Pearl (10 page)

Pearl cringed. “It’s not like that. We just don’t have that kind of relationship.” She felt the need to stick up for herself. “It’s more mature than just partying and fooling around.”

Sammie’s smile was still plastered to her face, but her giggles subsided. “If you say so. But how I see it is you guys are still doing the partying, just not together.”

Pearl had nothing to say to that. Sammie turned to the bartender, ordering up a couple of beers.

“That’s him.” Sammie pointed to a group of guys by the pool tables. “The guy I was talking about. Sam Murray. Isn’t he something?”

Pearl was grateful to have the conversation off her and Roy. She looked in the direction Sammie was pointing. The striking man looked up in Sammie’s direction and smiled, his chocolate-brown shaggy hair covering the darkness of his eyes.

“Sam?” Pearl said with a raised eyebrow.

“I know! Sam and Sammie, could it be any cuter?” Sammie exclaimed.

“He looks much older than us.”
 

Sammie shrugged, handing Pearl a glass of beer. “Twenty-eight. Sure beats all the boys our age.”

Pearl followed Sammie’s lead.
 

“Hey, Sam,” she cooed.
 

The man smiled back at her, leaning his weight against the pool stick. The strength of his cologne burned Pearl’s nose. He wiped his chalky fingers against his worn denim pants with perfectly placed ripped holes, which he’d matched with a rock band T-shirt.

“What are you girls up to tonight?” He had the perfect husky voice for a country song.

“Always looking for a good time,” Sammie said, stretching back against the pool table. Sam didn’t shy away from staring at Sammie’s breasts.

“Hey, Ben.” Sammie smiled.
 

Pearl turned to see the boy standing opposite from Sam. It was easy to see they were brothers. Their handsome faces resembled one another’s, with deep-set coffee-colored eyes and strong square jaws. Ben was the leaner of the two and a good two inches taller. His hair was shorter, cropped in a no-nonsense way. Pearl liked the way he dressed with ease in a fitted green and blue flannel shirt rolled at the sleeves and dark denim jeans. Sam stood straighter, his exterior bolder as his chest jutted out in front of him.
 

“Who’s your friend?” Sam asked, with a nod toward Pearl.

“Pearl, she’s new around here,” Sammie said.

“Bet you get yourself in a lot of trouble with lips like that.” Sam smirked at Pearl. “Could suck the chrome right off a Ford bumper, couldn’t you?”

Pearl looked away from Sam in time to seen Ben grimace.

“This place is dead,” Sam said with a wink. “Wanna go for a drive? I got booze in the truck.”

Sammie looked to Pearl with pleading eyes. Pearl smiled reluctantly and answered, “Sure.”

Sammie pounded a beer in the back seat of the double-cab truck as Pearl watched the lights of the town disappear behind them. Sam drove fast, twisting around turns as if they were in a jet. Sammie cried out in excitement as Pearl held on to the handle above her head, praying she wouldn’t vomit. She had no idea where they were going. She wondered if she should be worried. Sammie made no attempt at putting her at ease as she lost control, singing loudly to the radio.

“You have a beautiful voice,” Sam shouted back to her. “Maybe you should join our band.”

Sammie giggled wildly.

They drove up a winding hill, a black forest deep beneath them. The stars crept closer as they reached the top. Sam pulled the truck to the side of the road where the gravel met the grass.
 

“Isn’t this beautiful, Pearl?” Sammie exclaimed, swaying her arms in the night.
 

Above, the bright stars glistened between the tall trees that surrounded them. Pearl laughed with her friend as Sammie pulled her through the trees, landing on a soft patch of fresh green grass that had not been burned by the sun. The boys followed with a case of beer in each hand. Pearl took a sip, remembering the bitter aftermath from the last time she drank too much beer.

“Why aren’t you drinking tonight, Ben?” Sammie asked with a pout.

“Someone’s gotta drive you home, Sammie Lynn.”

“Oh, you’re such a goodie,” Sammie said smartly. “It’s Friday night.”

“Some of us have to work,” Sam chimed in.

Sammie turned a glare on him. “You know very well I have a job.”
 

Sam laughed. “Showing your breasts down at Old Vinny’s isn’t what I’d call hard work.”
 

“You talk like I’m a stripper,” Sammie said, faking a frown.

