Second Chances (21 page)

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Allison stood in the kitchen by herself, finishing cleaning up after dinner. The rest of the dinner company, her mother and Lucy included, were in the living room picking out a movie.  Somewhere in the middle of dinner the weather had taken a turn and torrential rains and erratic winds rattled the kitchen windows. Allison grabbed an oversized bowl from a lower cupboard and threw a bag of microwavable popcorn into the microwave. Her mom had insisted after the meal that everyone get cozy and had instructed Allison to pick up after dinner and make snacks for the movie.  She silently soldiered the bulk of the chore that her sister had somehow evaded, knowing that she deserved whatever punishment the night dished out.

Dinne
r had been less awkward than she had imagined it being.  No one had made any more uncomfortable statements or questioned Reagan being there, but she couldn’t deny the wounded look on Reagan’s face.  Beth and Carly had made it no secret when they’d shown up unannounced that they were confused by her presence at the Hoge household. 

             
Allison shook her head.  Why was she always messing things up?  Why was she such a screw-up when it came to Reagan?

The house phone rang and
Allison picked up the phone when she recognized the number on the caller ID. “Hi, Dad,” she greeted.  She cradled the phone against her shoulder and emptied the contents of the finished popcorn into the large bowl.

“Hi, sweetheart,” the man returned.  “How are you?  How was your flight?”

“I’m good.  It was good.”

“I’m sorry I’ll miss you while you’re home.  If I had known you were planning on coming back for this break I wouldn’t have scheduled all of these out-of-town meetings.
” 

Allison bit the tip of her tongue. Part of the reason she’d agreed to come home for Fall Break was knowing
that he’d be away on a business trip.

“Allison, I’m not sure how to approach this situation,” her father continued gravely, “but your Aunt Marie called to say someone told her you were looking very…
friendly
…with Reagan Murphy at the sandwich shop this morning.” He paused and an uncomfortable panic settled in Allison’s stomach.  “We’ve talked about this before,” he said in a low voice.

“That’s absurd,” Allison said.  She tried to keep her voice even despite how her heart raced.  What exactly had this person seen? “Someone is horribly mistaken or they’re just trying to make trouble.”

“Were you out with Reagan Murphy?” her father challenged.

“Yes. We were having coffee. There’s nothing suspicious about two friends from school spending time together over Fall Break.”

“I don’t think you should be spending time with that girl,” Rodger Hoge said sternly.

“Dad,” Allison sighed, “it’s just Reagan.
I’ve known her forever. It’s really no big deal.”

Her father snorted in disbelief. “I hardly think it’s not a big deal.  You know about her family’s history.  What kind of mother does that
?  Just abandons her young daughter and husband like that?”

“Dad, t
hat’s not Reagan’s fault,” Allison defended.  She tried to keep her voice down, knowing that the girl in question was just in the next room, but the heat in her tone was palpable.

“You’ve worked so hard to build a solid reputation in this town, Allison,” her father said with a deep sigh.  “I’d hate to see this girl and her family drama tarnish it.” The tone of his voice let her know this wasn’t something up for discussion.  He had made his decision.

Hot, sharp tears pricked at
the corners of her eyes, but Allison refused to let them fall. “Yes, sir,” she submitted. “I understand.”

“That’s my good girl.”
The warning, menacing tone was gone, and the smile was back in his voice. “Tell your mother and Lucy I say hello. I’ll be home as soon as the details on this new contract are finalized.”

Allison slowly hung up the phone, feeling numb.

“Allison?” her mom called out from the living room. “Did I hear the phone?”

“Yeah, Mom,” Allison stated with faux-cheerfulness. “Just a wrong number,” she lied.

She grabbed the popcorn bowl, nearly forgotten with the unsettling phone conversation, and stiffly returned to the living room.  She handed the bowl to her mom who sat on the couch between Lucy and Carly.  Allison hovered, not sure where to sit down. Beth had claimed the recliner in the corner, and Reagan sat by herself on the loveseat.  She could squeeze onto the couch, but that would look strange if she let Reagan have the loveseat all to herself.
Loveseat
, she scoffed to herself.
Who even invented that name anyway? 
She chose the floor instead.

“
I’ve got room over here, Allie,” Reagan said, patting the vacant spot beside her.

“I’m fine,” she responded without looking away from the television.

She didn’t need to look back at Reagan to know that her feelings were hurt. She could practically feel the disappointment radiating off of her.  But this was for the best.  She wouldn’t be able to sit next to Reagan without wanting to reach out to her, touch her, or hold her hand.  This was the simplest and safest solution, even if it stung.

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When the movie credits began scrolling down the television screen, Jill Hoge patted the two sleeping girls sitting on either side of her.  Both Carly and Lucy had fallen asleep sometime during the 90-minute film.  “I think it’s time for bed,” she murmured.

Carly’s eyes fluttered open. “Is the movie over?”

Beth laughed at her sister’s frazzled appearance. “C’mon, Car.”  She rose from the easy chair and jerked her head towards the front door. “Let’s get you home before you pass out on the carpet.”

Jill
stood up from the couch and looked at her eldest daughter.  “Allison,” she asked, stretching her arms above her head, “say goodbye to your friends and then help me drag your sister upstairs.  You know how she can get.”

Allison made a face when she saw her teenaged sister lightly snoring on the couch.

“Reagan, dear,” Jill stated kindly as she began to heft Lucy to her feet. “Why don’t you spend the night tonight?  I know you’re perfectly capable of getting yourself home, but this storm looks pretty nasty.”

