Breath Of The Heart (5 page)

Me: Sorry. Back home this weekend. Making éclairs Monday.

Zach: Did you tell your Dad what happened?

Me: No. Don't want to upset him.

Zach: Wimp. Lol! Have a nice weekend. See you Monday. Save me an éclair.

Me: Will do.

I turned my phone off and smiled.

Chapter Eight

Zach

I met some of the guys at Fixx, a new club that had opened near campus. The place was packed, but we knew the bouncer and he let us bypass the line. I grabbed a beer, fully intending it to be my only one. I had to be home early in the morning for our annual Christmas card photo session complete with fake snow and Christmas decorations galore. If I looked remotely hungover, Mom would kill me.

"This place is nuts," Brett said.

"Yup," I said, glancing at my phone. Three texts from Becca and another from a girl in my Terror and Espionage class. I deleted Becca's texts and replied to the girl from class. What was her name again? Heather? Carla? I couldn't remember and her text came up as only a number.

"You here with me, or with your phone?" Brett asked, staring at my cell with contempt.

"You're jealous cuz all the girls love me," I said, punching him in the arm.

"Fuck off."

We got our beers and hung out in a less crowded corner. Brett chatted up a cute brunette, but by the disinterested look on her face, I knew he was wasting his time. I took the opportunity to check my phone again. Terror and Espionage girl texted me again. Wanted to know if I'd study with her and go for coffee after that. She was cute, but not my type. I texted back that I'd let her know.

"Well, look who it is."

I looked up from my phone. Bianca. I'd managed to avoid her for weeks since the incident at Brett's cabin. A huge smile spread across her face as she batted her eyelashes a few times. I was easily six inches taller than her and she had to crane her neck to stare up at me.

"Hey," I muttered.

"I haven't seen you around campus. Hiding or something?"

"I guess we don't cross paths."

She smirked. "So I hear you were the one who gave Emma a ride home from Brett's." She said Emma's name like it repulsed her.

"Yup."

"You know she's a loser, right? Totally freaking weird. Jake says you've been nice to her and I thought you should know what kind of person she is."

I shifted my feet and stared over her head and focused on the dance floor. I didn't want to give her the impression that I found her interesting. "And what kind of person is she?" I sounded bored. Mission accomplished.

"She's in love with Jake and wants to break us up. She's always trying to get between us. And she's super strange. She's into something like witchcraft or whatever. Everyone stays away from her. She has no friends. Zero. Nada. Nothing. You should stay away from her too."

"Why?" I asked. I should have shut down the conversation, but I was curious what more she'd fabricate.

"I heard you had a soft spot for her. I don't think your parents want you mixed up with someone questionable."

Fucking Brett. "The only questionable thing here is your story."

Bianca's mouth gaped open followed by a sneer. I took a sip of my beer.

"You like her, don't you," Bianca said with a sneer. Not a good look for her.

"I think she's a normal and nice human being. I can't say the same thing about all the people I know."

"OMG! You do like her!"

I shook my head and rolled my eyes. "So what if I like her. What is the big deal? Am I not allowed to be friendly to her? Do you make the rules?"

"You're a fucking idiot, you know that! People like her can screw up your dad's re-election."

"Thanks for the valuable insight."

"I'm trying to help you."

I'd had enough of her shit. I stared her down, planting myself in front of her. "I don't need your help. Last time I checked, it's you who needs me."

She knew exactly what I meant. She retreated and her shoulders dropped. "Is that what I get for giving you a heads-up?"

"Yeah, so leave me alone. Leave Emma alone too."

She stomped off and I was glad to be rid of her. I turned to Brett who'd been dismissed by the brunette. He was scanning the crowd for his next victim.

"What'd you tell Bianca?"

"About what?"

"About Emma."

Brett thought about the question and shrugged. "Who's Emma?"

"Emma from the cabin. I took her home. Remember? How many times do I have to remind you who she is?"

"Oh yeah, the weird one. Nothing." He paused. "Oh wait, I told her you were texting her."

"Why'd you do that?"

"She came up in conversation. Something about Bianca going around to her job and giving her a hard time."

"Wait, what? Going to her job?" My blood pressure was rising. I could literally feel it ticking up by the second.

"She and Becca went by the place she works and gave her a hard time or something." Brett looked at me and the smile on his face vanished.

