Lennon's Jinx (14 page)

I’d like to gag the girls right
now. They fastened their dolls down, like they could be hurt in an accident or
something. I used to do that when I was little.

Thank
heaven, the dolls look nothing like the ones I’ve boxed up and keep at the top
of my closet. I loved dolls when I was little, especially the porcelain ones Dad
bought me. He also bought me Breyer horses. Iz, Gabby, Rena, and I all dreamt
about having a real pony. Rena’s dad bought her one. We would go to the stables
and ride until we all got tired of cleaning up poop.

I’m
glad Lennon picked me up at Rena’s instead of my house. Step-monster can be a
handful when Mom’s not around. He does no wrong when she’s near, probably
because she pays the bills. I sometimes think she married Step-monster to keep
an eye on me while she’s traveling for work. When Dad was alive, she worked
only part time.

I
spent most of the morning holding Rena while she cried over Byron, even though
my head feels like it’s going to implode. She got him good, or rather, Lennon
did, and yet she still wants Byron back. I can’t lecture her because I’d scoop
on Zach in a heartbeat.

Last
night, Zach asked to take me home. I think. What’s up with that? Where was
Kelly? I think about what might have happened if I’d gone home with him.
Nothing. I would’ve puked all over him. Glad he didn’t see that.

Zach
won’t get back with me because I can’t tell him the truth. I’m not that strong.
The best I can do is be there for Rena to help her over the speed bumps in life,
like she has always done for me.

Lennon
keeps his eyes on the road with only an occasional glance to check on the
girls. The sad part is I should thank him. I just can’t seem to say those
words. He saved me from being raped for the second time in my life, but the
first was my fault. I am such a fool. It’s probably good that I can’t remember
much about it.

My
body folds into the seat. I snooze until Currie takes a piece of thread and
tickles my nose with it. They’re all laughing at me. I’m so glad I don’t have a
little sister or brother or any siblings. If I ignore Step-monster, which most of
the time I do, it’s peaceful in my house, and that’s the way I like it.

Lennon
valet parks his SUV at a garage downtown just north of the Water Tower. I
wonder what it’s like to have enough money to afford parking in Chicago.

“What’s
here?” My eyelids lift to half-mast. The gray day is too much for my sore eyes
right now.

“Lunch
for me ladies.” The girls laugh at his attempt at an English accent. I don’t.
It’ll hurt too much.

Lennon
hands me a pair of Ray-Bans that probably cost him a small fortune. “Here.
These should help.”

I
put them on. My Wal-Mart shades are at home. “Thanks.”

The
girls take their dolls out of the car with them. They’re dressed like runway
models for kids wear. It’s kind of cute.

When
Lennon gets out, he holds both girls’ hands while I drag behind. The dark
shades help me avoid the few rays of sunshine filtering through the cloudy sky.
They’re like tiny daggers lancing into my mushy brain. Lennon opens the door to
a store called American Girl Place. What’s this? I think as I step inside.

Just
peachy. It’s doll mania. Floors filled with historically dressed fetishes. It’s
scary. When I bump into Lennon, he keeps me from taking a nosedive.

Why
is he so nice to me? It’s got to be the girls. He has to keep up appearances. I
keep the glasses on so the
It’s a Small World
ride doesn’t blow my mind
away.

The
dolls’ dead eyes follow me everywhere. I close my eyes and feel my skull pounding
into my bed’s headboard. The memory of blood and semen staining my sheets the
next day floods my mind. Panic rises in my chest, tightening it so that it’s
hard to breathe.

“Are
you okay?” Lennon asks.

I
don’t speak but barrel toward the bathroom. Inside, I rush to a stall and close
the door. Sitting on the toilet, I take in deep breaths. I tightly squeeze my
eyes shut to block out the flashes of scary-bad memories.

The
bathroom door squeaks open and then closes. “Are you going to live?” Concern
fills Lennon’s deep voice. It softens my heart toward him. He didn’t have to
rescue me last night, but I’m glad he did.

“You
shouldn’t be in here,” I say in a whoosh of air.

He
laughs. “You’re in the men’s room.”

“Oh
shit,” I say, getting up. “Is anyone in here besides you?”

“Nope.
Most guys don’t shop here.”

“Understandable.”
After several more calming breaths, I come out, go straight to the sink, and
splash cold water onto my face.

