The Understorey, Book One of The Leaving Series (36 page)

    “Sit down here Elliott,”
my uncle said and pointed to an old wooden chair.

I did as I was told but kept a cold hard
stare on Jesse. He smiled an evil grin when he was sure no one was
looking. Danny went outside to talk to our parents and Jules came
in from the cold and knelt on the floor before sitting back on her
ankles. She wrapped both her hands around the back of my knees and
peered deep into my eyes.
    “Are you okay?” She asked.
Jesse leaned forward to eavesdrop.

Knowing this I said, “I’m great. I’ll be out
of here in no time at all and we can go back to our life.”

    “Your
life
is over
Elliott,” he said and winked at Jules when she turned around to
glare at him.
I nearly jumped up but restrained myself with everything I had.

Instead, I said, “Lip is lookin’ a little fat
Jesse. Sort of matches your head now. You should consider those
once a day to even things out. I can work something out if you
wish.”

Jules turned back and pleaded with her
eyes.
    “Don’t,” she mouthed so Jesse couldn’t hear.

She was warning me to stay as civil as
possible. She knew the power lay entirely in his hands and this
visibly terrified her. This was working out so well for Jesse and
it just infuriated me. Whether he pressed charges or not, he looked
the innocent, but I knew if he didn’t, it also meant he had
something larger up his sleeve and he wanted the police as little
aware of him as possible. Plus, it added to his Eddie Haskell-like
intentions and he would look like the bigger man. It was a win-win
for him. The exact
opposite
of the catch twenty-two he very
decidedly deserved.

Jesse got up to talk with his parents, mine
and my Uncle Danny. Jules got up and sat in the chair next to mine.
She reached her left hand behind me and wove her fingers through my
imprisoned hands. That helped, a lot, for both of us. We were
suddenly prepared for it to go any direction he wanted it to go. We
were ready. We waited patiently as the conversation became slightly
elevated, then died down and ended with handshakes all around.

    My parents and Danny came
back inside, stomping the snow from their boots.
    “Jesse’s decided not to press charges,” Danny
said.
    “I already knew that,” I scoffed.
    “Oh yeah?” My dad said angrily. “How could you
be so confident of that, huh? Is it because you knew he was a
decent kid who’d forgive even the most heinous of grievances for a
friend who basically abandoned him? Or maybe because he just wanted
to put this all behind him and forget about it so you wouldn’t lose
your scholarship?”
    “Is that what he told you?” I hollered.
    “Yes, son, it was. He’s a good boy.”
    “Damn it dad! He’s lying! Why can’t you just
believe me?”

My dad slammed his hands on the desk beside
him. “Enough!”
The entire room became deathly silent.
    “You’re lucky that you’re free to go today. Do
you know how close you came to ruining yourself? I know you think
you’re justified in how you feel about Jesse but it’s got to end.
These are my demands Elliott, you will not talk, look, breathe
around or near Jesse Thomas, you hear me? Or I’ll transfer you to
Charleston so fast your head will spin. I’ll call your Principal in
the morning and see about rearranging your schedule. Are we in
agreement?”
I only needed to nod my head. Jules and I were in this alone and
that was painfully evident.

That night I sat at my kitchen table with a
handful of my hair in each hand. My mom asked that Jules not come
over that night so she could talk to me.

    “Elliott, I need to know
just how far you think things have gone with the ‘unexplained’
occurrences.”
    “It’s serious mom,” I said, shocked she was
taking me seriously.
    “Did you see any of the things that Jules
claimed
she saw?”
It was her emphasis on the word claimed that made me feel
uncomfortable.
    “Jules doesn’t lie mom,” I said defending
her.
    “Son, I didn’t say she did.”
    “But you implied it.”
    “Did you see it, Elliott?”
I grumbled in vexation.
    “I saw the note the first time they violated her
security and that was enough to back up any
claims
, as you
say, she has made. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be in my
room.”

If she had anything further to say, I
couldn’t hear it. I meant no disrespect but I was so hurt that she,
above anyone, would think anything different than what I had told
her. I was so hurt that she didn’t trust me. I launched myself onto
my bed and let the weight of my body sink into the mattress, heavy
with stress.

