Escaping Heartbreak (7 page)

After I had made sure that all the ground floor doors were secure, I tiptoed back to her room. When I stepped inside, I wasn’t sure if she was actually asleep. I walked over by her bedside and saw that she was out like light. There was a light snore coming from her, and she looked peaceful. I felt awful that I had to leave her, but I had to be home with Waylon. He was my first priority. I pulled the covers up around her and whispered goodnight, leaving her there sound asleep in her bed.

The entire ride home was slow and somber. Everything that happened was rerunning in my head. I was disappointed that she didn’t let me kiss her. I could never do that again. No matter how bad the urge got. She was off limits.

ELEVEN

Sawyer

The sun woke me up by six a.m. the next morning. My head hurt, my eyes hurt, and I was in serious need of caffeine. I must have already been asleep last night when Travis left. He was there with such good intentions that it was hard to stay mad at him. But then I thought about his throat cutting words and he was back on my shit list. For some unknown reason, I had to go and act all rational last night. I closed my eyes and remembered how close his lips came to mine. They were close enough that I could feel the heat of his breath brush my lips. I didn’t want him to know just how much I wanted him. He had to know that I was still angry. What was he even doing here at my place anyway? He had to have come back for some reason, and he obviously never got to tell me. Thanks to my fit.  He had my cell number and was babysitting me at all hours of the night. That has Stuart Dane’s name written all over it. I was going to kick that boy’s ass.

I threw back the blankets and headed straight towards the kitchen. Surprisingly I felt rested, despite the raging headache. In the glass cabinet by the refrigerator, was the bottle of Tylenol. Uncle Jake packed half of our medicine cabinet in one of my boxes just in case I needed it. I took two pills with a can of Mt. Dew. Why not kill two birds with one stone?

After a quick
shower, I felt better. I was ready to start the day out on a new foot. My only plan for the day was getting that tutoring job. Everything else could wait. As well as the crazy night before. All I wanted to do was put it behind me. He made me angry, but he also helped me a lot. We still had to talk about past events, but certainly not today.

I tried
calling Dane’s cell on the way to the school, but there was no answer. Once again I was left talking to nobody. He probably didn’t even check his messages. The beep sounded, “Stuart Dane Evans, I owe you one. I’m onto you. You think that I need somebody to come babysit me. That I need someone to take care of me. The least you could have done was sent someone I like, ugh!” I hung up the phone hastily, nearly losing it to the floorboard of my truck. I understood why he did it, and I’d probably apologize later. But for the moment, I was angry.

I dodged two big potholes pulling into the parking lot of the school. This place was pretty rough. It was barely past seven o’ clock so there was hardly anyone there. I was hoping that I could beat the morning school traffic, and my mission had been accomplished. I parked close to the entrance doors. There was a large cloud covering today, and I knew it was bound to start
raining soon. When I reached the doors, the sign was all messed up. The words on the door were supposed to read London Middle School, but instead read “on on iddle sool.” So many letters were missing. I couldn’t help but laugh. I mean could they seriously not scrape the rest of the letters off the door.

When I pushed the visitor button next to the entrance, the lady buzzed me in. The doors
opened I walked inside and straight to the office.

“Can I help you?” the petite, blonde haired lady at the front desk asked me politely.

“Maybe,” I smiled. “I was wondering if you still have a position open for a tutor.”

“Oh
yes, we do. Let me just get the Principal, Mrs. Harrison. She’ll be able to talk with you about it. One second,” she stood up from her chair.

“Thank you,” I replied.

She was barely gone a second. She walked back to her desk followed closely by a tall, thin woman wearing a navy blue blazer.

“Can I help you?” The lady asked.

“I am here about the position for a tutor. My name is Sawyer Evans.”

“Nice to meet you Sawyer. My name is Eve, or Principal Harrison whichever you’d like to call me. I’ll answer to just about anything.” She was a good-looking
woman. Her dark, short hair was slicked back and tucked behind her ears. She had a lean face and thin nose. There was way too much makeup on her face, but nevertheless she was still very pretty. I could see her being an intimidating Principal. “Why don’t you come on back to my office and we can discuss the position.”

“Okay,” I followed her back to her office. I was feeling a little nervous.

