The Understorey, Book One of The Leaving Series (27 page)

That was the truth. I didn’t actually know
why but do the insane need to justify their reasons to anyone?
Their reasons are their own. I got the distinct impression that
Jesse didn’t feel the need to divulge his reasoning at all.

    “That’s really sad.”
    “Why?”
    “Well, it sort of confirms a suspicion of
mine.”

“What Jules?” I asked seriously.

“ I wasn’t sure at first, but at the movies,”
she hesitated, “now don’t get mad, but he kept staring at my legs.”
I let out a deep breath. “So, he must like me. Hmm. He must be
suffering and all on account of me, that makes me feel
terrible.”

Must teach Jules not to assume anything
ever again.
Assumptions are dangerous things.
    “Is there any way we can fix it?” She asked,
genuinely wondering if she could help him.
For now, I had decided to let her assume whatever she wanted
though, for her sake, not his, of course.
    “I don’t think so Jules. The last thing a guy
wants when he’s trying to get over somebody is that somebody
helping him try to get over them. It’s sweet of you to want it, but
I’m thinking it would just be cruel.”
Not to mention incredibly
dangerous. No, Julia Jacobs, I will never allow you near him
again.

She nodded in agreement.

“No wonder he gave me such a horrible time.
He was lashing out,” she said.

“Uh, yeah. Lashing out. That makes sense.” I
cleared my throat, “On your
date
, did he do or say anything
else that was strange?”
    “Uh, kind of, but I just assumed he was being
his usual kooky self.”
There she went assuming again.
    “What happened?” I held my breath.
    “He kept asking me all these extremely personal
questions. Like, what time do you go to bed? Do you wear pajamas or
sleep in your underwear? How far have you gone with Elliott? I
think we can safely assume he knows that now after yesterday’s blow
up. He asked me if I thought I was going to marry you and I started
to think maybe his line of questioning wasn’t all that strange,
like maybe I was overreacting or something, but then he asked me
something that made my hair stand on end.” She shivered, but not
because she was cold.
    “What?” I gulped.
    “He asked me if I knew what scarification
was.”
    “What? Oh my God!”
    “Yeah, I know. I said, ‘that was out of left
field!’ I asked him why he wanted to know but he evaded it. I
thought about ringing you on my cell at that point but he did this
complete one-eighty on me and started acting like the perfect
gentleman again, holding doors, you know, things like that.

“The theater was full so we were forced to
sit in the only two seats available toward the side. My seat had a
piece of gum stuck to it and he laid down his leather jacket so I
wouldn’t ruin my jeans. So, after that, I figured he was just kooky
or socially inept. I’m sorry I didn’t mention it to you. I didn’t
want to worry you.”
    “Jules! That’s not kooky! It’s creepy!”
    “I’m starting to think you’re right.”
    “Starting? Jeez Jules! You’re gonna’ be the
death of me.” I thought I was going to have a heart attack.
Don’t touch me. Don’t touch me. Don’t touch me,
I thought.
This new piece of information made me more afraid than I’d ever
felt before.
    “Calm down. Sheesh. I think you’re
overreacting,” she said.
No, I’m not.
    “Maybe this whole thing will blow over,” she
hoped.
    “Maybe,” I said, knowing full well it was not
going to blow over.
Better start figuring out where we’re going
to live when we have to flee. How do you legally change your name
anyway without others finding out who and where you are? Could we
even get our diplomas and make it to university without anyone’s
help?
For then, that was the end of that conversation, with her and
myself.
    That night, we sat on our rock bridge with a
fleece blanket underneath us as well as one to cover us. We sat
cozily side by side and stared into the stars.
    “Wow,” I said.
    “I know,” she concurred.
She stole my eyes away from the starry night and I gazed upon her
radiant face.
    “I love you Jules.”
    “I love you too Elliott,” she said turning to
face me. “So, what’s up?”
    “I actually want to talk seriously about our
future.”
About something so dear to me that not even what
happened with Jesse Thomas today could keep me from talking to you
about it.
    “What’s to talk about? You’re my future and I
feel confident in saying that I’m yours.”
    “I mean the technicalities babe.”
God, she
was cute.
    “I know,” she shrugged her shoulders.
    “Well, I want to know how long you’d like to
wait before we’re married.”