"You're an asshole, you know that, right?"

"Hey, it was sort of funny."

"What was funny about it?"

"Why are you getting so bent out of shape?"

"Because she didn't do anything to you, to Bianca or to whoever else was there."

"Jake laughed too and he's her friend."

"Then that makes you all assholes." I gulped back the last of my beer and slammed the bottle down on the bar. "I'm out of here. I'll walk home."

Chapter Nine

Emma

I didn't have classes until the afternoon so I spent my morning making éclairs in Julian's kitchen. I finished up, grabbed a coffee and ate my lunch in an empty booth. I was looking through notes when my phone played the James Bond theme.

Zach: You free at all?

Me: I am until 1pm. Having lunch at work.

Zach: I'm five minutes away. I'll stop in. Save me an éclair.

Little did he know that I tucked one away at the bottom of the cooler. We'd already sold two dozen of the three dozen I'd made. I'd also baked pecan and butter tarts which were selling briskly.

As promised Zach showed up five minutes later. He grabbed a coffee and took the empty seat across from me. His éclair was waiting for him.

"I could eat these for breakfast, lunch and dinner."

"I don't recommend it. You do want to keep your physique, don't you?"

"I guess so. How do you stay in great shape being surrounded by all this food?"

"Tennis."

"That'll do it."

"So what brings you by?" I asked, shutting my books. I cherished the diversion.

"I haven't seen you in a few weeks and thought I'd stop by. How are things? How'd the weekend go with your dad?"

"Great. I cooked up a storm once I discovered that my dad and grandpa are eating a lot of pizza. The freezer is restocked with tons of healthy meals. And I found out my grandpa has a girlfriend!"

"That's cool."

"How about your weekend?"

"Went to FIXX on Saturday night. I ran into Bianca."

I groaned. "Lucky you."

"I hear she came by and it wasn't a friendly visit."

Every muscle in my body tensed. I'd tried to forget about that. "Yeah, she was here. And no, not very friendly."

"Did you tell Jake?"

"Why? He wouldn't believe me."

Zach smiled and his brown eyes warmed me like hot cocoa. Why did I trust him? Why did I feel like I could tell him anything? What if he was the enemy, infiltrating my life and taking everything I said back to Bianca?

"If I tell you something, will you believe me?"

I leaned back in the booth and crossed my arms over my chest. I'd read somewhere that we did that instinctively to protect ourselves when we felt threatened. "I don't know."

He pushed his coffee to one side and folded his hands on the table. "I thought about this for a long time before I came over here. I know Jake's your friend and, to be brutally honest, I think you're in love with the guy, and before you protest," he said in response to my opening mouth and attempted objection, "I think you should hear me out."

"Fine," I muttered.

"I'm not going to bother telling you what she said because a lot of it was BS, but I will tell you this. Jake knows she was here, he knows what she said and whatever it was, he thought it was funny. I know this because one of my buddies was there when Bianca told the story. Emma, Jake's not your friend. I think you should seriously consider getting away from him. He's a first class asshole. If you need a place to stay, I can help you find one. I know some people you can get in touch with."

He was still talking, but my mind had wandered off to what he'd already said. Jake knew? Not possible? And if he did, he wouldn't have laughed, not after everything that had already happened. Jake learned his lesson and wouldn't do it again. "Who told you this?" I asked, a chill coming over me. I didn't believe him. My reaction took Zach by surprise. Why would I believe him? Because he said so?

"A friend who was there with Bianca and Jake."

"So you weren't there. You're just going to believe someone who was?"

"He wouldn't lie about it. Emma, why are you pissed at me?"

"I'm trying to figure out why you would do this? Do you think if you sway me that I'll sleep with you or something? That you'll be my hero? Sorry, but I don't want to be another notch on your bed post."

His eyes grew wide. "What? Are you kidding me?"

He was good at feigning indignation but I wasn't falling for it. "Is this a game to you? Do you think it's funny? Jake is sorry for what he did and I seriously doubt this friend of yours heard him say anything at all. And I thought you were a good guy, but all you're trying to do is drive me and Jake further apart. Well, I'm not falling for it. I'm not that stupid."

