Hidden Falls (3 page)

I pulled out my phone and
dialed the all too familiar number.  One I had promised myself I wouldn’t call
again.  She answered on the first ring, her sweet southern twang like music to
my ears.

“Whatcha’ doing tonight? I
feel like blowing off some steam.”

“I knew you would end up
crawling back,” she paused, drawing in a breath, “come over when you get done
with work.  I’ll be waiting.” She hung up, not waiting for a response.  I
looked down at the screen of my phone and stared at Jenn’s face.  A part of me
was screaming about how stupid I was, but another was doing a happy jig as it
remembered past nights spent with her.  I shook my head, trying to clear the
internal battle that raged between my heart and my body, and then put my phone
back in my pocket. 

Getting back to work, my
eyes kept searching the barn, desperate to catch a glimpse of Katy.  She was
either still holed up in the office or she was avoiding me.  Either way, it was
for the best.  I doubt that I could have watched her all day and kept my sanity
intact.  Remembering my plans for the night, I smiled to myself.  At least
there would be something good to come out of this mess.

Chapter Five

Katy

“Hey Momma, I’m home!” I
yelled up the stairs as I dropped my purse by the front door.  I didn’t expect
a response since she was probably already three sheets to the wind.  Her
drinking had become a routine in our house.  When my grandmother died ten years
earlier, my mother had taken to drinking.  She would be great in the mornings,
long enough to get me and my brother ready for school and onto the bus, but by
the time we got home, there was no helping her.  She would have gone through
two bottles of Smirnoff by that point, leaving her pretty useless for the rest
of the night.

My dad had put up with it
at first, even encouraging her at times, but after a few months he started
losing his ability to deal with her.  He would stay at work for longer periods
of time, sometimes not coming home at all.  I still remember one of their
bigger fights when my mother had accused him of cheating on her.  They spent the
rest of the night throwing trinkets at each other and calling each other some
of the nastiest names they could think of.  It had been miserable.

After a year of this
behavior, my dad just gave up.  He stopped fighting her, choosing to ignore her
instead.  I had never blamed him for giving up, but it hurt to think back to
those days when I was younger, when neither of them was truly there.  It was as
if I had raised myself all those years, which I probably had.  To the outside
world, everything was great in our home.  No one, except for Betty, had known
what my home life was like.  The only reason she knew was because of Chase.  He
had been scared of my parents and afraid of what they would do to me. 

After that, I spent more
time at Betty’s than I did at home.  Dan hadn’t been interested in Betty and
what she offered, but he spent most of our childhood ignoring our mother.  If
it hadn’t been for her I don’t know who I would be today, or where I would have
ended up.  Those thoughts made me pause, my keys dangling from my blistered
fingers.  Life had been better since Betty had been a part of it, but now that
she was gone, things were different.  This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, just
different. 

The ringing phone caught
my attention and I hurried to the kitchen, passing the empty living room as I
went.  I barely noticed the stale smell hanging in the room these days.  I had
grown accustomed to the scent, feeling almost comforted by it now.  I grabbed
the phone from the wall and put it to my ear.

“Y’ello?” I stared at the
chalkboard hanging above the phone.  No messages had been written there in
years, but I still had the habit of checking.

“Is this Katy?” My fingers
tightened on the phone as I recognized the voice.  I hadn’t expected to hear
from him so soon.

“Sky?” I asked, unable to
hide the shock in my voice. 

He chuckled, his voice
sending shivers through my body.  There was something so enticing and exciting
about him.  I hadn’t paid much attention to him when we were in school, always
believing he was out of my league.  “How was work today? Did Brian give you any
more trouble?”

“Brian was...well, Brian,”
I laughed at the thought of Brian.  He and I still needed to have a long
conversation about his crap earlier.  “That’s just the way he is, overprotective
and stuff.”

“I don’t think that’s it
at all.  The murderous look on his face tells me something completely
different.”

“Nah, nothing like what
you’re thinking.  We’re just friends, I promise.”  I picked up the chalk as I
talked, making little doodle hearts on the chalkboard. 

“You sure? ‘Cause he sure
seemed jealous,” he asked, his voice suddenly serious.

“I don’t want to talk
about Brian.  There’s nothing there, so no worries.  How was work for you?” I
continued to doodle as he told me about the deliveries he had done today.  He
seemed quite proud of himself as he described how heavy his loads were and how
he had done twice as many as the other guy delivering today.  I wouldn’t say
that I was completely bored, but the word uninterested does come to mind.

Eventually, after hearing
every little detail of his day, I was able to get off the phone.  As I set the
phone back on its cradle, I couldn’t help but feel let down.  Sure, Sky was
nice to look at, but other than his talk of Brian at the beginning of the phone
call, he had monopolized the conversation.  Obviously he wasn’t one of those
guys that you could have a deep conversation with, which was disappointing.

*****

Dinner that night was
lonely.  Mom still hadn’t come out of her room and Dad was in no mood for chit
chat.  He complained about his long day at work and dealing with the “idiots of
the world” before heading upstairs to bed.  I had the sudden urge to call
Roxie, just to see how things were going on her end.  I could only imagine how
tired she would be after dealing with her parents non-stop today.

She finally answered after
five rings and I could hear her panting as if she had just run a marathon. 
“You okay? You sound beat,” I asked with a chuckle.

“I’m fine,” she said, letting
out a sigh.  “I left my phone upstairs, so when I heard it ringing, I ran. 
Parents are at it again, so perfect timing.”

“What are they fighting
about now?” I shook my head even though she couldn’t see it.  I knew she could
hear the frustration in my voice.  It matched the one in hers.

“Mom got a phone call
during dinner.  Dad got pissed.  The norm.”  I could hear the bed squeak as she
sat down.  “I seriously can’t wait until they go home.”