“You
gonna live?”

“I
don’t think I can handle all the dolls.”

His
lips form a tight screw. “The girls will be disappointed if we don’t eat lunch
here. You have pediophobia?”

“What?”

Lennon
folds his arms across his chest and leans against the tiled wall. “The fear of
dolls. It’s actually quite common.”

“They
just freak me out. I’ll be…okay,” I sputter. “I’m not sure how, but I’ll
manage.” Maybe if I’m blindfolded that’ll help. I put on the Ray bans and walk
out.

The
girls didn’t see me escape, which is all good. They run from one display to the
next.

Zoe
points to some doll that reminds me of Hawaii, not that I’ve ever been. I avert
my gaze to Lennon’s hulk, so he can block out most of the view.

Zoe
picks up the doll and holds it tight against her chest. “Oh my gosh, this is
new.”

Thankfully,
the doll isn’t looking at me. It’s going to be a long day. I’m being punished
for all the evil I’ve ever done, like the time I let the air out of
Step-monster’s tires.

“What
can we get?” Currie tugs on the sleeve of Lennon’s high-end leather jacket. I
only know this because when I almost fell and brushed against it, the cowhide
was unbelievably soft.

“One
outfit,” he says, taking a seat.

I
sit by him and close my eyes since that’s the safest position for me right now.
I need a prop to hold me upright, and he doesn’t seem to mind. He also didn’t try
anything last night when he had the chance.

Zoe
grins big. “Matching outfits for us and the dolls?”

“Sure.”
Lennon makes me lean my head against his arm. “Feeling any better?”

“Not
really. There’s a telephone ringing in my head, and it won’t stop.” At least, the
pain keeps my head from thinking about the dolls.

Lennon
chuckles. “We’ll eat soon. That’ll make you feel a little better. Rohypnol is a
powerful muscle relaxant. You’re lucky to be alive. Some people have really bad
reactions to the drug, especially a little girl like you.”

I
hate being reminded of how petite I am. “When I grow up, I’m going to be tall.”

Lennon
lets out a pleasant laugh that doesn’t hurt my head. “I don’t think that’s in
the cards for you.”

He’s
right. “I know I should thank you.”

“That
would be a start. Didn’t you like the flowers I gave you?”

“Yeah,
I guess.” Actually, I liked them a lot. The other girls are still talking about
them, gawking at me like I hit the lottery. They don’t really know Lennon, not
that I do.

“You
probably wished they came from Zach.”

How
does he know? I’m giving him too much credit. Half the school knows about me
dating Zach forever then mysteriously breaking up. I let my eyes half open to
glance up at Lennon as his warmth soaks into me. His handsome face smiles while
he watches the girls.

They
skitter off, holding hands. I remember those days with my girlfriends. Rena’s
mom would take us downtown to Chicago. We always bought Garrett popcorn. It
would be great to roll back time, relive those precious moments, and escape the
mistakes I’ve made.

“Ran
Holden is a known drug dealer,” Lennon says out of the blue. “He has quite the
rap sheet.”

“Huh?”
Somehow, I lost a moment in the time-space continuum. Hangovers are notorious
for doing that. “How do you know him?”

“It’s
not like I’m a virgin.”

“Everybody
knows that.”

He
laughs. His teeth are perfect, white, and straight, a small fortune in dental
work. “That wasn’t what I was referring to.”

“You
do drugs? Like what?” Lennon always seems pretty sober whenever I’ve seen him
at parties.

“I’ve
tried a few things. I don’t touch anything anymore. I was so blottoed once, I
forgot to pick up Currie from dance. I haven’t lived that down. That was three
years ago.”

“You
were driving back then?” I didn’t get my license until I was almost seventeen.

“Yeah.
Jonathan left us, and Currie takes dance every day and goes to a private
school. Her violin instructor comes to the house to make it easier on me. It became
my job to get her places.”

“What
about your mom?” I heard from the other kids that their dad had ditched them but
left them with a boatload of cash.

“You’ve
obviously never met Heather Tyler. She’s not a responsible person, let alone a
good driver.”

The
girls come out pretty soon to model their outfits and the dolls. Currie spins
around in a plaid dress and hat. Her doll sports an identical outfit. Zoe
twirls in a corduroy jumper, and her doll matches, too. If my head didn’t feel
like someone kicked it, I’d think this was actually fun.