Despite her gray demeanor, she was a pleasant woman, and after a fifteen minute briefing and some paperwork. I got the job. I was so excited. It didn’t pay very much and it was only three days a week, but it would keep me busy. She also said that she could find some other odd jobs for me to do if I were interested. Some of which include, chaperoning dances, and helping out in the school library. Sounded good to me. The job didn’t start until three thirty that afternoon so I had some free time to enjoy the town a bit. I hadn’t really gotten out, except for the grocery store.

When I got back to my
truck, I called Uncle Jake. I didn’t think he was going to pick up. It rang several times. Finally, he did. “Do you know what time it is, Pickle?” His voice was deep and scratchy.

“Shit, I am sorry. I do know what time it is, but I was so excited that I forgot. Were you up late playing the new ring game?”

“It’s called Lord of the Rings, and no I wasn’t. Besides that game’s not new anymore. I’ve already beat it. You didn’t wake me up to talk about video games. What is it that’s got you so excited?”

“I got the tutoring
job at London Middle.”

“Yeah,” His voice rose in excitement. “I knew that you could. That’s awesome.”

“Thanks for recommending it to me. It will perfect. It’s only three days a week and it’ll be a great distraction.”

“Distraction from what?” Oh crap. I had to learn to keep my trap shut. He never missed anything.

“Uh, nothing. I didn’t mean distraction. I meant that it would keep me busy.” I was stuttering all over the place.

“Nice try, now tell me what’s going on. We don’t keep secrets from each other.”

“Oh yeah, what about the Oreos that you keep stashed in your bedside drawer?”

“So that’s why my Oreos would come up missing.” She heard him snap his fingers on the other side of the phone. “You’re the Cookie Monster. I laughed at his mock outrage. “Nice try with the diversion too, but it’s not
gonna work. Tell me what’s up. Don’t make me come up there?”

I sighed. “It’s really nothing Uncle Jake.”

“You’re a liar, liar pants on fire. Spill it.”

“Fine, but I don’t want you
worrying. It turns out Dane is worrying enough for everyone. He has already sent in a reinforcement.”

“Wait, go back and start from the beginning. I want to hear it all. I am putting on the coffee.”

I didn’t want to talk about it with him. Especially at nine in the morning, but he would find out one way or another. He was annoying that way.

I went into full detail about Travis,
which got his attention. He asked a million and one questions. He only remembered him vaguely from a couple of summers he stayed with us at the lake house. Thank goodness. Of course, his real concern wasn’t until I mentioned my meltdown. And that was precisely why I didn’t want to tell him about it.

“How long has this been going on?” There was concern in his voice.

“I didn’t start having these feelings until I was alone here at the lake house. I’m okay though. I really don’t think we should be talking about it over the phone.”

“You’re right. Why don’t you come home this weekend and you and I can sit down and really talk about
this? There are a lot of things we could talk about. I think maybe it would do you some good, really talking about your Mom and Dad. Maybe having some memories stirred up, wouldn’t hurt. Maybe it would help you heal.”

“I can do that.” I didn’t go as far as to tell him that I felt responsible for their death. I figured that we could save that one for our discussion.

“I wish that you would have called me and talked to me about this. You know that no matter what time of day it is, I will be here if you need me. Just call okay?” His voice was tender and sincere.

“Okay, I will.”

“It’s been so many years since the accident. You can’t keep carrying this weight around with you. I’ll help you any way that I can.”

“I know, I love you Uncle Jake. I need to go now.” I was rushing him off the phone before he got an emotional rise out of me.

“I love you too Pickle. I’ll see ya Saturday, but call sooner if you need me.”

“See
ya Saturday. Bye.” I hung up quickly, ready to get away from our conversation and the emotions it was eliciting. So much for not thinking about things today. At least I’d get to see him Saturday. I could clean his house, and catch up on his laundry. I could even cook him supper. Something good would come out of my visit. Plus I really missed his hugs. Maybe talking to him wouldn’t be too bad.

My phone flashed at me letting me know I had ten percent battery life left. We had talked so long that my battery ran down, that was
great. I had yet to unpack my car charger. Looks like I would be making a trip back home after all.

