* Chapter 39 *
"Don’t go in the road," I called to Stets.
He ran across the grass and stopped at the edge to wait for me to catch up. ‘He looks so cute with that backpack on...just like a big boy’ I thought to myself with a smile as I walked up to him and stuck out my hand. I was taking him to the neighbor’s house while I was gone for a little while.
"Testing...testing...1...2...3..." a voice could be heard saying over the PA system at the High School’s football field that was a few blocks away.
Since the house was only a few blocks away from the High School (and the fact that we were in a VERY small town) everyone could hear the speakers from the field whether you lived next door or across town (which still wouldn’t be that far).
"It’s loud enough already," I said sarcastically as I walked with Stets across the street.
We walked up to the house that was across the street and down the road a little from ours.
"Hi," Audree said when she opened the door and saw us standing on the porch.
"Thank you soooo much Audree! I owe ya one."
"Oh, it’s no problem," she replied.
"He’s got a change of clothes in his backpack...just in case. I shouldn’t be gone for too long. The game starts at 7 so I should be around no later than 8-8:30," I told her.
"Ok."
"Thanks again," I called out as I walked across the grass and made my way home.
The principal of the High School was one of the neighbors up the street and she had called me two days ago, hoping that she’d either reach me or talk to my sister so she could talk to me. She said that the group that was going to perform at the game canceled at the last minute and they needed a replacement. I told her that I’d be more than glad to do it. She had informed me to be there about 30 minutes early to meet in the choir room to warm up.
The school door was unlocked right where she said it would be so I headed to the choir room quickly because I was already a few minutes late. The room was empty so I walked in and turned on the light before I went to the piano. I played a few simple scales and did some exercises to warm up and relax at the same time. Luckily I had brought a pitch pipe so I wouldn’t have to pick a note out of the blue when I got out on the field. After I felt like I was ready, I wandered out to the stands and up to the press box.
"Here’s the mic. Flip this switch to ‘on’ when you get out there and back to ‘off’ when you’re done. I’ll be down on the track waiting so you won’t have to try and come up here to give it to me," one of the tech guys explained to me as people started filling the stands.
The student band began playing and the crowd was getting into the whole mood of the night right away. I walked down onto the track to where the principal and a few teachers were waiting for the players to come out. After the players were lined up on either side of the field, the principal turned to me and gave me a smile.
"You’re up."
I smiled back before I broke through the line of football players and coaches. When I got to the middle of the field on the 50 yard line I stopped and turned around so I was facing the flag that they had hanging on a pole by the score board. I turned on my mic and held it down to my side as I gave myself my pitch on with my other hand. I watched as the crowd on both sides of the field stood and put their hands over their hearts.
"...Oh say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light what so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming... e "
I could hear my own voice echoing in the distance as I sang.
"...O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave."
The crowd went wild when I was finished. I turned the mic off and walked off the field in the same direction that I had come while the referees and team captains met on the field for the coin toss. After I gave the mic back I headed across the parking lot and started walking back. The slight breeze blowing through my hair was making the temperature seem colder than it really was as I walked along the quaint row of houses on the desolate city’s streets. Everyone was at the game so there really wasn’t much going on rather than the sound of the band playing school spirit songs and people cheering players on. When I finally reached Audree’s house I was kind of cold so I hurried up to the door.
"Thanks again," I told her after she handed the sleeping boy over to me.
"You’re welcome," she replied as I started across the lawn towards the house.
‘What the...’ I said to myself when I saw a black limo parked on the 5 feet of gravel that was between the grass and road in front of the house. I walked over to the driver’s window and lightly knocked on the glass.
"Yes?" the driver asked after he rolled down the window a little.
"Um...this is my house and I want to know why you’re parked here," I said as nicely as I could.
"I’m not in liberty to discuss that," the driver replied politely.
I gave him a confused look and decided not to try and get any more info from him. I shifted Stets in my arms so he was laying with his head on my shoulder and walked around the back end of the limo towards the back door of the house.
I put Stets to bed and went downstairs to the small bedroom that was in the front corner of the house. After I switched on the small stereo that was sitting on one of the shelves, I found my Mandy Moore CD and turned the volume down a little. I listened to a few of the songs until the song came on that expressed exactly what I felt. I sang along with the quiet music as I leaned up against the wall and felt the breeze coming from the open windows.
"You were my first slow dance...thought that we had a chance, but together was too hard for you. Hanging out with your friends and I accept these things, all I need is for you to be true," I sang while I remembered scenes of the last few days. "I know you care, but it’s just not fair. When you’re not around, I want you there. And you need to stop breaking my heart. Quit breaking my heart. It’s tearing apart. All I need is for you to be true..."
My eyes filled with tears. I leaned up against the wall and slid down so I was sitting against it with my knees up to my chest.
"Baby I don’t feel this way ‘bout everyone. Something about you boy, nothing seems to be quite like this. Holding your hand touching my face, standing here waiting for our first kiss. I know you care, but it’s just not fair. When you’re not around, I want you there. And you need to stop breaking my heart."
I couldn’t even finish the chorus because it hurt to think about hurting. The lonely feeling set in and I sat there wondering what went wrong. I cried while the song played on and then went to another when it was done.
