Focused, page 22
part #2 of True Images Series
Fine. Send me directions on how to get out there.
I went out to the garage to see if Alex had some duct tape so I didn’t have to waste time buying some. His garage was amazingly well-organized compared to his classroom at school, but he’d probably spent some time getting the house looking nice for my mom. It had a “just cleaned” feel to it. It worked for me. I found the duct tape in a box on a shelf labeled “Adhesives.”
I grabbed a sweatshirt and got in the car. When I checked the directions Parker sent me, I noticed that the battery on my phone was running low. It worried me a little, but not enough to wait for it to charge.
The Murphy’s was all the way outside of town down a narrow blacktop road. There were only a few other houses on the road, some of them half a mile or so apart. Great. This was just great. No one would be within screaming distance if we got caught.
Luckily, Parker knew from past experience how to give me good directions—lots of landmarks. I crossed a green bridge and saw the driveway he’d described immediately on my right. I turned in, slowing down, and realized I’d never trespassed before.
Their driveway was long and wound through some trees. I couldn’t help thinking that this was a beautiful piece of land. There weren’t many wooded places like this around. I also realized that it provided great cover for a shady business man.
Parker’s car appeared in front of me as I came around another corner and I pulled up behind him. He came out of the trees towards me, nearly making me pee my pants. I rolled my window down and handed the roll of tape to him.
“Good, it’s black. I didn’t think to tell you not to bring any of that bright stuff they sell now,” he said. “Now get out of here. They’ll be back soon.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll just be a few more minutes. I’m going to get my last camera taped to a tree facing their big storage shed and I’ll get out of here too.”
“What if you don’t make it in time?”
He shrugged. “Well, then I’ll be in trouble. So stop wasting my time. There’s a place you can turn around about 50 yards up, but don’t go any further than that because they have their own security cameras.”
Before I could get any specifics on where those cameras were, he ran back into the woods. I didn’t want to drive any further. The thought of getting caught on camera made me feel like vomiting, but I knew I wasn’t a good enough driver to back all the way down.
I pulled around Parker’s car, cursing him for making me come out here. Fifty yards? How in the world was I supposed to know when I’d gone fifty yards? Okay, it was half a football field. I could figure that out.
Luckily, I found the place he meant pretty easily. There was a half circle of grass along the road where the trees had been cleared out. I turned around carefully and drove back down the driveway as fast as I dared. Parker’s car popped out of the growing shadows sooner than I expected and I had to swerve to keep from hitting it, then I had to swerve back to avoid hitting a tree. After a series of corrective jerks, I finally got my mom’s car under control and began breathing again.
“I hate this, I hate this, I hate this,” I fumed all the way down the driveway, fully expecting Caleb’s truck to appear in front of me at any second.
When I hit the main road back into Haskins, my shoulders drooped with the relief. It wasn’t till that moment that I fully realized how tense my whole body had been. Now I just had to worry about Parker getting out of there in time.
My phone rang and rattled around in the cup holder beside me. Hopefully, it was Parker calling to tell me he was on his way out. As I reached for it, I noticed that the battery was completely empty and blinking. Worse luck still, it was Lee.
“Hey Sienna.”
His voice was hesitant, and I remembered that the last time we’d talked, it hadn’t ended on the best of terms. “Hi, Lee. What’s up?” I tried to sound encouraging, but my voice sounded tight and edgy still.
“Just calling to see how you’re doing.”
If he only knew. Ugh! “Fine.”
“Are you sure? You sound—I don’t know—stressed.”
“Well, I am a little, but it’s fine. No big deal.” I rolled my eyes at myself. That did not sound convincing.
He started talking again, but I didn’t hear anything he said because my whole attention was on the truck approaching me in the other lane. It was Caleb’s truck. He was going home, and Parker was still out there. I held my breath and waited to see if he would recognize me. Luckily, he was on his phone too and didn’t even glance my way.