I pulled out of the parking lot headed towards Route 896. I swerved again trying to miss the two potholes that I knew were there. There was a sudden jerk as my tire connected with the curb. I skidded along the edge just long enough for the damage to be done. My tire had gone flat. “Damn it Sally. You can’t be doing this to me.” The sputtering noise was loud and the truck bounced all the way to
a stop. Thankfully I was far enough out of the road that no one would hit me. My day started off going so well, then Uncle Jake wanted to bring me down, and now this. I had ten percent battery and no spare tire; just great. I was within walking distance back to the school so I’d just go back there and see if they had a number for a repairman. Or a phonebook and a phone.

It was so muggy that morning with a storm rising. The thunder was already rolling and I knew at any minute I was about to get poured on. I looked up at the sky and wondered to myself why this was happening. Things weren’t the greatest when I was home with Jake, but they were a breeze compared to what I was dealing with since I moved out. Growing up and taking responsibility wasn’t as fun as I thought. As I was checking out the
damage, I felt the first raindrop hit my arm and then again on my forehead. I jumped back in the truck just as the downpour began.

I would have to use my cell. There were only two numbers on my phone of people who lived anywhere close. Those were Travis and Vince. I let my head fall loosely against the steering wheel as my body shook with laughter. This was just my luck.

There was no way I was calling Vince. He would expect something in return. I had to just suck it up and call Travis. I reached for my phone. Please, let him answer, I prayed silently biting on my bottom lip.

“Hello,” he answered with his deep sexy voice.

“I need a favor.” I said in defeat.

TWELVE

Travis

“Sure, what do you need?” I was sure there was a bit of shock in my voice. She had to be desperate if she was calling me. I put the phone on speaker because I was driving and the rain was ridiculous. Waylon was beside me in the car giving me crazy eyes. I shrugged him off. There’s no telling what he was thinking.

“I have a flat tire.” I laughed. Again Waylon was looking at me like I was nuts. He was probably wondering who she was. “It’s not funny Travis. Quit acting like a…”

“Hey woman, easy there. I have a kid in the car.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything real bad, and why am I on speakerphone?”

“I’m trying not to wreck.”

“Oh,” she said in a serious tone. I didn’t think about my words before I said them, once again. “I’ll let you go. I’m sorry.”

“No wait. You’re fine. Where are you?” I asked. “Never mind, I see you.” I passed her bright yellow truck right outside the entrance to Waylon’s school. “Let me drop him off and then I’ll be back to get you. Just one minute.”

“Okay,” she said and then the line went dead.

“Who was that?” Waylon asked.

“Her name is Sawyer. She is a friend of mine.”

“A girlfriend,” he snickered.

“No,” I swatted at him in his seat. “She’s just a friend. Maybe she’ll want to be your girlfriend though. I can call her back and ask her. If you want.”

“Shut up Trav.”

“Have a good day at school, Buddy.” I held out my hand, waiting for him to smack it. He just gave me that –I can’t stand you
look like he did anytime I picked on him. He shook the hair from his eyes and held out his fist instead. I pounded it.

“See
ya later.” He opened the door. “Don’t forget I have tutoring today?”

“I know. I’ll remember.” He slammed the door. Things had been so complicated since it became just the two of us. It’s been harder than I could have ever imagined. Waylon gave me trouble every single day, but he was no worse than I was at his age. I could handle it. Thanks to me, he could at least have an education and food. He may not have much else, but he’d understand one day. I was
gonna make sure that boy turned out okay. I loved him, and I wanted him to have a decent life without having to worry about all of these adult situations that he’s been thrown into. It wasn’t his fault, and I was going to make sure that he knew it.

The
cars honking behind me brought me back to reality. I circled around the parking lot and drove onto the road headed back to Sawyer, making sure to pull my car right in front of her truck when I got there. I had barely gotten my car in park before she jumped inside. She was soaking wet, dripping all over. My cloth seats would be sopping wet, but that was okay. She couldn’t help it. When it rained here, it was never just a little rain. It was always a torrential downpour.

“I’m sorry. I’m soaking wet.” She looked down at the puddle of water that soaked the seat.

“And freezing,” I added. I pulled out an old t-shirt I had laying in backseat. “Here,” I handed it to her.

