Among the Stars Read online

  Chapter 2

  The three of us get to the party around ten. Stacy had a major wardrobe crisis, and John wasn’t too happy about the delay, but we eventually made it. We parked a few blocks away and walked to Ben’s house. The music was loud but not so loud as to draw attention. It looked packed but so far everyone was in the house and not spilling outside. John went to knock but Stacy stopped him.

  “Wait, gotta do a wardrobe check.” She spins around for me while John groans.

  She’s in a red fitted V-neck, black skinny jeans, and is wearing the boots we picked out earlier. Her short light brown hair is curled and softly frames her face.

  “Lookin’ good, how about me?” I spin for her while John stands with his arms crossed looking annoyed. I’m wearing a black v-neck, red skinny jeans, black boots, and my long dark brown hair is straight. Stacy thought we should match but flip our colors and I must say we make quite the pair.

  “Can we go now?” John, who’s in plain jeans and a blue t-shirt, slowly reaches for the doorbell.

  “You may proceed.” Stacy waves him on like a ruler giving permission to a subject.

  John rolls his eyes and rings the doorbell. A blonde in a short sparkly dress answers it. She waves us in and shuts the door before directing us to the kitchen where Ben is. Ben is one of John’s friends from high school. They don’t go to the same college though so they only get to hang out when they come home for the summer. Ben is sitting on the kitchen counter with his girlfriend, Jen, drinking a beer. He sees us, kisses Jen on the cheek, and hops off of the counter. John meets him half way and they hug in that special way guys always seem to do.

  “Dude, you’re late,” Ben says. He passes John a beer. John twists off the cap and expertly throws it into the garbage can in the corner.

  “You can thank the wardrobe twins for that,” John gestures at us and takes a drink of beer.

  Ben laughs and hugs us both. Ben wasn’t like a brother so much as more of a cousin-type.

  “Great to see you guys. When do you leave for college, Stacy?”

  “In about a week. I want to get settled as soon as I can.”

  “Smart move. When are you leaving for your trip, Ailey?

  “Not too long after Stacy. I’m going to see her off; then pack up and hit the road.”

  “Right on. Well, I hope you guys enjoy the party and try not to get too hammered, okay?”

  “You don’t have to worry about me,” Stacy responds as she reaches for a beer.

  “Uh no. Not happening.” John intercepts the beer and passes his to her. “You can finish this though.” There’s only about a third left and Stacy glares at him.

  “Really bro?”

  “If you think I’m going to let my little sister get drunk at a party then you got another thing coming. You’re here to observe.” John repeats his cap toss on his new beer and looks at me as I reach towards the counter. “Don’t make me get after you too.”

  “No no,” I say, grabbing a pop. “I’m the responsible one, remember?”

  “Good. Keep an eye on that one.”

  He points at Stacy who then sticks her tongue out at him. I give him the thumbs up and he leaves to find more of his friends. When he’s gone I slide a beer over to Stacy and give her a wink.

  “Oh you are the best friend ever,” she squeals. She tries to repeat her brother’s cap toss but she misses. “Damn.”

  “You can practice at college,” I laugh and we move out of the kitchen, keeping an eye out for John.

  We follow the music and find the majority of people in the living room near the back of the house. Most of the people seem to be from Ben and John’s graduating class but there’s some from ours that we recognize. Two of them, Zack and Jaden, are intensely playing a game on the TV while a group of guys chant and shout around them. Sprawled throughout the room are couples making out and groping each other. I nudge Stacy and point at one of them, pretending to barf. She looks and nods her head. We decide to see if we can find more of our classmates.

  We spend about ten minutes pushing our way through the house before we find a group of our friends hanging out in the dining room. They are playing beer pong and Stacy wants to join. Tyler, who also grew up with us, teaches her how best to toss. She actually isn’t that bad. I thought her cap toss failure would have been an indication but maybe Tyler’s tips helped her out. I stand beside her and cheer while Tyler cheers from the other side.