“Crap. Lee, I have to go,” I said, not even trying to hide the urgency in my voice.
I hung up and tried to call Parker. It took him forever to answer, but he finally did. “What?” he said, almost growling.
“I just passed Caleb heading your way.”
“Okay. I’m in the car. I’m leaving.”
“Get off that driveway.”
“Yeah. All right.”
“Oh my gosh. How much further do you have to go?” I waited for him to answer, but he didn’t. I looked at my phone and saw that it had died.
I growled and threw it down on the passenger seat. Now I had to hope I didn’t have a complete mental breakdown waiting to see if Parker was okay. I drove straight to Alex’s house, praying I’d be able to find my phone charger when I got there.
Chapter 23
Lee
There was a logical reason. There was. I needed to keep calm until I found out what it was. Just because Sienna said, “Crap, Lee, I have to go,” with panic in her voice and hung up didn’t mean something was wrong. And just because her phone was “no longer in service,” didn’t mean there was a problem. When I saw her, soon, I would see that everything was fine.
Now, how was I going to get to Haskins? I’d been going to ask Sienna to come pick me up, but obviously that wasn’t going to work. Which of my friends could I convince to give up their Friday night plans? I hadn’t expected to have a problem getting home when I’d talked my parents into letting me come home on the spur of the moment.
“Lee?” I heard someone say from behind me.
I turned and saw Sienna’s mom and Mr. Greeley coming towards me, wheeling suitcases behind them.
“Oh, hey,” I said, wondering if I sounded as relieved as I was. “Small world,” I joked, cringing inside.
“Small airport anyway,” Mr. Greeley said, chuckling as he adjusted his load of bags to be more comfortable.
“Where are your parents?” Sienna’s mom asked.
“Oh, I came home a couple of days early.” When she raised her eyebrows at me, I continued, “I wanted to spend some time with Sienna and my friends before spring break was over.”
“I don’t blame you. I can’t imagine that many seniors want to spend Spring Break with their grandparents.”
“It was fine, at first.” I said, not wanting to continue this tricky topic. I didn’t want them to think I’d come home because I was afraid that Sienna was in danger, again. “Look I was going to ask Sienna if she could pick me up, but I think her phone is dead or something.”
The new Mrs. Greeley looked down at the tile floor as her eyebrows drew together in concern. “Well, why don’t we give you a ride then?”
I nodded, thinking that she looked worried. Well, at least she didn’t know how worried she should be. I offered to carry her bag since I only had one duffle bag and a backpack. She handed it over to me distractedly and headed out the automatic doors of the airport with a determined stride.
It was almost 40 minutes to their house from the airport. Mr. Greeley kept up a conversation with me while Sienna’s mom tried to call Sienna’s phone several times. I tried to be polite and talk back, but I couldn’t focus much on what he was saying.
When we pulled into Mr. Greeley’s driveway, I was a little surprised since I hadn’t been here before. But I guess I’d be here often from now on.
“Stay in the car,” Sienna’s mom said as she got out of the car. “I’ll go see if she’s here.”
A few minutes later she came back and said, “Her stuff is all here, but there’s no sign of her and the car is gone. Let’s go see if she’s at my house.”
I leaned back in my seat and rested my arm along the window. I drummed my thumb against the arm rest. I realized it was a nervous tic and made a solid effort to stop doing it. Then I changed my mind. It made me feel better.
We pulled around the last turn to Sienna’s old house and saw her mom’s car in the driveway. Relief crept over the tension inside me, but not completely. I needed to see her.
As we got out of the car, I wanted to charge into the house and find her, but I hung back out of respect for her mom. It took a huge effort though.
Sienna’s mom called her name as we filed through the front door into the empty living room. We heard Sienna call out, “Mom?” a few seconds before she emerged from the hallway.
“Hey, baby,” her mom said, holding out her arms. “I missed you so bad.” She grabbed Sienna in for a tight hug.