My parents never told me I was grounded but I
was pretty sure leaving the house after my curfew was out of the
question, whether I was or not. I had to check on Jules though. I
hated that she was sleeping alone and tonight would be the perfect
night for Jesse to terrorize her regardless if people’s guards were
up. He reveled in that sort of thing. It was critical that I
protect her, so I waited for the snores and tucked out of my window
and onto the roof below. I swung from the Oak by my window and
landed on the frozen ground. My boots pierced the snow and the
sound was deafening. I braced myself to hear a rustling through the
house but no one woke.

I was grateful it hadn’t really snowed for a
couple of days. I treaded lightly through the parts where the snow
had melted and my tracks wouldn’t give me away when my dad left for
work in the morning.

I walked to Jules’ house because my missing
truck would have given me away. I nearly froze from the bitter
cold. I wrapped my coat as closely to my body as possible.

The night was dark, too dark for me to see
but I followed the sparse streetlights and used them as a makeshift
guide. Each time I’d pass underneath one I saw my breath freeze in
mid air. I wondered if I would make it there in one piece. I hadn’t
even thought about how I was going to get in without scaring her
half to death. I’m sure she was on edge as it was. Not to mention,
she was probably sleeping in the living room.

I reached her house in twice the time it
should have taken me but the cold made me move more slowly. I
looped around the corner to her room in the back. I pressed my face
against the glass and saw her figure underneath the covers in the
light of her blinking alarm clock. She hadn’t yet reset it from the
power outage last week. She was so cute.

I sighed in relief as I watched her sleeping.
I thought about leaving and coming back every hour to check on her
because the idea of waking her pained me, but standing in the cold
brought me back to reality quickly and I decided to take a chance.
I pushed up her window easily, the old locking mechanism was
worthless after being broken by Jesse and the new one had yet to be
installed.

I clumsily toppled onto her floor making a
loud noise and lay frozen on the ground afraid I woke her parents.
I didn’t hear any stirring in the room or across the house and then
decided shut the window.

I crawled toward her bed and stared at her
angelic face for a moment but she woke and sucked in a breath to
yell. I plastered my palm to her mouth and that calmed her
instantly. The electric shock gave me away and we both waited for
either her mom or dad to come streaming into the room, but they
were obviously as deep a sleeper as Jules was, must have been
inherited.

    “What are you doing here
Elliott?!” She panted.
    “I couldn’t stand knowing you were here alone
and that Jesse knew it. I’m here to stay with you until I feel it’s
safe enough to leave again.”
She threw her hands around my neck and kissed my cheek.
    “My parents picked tonight of all nights to
demand I start sleeping in my room again. I haven’t told them about
the nightly break ins. They thought it was a one-time deal. I’m
surprised I even fell asleep.” She hugged me more tightly, “I’m so
grateful you came.”
    “I wouldn’t have been able to sleep without
knowing how you were.”

I fixed her alarm clock to display the
correct time and set the timer for four thirty, half an hour before
my dad woke for work. Jules gave me one of her pillows and a few
extra blankets and made me a comfortable pallet on the floor. I
fell asleep quickly knowing I was near Jules and we both dreamed
until the deafening pulse of her electric alarm clock woke us both.
I kissed her on the neck my goodbye and she squeezed my hand. I
slipped out of the window and ran back to my own bed, my parents
none the wiser. I did the same thing Christmas Eve.

    Christmas Eve, we decided
together, since tangible gifts were out of the question, thanks to
Jesse, that our Christmas gifts to each other this year would be a
question we couldn’t say no to. It was Jules’ idea, and a good one
at that. I got really excited at the prospect of the question but
she informed me of the limitations so that ruled out ‘Will you
marry me?’

I tried to think of a question and could come
up with no loop hole to her addendum. I thought of ‘Will you wear
this ring?’ but that would mean it was only a piece of jewelry and
not the commitment I wanted from her. (Besides, I didn’t want to
trick Jules into marriage. Although, I wasn’t above faking a
pregnancy. She’s a traditional gal. She wouldn’t leave me hanging.
Nyuck. Nyuck.) So, a ring would have to be at the bottom of my list
unfortunately, for several years, I was starting to feel. I was so
disappointed.

