Burning Down the House (6 page)

Cumberland
serves as the entry point to the Appalachian portion of Maryland, so the town is nestled at the base of the Allegheny Mountains and as you can imagine, it’s a very picturesque place. Dad lives in a spacious brick house on a maple-lined street in the suburbs. It’s not the house I grew up in - it’s one he bought after the divorce - but I have my own room decorated with furnishings I selected myself and it’s been kind of a second home to me. I love it here. If I hadn’t been so afraid of upsetting Mom, I’d have moved back a long time ago. But until now I’d always been hesitant to bring it up, fearful of hurting her feelings.

We
left the Prius in the driveway and I grabbed one heavy suitcase while Dad carried the other bags in through the front door. The place still looked and smelled exactly the same, and I took comfort in the cozy familiarity. No modern art or pristine contemporary furniture anywhere in sight. This living room was more of a medley of pieces chosen for comfort rather than showcasing, typical of a bachelor’s taste. Usually it was a little on the messy side, but Dad must have straightened up in anticipation of my arrival. At that moment, I was suddenly glad I’d made the decision to return. I couldn’t imagine anyplace else I’d rather be.

That was when I saw
Rob. The first glimpse I caught of him was of his back. He was dressed in Levis and a gray t-shirt, facing away from us while he talked quietly to someone on a cell phone. His hair was still dark as a stormy night and in need of a haircut, but he’d grown taller and was conspicuously more muscular. Then again, it
had
been going on three years so what did I expect? Of course he was going to look different.

T
hen he turned around. And I couldn’t believe this was the same guy I’d known since childhood.

His
hazel-green eyes met mine right away and all I could do was stand there frozen like a mental defective. Because he was hot…and by hot I mean abso-freakin-lutely droolworthy jaw-on-the-floor
gorgeous
. That lean boyish face had developed into a picture of rugged masculinity and those eyes - oh, those sexy eyes! The suitcase slipped out of my hand and fell over on the hardwood floor with a conspicuous
whump
. Sexy Eyes gave me a strange look.

“I gotta go - I’ll call you back later,” he sa
id into the phone in a voice that was deeper and more sultry than I remembered. Oh, God help me - I needed to turn around and hitchhike to the airport and fly back to Illinois
now
.

“Here, let me help you with that.” Dad reache
d for the tipped suitcase. “Rob, you remember Sara, don’t you?”

“Sure. Hi.” He
was polite if not exactly enthusiastic.

I force
d myself to snap out of the dopey stupor. “Um…hey, Rob. It’s been a while.”

He only nod
ded, sizing me up with those uniquely colored eyes while my dad carried the bags into my room. I had no idea what to say that wouldn’t sound like complete and utter gibberish, so I chose the safe option and said nothing. He didn’t make a move to speak either. We both just stood there in awkward silence, looking at everything but each other until Dad returned.

“You
guys getting hungry?” he asked.

“Starving!” I confess
ed, a little too enthusiastically. “I didn’t eat much at the reception and that was something like seven hours ago and it was mainly hors d’oeuvres so I could eat a kicking mule right about now.”
Way to go, Sara. Start off by making him think you’re a total oinker. Nice.
“Just let me run to the bathroom first, okay? I’ll be right back.” Having been leery of using the airline’s public toilets, by now I was ready to flood the place.

“All right. We’ll wait for you in the car.”

I took care of business and freshened up in record time, then headed back out to the Prius. Rob had been nice enough to take the back seat so I could sit up front with Dad. Once I was buckled in, I turned around to face him with the intention of striking up a conversation.

“So…what
have you been up to?” It was a pretty vapid opener, but I wanted to follow my dad’s suggestion to keep things light. The guy seemed morose enough as it was.

He arched one eyebrow. “Not much.”

“You look different. Um…you know. Bigger.”

The
expression on his face indicated that he’d just determined me to possess the IQ of a head of lettuce.

“How does
the Roadhouse sound?” Dad cut in. “You two in the mood for steak?”

“Sounds great to me.” I flash
ed Rob a bright smile. “That okay with you?”

“Anything’s fine with me.” His response
was unassuming enough, but the way he was glowering at me behind my dad’s back was unsettling. Had I done something to offend him already? If so, I had no idea what it could be. I’d been nothing but nice.

I tr
ied again. “You still hang out with Doug and Trent?”

“Sometimes.”

“I bet they look a lot different now too.”

His only response was a shrug.

“Does Doug still dye his hair purple?”

“No.”

“Remember that time - I think it was seventh grade - when Trent hid the dead fish in Mrs. McAllister’s room and she couldn’t find it?”

“Mm.”

“It stunk up the room for days until the janitor finally found it in a ceiling tile,” I informed my dad, who was apparently the only one with enough civility to feign interest in my anecdotes. “Until then she had to keep all the windows open during class, in the middle of January. Everyone nearly froze.”

