A Fresh Start (11 page)

“What happened?” he asked when Gloria turned to leave.

“She’s back. You better take her here before Gloria descend on her,” Mrs. Seymour commented.

Justin stood just as Gloria went over to her. Paige smiled politely, but had twisted to the side, hoping to step away from Gloria.

Gloria moved to block her, but he reached his arm across, stopping Gloria and taking Paige’s hand. “What took you so long?” he asked, pulling her toward him and leading her back to the booth.

“One of Mrs. Seymour’s friends saw me and chatted with me for a while.”

“Are you two dating?” Gloria asked, following them back to the booth. “You’re fast. You pretend to be all sweet and harmless, but you’re actually a sneaky little thing.”

“Enough,” Justin said, finally looking up at her. “Go have your dinner, and we’ll have ours. Leave us alone.”

Gloria shot Paige a glare of contempt, then went back to her own seat.

“That was mean.”

Mrs. Seymour laughed at Paige’s comment. “You look like the studious type. Don’t tell me you’ve never been bullied in school.”

“You’d think so, especially since I was in advance placement. But no, not really.”

He wasn’t surprised about Paige being in advance placement. She seemed to love learning. When she was painting, she had her earphones in and were apparently learning some language. He didn’t know it was Italian until he asked.

Then, he found out she’d learned Spanish in school and was going to learn French after.

She was the kind of over-achieving student that most kids would hate.

“How’s that possible?” Justin asked.

“My brother was very popular in school.” She paused as the waitress served their food. “And he was huge, even at his age. He’s bigger than Justin now.”

That explained why she was so comfortable around him since the first day they met. “So by relations, you were protected.”

“It wasn’t just him. Drew’s a born leader, so he’d this group of loyal friends who were really nice to me, too. The girls were always nice to me. I guess they were hoping that I’d say something nice for them. And after the flag pole incident, no one in school dared to bully me.”

“Flag pole incident?”

She laughed softly. “Once, this boy, I don’t know why, came up to me in the hallway and pushed my things onto the floor. Somehow, Drew heard about it. The next day after school, the boy was tied, half naked, to the flag pole with the words ‘I am an idiot’ scrawled over his chest and stomach.”

“Gosh, your brother must have been a terrifying boy,” Mrs. Seymour said, half-laughing.

“That’s not all. The boy kept yelling over and over again that he was an idiot and he was sorry for pushing Paige Watson’s stuff onto the floor.”

“Your brother is very protective,” Mr. Seymour noted.

“He is,” she agreed. “He got a week of detention. But after that, even after he’d graduated, no one ever bullied me.”

“Even after he graduated?”

“Yeah. He had friends who were still in town, they kept an eye on me and they weren’t shy about roughing anyone up.”

“Your boyfriends must have been terrified of him,” Mrs. Seymour stated.

“Oh, I didn’t date until I was in college. And by then, he was in the army.” She smiled wryly as she said that. “I made sure I didn’t tell him anything he would have to worry about. I wanted him to concentrate on coming home alive.”

“And he’s back now?”

“He is. Thank God he is. And this time, he won’t have to go back.” Then she sighed and change the subject. “So besides work, where it was more of a backstabbing thing, no one ever said such mean stuff to my face.”

“So what happened at church for her to be so mean?” Justin looked over at her and waited.

She pressed her lips into a thin line. “Nothing. Nothing important,” she eventually said.

“I like to hear about unimportant things.”

She played with the ring on her finger, pulling it off then putting it back on. “Nothing you haven’t told me, except with a little exaggeration and an additional dose of malice.”

He kept his eyes on her, refusing to let it go until he got a straight answer.

She looked over to Mrs. Seymour who was busy ignoring her. Licking her lips, she turned back to him. “She told me about your mom’s drinking and…and her bad relationship choices.”

“You’re very political.”

“Let’s stop talking about this.”

“In a minute,” he assured. “I want to know what you said.”

“I told the truth and I was slightly mean in return. So I guess we’re even.”

“I know what she said,” Mrs. Seymour interjected. “Something about you being helpful and big-hearted. Nice stuff.”