Sam wrapped his arms around her, tackling her to the ground. “Best-looking stripper I know!”

She giggled at the compliment.

“I, on the other hand, have to be down at Joe Derney’s by seven,” Ben said.

“Might as well stay up all night, little brother,” Sam said, tucking his head into Sammie’s hair. “Maybe have a little fun for once.”

Pearl tilted her head toward Ben, eyeing the look of frustration on his face. “So I’m not a big partier,” he said. “Guess I missed those genes.”

“Well, I hope you make enough money to support your alcoholic brother,” Sammie said, laughing at Sam’s attempt at a hurt expression.

“Hey, I’m not the one still living at home.”
 

Ben looked at Pearl. “I do not live at home,” he said, defending himself.
 

“That’s right, you live in the backyard,” Sam taunted.

“Sam,” Sammie scolded.

Sam lifted his free hand in defense. With the other hand he toasted his brother. “No, no,” he said. “He built that house with his own hands. Man, I couldn’t do that.”

Pearl’s mouth dropped. Ben jerked his eyes away, his lips firm in a tight line.

“What do you do?” Pearl asked.

“I work for my dad’s contracting business,” he said with a shrug. “But really, I’d like to be an architect one day.”

“Wow,” Pearl said, truly impressed.

“Just dreams, that’s all.” He smiled slightly. “I did build my own house. It’s small, but…”

“…but it’s a start,” Pearl finished for him.

He looked to her again, his smile widening.

Back at the truck, Pearl rested her head against the back of the seat as they drove down the hill out to Jumping Creek. It was nearly dawn, with the stars beginning to fade as the morning sun poked its head from behind the mountains. Sammie stayed in the forest, off in a secluded hideaway with Sam, while Ben took Pearl home. Before they left he told them they better be done doing whatever it was they were doing when he came back to get them. Pearl worried about leaving Granny for so long, praying she hadn’t needed her in the middle of the night.

“So what is a girl like you doing with a girl like Sammie?” Ben asked, breaking the silence between them.

“What kind of girl am I?” she asked in sincere confusion.
 

“Well, as far as I know, you don’t have a reputation like Sammie. And you’re not in the woods alone with some guy you barely know.”

“No,” Pearl clarified. “I’m alone in a truck with a guy I barely know.”

“You got me there.”
 

Pearl could hear the smile in his voice. “I’m new in town,” she said, finding herself holding back more information.

“Oh, yeah? From where?”

“Arizona.”

He turned down her road. It was only a moment before they got to Jumping Creek, and strangely, she didn’t want to get out of the car.

“I have an aunt in Tempe.”

“Tempe is nice. I’m from Tucson.”

“Haven’t been to Tucson.”

“Rocks and desert.”

“Sounds nice.” Ben laughed.

He pulled into the driveway but didn’t slow down. She held out a hand to stop him. “This is good.”

He slammed on his brakes. “You want out here? What are you, a runaway or something?” he said with a smile.

She turned away. “Thank you for the ride.”

He jumped out of the car, making his way to her door and giving her a hand down the step. “I’m really glad I met you tonight, Pearl.”

She smiled lightly and nodded. “Good night.” She paused. “Or good morning.”

“Good night, or good morning, to you,” he replied with a grin.

She watched him drive off before she headed up the driveway. The sun clung to the gray clouds, fortunately stretching the night just long enough for Pearl to return to Granny’s. She passed the window to the chicken coop and peeked in to see Roy’s naked body passed out on top of the sheets. Where normally she would feel an urge to join him, something nudged at her instead.
 

She would never do anything to betray Roy. She loved him wholly. Yet she couldn’t shake the pull deep inside her that yearned for the attention of Ben’s warm eyes on her.

As she walked to the back of the house, she found herself smiling. She slid up the stone steps and reached for the door. It was locked. The door was never locked. She tried again, wondering if it was stuck. Her body went numb as her palms began to sweat. She stood back, sick with fear that she had been caught. She ran to the front of the house, only to find the door was locked as well. She sank down to sit on the edge of the steps, her body trembling.

Breathe
, she told herself.
Calm yourself
. She held her breath and counted the beats of her heart.