“Sounds like something
Trent would do,” Dad laughed.

“What - you know
Trent?”

“
Sure. He’s been over to the house a few times.”

“Oh.” Well, that ma
de sense if he and Rob were still hanging out, didn’t it? I’d given up on trying to converse with him for the time being. Maybe he’d warm up later.

Once inside the restaurant I ma
de the mistake of sliding into the booth across from my dad rather than next to him. Which meant that Rob had no alternative but to sit beside me because anything else would have looked strange. I know it’s ridiculous, but it made me nervous to be that close to him. Every once in a while his foot would bump me or his well-developed arm would brush against mine. For some crazy reason, I kept half expecting him to touch my thigh underneath the table but of course that never happened. Jeez, my mind was really in the gutter tonight.

Rob
was mannerly but quiet throughout dinner. As for me, I chattered on and on like a macaw on crack, mostly in an attempt to camouflage my discomfort. I couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed with my dad for not providing more advance warning of this situation. But he seemed oblivious, typically relaxed and at ease, so maybe the awkwardness was all in my head. Maybe I was trying too hard when it wasn’t really necessary.

I was halfway into my steak when Dad asked me about the wedding.

“It was nice. What do you expect - you know Mom, everything was organized to the letter and planned out eight months in advance. You could have come, you know. You were invited.”

“I
don’t think your mother would have been comfortable having me there.” He cleared his throat. “Besides, I hate formal events. So is that the dress you wore?”

“This?
No. I changed after the wedding.” I would’ve looked like a dork wearing a pink taffeta gown on the plane ride here. Instead I had on a comfortable blue cotton sundress and canvas sneakers. As far as I was concerned, I never wanted to see that hideous Pepto Bismol colored dress again. My mother and I definitely didn’t share the same tastes in formalwear. That thing looked like something regurgitated from a sick flamingo.

“Your hair looks pretty like that.”

“Thanks. We all got up and went to the salon at the crack of dawn this morning.”

“You must be
worn out by now.”

“Yeah
, I am. It’s been a long day.” I glanced over at Rob, who was silently finishing up his dinner. At least he was eating. Whenever I get depressed about anything, I lose my appetite completely. He’d polished off a sixteen ounce sirloin in record time though.

“Anyone want dessert?” Dad
offered.

“No, thank
s,” Rob and I said almost in unison. I grinned at him but my smile wasn’t returned.

Some man was waving from the bar,
so my father dropped his napkin on the table and stuck some cash in the guest check holder. “I’m going over to speak to Eddie for just a minute. I’ll be right back. If the server comes by, tell her to keep the change.”

As soon as he walked off,
Rob turned his moss-tinted eyes on me. He didn’t say anything. He just looked at me.

“Not a big talker, are you?” I meant it as a joke but it came out sounding
unintentionally flirtatious.

“
Well, you talk too damn much. You gonna finish that?” He reached across my arm for a piece of buttered bread that was left on my plate. I couldn’t believe it. It was more than I’d gotten out of him all night.

“Guess not,” I said
, watching as he popped it into his mouth. “You think I talk too much?”

He gave me that raised eyebrow again.

“I was just trying to be nice,” I enlightened him. “Work with me here.”

He leaned in
deliberately close, as if he was about to reveal some deep dark secret, and I felt a thrill of anticipation. But what he said wasn’t at all what I expected to hear.

“Look. I don’t need the
running commentary from Miss Mary Fucking Sunshine. Trust me, I’m not any happier about this situation than you are. So let’s just agree right now that I’ll stay out of your way if you’ll stay out of mine. Deal?”

My
eyes widened in surprise. Before I could think of a reply to his blunt remark, the waitress appeared out of nowhere. “May I take that for you?” she asked, indicating the check holder.

“Yeah, thanks. Keep the change.” His eyes were still on mine, waiting
to see my reaction.

I
mentally counted to ten while suppressing my temper, reminding myself that he’d recently experienced an overwhelming loss and was obviously hurting. “That’s gonna be a little hard to do, considering we’re both going to be living in the same house.”

“
Try.”

“I wasn’t planning on invading your privacy
or anything. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Do I look worried?”

“Well, you just grew into a regular charmer, didn’t you?” I couldn’t help myself. Why was he acting like this when all I’d done was try to be friendly?

“And
you
haven’t changed a bit, unfortunately.”

“What’s
that supposed to mean?”

“Use the next
ten months to figure it out. Just leave me the hell alone in the meantime. You think you can handle that?”

I had no chance to answer him because Dad returned
to our table then. Rob reverted back to his stony silence and very little was said on the drive home. It was probably assumed that I was just tired and while that was true, more than anything I was thoroughly confused. Why did this guy who barely knew me feel the need to take out his anger on me? I had nothing to do with his status quo. Could it be that I just happened to be the most convenient target for his bitter frustration? I wasn’t so sure. For reasons that had always eluded me, he’d never had much tolerance for me and it appeared that hadn’t changed.