Paige turned to Mrs. Seymour, her brows raised. But Mrs. Seymour was back to ignoring her.

“You have been helpful,” Paige said.

“And the big-hearted part?”

She pursed her lips then tried to buy time by chewing her bite of pizza for the longest time.
 

“I’ll wait.”

She rolled her eyes and swallowed. “I heard you built your house for your mom, even after everything. I thought that was big-hearted.”

Justin frowned at Mrs. Seymour.

“What? Was that a secret?”

Paige took a sip of coke and suddenly said, “Do you all know that Italian is the most romantic language in the world?”

Justin shook his head, his lips forming a grin. She seriously needed to work on her skill of changing subjects.

“Oh, is it?” Mr. Seymour asked.

“Si,” she answered. “Italians used to speak different dialects and couldn’t understand each other. So this group of intellects came together and picked the most beautiful words of the different dialects, resulting in the Italian language they speak today.”

“Is that why you’re learning Italian?”

“Not really. I like learning new stuff; it’s fun.”

“That’s interesting,” Mrs. Seymour said. “How do you say, you kids are walking back home because I need to go to the grocery store?”

“We can go with you.”

“No, I take forever at the grocer, Victor knows that. Just take a short stroll home, it isn’t far. Good exercise, too.”

“Okay,” Paige agreed without argument.

And again, another belated enlightenment. No wonder Mrs. Seymour insisted on taking Mr. Seymour’s car.

He took a bite of his pizza. He wasn’t leaving right then anyway; no harm spending a little more time with Paige. “Fine.”

After dinner, the Seymours drove over to the grocery store, leaving Paige and him to walk home. Paige took out her cardigan, draping it over her arm as they strolled along.

“How was high school for you?” Paige asked with a smile.

“I wasn’t bullied. I wasn’t popular, but I was rather large for my age and I never ran from a fight.”

She laughed softly, pushing her hair back behind her ear. “I don’t doubt that.”

He loved her smile; something about it always made his own lips curl.

“Most people stay away from me. Everyone knows about my situation, but I guess as a kid, you won’t know what to say or how to behave.”

He watched Paige’s head bobbed up and down.

“But there are others—like Gloria—who shunned me simply because they despised me.”

“And Travis?”

“Travis and Amy were the two who were brave enough to talk to me.”

“There are plenty of brave souls who want to talk to you now.”

“You know, Mr. Seymour fought in the Vietnam war.”

“He did?” Paige’s brows rose. “He’s pretty strong, even now. Gosh, Mrs. Seymour must’ve had a really tough time then.”

“Not knowing if he was dead or alive?”

“Yeah.” She smiled wryly. “I used to call my mom every day and night because I’m afraid to receive her calls. I’m afraid it’d be a call to tell me that Andrew’s hurt or,” she choked on her words. Clearing her throat, she continued. “Or dead.”

She laughed nervously, pulling the ring in and out of her index finger.
 

Justin could understand. He never needed an alarm clock to wake him up. Every morning his eyes would shoot right open, and he’d be drenched with fear that his mother might be dead. He would make a quick sweep of the house, looking for her.
 

Sometimes, she’d be right outside the house. Sometimes, he would have to put on his shoes and head out to look for her around town.

When he found her, he’d always put his finger to her nose and check if she was still breathing.

“I can’t tell you how my heart dropped when we heard he was shot.”

“That’s why he’s back?”

“No, that was a few years back. He went back to Afghanistan the moment they declared him fit for duty.” She sighed. “It was his duty, he’d said.”

He laughed when he saw Paige rolling her eyes. “He’s brave.”

“I wanted to kill him myself. He had served; I think he’d covered his duty.” She paused for a moment. “At least he’s home now. Lost half of one leg, but he’s home.”

His eyes widened, sending Paige into a lighthearted laugh.

She shook her head, her lips easing into a small, rueful smile. “He was in a humvee when they got ambushed. His humvee got hit by some bomb. It’s a miracle he’s even alive.”

“How is he coping?”

“Good. He has his prosthetic leg fixed and is apparently up and running as he was before.”
 