“So...I’m guessing you
won’t be going with them?” I wanted to scream as I waited for her answer.  I
had been waiting since they showed up, unsure which way her decision would go.

“Hell no!  I’m staying
right here,” she laughed.  “Why is everyone asking me that? I thought I made it
pretty clear that this was my home now?”

I let out a sigh of
relief.  I didn’t want to think about life without Roxie here.  She was my best
friend and the only connection I still had to Betty.  “Just have to ask, that’s
all.  I mean, no one would blame you...” I couldn’t finish the sentence.  I
didn’t want to put that thought in her head, just in case.

“I’m here for good, so get
used to it.” I could hear the smile in her voice.  She was happy with her
choice to stay, which made me happy as well.  “Have you talked to Chase today?”

“He called earlier when I
was at the farm, but not since then.  Why?” I leaned back in my rolling chair
and propped my feet up on the worn desk. 

“He called me earlier,
bitching about Brian.  Evidently he tried to talk to him earlier about
something important, but his brother blew him off.  Ya know, typical Brian
behavior.”

I knew the phone call she
was talking about.  I had eavesdropped on Brian’s end, but I wouldn’t admit
that to anyone, especially Roxie.  “That sounds like him.  Doesn’t take
anything in life seriously.”

She was quiet too long,
causing my mind to wander.  My innate nosiness was getting the better of me, so
not knowing what they were talking about was driving me crazy.  “Just had to
ask.  He wouldn’t tell me what it was about, but it seemed serious.”

“Whatever it is, I’m sure
you can get it out of Chase pretty easily.” I laughed at the thought of Roxie
using her charm to get him to open up.  He was putty in her hands, and had been
since the day they met.  “And when you do, you can fill me in.”

We talked for a few more
minutes before saying goodnight.  Both of us were tired and knew that the next
day would be just as hard as this one.  I really hoped that Brian would be in a
better mood, but knowing him, it was a long shot.  I climbed into bed and
pulled the covers up tight, ready to escape reality for the next seven hours.

Chapter Six

Brian

Last night was a mistake. 
A
huge
mistake.  Jenn came over right after Mom went to bed, but Chase
busted her as she snuck in the back door.  The look on his face would have put
Jason Vorhees to shame.  He had shaken his head at me, but hadn’t said a word. 
Yet another talk that I knew I would be having today.  Jenn hadn’t seen his
disapproving look, but I doubt it would have mattered much to her either way. 
She was there for one reason and nothing would get in her way. 

Half way through our romp,
thoughts of Katy began to cloud my mind.  And of course, after that, it was all
downhill.  I couldn’t get into the moment with Jenn and she could tell.  She
tried desperately to regain my full attention, but my body just wasn’t interested. 
She had stormed out, threatening to tell everyone that I couldn’t get it up,
but at that point, I couldn’t have cared less.  I could honestly say that this
time it wasn’t me, it was her.  She wasn’t who I craved.  She was only a means
to an end.  One that never came.

As I pulled up to the barn
I could already see the lights on in the office.  She was already in there,
which was shocking.  Katy was not a morning person, so to see her there before
I even arrived surprised the hell out of me.  I took a quick look in the
mirror, taking note of the bags under my eyes, and hoped that she wouldn’t
notice how tired I looked.  I looked like death, but what could I expect after
getting practically no sleep the night before?

I didn’t bother to knock
on the office door this time.  I just wanted to get to work and ignore the
beauty that was hiding in that tiny room.  If I could just stay away from her,
maybe I could get her out of my head.  I had tried to do just that many times,
and sometimes it worked, but I had a feeling today wouldn’t be one of them. 

As I went through the barn
to check the stalls, I heard the office door open, followed by the large barn
doors.  I glanced back and found the office now empty, the lights all shut
off.  Unable to stop myself, I walked back to the front of the barn, my eyes
locked on the front door.  I pushed my way out, my hand flying up to shield my
eyes, and glanced around the area.  There, sitting on the back of
my
truck, was Katy. 

I walked over to her and
leaned against the tail gate of the truck, off to her right side.  “Having fun
Kitty?” I smiled at her, hoping to ease the frown on her face.

“What?” She looked up at
me, then back at the truck.  “Oh, sorry Brian.  I’ll move.” She made a move to
get down, but I stepped around and got in front of her.  She looked up at me,
curiosity in her honey eyes.

“No worries. I kinda like
seeing you sitting on my truck.” I stepped closer, placing my body between her slightly
spread knees.  There was a look of shock on her face, her eyes sparkling, but
she didn’t make a move to push me away or escape.  “I think I really like
seeing you up there.  Especially in those shorts.”

She drew in a shocked
breath and finally made a move to get away.  I held onto her knees, my eyes
locked onto hers.  “Brian...”

“Don’t ruin the moment
Kitty.  Please,” I begged, my eyes pleading with her.  From the hesitant look
on her face, I knew I had pushed her too far. 

“What...what are you
doing?” She was scared.  I couldn’t blame her.  I had never acted this way
towards her.  She had seen me with other girls, but I had never tried to get
close to her before. 

I backed away from her,
putting some needed distance between our bodies.  Being that close to her had
sent my body into overdrive.  I could barely contain myself around her.  Being
between those legs, clad only in those tiny denim shorts, was maddening. 
“I’m...nothing. I was just messing around.”

She let out the breath she
was holding and pulled her knees up to her chest.  She looked both relieved and
shaken at the same time.  I hadn’t meant to scare her and it killed me to know
that I had.  I would give anything to take that feeling from her.  To let her
know, somehow, that she could trust me.  But now wasn’t the time.  I turned to
walk away but her small voice stopped me in my tracks.