I only wished I knew why.

2

In spite of my turmoil I fell immediately into an exhausted sleep that first night, and it was ten in the morning before I woke. The house was still and silent and when I looked out my bedroom window into the backyard I could see Rob and my dad swimming laps in the pool.

Still in my nightgown, I wandered down the hallway to the guest room and pushed open the door,
peeking inside curiously. It didn’t look that much different than before, really. Tan curtains and matching rug, double bed still made up with the same plaid comforter in varying shades of brown. All items picked out by me the summer after Dad bought the place. Good thing I’d decided to keep the colors neutral. Somehow I couldn’t picture Rob in a room decorated in pastels.

Even though I knew I was being nosy, I went on inside and began to check out the items scattered across the dresser. Just your typical
guy stuff, nothing unusual. Leather wallet, a keychain with a pewter skull and crossbones, some loose change, prescription medicine bottle, laptop, bottle of cologne. It occurred to me that he probably didn’t own all that much if his belongings were destroyed in the fire. My dad must have bought him the laptop. It looked new.

I was tentatively reaching for the medicine bottle to see what
was in it when a voice from the doorway startled me.

“What the
fuck are you doing in here?”

Jumping, I flushed guiltily. “Nothing. I’m sorry
. I was just…I thought maybe you might be in here.”

“Bullshit. I saw you in the window. You knew I was outside.”

His dark hair was wet and he had a beach towel wrapped around his waist. It was amazing how hard it was to tear my eyes away from his smooth bare chest. “So?” I retorted, annoyed at having been caught red-handed snooping through his things.

“So
I guess I didn’t make myself clear yesterday. Just in case your dimwitted brain has trouble comprehending basic English, I’ll reiterate once more.
Keep your nosy little ass out of my room.
You got that, or you need subtitles?”

“I wasn’t hurting anything!”

“I didn’t say you were. Now get out.”

“Yes,
sir!
” I stormed back to my own room, slamming the door behind me. He was really starting to piss me off. Grief was understandable, but he was just plain acting like an asshole. Mumbling some choice four-letter words underneath my breath, I changed into my swimsuit and then went into the bathroom to brush my teeth.

After
that I went in the kitchen to round up some breakfast and wouldn’t you know, there stood Oscar the Grouch with a glass of iced tea in his hand. “Well, fancy meeting you here,” I declared sarcastically. “Do I have your permission to use the pool? Or have you claimed that territory as well?”

The look he gave me was colder than the
crushed ice in his glass. “I haven’t claimed anything. It isn’t asking too much to expect a little privacy.”

“Fine
. I won’t go anywhere near your room again. Sor-
ry
.”

“I would appreciate it.”

“It’s not like I was going to bother anything.”

“That
’s beside the point.”

“You
growing pot in there or something?” I joked. “If you are, how about sharing with the rest of us.”

He shook his head with a sigh before disappearing down the hall.
Guy was obviously born without a sense of humor.

I toasted an English muffin and
wolfed it down before heading out to the pool. “Morning, sunshine!” Dad called cheerfully to me. “Sleep well?”

“Like a rock.” I dipped one foot in the water and was
pleased to find that it wasn’t unbearably cold. The weather wouldn’t remain favorable for swimming much longer. Diving in, I resurfaced on the opposite side and propped my arms on the concrete edge. The water was chillier than I’d originally thought, but it was refreshing anyway. “I’ve missed having a pool.”

“Well, I missed having you here this summer.”

“I know, but I figured since I was spending the school year with you I should stay with Mom through the summer.” I wouldn’t have minded coming earlier, but I didn’t know how my mother would react to that request. At least now she had Stanley so maybe she wouldn’t miss me so much. The truth was, I’d never wanted to leave Maryland in the first place and I was glad to be back. Even if this new development was putting a major kink in things. I was definitely rethinking my position now that the world’s grumpiest seventeen-year-old had taken up residence here. Or was he eighteen now? If I remembered correctly he was several months older than me, so he probably was eighteen.

I
swam over to the diving board where Dad was treading water underneath. “When do you have to be back at work?” His schedule is usually something like three or four days away, then three or four at home. It’s never bothered me to be alone here. It’s a safe neighborhood, and the people on our street look out for one another.

“
Day after tomorrow.”

So he wouldn’t be around for the first day of school. Not that I was dreading it or anything - most of the students would be
kids I’d grown up with. It wasn’t as if I’d be a stranger in unfamiliar territory. “Which keys are you leaving?”

“I’ll leave you guys the Tahoe. I’ll take the Prius.” The airport
is seventy miles away in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Sometimes I wondered why he didn’t just move closer to the airport rather than commuting all that way. I guess, like me, he didn’t like the idea of leaving Cumberland.

