SILENCE. NIKO WASÂ met with pure silence. I looked to Brenton who looked to me, in hopes that one of us would react on behalf of the other. There were a million thoughts whirring through my head, none which I could say aloud. Marriage? Niko was considering marriage? He was only twenty-three years old! He didn't even know how to tie his own shoelaces, how could he be ready to get married?
"Wow," Brenton finally said.
"Yeah, wow," I added in a shaky voice.
"You guys are so happy for me you're speechless? Come here you two!" Niko pulled us both in for a hug, not realizing our speechlessness had nothing to do with happiness. He wrinkled his nose as he stepped back. "One of you stinks."
"You're right, I should go shower," Brenton abruptly said.
"Why don't you take a warm bath to calm your muscles?" I offered. "I'll go draw you a nice bubble bath."
We both swiftly turned on our heels and went up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Once we were in our bathroom, we shut the door and turned on the exhaust fan so no one could overhear. Despite our previous fight, we had more serious matters at hand.
"Is he insane?" I cried.
Brenton looked mortified. "He's giving up his freedom!"
"He has no plans for the future."
"He'll never get to hook up with another girl again."
"He doesn't have a secure job."
"He'll be stuck with the same woman for the rest of his life."
"He doesn't even have his own place."
"He's signing his life away."
"And what about kids?"
Brenton's eyes widened. "I'm too young and hot to be an uncle!"
I rolled my eyes. "We can't let Niko make the biggest mistake of his life."
"I'm pretty sure his biggest mistake was dating our stepsister three yearsâ uh, yeah, we have to stop him," he corrected when he saw the glare on my face. "But we can't tell him ourselves."
He was right. If we weren't supportive then Niko would be upset and he'd probably go through with the wedding anyway to prove us wrong. What we needed was for someone else to intervene and stop this from happening. We needed someone like...
~*~
"Pardon me?"
I pulled my cell phone away from my ear, wincing at how loud she screamed.
"It's true, Mom," Brenton spoke into my phone speaker. "He's getting married."
"Getting married? He can't even tie his own shoelaces!"
I flailed my arms in agreement even though she couldn't see me. "That's what I said!"
"You can't let this happen," Brenton added.
"No child of mine is getting married right now, whatsoever," she said firmly. "We will discuss this tomorrow." There was a beeping sound and the line died.
"Got any plans tomorrow?" Brenton asked me.
I shook my head. "Looks like my day just became free."
Niko was going to be beyond pissed, but I considered this to be tough love. We were just looking out for our brother and trying to help him avoid making the biggest mistake of his life. On that note, I exited the bathroom to let my stinky twin shower. How I managed to breathe in his funk for that long I do not know. When I entered my room, Niko was sitting on my bed, his eyebrows raised.
"Jeez, you scared me!" I gasped, placing a hand on my chest.
"Where you two always this disturbingly close, or is this a new development?"
"I'm just looking out for my little brother," I said with a wave of my hand. "So..." I really didn't want to inquire about his newfound love, but I had to make Niko think I was on his side before he faced Mom's wrath tomorrow. "How did you two meet?"
He fell back on my bed, a dopey grin on his face. "Remember how I started working as an Assistant Instructor for those cooking classes?"
I nodded my head as I sat at the foot of my bed. After Niko graduated in the spring of last year, he dropped the bomb on our mother that he no longer wanted to pursue a law degree. She was so keen on Niko following her footsteps, so you could imagine how heartbroken she was to find out the thousands of dollars she had invested in his undergraduate law program was all for nothing.
After a summer of consistent fighting and screaming, they came to the agreement that Niko could take a year off to explore his options, and if he didn't decide on something that satisfied Mom, he would have to apply to law school. During that time, my brother needed some cash, so he started working as an Assistant Instructor for some culinary classes at Penbrooke. With him being a prodigy of a chef, it seemed like a smart way to make some income for the year, especially now that the clock was ticking, and he was almost out of time to make a decision.
"Well," Niko continued. "I found someone and we fell in love."
"What's her name?" I asked.
The lovestruck smile reappeared on his face. "Vanessa. Isn't that a beautiful name?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "I guess."