It wouldn’t be long before everyone was up. She could stay right here, wait for Roy to show up and confess all that she had done the night before, but he would never believe her. Instead she decided to hide, sneak in the door after someone had entered, and creep her way up the stairs to her room as though she had been there all along. Silently she slipped into the back of Roy’s truck and crouched down, waiting for any sound that indicated someone was up. She waited with tired eyes that began to droop. And just as the sun rose in the sky through the hazy clouds, those tired eyes closed.

CHAPTER 9

Pearl woke with a kink in her back and her face planted down on the cold surface of Roy’s Chevy truck. She adjusted her eyes to the light, realizing immediately it was hours past dawn. The tractor rumbled in the distance, giving her the slightest relief that Roy was out in the fields.

She crawled from the truck, her feet floating across the ground as she slipped into the quiet house and up the stairs to her room. Quickly she changed, hiding her dirty clothes under the bed. She brushed her teeth and splashed her face with cold water. Her stomach was knotted from immense guilt, knowing Granny must be miserable sitting in her own filth.
 

“My goodness, where have you been?” Granny asked as Pearl entered the room. “I thought you were planning on leaving me here to die.”

Surprisingly enough, Granny was sitting tall in bed, her pillows fluffed, fresh coffee on her nightstand. Pearl had no chance to respond before a flight of red hair came bouncing in the room.

“And hadn’t it been for Cindy, I just may have,” Granny said with a glare.

“I’m so sorry, Granny,” Pearl said, ignoring Cindy’s smirk. “I must have overslept. It won’t happen again.”

“We were wondering if you caught that awful bug again,” Cindy said with feigned concern.

Pearl pretended that the wicked woman wasn’t there. “Can I get you some breakfast?” Pearl asked Granny.

“Breakfast?” Granny scoffed. “It’s minutes before dinner.”

Pearl cursed at herself under her breath. How had she slept that long?

“Where are my pills?” Granny demanded.
 

“I’ll get them,” both girls said, heading for the door.

Pearl and Cindy eyed each other, seeing who would make the next move. Pearl stepped through the door, a stride ahead of Cindy, who trailed right behind her.

“Nice night?” Cindy asked.

Pearl shrugged. “Same as usual.” She poured Granny a glass of lemon ice water.
 

Cindy gave her a hard stare. “I know you are not this sweet innocent little girl everyone thinks you are. You think you got Roy and Vernie eating candy right out of your hand, but I don’t buy it.”

Pearl bit her tongue to keep from speaking the harsh words her mind screamed at Cindy. She took out Granny’s pill bottles and placed them on a saucer.

“What makes you think I can’t go to Roy right now and tell him how you were running around on him last night?”

Pearl glowered at Cindy. “I was not running around on Roy. I simply had a drink with a girlfriend.”

Cindy smiled at Pearl’s confession. “Think he will believe you?”

Pearl fell silent, knowing Cindy was right.
 

“So what are you willing to do to keep my mouth shut?” Cindy threatened.

Pearl’s hand shook with anger as she counted out Granny’s medication. She refused to answer her, which made Cindy all the more enthused.
 

“Hmm, maybe watching the kids for me every day for a few hours?” Cindy said, making the suggestion more to herself than to Pearl. “And maybe even a few nights a week. My house could use a good cleaning, too, while you’re there.”

Pearl was disgusted by the smile on Cindy’s face. She knew she had no choice but to abide by Cindy’s demands. Roy would be furious if he knew she had sneaked out again. Cindy was right; he would never believe she had been faithful.
 

Cindy clapped her hands in delight. “This will be so much fun.” She whipped her red mane around her as she headed out of the kitchen.

“Cindy,” Pearl said, her voice thick and sweet, “by any chance you know of anyone who drives a red Camaro?”

Cindy’s happy stride came to a halt as she twirled on her heels back to Pearl. “You wouldn’t dare,” she hissed. “I have kids.”

Pearl folded her arms, staring the girl down. Cindy collected her breath and shook off her temper. Slowly she strode back to Pearl, ’til she was nose to nose and Pearl could smell the stench of Cindy’s breath.

“I don’t get it,” she said in revulsion. “What could Roy possibly see in you besides that long yellow hair?”

She spun back around and tromped out of the house.

That night after supper Pearl curled up to Roy on the recliner, pushing his newspaper from his lap.

“I was thinking of cutting my hair,” she said, testing him. “You know, something real cute and short.”