“That’s really kind of you to offer, Mrs. Hoge,” Reagan said graciously, “but I’ll be fine.  My dad just put new wipers on the car.”

“Oh, stop it,” Jill smiled warmly. “You know very well you’re always welcome here.  Besides, if you stay tonight,” she continued, “in the morning I’ll make you one of my famous breakfasts.”

Reagan looked at her feet.  Being around motherly types always made her uncomfortable.  “Uh, thanks.  I guess I can stay.  I just need to call my Dad and let him know.”

Jill smiled at Allison’s other friends. “Beth and Carly, you two are more than welcome to come over for breakfast in the morning, too.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Hoge.  If I can drag Carly out of bed that early, we’ll be here.” Beth gave the house full of women a curt wave.  “Goodnight everyone.”

Allison walked Carly and Beth to the front door. “Do you guys want to borrow an umbrella?”

Beth shook her head. “It’s just rain.  We won’t melt.”

Carly looked out the front window.   The sky was impossibly dark, but she could see the ferocious, slanted rain coming down in full sheets, settling in massive puddles. “Speak for yourself.  I might want to borrow a kayak, too.”

“We’re just next door, Car,” Beth laughed.

“See you guys in the morning?” Allison said, her voice lilting up with the question.

Beth gave her old friend a stern look.  “Yeah.  Cause you and I need to talk,” she said lowly.

A tight knot formed in Allison’s stomach.  First her dad, now Beth. “About what?” she asked, feigning innocence.

“Like why Reagan Murphy is currently sitting in your living room?  How and when did
that
happen?”

Allison pulled at her ponytail anxiously. “It’s, uh, it’s a long story.”

“Well I love a good yarn.  Tomorrow, lady.  I’m serious.” Beth stared hard at her friend.  “This kind of stuff doesn’t just happen.”

Allison nodded glumly and watched
her two friends run through the heavy downpour to their parents’ house next door.

“Allison?”
Jill called out.  “Help me with your sister and then help Reagan make up the guest bedroom.  There’s fresh linens in the upstairs closet.”

Allison grudgingly re-entered the living room to help drag
Lucy to her feet. The teen let loose a loud snore, but didn’t wake up. Lucy was a famously heavy sleeper and had had problems with sleepwalking as long as Allison could remember. Allison teetered slightly as she ascended the stairs to the second floor.  Even with her mother’s help, her sister made for an awkward and cumbersome burden.

Reagan plopped
down on the couch while the first floor emptied.  Beth and Carly had left to go home, and Allison and Mrs. Hoge were upstairs with Lucy. She flipped on the television, but finding nothing of immediate interest, turned the set off again.  She looked up when she heard footsteps on the carpeted staircase.

Allison descended the stairs, her hands full of blankets and a pillow.  Reagan looked critically at
her as she made her way over to the living room. “Why did Carly and Beth look so surprised to see me here?  Are you keeping our
friendship
a secret from them?”

Allison looked wildly uncomfortable. She dropped the b
lankets and pillow on the couch. “Er…”

Reagan shook her head hard. “Never mind,” she snapped. “I suppose the pressure
to keep up appearances was too much for the truth.  I shouldn’t have expected anything less from you.”

“It’s not like that, Rea, I promise.”

“Allison?” Jill’s voice floated down the stairs. “Are you two okay down there?”

Allison’s eyes flashed momentarily with panic. “Yeah, Mom,” she answered loudly, turning her gaze toward the staircase.  “Just making sure Reagan has enough blankets.  I’ll be up in a bit.”

Allison spun back to continue their conversation. Reagan obviously had different ideas of how she wanted to spend the evening, however. Allison watched helplessly as she stormed towards the front door.   She stopped before opening the door.

“Good night, Allison,” Reagan snapped bitterly. “
Please be sure to thank your mom for her hospitality.”

Allison lifted a hand to silently halt
Reagan’s hasty retreat. “Wait,” she quietly pled.

Reagan spun around. “What
is it?” she scowled.  “What could you possibly want from me?  Because apparently even friendship is out of the picture.”

Allison left the living room and wordlessly padded toward her.

Reagan tensed when she felt Allison’s hesitant hands move to her hipbones. Her eyes went wide when she saw Allison wet her lips. “Allison,” she whispered, “what are you…”

“Shhh…” Allison commanded, as she closed the distance between their faces. “You’ll wake up my Mom
and Lucy.” She dipped slightly and tentatively brushed her lips against Reagan’s mouth. She worried that Reagan might reject her and still run away to her Dad’s house.  But she wasn’t kissing her to make her stay – although she wasn’t above using manipulation to get her way.  She was kissing Reagan because she
wanted
to kiss her.

Reagan pulled away. “Allie,” she sighed, shaking her head sadly. “I-I can’t handle more rejection.  Just…leave me alone if you can’t even be honest with your
supposedly closest friends.”

Ignoring the unstated question, Allison interlaced her fingers with
Reagan’s, and led her towards the staircase.  “Come upstairs for a minute.”  It wasn’t a request.

Reagan swallowed hard.  Allison’s hazel eyes looked impossibly dark in the dim lighting of the living room
.

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CHAPTER THirteen

Reagan’s back was pressed tightly against the back of Allison’s bedroom door.  No sooner had she closed the door behind her, Allison had pushed her back against the entryway.  Allison’s hands flew up to the lapel of Reagan’s jacket and crushed her open mouth against
her lips.  Reagan’s hands instinctively traveled south to cup Allison’s finely sculpted backside.  Allison quietly moaned into Reagan’s mouth and her fingers moved to the front button of Reagan’s jeans.