Bird Song (15 page)

Robert grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the side, apparently not wanting what he had to say to be heard, which only infuriated me more.
 
Wasn’t he the one capable of communicating without making a single sound?

“Grace, you know how I got this job,” he hissed.
 
“Don’t make me answer that question.”

I raised my head up defiantly.
 
Then tell me
why
you got this job in the first place?

Robert glanced over to Stacy and Graham, whose eyes were focused on the two of us, Stacy gripping Graham’s arm with such ferocity, I could see the tips of her fingers turning white.
 
Robert’s mouth started moving, but no sound came out.
 
He was mimicking talking to keep our conversation private.
 
Because I know what he feels for my sister, I’ve seen his thoughts.
 
I’ve also seen his thoughts about you, and those two things do not sit well in my mind together, especially if he’s going to want to date Lark.

Exasperated, I threw my hands up, my eyes feeling as though they were bugging right out of their sockets.
 
You did this because he likes Lark?
 
You’re treating him like dirt because he happens to like your sister?
 
I turned to glance back at Graham, whose eyes were round with surprise, and I looked behind me to see what had caused that expression.
 
Lark was standing behind Robert and I, a scowl etched on her lovely face.

The fragile beauty that belied the strength and the temerity that was Lark would fool anyone who didn’t know who she was, what she was.
 
I looked at her eyes, the nearly colorless gray eyes that saw more than they let on, and I could see through her just how juvenile the entire situation was becoming.

“Hello, Lark,” I managed to get out before Robert was able to send out another thought.
 
He turned to look at her, and the silent communication that went on between them was brisk and full of outrage.
 
I didn’t have to hear it to know.
 
I could see it in the tenseness of their necks and faces, the steel iciness in their eyes.

Finally, after what had only been a matter of seconds, but certainly felt like half a lifetime, Lark turned to me and gave me a stiff smile.
 
“Hey, Grace.
 
I wanted to catch the latest Zombie flick, and had my mother drop me off.
 
Robert told me I could get in free anytime I wanted, so here I am.”
 
Stacy told me that the two of you were fighting—I didn’t know it was about me.
 
I’m sorry.

I grabbed her hand, and pulled the walking stick out of it.
 
She didn’t need it, hated it, really, so I gave her an excuse to not use it as I placed her arm on mine and turned my back on Robert.
 
“You’re just in time.
 
Graham is getting off from work in a few minutes, so we can all watch the movie.”

The hiss that echoed in my head at that exact moment caused me to stumble; the pain was so acute, my mind flooded with memories of a similar pain that had lasted much longer, and had done far more damage than merely tripping me up.
 
Though I had placed Lark’s hand on my arm in the guise of helping her, she was the one who supported me, and kept me from tumbling down to the coke stained carpet.

I looked up to thank her, but her gaze was frozen on something else.
 
Or someone else.
 
I followed it, traced it back to its source, and saw that she was glaring at him.
 
The one who had promised never to hurt me.
 
And yet he just had.
 
“Why?” I mouthed, but was dragged away towards a worried Graham and Stacy, lines of concern etched into their faces, before he could answer—before I could see him leave.

Graham reached for me and pulled my hand away from Lark’s.
 
He looked into my eyes and saw the hurt there, recognized it, obviously, but thankful that he hadn’t been the one to cause it this time.
 
He glowered at Robert, though his reasons were completely different, and asked me if I was okay.

I nodded my head, wincing as I did so, the pain that still echoed inside feeling as though it were bouncing around with each movement.
 
“I’m fine.
 
Just a bit clumsy,” I said with a half-hearted chuckle.

He didn’t meant to do it.
 
Larks face was stern, her eyes flat and emotionless.
 
He’s an interfering idiot who doesn’t know when to leave well enough alone, but he didn’t mean to hurt you, Grace.

At the moment, I really didn’t care.
 
Too many things were piling up for me to want to rationalize anything.
 
His behavior was odd, even for me, and I simply couldn’t appreciate his reasons, however valid they might be.

Graham left to clock out, and Lark, Stacy, and I were left standing in the middle of the lobby.
 
I knew that Lark hadn’t shared a single thought with Stacy about what had transpired in those few short minutes between brother and sister…and me.
 
I could only guess that it was out of respect for my privacy, as well as hers.

“So, you two don’t want to share?” Stacy asked, her eyes hungry with need for information, gossip, anything that would at least hint to what was going on between us.

Lark shrugged her shoulders, and said in a monotone voice, “It’s family business.”

I watched for signs that Lark was lying—a twinge of pain, a grimace—but there were none, which meant that this was, indeed, family business.
 
That I was considered family should have sent me over the moon.
 
Instead, I was feeling even more confused than before.

“Okay, ladies.
 
Let’s go watch some Zombies,” Graham said as he returned, his hands quickly divesting his shirt of the clip-on tie.

The reaction from Lark was expected.
 
Her face was lit brightly, her smile radiant, making anyone who stood next to her appear quite plain.
 
That meant, of course, that I became even more insignificant than I normally was.
 

But there was one exception; one highly unexpected exception.

“Stacy,” Graham began, a sheepish grin on his face as he nervously shoved his tie into his pocket, quick to look around, making sure no one was watching.
 
“I’ve got tickets to go and see that blues band that’s playing in Newark next week.
 
Do you want to go with me?”

Lark and I both stopped walking, our thoughts conjoined in mutual shock.
 
Stacy?