I envied her mom in a way. It would be nice to believe that the only thing causing worry here was Sienna’s phone being dead. Seeing her safe and sound brushed that away like it was nothing. I had a feeling my stress was just beginning. Sienna’s eyes held mine over her mom’s shoulder, intense with surprise and a plea for my silence.
I nodded my head slightly at her. I wouldn’t say anything now. Not in front of her parents. But later, I would be asking some questions. She knew it too.
“Can I have a hug too?” Mr. Greeley asked.
Sienna was a little more hesitant than with her mom, but she allowed her stepfather to hug her. It was brief and awkward looking, but they were both smiling.
“So how did this happen?” she asked motioning to me.
I took a step towards her and she met me in a hug that was different in every way from the two she’d just gotten. I heard her mom describing how they’d run into me at the airport, but I wasn’t sure Sienna did. She was clinging to me, and I knew she needed to feel safe. I held her and tried to pour my strength into her, but her mom was looking at us funny, so I nudged Sienna a little. She stepped back a bit, but tucked an arm around my waist to keep close.
As she spoke, I saw the second that she put on a happy mask for her mom’s sake. “So, how was your trip?” she asked.
“Great. Best vacation I ever took. Not the most restful though.”
Sienna’s mom blushed, but grinned too. “Stop it, Alex. Okay, I’m ready to unpack and take a shower. What are you two going to do?”
Sienna looked at me questioningly. I shrugged. “I don’t know. Whatever Sienna wants.”
“I came over to take down my photo wall. Do you mind hanging out while I finish?” she asked me. “Maybe we can do something fun after that.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I said, knowing it was all just a cover.
“Awesome. So, do you not have your truck here?”
“No.”
Sienna looked frustrated, then asked, “Hey, Mom, can I keep your car for a while longer?”
Her mom looked surprised for a moment. Then she laughed. “Actually… Alex, do you want to tell her?”
“You can.”
“No, it’s your thing. You tell her.”
He smiled and said, “Well, we’ve decided that you should keep your mom’s car. You need a reliable one for college, and I want to get her a new one anyway. So, it’s yours.”
I watched as Sienna’s look of surprise turned into excitement and watched as she almost knocked her step-dad over with a running hug. She grabbed her mom and swung her around like a child, saying, “Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!”
“I guess that means she’ll take it,” Mr. Greeley said laughing.
Sienna put her dizzy mom down and said, “Of course. Why in the world wouldn’t I?”
“Well,” her mom said, “We wondered if you’d want to pick out your own car. But we know what we have with this car and we don’t have to pay sales tax or anything else that comes with buying a car.”
“I’m perfectly happy. I like your car. I mean, my car.”
“Good. Done,” said Mr. Greeley. “All right, honey, why don’t we get going?”
Sienna’s mom agreed, and after telling Sienna to get her phone charged, followed her husband out the door.
When they were gone, the quiet house seemed weird. Sienna and I looked at each other as we stood on opposite sides of the empty room. Her shoulders sagged a little and she looked nervous. I walked to her, saying, “Don’t look at me like that.” I pulled her close and said, “Look, whatever I did to make you afraid to talk to me, I’m sorry. Please let me help you.”
With her face in my neck, I barely heard her when she answered. “I want your help so much, but I’m afraid to tell you everything.”
I wanted to know everything – every detail of what was worrying her. I could feel the tension in her, but I couldn’t fix it. I hated it, but I’d learned my lesson. “Then don’t tell me right now. Tell me when—or if—you need to.”
“You’re okay with that?”
“No, but I’m trying to be.”
She laughed a little. “Thanks. It feels so good to be with you.”
“Great. Can I ask one question?”
She straightened up so she could look at me. Her voice was hesitant as she answered, “What?”
“Were you in danger earlier? You know when I mean.”
She was quiet for a minute. Then she said, “No, I wasn’t. I was scared to death for Parker though. But he’s okay.”