Surprisingly, my parents hadn’t grounded me
for hitting Jesse so I took Jules out to Charleston in the morning
so we could finish our own shopping for our families.

“I’m dying to know your question,” I said
while we walked hand in hand.

“I’m dying to ask you,” she said.

“You could ask me now, you know?” I
teased.

“It wouldn’t be much of a Christmas gift then
would it?”

“No, I suppose not,” I sighed.

I had figured out what question I wanted to
ask her while laying in bed the night before and I was so proud of
it. I couldn’t wait to ask her.
    “Elliott?”
    “Yes my love?” I asked warily.
    “You can’t stay in my room every night.
Eventually one of our parents will figure it out.”
    “I know Jules, but it’s worth the risk. I refuse
to let him get away with frightening you anymore regardless of what
others think of him. We know the truth and I’m afraid the truth is
a chilling one,” I inwardly shuddered. “Come on,” I said, changing
my tone, “I’m buying you a pretzel sweetheart.”
    “Just what I need. You know me so well,” she
winked. “When Jules is upset, give her carbs.”
    “Quiet Jules!  I’m just trying to fill you
out a little, you’re looking much too thin these days and I think
the anxiety’s to blame.” I kissed her protruding cheekbones. She
was
growing very thin, her jeans hung on her bones. This was
affecting Jules’ health and her body wasn’t the only thing
thinning. My patience was running a close second.
    On Christmas day, my family woke at the crack of
dawn with a squealing Maddy running up and down the hall giddy with
excitement. I had slept the night at Jules’ and had only gotten
home a few minutes prior. I was still freezing from the walk.

When I tumbled out of bed, I threw on a faded
pair of grey sweatpants and I vaguely remember stumbling into the
hallway. Maddy grabbed my hand and pulled me down the stairs toward
the tree.

My mother always made the most beautiful
trees. Always a noble fir, always multicolored lights, chock full
of a million homemade ornaments and a million strands of cranberry
and popcorn garland that she and Maddy would make after
Thanksgiving, a mother and daughter tradition.

Along her ancient tree skirt were peppered
boxes and bags, most with Maddy’s name on them, though she didn’t
deserve them. She didn’t just get gifts from our parents either.
She got them from me, Jules, Jules’ parents, and Jules’ family from
Mauch Chunk and Philadelphia. She was certainly spoiled, especially
by Jules’ uncommonly generous family.

Maddy was an oddity in Bramwell, not because
she was strange although she was, but because she was one of the
only kids under the age of twelve here. Most of the families here
were established for over thirty years. She was also the youngest
child Jule’s family knew since all the kids were grown. She raked
in the spoils and she was shameless about it. It was actually kind
of funny to watch. I didn’t blame her, not at all.

    My parents yawned on the
sofa in their pajamas and I took the arm chair next to them and we
watched Maddy swim in a sea of wrapping paper and tissue. The
tissue and paper danced through the air around her before hitting
the ground and was complimented by her singing laughter. Yeah, she
could be cute when she wanted to be. I loved her dearly, but I
didn’t exactly want her to know that.

She got a crap load of clothes. She liked
clothes, even as a toddler. She folded each outfit neatly on the
coffee table after displaying it for mom to see. Mom would nod in
satisfaction and wait to see the next gift. She wrote down who gave
what on a piece of scrap paper for Maddy so she could write her
thank you notes.    

Those darn thank you notes. My mother drilled
that into our heads since we could barely spell our own names. My
dad was practically asleep on the couch by the time Maddy was
done.

When she was all out of gifts she gathered
all her newly gotten gains and placed them in the laundry basket my
mom gave her to store her stuff in. Then, she grabbed all the trash
on the floor being careful not to throw away anything of value.

Two years ago, she threw away two pairs of
shoes for her dolls by accident and never forgave herself for the
carelessness of it. So, of course, I laughed when I saw her
meticulously crumpling the paper in such a way that it would reveal
any needed hidden accessories.