then Amelia. Everything was just a haze of trying to get her off of me without being a dick in front of her aunt. I'm an even bigger idiot because now I’ll have to go see Becky again and tell her that I'm dating Amelia. I thought she got the message the last time I saw her but apparently not.

  "Please don't let Amelia hate me," I say to no one. I need her. She's kept me sane this summer, even when it was all fake. She makes me genuinely happy and I couldn't remember what that felt like until I met her. I have to talk to her, to make her understand. She knew my reputation. That's why she wanted to fake date me to begin with.

  I notice the open sign on the door and walk over to flip it to closed. I look up and down the street through the door's windows and see nothing but cars lining the road. I sit back down at my post on the floor in front of her desk and wait. And wait. And wait...

  I wake up with a start and it takes me a quick minute to figure out where the hell I am. My eyes adjust, and I realize even in the darkness that I've fallen asleep in front of the desk at Amelia's work. I pull my phone out of my pocket, and see that it's a little past one a.m. I stretch my neck before standing up.

  Peeking around the desk, I notice that her purse is gone. I groan, and slam my fist down on the wood. "Dammit!" She came and left while I was sleeping like a baby on this nasty shag carpet. I open my phone again just in case she called or messaged me, but nothing. I look frantically around the desk moving papers over to see if she left me a note. Nothing. I shouldn't expect to hear from her. I'm the one that fucked up.

  I head to the back door knowing that Amelia would never leave the front doors unlocked. She wouldn't set the security alarm either because I know she really wants me out of here. I sigh and push the door open an inch. Just as I expected, the security alarm is not engaged, so I stumble out into the alleyway and around to my bike. I drive home carelessly, trying to ignore the emptiness I'm already feeling.

  34

  –– Amelia ––

  I roll around in my bed restlessly after finally getting warm. At some point on my run home, after bolting out of the back door at work, it had started pouring rain. I snuck into the house, and luckily nobody was home. I was sopping wet, completely soaked from head to toe. My tears blended in with the rain on my face, which became refreshing. I didn't look like a psycho running in the rain while crying; I just looked like a psycho running in the rain.

  Once I got home I was able to use our hidden key since I’d abandoned everything at the shop. I had to shower and dry my clothes before anyone got home and asked questions. I don't want them knowing Todd broke my heart, exactly like they said he would. I'm not ready to admit that just yet.

  I walked back to the studio (with galoshes and an umbrella this time) around eleven, after my parents and Josh were sleeping, to go grab my purse and lock up. Part of me was surprised to find Todd slouched over in front of the desk, sound asleep. He didn't stop Becky's kisses or hands, he didn't run after me, he didn't call or leave me messages...because he just doesn't care. It was a lie. It was always a lie. At least I thought so until I saw him sleeping peacefully. I did have the urge to yell in his face and scare the crap out of him, but really I just wanted to get my stuff and get the hell out of dodge.

  Rolling over in bed I see that it's a little after one a.m. and I still can't find sleep. I tell myself that it's better this way. The weather is an indication that the seasons are starting to change and I'll be back off to Portland soon enough. Whatever we had, real or lie, would end in the next few weeks anyway. If he comes after me, and that's a big if, I'm going to tell him it was all just fake and that it needed to stop since I'm going back to school soon. I feel the tears on my pillow, hating myself for caring, and for falling in love with him. At the beginning of all of this, I thought I knew what I was doing. I was sure I was in charge but I wasn't. One thing is clear: Todd Bartlett is not allowed back in my life.

  I turn over one last time and fall asleep.

  A loud sneeze escapes me, and I can feel the looks of grossed out eaters in the booths and tables around me. I sniff and try to ignore the fact that being out in the rain, soaking wet has cost me a cold. I'm at The Café trying to edit photos. I don't want to be at home and I don't want to be at work in case Todd stops by. My heart sags at the hope I have of him chasing after me. It's mid-afternoon and Mr. Frank took over the studio to let me leave early. I'm eternally grateful for that. />
  Todd called me once this morning and then texted me, begging me to answer my phone tonight so we could talk. That is so not happening. I won't give him the relief he wants from explaining to me whatever happened or is happening with Becky. The only reason he wants to talk is make himself feel better by being honest. I won't give him the courtesy. His actions made it crystal clear that he doesn't want to be with me...and that he lied to me. I'm still not sure which one of those hurts the most. I'd never felt so wanted physically and emotionally by anyone. But it was never real. A sham from start to bitter finish.

  A bounce on the cushion seat in front of me snaps me out of my thoughts. Thank goodness it's just Justin smiling at me. I can't help but return a small smile back.

  "Hey, Amelia."

  "Hey, Justin." I shut my computer closed and set it on the booth beside me so I can see him properly. "Fancy seeing you here," I joke, surprised that my voice sounds chipper.

  He chuckles. "You too. What would you like to eat?" He pulls out his notepad and pen and looks at me, grinning. He's so light-hearted. I've been near him all of a minute and I already feel a little bit better.

  "Hm, how about a patty melt with fries?" I ask him without needing to look at the menu.

  "You know what? That actually sounds really good. Do you mind if I join you? I can take my lunch when the patty melts are done."

  I give him a smirk. "Yeah, I'd like that a lot." I could really use the distraction and there's no one better than my sweet friend Justin to do just that.

  "Cool, I'll be back in a few," he announces. He bounces back out of the seat and heads for the kitchen. He comes back a minute later with a Diet Coke for me. He gives me a wink, knowing exactly what I want to drink.