I just came right out and said it because it
felt natural and after the day I had with Jesse I was at my wit’s
end. It had taken me practically the whole day to calm down. I know
it was sort of anti-climactic and all that but we felt it in our
guts that we would someday be married to one another anyway. She
knew it. I knew it.

    “Elliott!” She laughed. “I
thought you were going to say something like ‘Are you okay with
never seeing me for the next seven years since I’ll be knee deep in
cadavers’.”
    “Jules, you’re a punk. I’m being serious. I know
it’s premature, but I was thinking about it the other day. Then
there is the night we almost lost it and.......”
and today’s
insaneness. Mostly today’s insaneness.
    “You mean the night that
I
almost lost
it.”
    “No, we both almost lost it. Anyway, while I was
in bed that night, I was thinking that I might want to get married
as soon as we graduate.”
    “College?” She asked.
    “No, high school Jules.”
    “No way Elliott!”
    “Why not?”
    “Because that would be too Bramwell-like of us,
that’s why.”
    “Oh who cares if it is! Are we or are we not
from Bramwell anyway? Besides, I wanted to go to Philadelphia and
actually
be
there with you.”
If we can even go to
Philadelphia now.
    “Oh my gosh Elliott. Listen,” she laid on her
back and turned onto her side. She patted the spot next to her and
I followed suit, laying with my hands behind my head. I always
tried to restrain my hands one way or another when I was near
her.

She scooted closer to me and continued, “I am
actually hyperventilating at the very idea of it because it sounds
so tempting, but I think that it would be the death of our careers.
I can just imagine getting pregnant while we’re in school and then
I’d have to quit to take care of our baby and then you’d never see
us for years because you’d be becoming a physician Elliott! You
won’t have time for anything else. No. We’re just going to have to
wait.”

I almost jumped out of my skin from
excitement at the prospect of having children with her. I surprised
myself
with that one.
    “You want to wait? I can handle that, but I
don’t want to wait another ten years Jules. Can we compromise?” I
offered.
    “Like what?” She asked, turning onto her back
and tucking her hands behind her head as well. It made me wonder if
that was her own restraint device as well.
    “Like, can we at least get married after we’ve
earned our bachelors? I don’t think I can wait any longer than
that.”
She thought for a really long time. Like, ‘sweat started to line my
forehead’ kind of time.

“I think I can deal with that,” she said with
a smile.

My hands escaped. I grabbed her and began to
tickle her knee.
    “Oh yes! You
will
deal with that! I am
Elliott! King of compromises! And you, Julia Jacobs! You may be my
court jester! Now dance for me!”

I continued to tickle her until she could
barely breathe let alone speak she was laughing so hard. I caught a
‘please’ every now and then but ignored it. When I was done teasing
her I laid beside her once more and bound my hands again. I knew
she wanted to retaliate but could see her rethinking her strategy.
She knew I’d go into torturing her for awhile until I was tired and
we’d start the whole process over again. I guess she deciphered
that the risk outweighed the reward and couldn’t help herself.

    “Why do you keep doing
this to yourself Jules?”
Again, not able to speak.
    “Stop!” She finally shouted.
I let up and she caught her breath.
    “You’re such a jerk!” She shouted, still
laughing.
    “Aww, I’m sorry love.”
I grabbed her little frame and squished her body with mine. She
grabbed the blanket and wrapped the both of us with it and we
stared at the stars again.
    “You know something?” She asked.
    “What?”
    “Thanksgiving is coming up and as you know my
family is going to my aunt’s house in Mauch Chunk.”
    “I know. It sucks.”
    “What if it didn’t have to suck?” She asked, her
right eyebrow raised.
    “That’s a sneaky look if I do say so
myself.”
    “Seriously. Maybe you could convince your
parents it would be a good idea, with my parents and our whole
extended family crammed into the house they’d have to know we’d
respect the proper boundaries. What do you think?”
    “I think it would be awesome, but I very
seriously doubt my mom would say yes,” I said with certainty, “and
I am pretty secure in the knowledge that your parents would also
object. So, two major hurdles are a little out of our
league.”
    “Shows how much you know. I already cleared it
with the parentals. You’re good to go baby. It never hurts to ask
Elliott. The worst they could say is no.”