She looked at me only briefly, and then took my shirt. “Thanks,” she took off the shirt she was wearing. All the while, grinning like a Cheshire cat. I quickly faced forward, which made her laugh. “You’re not blushing are you Travis Lawson?”

“Psh. No.” I so was. The way the water dripped from her hair down her breasts was doing crazy things to me. I had to adjust myself in the seat to keep her from noticing my growing pants.

“Oh, by the way. I didn’t hang up on you earlier. My phone went dead. Who was the kid that you dropped off at school?”

“My brother. Which tire is flat?”

“The passenger side, front. Is your mom at work or something?” She asked, still
prying. Only very few people know about my situation and Sawyer wasn’t one of them. If we were to talk about it, I’d be out of my comfort zone –a place I’d rarely been. It wasn’t like we were on a -tell all basis. Not technically anyway. She had let me in a little, but some things need time and trust. This was one of them. I have my guard up when it involves Waylon.

“Yeah, something like that. Do you know the size of your tire?”

“Really,” she narrowed her eyes at me.

“Ugh,” I growled. “I’ll be right back.” I shot out of my car and into the rain. I went over to her truck to check out the size of the tires. I ran back to my car as
quickly as I could. I opened the door and jumped in. “That rain is cold.” I reached for the knob to crank up the heat. Sliding my hands behind my back, I grabbed my shirt and lifted it over my head, tossing it in the backseat. Sawyer’s eyes were staring at my chest, so I flexed the muscles causing my chest to jump.

“Not funny,” she smacked my arm, and I just laughed. It was nice knowing that she had weaknesses too. If I hadn’t seen her breakdown with my own eyes, I’d think she was perfect. Hell, she was still perfect compared to me.

The car jerked a bit when I pulled away from the curb. My little cavalier was old, but she was still holding on. Her black paint was chipped in spots, but I didn’t mind. The music was playing and drowning out our uncomfortable silence. I reached for the knob to turn it down. “Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah,” she shifted in her seat to face me.

“Why didn’t you call Dane or something? Why did you call me?” I glanced at her briefly. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you did, but I just don’t understand why? I thought after what I said that you would never talk to me again.” My hands were wound tight around the steering wheel.

“It crossed my mind.” She half smiled. “My plan was to walk back to the school and use their phone to call a mechanic or tow truck. My phone battery was low, so I was just
gonna use theirs. Then the rain started and I didn’t have a choice. There was only enough battery for one call. You were the closest person to me, as far as miles. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I don’t care. You can call me anytime, even if you hate me.”

“I don’t hate you,” she let out a long winded breath and turned to look out the window.

I didn’t reply. Knowing that she didn’t hate me was all I needed. The closest tire shop was downtown, just a few minutes off the highway. We rode the rest of the way in silence. I fought back my words several times.
Unsure if I should stir up shit or keep it all in, I decided to keep my mouth shut. I would find the right time and place. We pulled up in front of the only tire shop in town. I didn’t want to go there, but it was the only one for miles, and I had to get to work sometime today.

“This is the only tire store in town. I wish there were more.”

“This is fine.” She replied. I was sure it would be fine, once she realized that Vince’s parents owned the place. He was probably there at that very moment. He spent most of his time managing the place. He was a spoiled, rich, mooch.

This building, like most, was one of the originals. Our small township was known for its historic buildings and landmarks. I wasn’t sure why passersby enjoyed it so much. It was just old to me. The rusty sign out front read Cormack’s Tires. They owned half of this town it seemed.

We made our way to the door, both of us looking like wet dogs. The rain had slowed, but not completely stopped. The door made a dinging sound when we opened it, and the old man Cormack was sitting on a stool at the counter, reading his newspaper. It was his usual spot. I had to make part runs here for work, and every time I came in he was always in the same spot, wearing the same dark red ball cap.

“Hey there Travis, how are you?” He tipped his hat in my direction.

“I’m good.”

“Who’s your friend?”

“Sawyer,” Vince’s voice yelled from behind the desk. I hadn’t even noticed him sitting there. I had hoped he wouldn’t be there, but figured he would. He stood up from his chair and walked around the desk. Each step he took towards us the closer I stepped towards Sawyer. He noticed. The “dude I’ll kick your ass look” was in his eyes. My eyes said, “I don’t give a damn, bring it on.”