Her words grew softer toward the end and that made Justin wonder if she truly believed what she had just said.

Silently, they strolled along side by side while he looked down the streets.

“Can I ask you a question?”

He nodded.

“Why didn’t you want to come home? Why did you leave for 10 years?”

“I never felt this place was home.” He could sense her eyes on him and the heartache she felt for him.

“Then where do you feel at home?”

He drew in a deep breath. “I don’t know.” He’d been to so many different places, but none of them was appealing enough to make him stay.

She reached over, giving his arm a gentle squeeze. “I’m sure you’ll find it someday, especially when you’re moving around all the time. You’ll find a place you can call home.”

He didn’t reply her. They continued strolling along until he suddenly asked, “Can
I
ask you a question?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“You looked upset when Mrs. Seymour said I was leaving.”

“What’s the question?”

“Why?”

She licked her lips and pressed them into a thin line. “I don’t know many people in town, so I hope you’ll stay. Besides, you’re the only one I know who can refresh my forgotten driving skills.”

He stopped walking and turned to her. “So when you get to know more people, when you become confident of your driving skills, then you’ll be fine with me leaving?”

It was his intention to leave anyway. Her answer shouldn’t matter to him, but he realized it did. He wanted to know what she was thinking. He wanted to know if it would matter to her.

She turned back to him, standing half a step in front of him.
 

She licked her lips, and he thrust his hands into his pocket so that he couldn’t reach up and rub his thumb against her lips.

“Do you hate this place so much?” she asked, gazing at him.

“Depends on who and why she is asking me to stay.” He took a step closer and leaned in. “So, when all that happens, will you still be sad if I leave?” he whispered.

She kept her eyes on him. Her lips parted slightly, and he decided his answer could wait.

His lips had just brushed against hers when he heard someone yelling his name.

“Justin!” the unknown guy hollered again. “I thought that was you!”

And that idiot couldn’t see he was busy?

Paige turned away from him. He spun around, sighing when he saw Keith. Without a word, he turned back and placed his hand on Paige’s back, nudging her forward.

“One of those pretentious people?”

Justin grinned.

Instead of taking the hint, Keith caught up with them. “Hey, back in town, huh? And you must be the haunted house woman.”

“Haunted house woman?” Paige mumbled.

“Let’s go,” Justin said.

“Come on.” Keith gave Justin a mock punch on his arm.

Justin stopped and shot him a glare, then continued moving.
 

Keith muttered something as they walked away, but finally got the message that he wasn’t welcomed.

“He seems friendly.”

“Let me give you an orientation of the people in town.” Moving his arm over Paige’s waist, he pulled her closer. “This town is separated into two main groups of people. The Bradleys and their allies, then the Seymours with their friends.”

“I noticed. After church, the congregation usually separates into two groups.”

“And those on the Bradleys’ side will start being mean to you.”

Paige frowned.

“Don’t worry. If anyone pushes your things onto the floor, I’ll tie him or her to a flag pole.”

She laughed softly. “I’ll hold you to that.”

Paige was extremely aware of the arm around her waist as she looked up at Justin. Her heart was still fluttering from the kiss they almost shared.

But almost immediately, the delirium from the slightest touch of his lips faded and guilt took over.

How could she get over Cole so quickly?

“What is it?” Justin suddenly asked.

“Huh?”

“You look distracted.”

“No,” she said. “It’s nothing.”

“One thing I’ve realized. When women say it’s nothing, there’s something.”

She licked her lips.

“Is it about the kiss?”

Pursing her lips into a thin line, she sighed softly.

“So there is an ex-boyfriend. Or boyfriend.” His hand dropped from her waist and he took a step to the side, observing her face.

“No,” she assured. “I mean yes.”

Justin blinked, his face blanked.

“There’s an ex-boyfriend. No boyfriend,” she quickly clarified.

“You’re still in love with your ex?”

“No.” She closed her eyes and sighed. “I broke up with him over a month ago, right before I came here. It doesn’t seem right for me to move on so quickly.”

“Why did you break up with him?”

She grimaced, chewing on her lips. “I realized I didn’t love him. I saw him as more of a friend, I suppose.”