She was right. I was a pretty well behaved
kid and although I had very serious doubts I decided it wouldn't
hurt.
    “I’m kind of getting my hopes up now,” I
said.
    I kissed Jules goodbye at her door and ran back
to my truck. I decided I’d ask my mom that night if it’d be okay so
I could surprise Jules with the good news, hopefully, the next
morning.

When I strolled into our living room both my
mom and dad were sitting on the couch together, wrapped in each
other’s arms, watching television. Told you they were in love.
Maddy sprawled on the floor doing homework.
    “Elliott,” Maddy said, “will you help me with
this math problem?”
    “Sure.”
I plopped myself on the plaid chair next to her and grabbed her
book.
    “Which one is it?”
    “Number thirty-four.”
    “Okay.”

I figured it out quickly, she is almost seven
years younger than I am. When I was done re-teaching her the lesson
her teacher should have taught her in the first place, she
discovered she had done almost every problem incorrectly and I
could tell she had wished she had never asked me for my help. She
threw herself in a huff back onto the floor and vigorously erased
her entire worksheet. It got really quiet and I decided
Thanksgiving with Jules was the perfect topic to break the
silence.

    “Mom? Dad?” I reluctantly
said.
    “Yeah son?” My dad said.
    “Jules’ family is going to her aunt’s house in
Mauch Chunk for Thanksgiving and they’ve invited me along. What do
y’all think? Can I go?”
I made eye contact with my mom so she knew I wasn’t planning
anything devious.
    “I don’t think so Elliott,” my mom said.
    “Well, if you say so,” I said, disappointed,
“but if it makes you feel any better, her entire family will be
there, including her extended family. We’d be chaperoned well and
her parents are comfortable with it.”
Please say yes.
    “Oh let him go Shelby,” my dad said hoping we’d
shut up so he could catch the end of his program.
    “Hmm,” she deliberated, “I’ll call her mama in
the morning and get the details. As long as it will be as well
chaperoned as you claim it will be I don’t have a problem with it.
Are you okay with being away from the family on such a
holiday?”
    “I’ll miss you very much mom,” I got up and
kissed her forehead.

That made her more comfortable. She made me
promise that, if I went, I’d call her the day of and I crossed my
heart that I would.
    “Y’all are stupid,” Maddy said with audacity,
eyes still focused on her worksheet. “I would never let
my
boy do something like that.”

All three of us stared at the pre-teen
lounging in all her false glory. I left the room so I wouldn’t have
to witness the disrespect smacked out of her knowing I would hear
it through the walls as it was.

    “Maddy check your tone
before you find yourself grounded the entire Thanksgiving break,”
my dad said.
    “Imagine that Mark!” My mom said. “Maddy giving
us advice! We’re so lucky to have birthed her and raised her to be
more intelligent than us. Wouldn’t you agree Mark?”
    “You’re
right
Shelby. Where would we be
without her?”

I couldn’t see it but I’m sure my mom had a
look of disgust on her face and I couldn’t help but chuckle at the
thought of it. I bounded up the stairs to my room and went to sleep
happily dreaming of turkeys.

    The next morning I was
really excited to pick Jules up for school. When I got there, I
bounded up the smallish incline to the bottom of the steps of the
covered porch just as she was locking the door.
    “You didn’t!” She squealed with delight when she
turned around and met my eyes.
    “What are you talking about?” I said.
    “I can feel it in your chest Elliott Gray. You
asked and they said yes!”

It
was
handy, most of the time. I had
a feeling I’d never be able to surprise her again though. She
dropped her bag on the wood porch with a loud thud and she leaped
into my arms from the top step in excitement.

    “You’re gonna’ love Mauch
Chunk,” she said.
    “I’ve been there before Jules. Granted, I was
pretty little and don’t remember much, but I have been
there.”
    “Oh, you’ll remember this trip,” she
flirted.
    “I bet I will,” I teased.
    “We’re going to have to start picking out our
road trip music starting today,” she said, gesturing excitedly with
her hands. “We only have a week!”