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chapter seven
By the time Avery woke up, Zac had recomposed himself, and was sitting in front of the TV, trying hard to concentrate on the show. She yawned and looked over at him.
“How long have you been up?”
“About three and a half hours.” She raised her eyes.
“Phew. You’re better than me!” She sat down next to him and began laughing at the TV show. How could she be so…so…emotionless? nobody had any idea where Jessie was, and here Avery was, laughing hysterically at whatever was on TV! Avie and Jessie had been best friends! But Ave’s like that. He thought. If she’s hurt, she doesn’t tell anyone. She never blows up at anyone like the rest of us. She just quietly voices her feelings. And she never cries about anything. She holds it back to herself. She stopped laughing momentarily and looked over at Zac. She frowned.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. He shook his head.
“Nothing.”
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Jessica couldn’t believe herself. She was kissing this stranger, in a strange place. She hadn’t even known him twenty-four hours! But she loved him. She could tell already. She loved him. She pulled back from him. He looked at her and frowned.
“What’s wrong? Is it me?” She shook her head.
“It’s not you.” She bit her lip and looked down. Jessica got up and walked into her bedroom. She walked over to one box and sat down next to it. After rummaging in it for a minute, she pulled out what she was looking for. Alex got up and followed her quietly into the room. He sat down gently next to her and looked over her shoulder at what was in her hand. In one hand there was a small box. In the other, she held a picture frame. A single tear slipped from her eye and she quickly wiped it away. She brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear tenderly. Alex looked up into her face.
“Is that…Andy?” he asked softly. She nodded.
“Yeah.” He looked back down at the picture and the box.
“What’s that?” he said gently, nodding toward the box.
“Oh,” she said, as if she had forgotten it was even there. She dropped into his hand and turned back to the box. She fumbled in it and found about two more pictures. One was the most recent family picture. The other was one from her surprise birthday party in July. It was the one she had taken from Zoë and Avery’s room. She was in the middle; Avery and Zoë were on either side of her. They all had huge smiles plastered on their faces, which were flushed and happy. The sight of it made her want to cry. She set the pictures on the floor and walked over to the dresser. Alex followed her. She stared at herself in the mirror and wondered, Why am I doing this to myself? Why don’t I just go back? Because, it would hurt even more and longer if I had stayed. Here, I can forget about him and start over, get over him. Alex put his hand on her shoulder.
“Are you okay?” Jessica took a deep breath and made herself smile.
“Yes,” she said, only a hint of nervousness in her voice. She turned and looked at him.
“Let’s go to dinner tonight.” He looked surprised.
“My, aren’t we the moody one?” She smiled and punched him in the arm playfully.
“Yes! Now get out so I can get ready!” He smiled and walked out.
“Bye!”
“Out, out!” The door clicked shut and Jessie turned around and heaved a sigh. She was going to get over this if it killed her. She walked over to a suitcase of clothes and opened it. She started to pull clothes out of the suitcase. Suddenly, out of nowhere, she exclaimed, “Oh my gosh! I have nothing to wear!” Her hand flew to her mouth and she was quiet for a second. Then, she laughed. This was going to be easier than she had thought!
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By the end of the day, Zac was exhausted from trying to stay happy and calm all day. By about 8:00, he had aborted his mission. Dinner had become a nonexistent affair, so he went out by himself. Zac was too tired to go somewhere and wait, so he just went to a local diner. But who worked there? Delia Neilson. This girl had lived two blocks from the Hansons for years. She was the most annoying airhead in the world. And she had had a crush on Taylor for the past oh, 15 years. She hurried over to Zac as soon as she saw him and sat next to him.
“Hi Zac!” she said in this really high, annoying, squeaky voice.
“Hi Delia,” Zac said in a bored voice. She frowned.
“Ohhhhh, Zac. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”
“Well, how is everybody? I’ve been busy, I haven’t had time to visit.”
“Oh, darn,” he said softly.
“What was that?” she asked, looking up for her nails, which she was filing.
“Oh, everybody’s just fine. Fine and dandy.”
“Well,” she cooed, standing up, “that’s good to know! Now, what can I get you to eat?” Zac shook his head.
“Nothing. I’m blowin’ this armpit.” Before she could reply, Zac was out the door and in his car.
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Nothing. That seemed to be Zac’s favorite word today. What’s wrong? Avery had asked. Nothing. He had replied. What’s wrong? This one from Delia. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. What can I get you to eat? Nothing. Zac sighed and rested his elbow on the car door. He pulled into a Wendy’s and got in the drive-thru line and ordered. When he pulled up to the window, he wanted to scream. Who was working there but Annie? Jess’s friend he had spoken to this morning.
“Hi Zac,” she said. “Um, that’ll be $4.23.” He hauled out his wallet and removed the correct change. He pushed it into her hand without a word.
“Thanks,” she said, handing him the bag. He mumbled something and sped off.