"Dani, I hope you can feel this way someday. Love is the greatest feeling in the world." He abruptly sat up. "I mean I'm sure it's how you and James feel about each other. I see those flirty eyes you make at each other."
I couldn't even keep up a fake smile. Of all my siblings, Niko was the one brother I could be totally transparent with. When I flopped on my bed and felt his presence next to me, I knew it was time to open up.
"Talk to your brother," he said as we both stared up at my popcorn ceiling. God, I hated popcorn ceilings.
"I think James is going to break up with me." You know how people say if you say how you feel out loud you'll instantly feel better? It was a lie. I felt shittier than I had since I got back to Stone Creek.
Instead of being the emotional support I needed, my stupid brother snorted. "You're delusional. The kid's in love with you."
"Then why didn't he come yesterday? And why's he ghosting me now?" I listed.
"I'm sure he has a good reason," Niko said reassuringly. "Before I left Penbrooke today, I ran into him."
I sat bolt upright and stared at him, wide-eyed. "What did he say?"
"Nothing really. He told me to tell you thanks for locating the aspirin."
That's it? After missing the party and forgetting our summer solstice date, all he had to say was a measly thanks? I grabbed the nearest pillow and pressed it against my face before screaming into it.
Niko snatched the pillow out of my hands. "Unless he actually says he's breaking up with you, there's nothing to worry about. Stop being such a girl."
"Coming from the whipped dork talking about the joys of being in love," I scoffed.
Niko responded by smacking my head with my pillow. "I have to be honest," he said after nearly concussing me with that sac of feathery danger. "I'm not loving your new hairdo."
What was it with everyone and hating on my hair? I grabbed the pillow from him and swatted him back.
~*~
I stared out the living room window as I watched the sky turn hues of orange, peach, pink, and purple. It was a beautiful ending to the longest day of the year, the summer solstice. This day last year James and I were having the most romantic date at the carnival. It was on this day he gave me the stupid promise ring that I stupidly cherished because I was stupid. I pulled my knees to my chest as I watched the brilliant sky slowly darken as nightfall took over.
Don't get me wrong, I was thrilled to be back with my family, but with our increasingly busy schedules, I was really looking forward to a few months of Dani and James time. I knew he would come to Stone Creek eventually, but he knew how important today was to me, and he didn't even call. I turned on my cell phone to check the time and saw that it was almost half-past nine. The sinking feeling in my stomach returned and although I would have preferred to spend tonight with James, he didn't care enough about me to show.
If I could rewind to last summer, I would have never expected my life to go so downhill to where it was now. I had an endless list of secrets that kept expanding and no one to tell them to. They were eating at me, and I just wanted to clear my conscience, but I knew I couldn't without hurting the people I loved. I missed the days of being a teenager, where I could be reckless and impulsive without care because everything felt so eternal and I felt invincible. Now, it was like I was walking on eggshells with everything I did, and no matter how hard I tried, someone would always get hurt. I really hated growing up.
I snapped out of my daze when I saw a black car with its headlights off drive into the street. It stopped on the side of the road, a few houses down from mine. I casually checked over my shoulder to make sure no one saw me leave, and I tiptoed to the front door. Carefully, I opened it and stepped out, turning my back to quietly close the door. I was about to hop off the porch but stopped when I saw a sheet of paper on the ground. Confused, I picked it up and skimmed the messy scrawl written on it.
Nothing lasts forever, not even the longest day of the year.
The sun will set, reminding us that even the solstice ceases to exist.
Everything fades, but one thing is true.
Not to be sappy, it's my feelings for you.
Meet me where we engraved our love.
-J
I wanted to be mad. Hell, I wanted to be furious at him for missing today, but I couldn't stop the ginormous smile forming on my face from reading his note.
James was back.
I reread the last line as I tried to think of where that could be. The imaginary lightbulb above my head flickered just as my cell phone blared. My stomach did somersaults when I recognized the number â and not in a good way.
"Hey," I breathed into my phone.
"Dani." His voice was filled with comfort and it took all of my willpower to not march to the black car parked across the street. With everything that happened over the last few days, I really needed a break from it all.
"I can't tonight." I couldn't see his face but I was sure he could see mine, and I knew he probably wasn't happy.
"It's been too long." He paused. "I've missed you."