“Beautiful.”
Lennon gives them both a crooked grin. “Are you sure that’s what you want,
ladies?”

They
both nod eagerly.

“Can
we wear these now?” Currie asks the sales woman attending to them.

“You
certainly may. Let me cut off the tags for you. Is this all Mr. Tyler?”

The
staff knows him by name? Unreal.

“Yes.
We’re having lunch. Could you put it all on one bill?”

“Absolutely.
I’ll wrap up their clothes for them.”

“Thank
you,” Lennon says.

The
girls giggle, take each other’s hand, and dash into the same dressing room.

After
they’ve gathered their matching handbags and parcels, we take the elevator up
to the dining area. A hostess delivers us to our seats where the dolls get their
own chairs. The tables are decked out with fine linens, fancily folded napkins,
and centerpieces. It’s too much.

I
snort out a laugh. Currie gives me a dirty look. I’m lucky Lennon is footing
the bill because there’s no way I can afford lunch even though the prices seem
reasonable from the menu. I’d feel guilty about him buying lunch, but he’s the
one who doesn’t trust my taste in clothes.

The
dolls’ heads face their owners, and that makes me happy.

“Hot
tea?” the waitress asks.

“Sure,”
Lennon says, scooting beside Currie’s doll. When he drapes a napkin on its lap,
the girls giggle. “Now, Molly, you have to eat everything on your plate this
time.”

They
burst out laughing. Okay, it is cute. My dad used to share cookies with my dolls
then he’d gobble them up when I wasn’t looking.

“Hey,”
I say to the waitress, “can I have a diet coke?”

Currie
glares at me as if I ordered someone to be executed. What’s up with that?

“We
don’t drink caffeine,” she says. “It causes cyst growth.”

“I’ve
heard that happens in the breast. I don’t think I have to worry about that.
Anything would be an improvement.”

Lennon
spits out his water he’s laughing so hard. Zoe giggles with him.

Currie
crosses her arms over her chest and scowls at me. “It’s not funny.”

Lennon
leans toward me. “Caffeine is a no-no in our house.”

“I’ve
seen you drink—ow.” He pinches my leg under the table. That woke me up.

Hypocrite.
He hides his real double espresso self from Currie.

The
girls order mac-n-cheese, Lennon the fish, and me the mini burger, hot dog, and
fries. Currie presses her knuckles against her hips. From her expression, one
might think I ran over her kitten. “We don’t eat meat.”

“That’s
nice to know,” I say, “but I do. Who died and made you the dietician Gestapo?”

She
shoots daggers at me with her intense stare while Zoe hides her grin. “Hot dogs
are filled with nitrates, and cows are pumped up on hormones. It’ll kill you
dead.” Currie’s tone is filled with conviction.

“I
can live with that,” I say, especially right now. The waitress hands me my diet
coke. I gulp it down, all the while grinning at Currie. “What about Lennon’s
fish? That has mercury.”

Zoe
bursts out laughing. When she sees the hurt spreading across Currie’s face, Zoe
says, “I’m sorry. BFF?” She bumps knuckles with Currie.

“BFF,”
Currie says, though from her tone, she’s not feeling it.

The
waitress sets cups and plates in front of the dolls. I restrain myself from
fits of giggles. This is so lame, but yet it’s not. The fact that Lennon
indulges in all this makes him not so bad.

Zoe
scoots her doll closer to the table and puts the teacup to the doll’s lips. “We
should wash up before we eat.”

This
brings a smile to Currie’s lips, probably because she’s a germaphobic.

When
the girls leave to wash their hands, I say, “I’ve seen you eat dead cow before.
Murderer.”

Lennon
chuckles. “Yes, I am that. You need to lay off. I don’t want to give up
seafood, too. I love lobster.”

He
may actually be human. I dig into my burger before the girls return and let
Lennon sneak a few bites, though I worry he may have Herpes. I’ve never seen
him with a cold sore, but one never knows, and his tongue has been in more
places than I want to imagine.

All
the while I eat my burger and dogs, Currie gives me the evil eye. I relish
every bite, and this seems to irritate her more.

Lennon
pours tea for the dolls. “Cecile, how was your trip to Paris?”

Zoe
pipes in, “
Très bien, merci
.”