Sweetness Read online

to my eyes again. I pushed my plate away and excused myself.

  I all but ran to my room. I shut my door and collapsed on my bed. I buried my face in my pillow and cried. I cried for all the things I had lost and asked the same question I always do: Why me?

  An hour later, my eyes were dry, and I was exhausted. I stumbled over to my dresser and brought my laptop to my bed. I searched for our usual seats on the first level, behind one of the goals. I was thrilled that they were available.

  My dad’s credit card information was in the system from previous purchases. I ordered two tickets and double-checked our mailing address. They should be here in a few days. For the first time in a year, I was excited about something. I went to sleep with a smile on my face for the first time in what seemed like forever.

  2

  Jake

  I closed my locker and turned to find Claire looking at me expectantly. “Yes?” I asked, leaning back against my locker and crossing my arms.

  “The fall formal is coming up,” she said with a gleam in her eyes.

  Oh, no. “It’s a month away. That hardly counts as ‘coming up,’ ” I told her. I wasn’t planning on going, but it was right after our last game. If we won the championship, I knew the team would talk me into going as they did every year.

  “Have you got a date?”

  Claire was a nice girl, but that didn’t mean I wanted to take her to the formal. I’ve had relationships before and, with the way things are at home, they had never worked. I’ve stayed away from them since.

  “Not yet,” I answered with a smile. The smile seemed to relax her. Good. If I had to take someone, it would probably be Claire. However, I wasn’t going to ask her just yet. The warning bell rang. “Catch ya later,” I said before I walked off.

  Oddly enough, I loved being at school. It meant I wasn't at home with an alcoholic dad. Even though school bored me to death sometimes, it was better than being at home. School was the next best thing to being at the rink. There was nothing like the good, rough sport of hockey to make me feel better.

  On the other hand, I liked being at home, but only because of my little brother. He was the light of my life and I loved hanging out with him.

  The day passed like any other, hanging out with the boys at lunch and trying to focus on my classes. I had one class left to go before I picked up my little brother, Drake, and went to practice.

  “Alright everyone. This is the last day to work in class on the project that I handed out yesterday. Go ahead and pair up. You have the whole period to work. You will need to complete this assignment outside of class. It’s due next week.”

  I looked towards where Emily, the new girl, was sitting. She looked a little scared. She didn’t look up when I dragged a desk in front of her. I had to admit, something about her intrigued me. Of course, I wondered what her story was. She was a beautiful girl with medium brown hair that was shoulder length. Her eyes were brown with little flecks of gold. Her nose was slender and led to pink, kissable lips.

  Kissable? I shook my head and said hello. Emily didn’t look at me as she mumbled a reply. She gathered her things together and placed them neatly on her desk. Same as yesterday, her leg started bouncing and, when she raised her head slightly, I could see her biting down on her bottom lip. She didn’t have on any makeup and her eyelashes were long and pretty. I cleared my throat and thought she lowered herself into the seat some. Maybe I was just seeing things.

  “Okay, so where did we leave off?” I asked. Quietly, she answered and pointed to the current question. “Do you always talk so quietly?” I asked.

  Her head shot up and, for the first time, she looked into my eyes as if she was trying to find a hidden meaning behind my curious question. It was as if she realized that she was looking at me because she quickly looked back down. “Yes,” she said. She began talking about our assignment, but I zoned out.

  “Why?” I asked, interrupting her. Again, she looked up. Then it was gone, as if it never happened. She ignored me and continued where she left off.

  An hour and twenty minutes later, I glanced up to see we had five minutes left. “How about we go ahead and stop for today?” I asked. Emily nodded and began to gather her things. “You know we have to finish it outside of school, right?” She seemed to freeze at my words. The expression on her face was one of total terror. Wanting to stay away from my dad, I offered to meet at the library or her house. While she thought about the options, I added that my little brother would be with me. Her features seemed to soften at the mention of him.

  “My house would be better,” she said. “That way he can watch TV so that he doesn’t get bored.”