“Hey Vince,” Sawyer said. The mediocre tone of her voice pleased me.

“What are you doing here?” He asked her.

“Sally has a flat and I need a tire.”

“Sally,” I smiled down at her. She shrugged her shoulders self-assuredly.

“Don’t laugh at me Lawson.”

She said my last name, in a way that made my knees weak. “Mr. Cormack,” I handed him the tire size that I’d written on a McDonald’s napkin from my car. “You have one of those in stock?”

“I believe so. Here boy, check and see if we have what they need.” Old man Cormack handed Vince the napkin. I winked at him just before he walked off. It was a bitch move I know, but he got a date, and that pissed me off.

“This is the reason you didn’t want to come here?” Sawyer whispered.

“Yes,” I countered with no hesitation. She just rolled her eyes and shook her head. I never pretended to be unpredictable. Why start now?

When Vince came back with the tire, he made a big deal about giving her a discount. She thanked him, but I never once believed that she was into him. She didn’t flirt back at all. He went on and on about their date, while she smiled and nodded. A part of me wondered why she even agreed to the date to begin with. She didn’t seem interested from what I could tell. He promised to call her as we walked out the door. I silently hoped he’d drop his cellphone in the toilet.

###

“You’re sure you don’t mind doing this?”

“Of course I mind. You should put the tire on yourself.” I glared at her.

“Just fix the damn tire.” She kicked up the rocks next to me. I had so much fun messing with her. She was too
easy. I jacked the truck the rest of the way up. It was a good thing I had my jack because she wasn’t prepared at all.

“Why were you at the school this morning?” I was just making conversation.

“I took a part-time tutoring position.”

“That’s cool.” I didn’t bring up the fact that my brother would probably be one of the kids that she’d be tutoring. She’d be back to asking more questions. I wiped the sweat from my head, trying to keep it from running in my eyes. The rain had stopped, but the temperature had shot through the roof. It was scorching. I’d blame my slowness on the heat, but maybe it was the sweat beaded on her chest that kept my attention. It ended up taking me ten minutes longer than it should have because I couldn’t quit looking at her. When she reached in the cab for her drink, or when she pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head, it didn’t matter. I couldn’t stop looking. She was so gorgeous and didn’t even realize it.

“All done.” I tightened the last lug nut.

“Thank you so much. I really do appreciate it. What do I owe you?”

“I don’t want your money. I still want that date though.”
“I told you that I’m not ready for that. I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” She twisted the ends of her hair nervously.

“It won’t be a date, date. I just think that the two of us should talk about everything. It’s time that we remove this elephant sitting between us.” I suggested. I’d take a friendship with her if nothing else, and I at least owed her an explanation, and an apology.

She stood there kicking the rocks. Her silence was killing me.

“You can think about if you want. I have to get to work.” I began picking up the tools to load them in my car.

“Okay,” she said. “But it’s not a date.”

“Hell
no, it’s not a date.” I proclaimed. Her smile made my stomach flip.
“Good.”

“How about Wednesday evening? Are you free?”

“Yeah,” she opened her truck door and jumped up in the seat. I was just walking away when she yelled out the window. “Where you taking me?”

“Nowhere.” She gave me a questionable look. “I
was thinking that we could just sit out on the dock at your place. We can do some fishing if you want.”

“That’s perfect.” She waved goodbye as she pulled off.

I sped all the way to work. I was forty minutes behind and my boss had called my phone twice. I knew he wouldn’t fire me, but I didn’t feel like having him rip my ass today. That was his favorite thing to do lately, and I didn’t get paid enough. I was the only one that Waylon had so any time the school called, or he was sick, I’d have to go. I didn’t have a choice. The closest relative that we have was my grandmother, but she was in a nursing home outside of Pittsburg. We had probably seen her twice in the past two years.

I promised my boss that I would stay over an extra hour, which helped lighten my thrashing. He couldn’t stay mad for long anyway, we were too busy. Waylon had tutoring, so giving an
extra hour at work was no problem at all. There was only one problem. My mind was anywhere but on work. The visual of her wet body wearing my shirt made for an interesting day.