“Uh…sure,” she replied, her broad smile and bright eyes reflecting genuine pleasure.
 
I turned to look at Lark, whose disappointment was plain, and tried to comfort her.
 
Neither of us had expected this—why hadn’t she read his mind beforehand?

I didn’t want to know what he was thinking anymore.
 
I wanted everything to be new
… Lark’s eyes suddenly grew very opaque and glossy with unshed tears.
 
I looked back at Graham and Stacy, who hadn’t seemed to notice that we weren’t following them anymore.
 

I wanted to cry out to him, “How could you?”
 
But, as they rounded the corner, I couldn’t bring myself to utter a sound.
 
I wasn’t a part of that equation.
 
Once again, the decision had been made for me, and the fact that this time, more than one person was hurt felt like I had stepped on a landmine of helplessness.
 
If I stepped away, I’d be leaving Lark in the lurch.
 
If I stayed still, the threat was always underfoot, just waiting.

“I’m so sorry, Lark.
 
I thought…he told me-” I tried to explain, but Lark held up her hand and shook her head.

“No, it’s better this way.
 
No complications.”
 
She took a deep breath and pulled me forward down the end of the walkway towards the room our movie was playing.
 
The landmine didn’t go off…but it would.
 
I was sure of that.

The movie went as all zombie movies go—the only survivor was some half-dressed, hysterical, buxom beauty who was rescued by some big, burly hero who then showered her with kisses and professions of love.
 
I gagged.
 
Lark snorted.
 
Stacy sighed.
 
Graham squirmed.

As we filed out of the theater, my thoughts were running helter-skelter with uncertainty and confusion about what had happened in the past twenty-four hours.
 
The lobby was nearly empty, everyone either on their way home or watching their select films, and the popcorn and beverage stations were closed, their lights turned off; I looked for Robert, but he was nowhere to be seen.
 
I wasn’t sure what I would have said to him anyway, my emotions were so twisted.

“Grace, are you riding with me or with Graham?”
 
Stacy’s voice broke through my confusion, and I shook my head.

“I want to wait for Robert,” I answered, my gaze focused on a door I was certain would open at any minute, revealing the angel who could both heal and break my heart with a single thought.

“I’ll wait here with you, Grace,” Graham announced, seemingly oblivious to the inner turmoil he had caused that was exacerbating the jumbling of thoughts in my head.
 
“I’ll call you later, Stacy.
 
It was good to see you again, Lark.”

Lark looked stricken, but she managed to pull a smile onto her face, and began walking towards the exit, Stacy following behind, stopping only to wave shyly at us before disappearing.
 
Part of me wanted to be the fly on the wall when the two of them got into the car, but I knew full well that Lark wouldn’t be anything but kind and graceful to Stacy, despite how she felt.

“Can you explain to me why you asked Stacy out, when just this morning you were telling me that you were interested in Lark?” I barked as soon as we were alone.

The carefree smile that Graham had been wearing started to wear away, the person who had made it necessary no longer around.
 
“I’m still interested in Lark.
 
I like her, Grace.
 
Really,
really
like her—it’s scary how much I do.
 
But…when I saw you and Robert arguing—by the way, you guys need to start getting loud so that we can hear you; it makes eavesdropping much easier—I thought about what would happen if things didn’t work out between Lark and me.
 
What would that do to you and Robert?

“You’ve already had a hard time because of me.
 
I didn’t want to cause more problems.
 
This way, if Stacy and I don’t work out, it’ll be just like normal, there’ll be-”

“No complications,” I finished for him, comprehension of what Lark had meant finally dawning on me.

“Yeah.
 
No complications.”

That’s what comes from the foolishness of extreme like.
 
You’re willing to convince yourself that life gets less complicated if you stay away from the things you want, and settle for what you know you can live with.
 
No one is ever happy that way.

“What time do you think Robert will be getting off?” I asked him, needing to change the subject before I started pushing him towards talking about things that neither of us felt comfortable discussing.
 
Not yet, anyway.

“Probably in another twenty minutes.
 
It’s a weekday, so the theater closes early, plus he’s not the regular nightshift manager, so he won’t have to close.”

Sighing, I looked towards the exit doors that led into the mall.
 
Though the theater was nearly dead, the mall wasn’t.
 
After holiday sales were driving people to spend money they didn’t have in droves.
 
“You ever wonder what it must be like?
 
Never having to do anything, work at anything, and just having everything fall into your lap so easily?” Graham asked dejectedly.

I turned to look at him, his face a mixture of sadness and defeat, and didn’t understand what he meant by that.
 
“Want to run that by me again?”

“I know you’re thinking that I’ve had it easy, especially when compared to you; you’re right about that.
 
Things have been much easier for me than most, and definitely a lot smoother than they have been for you, but you have to wonder about people like Robert and Lark.
 
They come here from another country, don’t know anyone, they talk differently, have different ways of doing things, and yet everything just happens for them without them even trying.

“I mean, look at you.
 
You’ve had problems making friends since I’ve known you.
 
But Robert shows up and all of a sudden you’re his friend, and now his girlfriend and I barely get to see you.
 
He applies for his first job and he ends up getting a manager position, while I’m stuck making popcorn and cleaning booster chairs.
 
And then there’s Erica.
 
I know—I know she was wrong for me, but I tried to get her to go out with me for over a year before she finally said yes—don’t look at me like that; I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about her—but Robert shows up and on the first day, she’s ready to dump me for him.