  With the decision made, I asked yet another question. “Do you always walk home?” She nodded. “I can take you home today. Then I’ll know how to get to your house.” She seemed on the verge of denying my offer. “I’m horrible with directions, even the simplest. It’ll be easier for me,” I said as my last attempt to get her to say yes.

  I looked up at the clock. One minute left. Faintly I heard, “Okay.”

  “Okay, I’ll meet you at your locker.” She nodded and seemed to find something interesting on her desk. The bell rang loud and clear and she bolted out of the room. What was up with that girl?

  I gathered my bag and headed to my locker. Claire was once again waiting. I tried my best not to let out a sigh. The girl just would not give up.

  “Could you give me a ride home today, Jake?”

  “Sorry, Claire. I already have an extra run to make. Todd probably could,” I said making the offer for him. I knew he wouldn't mind.

  Claire did not seem to like that answer. “Are you sure?”

  “Yep. Look, Claire, I gotta go. Later,” I told her as I walked towards where I saw Emily putting the lock on her locker. “Ready?” I asked.

  She jumped at my voice. “Sorry,” I muttered.

  “I’m ready,” she said quietly, putting her bag on her left shoulder. Automatically, I placed my hand on her lower back to guide her outside to my car. She flinched at my touch so I quickly removed my hand.

  “Sorry,” I offered once again.

  Was she being abused? Was that why she was quiet and why she flinched from unexpected touches and jumped from sudden noises? I then noticed that she was wearing a white, short sleeved t-shirt and blue jean shorts. If she were being physically abused, she would cover up more to hide the bruises.

  So what was going on with her? I pondered as we walked over to my ‘09 Mustang. I opened the door for her and she took her seat. I walked around and started the car. Silence filled the air as I headed in the direction I saw her walking towards yesterday.

  “Turn left up here.” I follow her instructions and soon arrived at her house.

  “I can come over Friday after practice if you want to work on the project then,” I said before she could escape. She nodded her head. In attempt to hear her voice I asked, “Is that a yes?”

  She huffed and curtly said, “Yes.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. For the third time today, she had surprised me. She once again looked at me. This time, she was glaring, which only had me laughing harder. She swiftly opened the car door and got out, walking quickly up the doorsteps. I pulled out of her driveway and headed to the elementary school, which was only five minutes down the road.

  The line was dwindling and I took my place. Slowly, I made my way up to the breezeway where, among other kids, Drake was waiting. He broke into a grin when he saw me. He ran to the car and hopped in.

  “How was your day?”

  “Awesome! A man, Kaleb, came in and brought in a snake! It was so cool! I even got to hold it! We all did. You should’ve been there, Jake!” It felt good to see Drake so excited about something. He’d had a hard time with Mom’s death. Dad, of course, had taken it the worst.

  “Well, your day definitely topped mine.” His grin seemed to grow wider.

  “I can’t wait to tell the guys!” I laughed and ro
ughed up his hair. “Hey! You are going to keep the ladies away if you mess up my hair!” He yelled.

  I laughed, “You know there aren’t any ‘ladies’ at the rink when we practice. Plus, if they found out you touched a snake, they wouldn’t come near you.” He seemed to be considering it while I drove back to the school.

  Finally as I was parking, he spoke, “Well you better not tell any of them!” I laughed and assured him I wouldn’t. Drake was only seven and he loved to make girls laugh. It didn’t matter how old they are. If they were cute, he would flirt like crazy.

  We headed inside to the rink and Drake ran into the locker room to tell the guys about the snake. I followed him and began to change for practice. I could hear him excitedly retelling the snake story to the guys, but this time the snake was much bigger than when he told me. I smiled at Drake, who was trying to impress the guys.

  “Alright, Drake, we have to practice. Go find a seat.” He obediently ran off.

  We practiced relentlessly for two long, hard hours. I felt exhausted as I drove home. Knowing what was to come made me feel even more tired. Drake ran inside, probably to tell Dad about the snake. Maybe Dad would be in a good mood. Doubtful.

  I made my way to the kitchen to start dinner. Dad always seemed fine around Drake. He seemed a little more cheerful and not so depressed. Maybe Drake would be his reason for moving on in life.