Everything You Want (6 page)

Later that day, I was still thinking
about work when I pulled into the apartment parking lot.  How would I
decorate my desk?  Pictures of my pets, for sure.  It was silly to be
so excited about a temporary promotion, but it was the only thing that had
happened for me since college ended, so I was going to enjoy it.  I jogged
up the stairs wondering whether or not I should make a trip to Office Depot
this weekend and buy a new pencil cup when I noticed a paper sack outside my
door with a note on it.

I picked it up, wondering whom it could
be from.  Who did I even know?  When I saw the name on the bottom of
the note I smiled.  It read: 

Marissa,

My sister doesn’t come to visit me that
often.  I’m sure this will go to better use in your apartment. 
Enjoy!

Kieran

I opened the bag.  It was the box of
blackberry sage tea.  A soft smile spread across my face.  He was
sweet.  I thought again of his arms wrapped around me during the storm,
and how good it felt leaning into him.  Yes, he was so sweet, and he also was
very attractive.  He seemed fun, too, and I liked being around him. 
I didn’t know if he wanted anything more from me than friendship, but that was okay. 
Of course, I wouldn’t mind it if he did.

Kieran

I was stepping out of the apartment to
get a bite to eat when I saw Marissa at the top of the stairs.

“Hey,” we said in unison.

She bit her lip and smiled.  “I got
your tea.  Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”  I smiled
softly.  “Heading out?” 

It was a stupid question.  Obviously
she was.

“Yeah, I was just going to get some
food.”

“Alone?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you want to go together?” 

She hesitated for a moment before saying,
“Yeah, sure.”

I followed her down to the parking
lot.  “I’ll drive,” I said, unlocking my car and opening the door for her
before she could protest, silently thanking myself for using the free vacuums
at the carwash last week.

She slid in and I shut the door softly
behind her.  After I pulled out of the lot I asked her where she was heading. 

“That little grocery store down the
street..”

“Oh?” 
Oh, crap
.  When
she said food she meant she was going grocery shopping.  I felt like an
idiot.  I thought she meant she was going out to a restaurant. I didn’t
mean to delay her shopping trip.  “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.  I was just going to get
one of those prepackaged salads.  They’re not that great.”

Oh, okay.  She was just getting lunch. 
I sighed, relieved, then hoped she didn’t notice.

“Where were you headed?” she asked.

“This little coffee shop, Kelly’s Place. 
It’s a hole in the wall, but they have great turkey sandwiches.”

“I could go for a turkey sandwich,” she
said.

“I was hoping you would say that.” 
A wide smile made it’s way across my face.

We rode in silence, but not an
uncomfortable one. 

When we walked inside the small space,
Marissa went to find a table and I went up to the counter to order. 

“Two turkey and cheddar Panini’s, a
regular coffee, and…” I thought.  I should’ve asked her what she wanted to
drink.  Then I remembered.  “A large sweet tea.”

I paid the cashier and took the beverages
and the number he handed me.  Marissa came up behind me just as I was
turning around.  I handed her the tea.

“Aw, you didn’t have to get mine.”

“I asked you to come.”  I shrugged.

“Thank you.”  A small smile lit her
face and I was just glad she was there with me.  I’d told myself I’d keep
my distance, but I couldn’t seem to listen to myself.  That smile was
worth breaking the rules, if only for a little while.

I followed her to a small table in the
corner.  

“Is this okay?” she asked.

“Perfect.” 
Just like you
.

I sat down and took a large gulp of
coffee.  It was still kind of hot, but I needed it. 

“So, do you have any plans for this Labor
Day weekend?” I asked her.

“No, not this year.  My family
usually goes to this big picnic thing at my step grandmother’s house, Miss
Ruthie, but she doesn’t like me and my mom, and she makes that pretty clear
anytime we’re around, and I just don’t feel like suffering the abuse this year,
so I told them I couldn’t make it in.”

“She doesn’t like you?  Not
possible.”

“Oh, it is.  It’s not really me she
doesn’t like, it’s the fact that I’m my mother’s daughter.  She’s always
thought that it was my mom’s fault that my stepdad, Danny didn’t end up back
with Caroline, his first wife, despite the fact that she left him for another
man.”

“I see.  So Miss Ruthie’s a little
crazy?”

“A lot crazy.”

“Well, shouldn’t you be there,
then?  To support your mom?”

“Nah.  She doesn’t need me. 
We’re not that close.  I think I’ve always just been a burden to her, you
know, excess baggage.”

“That sucks.  What about your real
dad?”

“I don’t know him.”

“Oh.  I’m sorry.”

“For what?  I can’t miss him. 
I don’t know him.”

“Yeah, but—”

“Don’t feel bad for me,” she cut me
off.  “It could be a lot worse.  My stepfather isn’t so bad, and my
stepsister is my best friend.  I think she may be my only friend,
actually.  Sharing a room with her those years was the best thing ever.

“That’s cool.  Any other brothers or
sisters?”

“Yeah.  My stepbrother, Peter. 
He doesn’t like me, though.”

“What’s with this family?  I can’t
imagine anyone not liking you.”

“Um, that one’s my fault, actually. 
He did like me, at first.”

“What do you mean?”

She visibly swallowed.  “Have you
ever seen the movie
Titanic
?”

“Yes.  I think everyone’s seen
Titanic.
”

“Okay, well, I was in the ninth grade and
I’d still never seen it.”

“Seriously?  That movie must have
come out when you were in elementary school.”

“Yeah, it did.  I was behind the
times.  That’s not the point.  The point is, a lot of the girls at
school had watched it at a sleepover that I wasn’t invited to and they kept
talking about it the next Monday at lunch, and I felt like I was missing out, so
I wanted to see it too.  So one night my stepsister had a basketball thing
and my mom and stepdad went with her, and it was just Peter and I at the house,
so I asked him if he’d take me to the video store to rent the movie, and he
said yes.  And that he’d even watch it with me.”