"Wow! I don't know what just happened here. I guess I should have kept my mouth shut and let you continue thinking Jake is some saint. Anyway, I'm done with this conversation. One day you're going to realize I'm right, but for now you can go on hoping that one day Jake will see the light. Good luck with that."

He snatched his coffee and left.

~~~~~~~

I stewed all day and when my last class finished later that afternoon, I took the bus to the Taylor Tennis club. I'd joined a few weeks before, mostly because it was the closest to the apartment. The courts were well kept and the rates affordable.

I changed and was happy to see it was a quiet afternoon. I needed to get out my frustrations and the ball machine and an empty court were the perfect companions. I hit balls for awhile before an older woman, probably in her forties, came and stood alongside my court. Was my time up already? She watched me and I got a bit self-conscious. I hit a few more and stopped despite the machine continuing to spit balls at me.

"Are you next?" I called.

"You have another twenty minutes. I was admiring your forehand and your backhand, for that matter. You're pretty good."

"Thanks. I can quit now if you want the court," I said, trying to catch my breath.

"I was going to hit balls too. If you want, we could rally or play a mini game. I'm not nearly as good as you, but I'm sure you'll be kind to an old goat like me."

The thought of company didn't appeal to me, but playing against someone other than a ball machine was a nice idea. "Sure, why not."

We pushed the ball machine off our court and rallied for a few minutes which turned into more than an hour. Helen, my partner, was pretty good for her age. She had me all over the court, working up a good sweat and feeling refreshed. Zach, Jake and Bianca were the furthest people from my thoughts. Helen and I probably would have kept playing if it hadn't been for a group of four waiting for our court.

"You look familiar," she said, as we went into the change rooms.

"My dad has an antique shop in Pine Falls. Does that ring a bell?"

She shook her head. "No. What's your name?"

"Emma Andrews."

She nodded and smiled. "I remember you now. You were quite good, then all of the sudden you quit. Injury?"

"Sort of. My grandmother died. Tennis was our thing and with her gone, I lost my desire to compete."

"You're damn good. Didn't you reach number one in the state?"

"Number two."

"You should have gone down south to all those fancy academies. I bet you could have gone professional."

"I wasn't that good."

"I think you were. How often do you come here? I'd love to play with you again. It'd be my honor."

A warm fuzzy feeling came over me. "I go to school full time, but I try to get out here a few days a week. It's hard to pin down times."

"Tell you what, I'll give you my number. Call me when you're coming out and we can play a few sets."

"Sure," I said, taking the card she produced from her gym bag. I took a quick glance at it. She was an accountant.

"Have you ever considered teaching here? They could use some better instructors."

"I already have a job and with school, I wouldn't have the time."

"Just throwing it out there. The club would be lucky to have you."

"Thank you, Helen. For the game too."

We parted ways and I took the bus home and found the apartment empty. Again. I made a quick dinner, did a little homework and went to bed. This was my exciting life.

~~~~~~~

Zach disappeared from the face of the earth. He didn't text or come by Julian's. Each time I made, saw or sold an éclair, I thought of him. Yes, I'd been too hard on him. I still didn't believe his story, even though I was sure he did. I could have called him and tried to patch things up, but I didn't know what to say. And what if I texted him and he didn't reply? All these thoughts went through my mind as I went through the motions at work. It was Friday night and I was closing with Jessica. The crowd was light with everyone off drinking in celebration of the weekend. My weekend plans consisted of a tennis game with Helen and lots of working and studying.

The night was uneventful until about nine-forty. Bianca showed up again with Becca and a few friends. This time Jessica was at my side and told me to get some medium sized cups from the stockroom even though we didn't need them.

I hung around back there hoping to give Jessica enough time to fill their orders. When I returned with the cups, Bianca and her three friends were seated at the booth closest to the door. They were all decked out in bar clothes, complete with miniskirts, stilettos and enough makeup for a Broadway musical.

My phone trilled a text. Yes, I wasn't supposed to have my phone on me, but everyone at Julian's did. I pulled it out and read the text from the unidentified number.

000-000-0000: Too scared to serve us?

How did she get my number? I turned my phone off and put it away. Giggling and loud laughing emerged from their table. I glanced at my watch. In less than ten minutes they'd be kicked out and we could close and go home. Just a few more minutes.