"Liz?" a voice said softly from outside.
I looked up at the blind-covered window that faced the street, paralyzed with fear. I quickly stood up and shut the other open window before I reached my hand around the blinds and closed the window where the voice was coming from. The light in the room was off so the only thing that was on was the music. After I turned the CD off, I left the room and locked the front door before I went and sat down on the couch. It was quiet for a few minutes as I sat there, listening for whatever or whoever was outside. I jumped when the chimes of the doorbell from the back door echoed in the house, breaking the eerie silence. ‘Who is it?’ I asked myself as I slowly got off the couch and went to the back door. I lifted one of the blinds and peeked outside.
"How did you find this house?" I asked after I opened the door.
"Simple. I called Courtney, but she wasn’t home so I talked to someone else...I think it was Tina...yeah that’s it. She not only told me the address, but she also gave me directions," Nick explained.
I wiped underneath my eyes with my hands as he talked.
"You ok?" he asked.
"No."
He moved closer to the door and put his hand on my shoulder.
"Wanna talk about it?"
"No."
"Ok."
"I guess you can come in," I said as I stepped back and opened the door a little more.
"That’d be good," he replied as he followed me in the door.
I walked into the living room where the couch was and waited for him to follow.
"I guess you’ll be staying here tonight cause you won’t want to go all the way back to my place," I said while I gestured for him to have a seat on the couch.
"That’s fine with me," he replied.
"Look...I’m tired so I’m gonna go upstairs and go to sleep. You can watch TV or whatever until you’re ready to sleep. You can use this," I said after I went and got a dark green down comforter from one of the closets.
"Ok. I’m just going to go tell the driver real quick," he replied as he stood up and headed for the back door.
I headed upstairs and took my shoes off at the end of my sister’s high waterbed before I climbed up on it and lay down. Instead of borrowing some pajamas, I just decided to sleep in my clothes and then change the next morning. When I heard the sound of the door opening and closing, I knew that Nick was back. I could hear footsteps coming up the stairs so I just figured that he was saying goodnight before he went back downstairs. When I looked up, I could barely see when two figures walked in the dark room. The taller of the two was standing by the door and I could tell that it was Nick. I sat up and let my eyes adjust to the darkness so I could see who it was that just took a seat in the chair at the computer desk.
"What’s going on?" I insisted when I finally figured out that AJ was the one sitting in the chair looking at me.
I started to panic and hopped off the bed towards the door but I was too late because Nick had already walked out and shut it.
"See you in the morning," Nick called from the other side of the door as he locked it from the outside so we couldn’t get out.
"Nick? Nick!? Let me out of here!" I yelled while I pounded on the door. "Nick!!!!"
Tears ran down my cheeks in frustration as I started to panic again.
"Nick...please let me out," I pleaded through the door.
I could hear his footsteps going down the stairs when he didn’t respond.
"No...NO!!! Come back!" I screamed as I started to hyperventilate.
I was kind of loud and I instantly regretted it when I heard Stets trying to open his door.
"Wiz...wiz let me out wiz..." he called out in his cute three-year-old dialect.
Nick came up and opened his door ‘cause when Stets saw that it wasn’t me he screamed his head off. I moved away from the door when I heard Nick unlocking it. He opened it and Stets practically jumped out of his arms and into mine when he saw me standing by the door.
"I’m sorry...it’s ok," I said to Stets as I held him in my arms to calm him down a little.
The door shut and Nick locked it again. Stets wrapped his arms around me and lay his head down on my shoulder as if to tell me that he wanted to go back to sleep. I got up on the bed and laid him down next to me. He was asleep within a few minutes, but it took me a little bit longer to fall asleep than it did for him.
My head hurt from the light when I opened my eyes the next morning. I sat up and found Stets still asleep next to me and AJ still sitting in the chair covered with a blanket with his head leaned against the back. I quietly got off the bed and reached for a change of clothes that I brought with me from Cynthia and Melanie’s place. ‘I can’t believe Nick left me in here with him...’ I thought angrily as I unfolded the clothes and set them on the bed. AJ opened his eyes and lifted his head from the back of the chair to see me standing by the door watching him.
"Turn around so I can get dressed," I said when he looked up at me.
I waited until he was facing the other way and then I changed from the clothes that I was wearing from the day before into an old pair of faded jeans and a grungy looking T-shirt. After I slipped on my shoes, I gave Stets a kiss on the cheek and went to check the door. When I found it unlocked already I opened it hastily and practically flew down the stairs towards the bathroom, not even noticing that Kev, Bri, Nick, Howie, Mel, and Meg were sitting on the couch and floor watching some show on the TV.
I walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later and headed straight for the back door, only stopping long enough to grab the saddle and stuff that was right inside the door. I walked out the door with the saddle in my arms and headed for the back of the 1.5-acre lot to where the horses were in their ‘homemade’ corral. I didn’t look back when I heard the door open behind me.
"Where ya goin?" Nick called out to me.
I didn’t even bother answering but instead continued walking until I got to the horses. When the horse was ready to go for a ride I led her out of the corral and over to the dirt ‘road’ that went from the back of the property to the front. I hopped on her back into the saddle and started her off walking until we got to the road.