“Well, there’s your first red flag,” I
said.

“Right.  Well, see, Peter’s only a
couple of years older than me and my mom and I had only been living there for a
couple months then, so it’s not like I saw him as my actual brother, or he saw
me as a sister.  I think he just saw me as Shayla’s friend who was
constantly spending the night.  Anyway, that movie was the most romantic
thing I’d ever seen, and Peter just kept scooting closer to me and—”

“No!”  My mouth fell open, but I
immediately put my hand over it to hold back a laugh.

She buried her face in her hands,
nodding.  “Yes.  I made out with Peter.  I mean, he didn’t force
himself on me, or anything.  I didn’t oppose it.  He was really cute
and I was kind of into him the whole time Danny and mom were dating, so when he
made a move, I just went with it.”          

“What were you thinking?”  I was
shaking with laughter.

“I was thinking that
Titanic
is
really freaking romantic and Peter was really cute and nobody had ever made a
move on me before!”

“So what about after that?  Did you
two continue your clandestine affair?”

“No.  He’s pretty much avoided me
ever since that night.  He acts so nervous around me, but I don’t know
why.”

“Maybe he thinks you’re going to tell.”

“Who cares if I do?  It was almost
ten years ago!  And it’s not like we’re actually related anyway.”

“So did you?”

“What?”

“Tell?”

“No.”  She shook her head. 
“I’ve never told anybody.”  She paused, and then added, “Except for you.”

A warm sensation flooded my chest and my
laughter stopped.  “Why?”

“It’s embarrassing!”

“No, I meant why me?”

One side of her mouth tilted up in a
small half smile and she shrugged one shoulder.  “Why not?”

The cashier from earlier brought out our
turkey sandwiches and we ate mostly in silence.  I couldn’t believe she’d
told me her secret.  Yeah, it wasn’t a big deal or anything, but
still.  I knew something about her no one else did.  Save Peter, of
course.

After we finished our sandwiches I got
another coffee to go, and I drove us home.  Right as she was unlocking her
door I got up the nerve to ask her what I’d been trying to ask her at the
coffee shop, before the conversation veered.

“You said you didn’t have any plans for
Monday,” I began.

“Nope.  Just me and my cats and the
dog.  And lots of television.  Possibly cake.”

“My friends and I were planning this
barbeque thing at my friend Shannon’s house.  You’re welcome to join us,
if you want.”

“They wouldn’t mind?”

“No.  I think they’d really like
you.”

She bit her lip as one corner turned up
in a smile and looked down at her welcome mat.  “Okay.  Sounds fun.”

She said yes. 
She said yes.

“Great.  I’ll meet you out here
around noon, okay?”

She nodded, and went back to unlocking
her door.

I waited until I was inside my apartment
to express my excitement.  I hoped she didn’t hear me as I jumped up and
down and whooped quietly in my kitchen.

Sunday crawled by.  Monday morning I
woke up with a huge smile on my face.  I was going to introduce her to my
friends.  This went against every rule I had set myself after the Becca
fiasco, and I couldn’t have cared less. 

It was already around ten o’clock in the
morning, so I set the coffee to brewing and took a quick shower.  When I
walked back to the kitchen my cell phone was buzzing on the counter.  I
checked the screen and my stomach turned.  Call it a twin thing, but I had
a feeling I was not going to like that call.

“Hello?” I said, trying to keep the edge
out of my voice.

“Kieran.”  Kiera’s voice was a
hoarse whisper.  She sounded like she’d been crying for hours. 

“Are you okay?”  I asked.  When
she didn’t answer right away, I knew something awful had gone down. 
“Kiera,” I said, no longer able to keep the sharpness out of my voice.

I heard her inhale a shaky breath. 
“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“And Skylar?”

“He’s fine, too.  Can you come get
me?”

“Yes, where are you?  Are you still
in New York?”  I’d be on a plane in the next second if it were possible.

“Yes, but we’re about to board a plane.”

I didn’t want to ask, but I had to
know.  “Where’s Rob?”

“He’s with Kiley.”

I blanched.  “Kiley?”

“Yes.”

Kiley.  I’d known her forever. 
She had been my sister’s best friend since grade school, and the drummer in
Rob’s band since senior year of high school.  As much as I hated Rob, I
had expected this from him.  But I couldn’t put into words what I felt for
Kiley at that moment.  I’d thought she was better.  Kiera had trusted
her.  I had, too.   

“Okay.  Listen, just get on the
plane, and when you land, I’ll be there.”

“Thanks.  I’ll see you soon.” 

“Kiera, you deserve better than this.”

“Maybe.”

“Don’t do that, Kiera.”

“I’ve got to go.”

“Okay.  I’ll be there.”

“I know.”

I ended the call and set my phone on the
counter, my lips pressed in a thin line.  I breathed in deeply through my
nose and sighed.  I hated that my sister was hurt, but I couldn’t think
about that too much or I really would hop a plane and go find Rob.  Her
best friend, of all people.  I swallowed.  I was going to have a word
with Kiley.  Not that she’d answer my call.  No matter.  I’d
borrow Ollie’s phone.  I’d tell Rob what I thought about him, too, once
I’d calmed down.  I wouldn’t have to disguise my number with him,
though.  Rob would pick up.  He had no shame.

I snapped up my phone and dialed Shannon
to tell him I wasn’t going to make it to his barbeque.  Truthfully, I did
probably have time to make a brief appearance, but I didn’t feel like a party,
nor did I want to risk being late to the airport.  Kiera didn’t need
another man to let her down.