“Am I going to be safe here with
Mr. Personality?”

“
Now come on, Sara,” he admonished me gently. “Do you really think I’d leave you here alone with him if I had even the slightest qualms about his integrity?”

“I guess not,” I admitted reluctantly, even if secretly I worried that he was a little
too
trusting. After all, he’s the type that goes off and leaves the front door unlocked and doesn’t give it a second thought. I’m more like my mom in that I’m suspicious of everyone.

“Do you need
any school supplies?”

“No, I already have everything I need.
We went shopping last week.”

“With a color-coded
and cross-referenced list, no doubt.” He grinned playfully. What’s funny is, he was absolutely spot on.

“You guessed it.”

“So tell me about this veterinarian. Is he good to you?”

“Yeah,
Stanley’s nice. He gave me a job working in his clinic over the summer.”

“And you didn’t bring home any stray
s?”

I opened my mouth to say
not as many as you did!
Fortunately I stopped myself in time. “There was this darling little beagle puppy I absolutely fell in love with. His owner brought him in for a vaccination. I wanted to keep him there just to cuddle all day long. He was the cutest thing you ever saw. I didn’t want to give him back.”

“The owner or the puppy?” Dad teased.

I splashed him right in the face. “The puppy! The man bought him for his little boy.”

“So you didn’t leave behind a trail of broken hearts when you decided to move?”

“Nope. Not even a dented one.”

“Just checking…”

“Uh-huh.” I turned over to float on my back, kicking my way leisurely to the shallow end. I noticed then that Rob had reappeared and was stretched out on a deck chair with an open book in his hands. Except it didn’t look like he was reading. It look like he was watching me.

But the sun was in my eyes, so it was hard to tell for sure.

Dad and I were on the patio later that evening grilling hamburgers for dinner when Mrs. Weston hollered from next door, “Hello, Sara! Good to see you back!”

“Hey,
Mrs. Weston!”

“Free
for a couple hours tomorrow afternoon?”

“You bet!”

“About two o’clock?”

“Sure - see you then!”

The Westons have this adorable little girl named Peyton. I think she was named after Peyton Manning but since I’ve never confirmed that, I could be wrong. I always babysit her a lot when I’m here. It’s the easiest job ever because she’s so sweet and never gives me any trouble. I like her parents too - they’re super nice. Mr. Weston used to be the coach of the local high school football team. He teaches calculus now and according to the schedule my dad picked up for me, I’d be taking his class this year.

R
ob was nowhere to be seen. He’d spent the majority of the afternoon hibernating in his room. From what my dad told me, that’s where he spent most of his time. Didn’t bother me any. I was glad not to have to struggle with trying to make idle conversation with him. It was a one-sided effort. He did join us on the patio at dinnertime though. Guess his huge honking appetite surpassed his desire to be left alone.

I did my best to engage him in dialogue, for Dad’s sake. “Can I pass you anything,
Rob? Lettuce? Pickles? Want some chips?”

“No, I’m good.”

“Dad? You need anything?”

“No thanks sweetie, I’m all set here.”

I caught the distasteful look Rob gave me when I was fixing my burger. I put tons of mustard on my hamburgers and hot dogs. Most people think it’s gross, but I love the stuff. Sometimes I even dip my french fries in it instead of using ketchup.

“
Mustard?” I offered politely, though I’m sure he knew I was being facetious.

“I don’t know - is there any left?” was his
smartass reply.

I made a face and
passed it to him anyway. Dad didn’t seem to mind our sarcasm - he just seemed pleased that we were talking. I figured maybe it didn’t matter whether or not we bickered, just so long as we had
some
kind of interaction. Even snotty remarks were an improvement over the indifferent silence.

I took this
theory and ran with it. “You should talk. You’re using enough mayo to clog up every artery in your body.”

“And your point is…?”

“Um…that it’s nasty!”

“What’s
nasty is drowning your food in
that
crap!”

“At least
this
crap doesn’t have ten billion calories in it!”

“It does when you use the entire bottle!”

“Nope. Says right here…zero calories.” I tapped the back of the bottle with a fingernail.

He rolled his eyes, and
out of my peripheral vision I caught my dad’s mouth twitch. Score one for me. Maybe I wasn’t doing much to pull the guy out of his funk but at least I could provoke him into talking.

He practically inhaled his food before pulling another vanishing act
. I didn’t see him again for the rest of the night. Dad and I watched a pay-per-view movie together, some action flick I wasn’t paying much attention to because I’m not really into that kind of thing. I kept thinking Rob might crawl out of his hole and join us but he never did. What did he do in that room anyway? I couldn’t recall whether I’d seen a TV when I was in there earlier. There had never been one in the guest room before. Maybe he was playing around on the internet or something. Dude was probably a porn freak.