I checked every impulse. I’d said one question and I’d stand by it. I took a deep breath and only said, “Good. Let’s go get started on whatever it is you need to do.”
She groaned. “I so don’t want to do this,” she said as she walked to her old bedroom. With the curtains gone from the windows, the setting sun made the room glow orange.
I followed her, stopping to look at the wall of photos. It looked incredible. This wasn’t a bedroom any more. It was an art gallery. But I need action – something to do. I went over to the wall and started pulling pictures off the wall. Sienna started shrieking behind me.
“Oh my gosh! What are you doing?”
“Taking the pictures down.” I looked back at her and saw that she had covered her face with her hands. “That’s what we’re doing, right?”
“Yes, but you’re just doing it.”
I looked at her blankly. “Okay. How else would I do it?”
“I don’t know. Like, slowly. They all have memories. It’s like my whole life is on that wall.”
Ah. I stepped back, holding the photo’s I’d taken down out to her. She took them and studied them, even though she’d seen them a million times.
“That’s why you’re having a hard time doing this.”
She looked at me like I was being stupid. “Um, yes.”
“You need to rip the bandage off. Get it over with.”
She made some kind of wailing sound. “I know you’re right, but I can’t.”
“Sure you can. Watch.” I pulled some more off the wall.
Slowly, approaching like she was facing a firing squad, Sienna walked to the wall and took a photo down. Then another. Soon, we were in full swing. After a few minutes she went out to the garage and found a box to put them in. “I can look at them later,” she said to herself as she worked.
I smiled, but didn’t let her see.
It wasn’t long before the wall was bare of everything but tape. In some places, there were darker rectangles where the wall had faded around pictures that had been up for years.
I started pulling off the tape, but Sienna sat on the floor across the room and stared. Her expression was hollow. I gave up on the tape and went to sit by her. I waited for her to say something.
It took a while, but eventually she said, “It’s all changed. Everything.”
“Life does that.”
She looked at me, and her expression told me I needed to be careful.
I tried again. “I’m pretty sure that anything I could say right now, you’ve already heard or thought of. But you didn’t lose the past because you took your pictures down. You made room for the future.”
Her silence was driving me crazy. I had no idea if I was screwing this up or not. So I took the wad of tape in my hand and stuck it to her face.
“What in the… Lee!”
She tried to stick it to my face, but I got it away from her and stuck it to her back. She bent her spine forward and stretched back to try to get it. The movement pushed her chest out, pulling her t-shirt tight across it. My chest got tight from not breathing. She was so tempting and absolutely clueless about what she was doing to me. Too distract myself, I reached back and pulled out her hair tie.
“You’re a butthead. I don’t know why I like you so much.”
“I’m irresistible.”
“Really?” she asked. “I’m pretty sure I can resist you.”
I raised an eyebrow and leaned closer to her. I ran a hand through her long hair and smoothed it back from her face. Our lips barely an inch apart as I said, “Prove it.”
“Fine,” she said, looking smug and ignoring the fact that we were practically kissing as we spoke.
I grinned and pressed a kiss to the corner of her lips. They twitched, but otherwise, she didn’t move. I changed directions, bending to her neck. I didn’t kiss her. I slowly skimmed my lips up and down her smooth skin. She tilted her head, just a little. I kissed her now, right at the base of her neck, then moved up to her ear. When I nipped her earlobe, she gasped and turned toward me.
“Fine, I give up,” she said.
“Ha! Surrender,” I said, teasing her.
But she didn’t give me time to say anything else before she pulled my head down for a kiss.
Kissing Sienna had always been incredible, even at the beginning when she was so new at it. When she’d been shy and hesitant, she had amazed me at the way her kisses made me feel. Now that she was confident and eager, it was better than I had any words to describe. Combine that with the strength of my feelings, and maybe it’s not surprising that I got lost in the moment.