I peered around me before replying in a low voice, "I miss you, too." I exhaled as I thought about James' note. "My boyfriend's back. I didn't think he'd be here today."
"Can't you make an excuse?"
"You know I can't." If I flaked on James, then he'd know something was up. Our agreement was that no one could ever know. Not Amber, not my family, and definitely not James.
"When will I see you next?"
"Soon," I promised.
"Fine." He paused. "I love you."
I chewed on my bottom lip as I reflected over my next words. "Me, too." I released the breath I didn't realize I had been holding in when I saw the car drive off. That was too close.
~*~
Since I still didn't get around to getting a new licence, I walked to the spot in James' note. It was only a fifteen-minute walk, and I really needed the fresh air. I felt the guilt eating away at me âalongside the merciless mosquitoesâ but I shook the feeling off. I had nothing to feel guilty about, we all coped in different ways. I mentally chanted that like a mantra until I believed it, but deep down I knew I didn't.
It wasn't long until I reached the familiar fence. I ran my hand over the cool metal, a slight smile on my face when I felt my and James' carved initials. I climbed over the fence and walked up to the clifftop that was surrounded by trees. Normally I would not have felt safe being alone in a forest at night, but this was my happy place. When I made it to the top of the cliff, I spotted a figure sitting a few feet ahead of me, their back facing me. He looked so lost in thought I almost didn't want him to know I was here. That didn't last long when I stepped on a twig, making him snap his head around. Even in the dim lighting of the lantern he had set up on the blanket beneath him, I could make out his breathtaking face.
"Dani." Hearing him say my name was the most beautiful sound to my ears. He slowly rose to his feet, neither of us daring to make the next move.
Although it had only been two months since we had last touched each other, it felt like an eternity. When my eyes fell to the picnic he had arranged, I assumed this wasn't going to be a break-up picnic âif there was such a thingâ so I made the first move. My walk turned into a run as I minimized the distance between us. My longing for his touch took over me, and before I could register what I was doing, I jumped into his arms, throwing my arms over his neck and wrapping my legs around his torso. He gripped onto my thighs to steady me while we stared deeply into each other's eyes. God, I missed those striking grey eyes.
"Hi."
His lips slowly turned upwards, revealing his heartstopping smile. "Hi."
Without another word, I crashed my lips against his, kissing him like it was the last time I'd ever kiss him again. He was taken aback for a brief second before kissing me back with the same passion and longing. As our kiss deepened, he took a step back and slipped onto the grass, landing on his back, but that didn't stop us. We rolled around in the grass as we kissed, and I was way too caught up in the moment to realize that was a terrible idea considering I was wearing white, but I didn't care. We kissed for what felt like hours, finally pulling apart because we were about to pass out from lack of oxygen. James was on top of me, our noses touching each other's as we breathed heavily. He sat up and pulled me on top of him, my legs on either side of him.
"Hi," I panted.
He chuckled and brushed a few blades of grass out of my hair. "You said that already."
"You're back," I said in what was supposed to be a statement but sounded more like a question.
He pressed his lips against mine, letting them linger a little longer before pulling away. "I missed you so much."
As much as I wanted to spend the rest of the night kissing this boy senselessly, I had to address the elephant in the room, or else I'd spend the entire night dwelling on it. I scooted off of his lap and sat beside him. "Where were you?"
"I told you, some stuff came up."
"What stuff?" I really didn't want to sound like a pushy girlfriend, but screw it. I only had him all to myself in the summer, so I sure as hell was angry.
"It's not important, I'll tell you later. Can we just enjoy tonight?"
When I didn't reply James rolled his eyes.
"Fine. I got offered a position as a summer researcher for the biology lab at Penbrooke."
My eyebrows shot up in surprise. "James, that's..." I paused. "You're going to be in Penbrooke all summer?"
He shook his head. "Not all summer, only when they need me. Otherwise, I'll be here with my number one girl." When I didn't budge, he rolled his eyes again. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I wanted to tell you in person, and I wanted to surprise you tonight." He paused to observe my reaction. "Are you mad?"
"That depends." I glanced at the picnic basket before looking at him. "What food did you bring? I'm starving."
The empty forest filled with the sound of James' laughter. "God, I've missed you."