"I'll clean tables and you tidy up the front end," Jessica said. We usually did the reverse, but her kindness was immeasurable. The only problem with this was that she left me alone. The second Jessica was at the other end of the shop, Bianca bee-lined for me.

"Why so rude? Don't you reply to texts?" she asked, leaning over the counter with a big smile on her face.

"I'm working. I'm not supposed to text."

"Well, I ordered a medium skinny latte and it's gross," she said, slamming her cup on the counter. Half of it spilled in my direction but missed hitting me.

"I can make you another one," I deadpanned.

"You should probably clean this mess up first." Her valley girl voice nauseated me.

"Do you want me to make another one or not?"

She squinted her eyes and smiled. "You really shouldn't be rude to customers. I could tell your boss."

"I'm not being rude. I'm asking you a question. Do you want another one or not?"

"What I want is for you to leave Jake and Zach alone."

I let out a deep, sarcastic breath. I couldn't help it. "Seriously? Is that what you came here to tell me? You can have both of them, Bianca."

"And I want you to move out," she said, poking me in the shoulder.

I stepped back. Her touch felt like a tetanus shot. "I'm not moving out."

"Yeah, you are because Jake is going to tell you to."

"No, Jake won't."

"If I tell him I'm going to break up with him if he doesn't get rid of you, he will because, unlike you, he actually likes me. So you can take your sorry ass, nasty self and go back to whatever cave you came from. So save yourself the embarrassment and go away now."

"I'm not going anywhere."

Bianca's face tightened as the frustration mounted, mostly because I wasn't getting upset, at least not outwardly. "Newsflash – you are. I know you think Jake gives a shit about you, but I don't think he'd care if you dropped dead. You're like a rash that won't go away. You're this gross, disgusting boil he wishes he could pop. Why don't you do us all a favor and go kill yourself. Pills work fast and I hear it's painless."

"You're sick."

"No, you're sick. I think you have some serious mental health issues. Everyone who meets you thinks you're some crazy ass witch. Do you brew things in your cauldron at night? No, wait, I forgot, you'd rather hang around with your pack of mangy stray dogs. Tell me, did you ever have friends, or were you always pathetic?"

Images and reminders came back to me when I was a kid. I was in grade one, in a different class from Jake, and a girl named Victoria Parry used to make fun of my clothes and hair. She called me stinky and her friends would laugh and so would the other kids in my class. After that no one wanted to be my friend. At the time Dad and I were living alone in an apartment because Grandma and Grandpa wanted to teach him to be responsible. Responsible meant not combing my hair before school, or sending me in clean clothes. It wasn't his fault. He was twenty-two with a six-year-old daughter. He didn't have a clue what to do. School lunch consisted of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and an apple if he remembered to buy them. Ms. Granger, my teacher, didn't treat me much better. Because dad enrolled me late and forgot to buy me school supplies, she always treated me with contempt, like it was my fault. She made me sit at the back of the class even though it was configured in alphabetical order. I hated her because she made me want to cry. At recess and lunch Jake would let me play with his friends, some who were in my class, but when we were back in our homeroom, suddenly they forgot to be nice.

My only solace that year came when we had meet-the-teacher night. Ms. Granger took one look at Dad and was putty in his hands. I may have been six years old, but I wasn't stupid. She took Dad under her middle-aged wing, flirted with him like crazy and lied to him about how much she adored me. Dad asked her why I was sitting at the back of the class because Dad wasn't stupid either. Ms. Granger claimed it was a mistake and promised to rectify it, which she did the following day. As for the other parents, who were at least five to ten years older than Dad, all the moms chatted with Dad, even horrible Victoria Parry's mom. They loved him, so why couldn't they love me?

"Uh, freak show, I'm talking to you."

"Why don't you leave me alone?" Now I was upset. She'd broken me and I had to calm myself down.

"I will once you disappear."

"I've already told you that I'm not going anywhere."

I took a nearby rag and cleaned up the mess she'd made hoping she'd shove off, but Bianca kept talking.

"Jake told me how in the fifth grade this guy Justin beat the shit out of you. He said that all these kids watched while Justin kicked and punched you. You know how Jake knows? Because he was watching. Bet you didn't know that. And then after Justin beat you up, you sat on the ground like a loser and wouldn't get up. Jake took off before you saw him because he didn't want to help you. Even then he wanted you to go away. Why can't you get the hint?"