  I look between Tyler and Stacy. I always thought they would make a good couple. Tyler has the same outgoing personality that Stacy has and he’s super sweet. He’s huge into sports and played most of them while we were in school. He’s actually going to college on a basketball scholarship. The same college Stacy is going to which I don’t think is a coincidence at all. I think he’s had a thing for her since last year but he’s never acted on it. Stacy has always been dodgy when it comes to Tyler, never giving me a definite answer. Knowing someone since childhood can either build a great relationship or make it impossible for one. In mine and John’s case we ended up like siblings, but Stacy and Tyler are different. I think college is going to give Tyler the boost he needs to act on his feelings and I suspect Stacy will return his feelings. College will be good for them.

  I look around and see John coming down the stairs weaving his way toward the dining room. I grab Stacy and Tyler, pulling them towards the opposite doorway that leads into the kitchen.

  “Abort abort! John’s coming.” We escape without notice and make our way towards the living room.

  “Why are we hiding from John?” Tyler asks as he scans the crowd.

  “Stacy isn’t supposed to be drinking,” I say. Tyler’s eyes get big and he scans again with a look of worry on his face.

  “Great, now you tell me. He’s gonna be pissed.” Tyler runs his hands through his hair and shakes his head. “He’s gonna beat me up.”

  “Not if he doesn’t find us,” Stacy whispers at him. She giggles and ducks behind him like she’s hiding. She’s definitely feeling the booze. Just then her favorite song comes on.

  “I love this song,” Stacy squeals and pulls us towards the people dancing. She’s a little uncoordinated but she’s stable and moves with the beat. Tyler and I join her and we dance for a handful of songs.

  It gets really hot and I need some air. John and Tyler are the only ones besides me I’d trust with tipsy Stacy so I tell him to watch her and I’ll be right back. He gives me two thumbs up and moves closer to her to fill the space I left. He’ll make sure no one messes with her.

  I squeeze out of the group and head towards the front door. The front yard is still empty of people and I’m relieved. I haven’t been around that many people in a long time and it’s a bit much for me to take in. My life became pretty low key after my parents died.

  Ben’s porch has a swing that I sit on. My feet hurt and it feels good to give them a rest. There’s a slight breeze but it’s still a warm night. I push the swing and look up at the stars. The sky is clear and despite the street lights I can see a few of them. I’ll have to find somewhere without lights to look at them on my trip. I sigh as I lean back and close my eyes. My hope is that this trip will force me to deal with the loss of my parents instead of just distracting myself from it. I think I need time with myself, venturing out and seeing the beauty in the world. Being in my home town where everyone knows everything about me makes me feel trapped. I love Stacy and all them but sometimes I feel like they are waiting for me to get back to who I was before the accident. I don’t know if that’s even possible. My parents have always been there and I have to come to terms with the fact that they no longer are.

  “I really wish you guys were here with me,” I say up at the stars. “I could really use some advice.”

  The front door opens and I nearly jump out of my skin. I really need to stop getting lost in my thoughts. I look over and see a guy, tall, that looks about John’s age, maybe older. His hair is dark like mine and i
s neatly cut. He’s wearing jeans and a dark green t-shirt that fits perfectly, molding to his muscles. His facial hair is stuck in that stage right after stubble and when he looks at me I see that his eyes are green like emeralds. He has that rugged look that makes you think he belongs in the woods. He smiles and walks over to me.

  “Mind if I sit?” He gestures to the spot next to me. His voice is deep and it matches him perfectly.

  “Nope, not at all.” I scooch over to make room for him but this isn’t a very big porch swing and his arm bumps mine.

  “Oops, sorry,” He laughs and leans over to the other side so he isn’t crowding me. I laugh too.

  “It’s fine. It’s a pretty small swing.” I smile at him and he relaxes, not trying so hard not to brush arms. A breeze blows past and carries the smell of pine off of him and towards me. How does he manage to smell woodsy too?

  “Enjoying the party?” He angles towards me a bit so he can look at me while he’s speaking.

  “Not really my kind of crowd but yeah I am. How about you?” I turn towards him too and it makes our knees touch but he doesn’t seem to notice.

  “It’s not too bad considering I was forced to come. My friend wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

  “Do you know Ben?”

  “No but my friend does. They go to the same college.”

  “Oh, what college do you go to?”

  “Actually, I’m not in college.” He scratches his head nervously. “I’ve never really had the desire to go. Not the smartest move I know.” He looks like he’s gotten the college lecture quite a bit. I wonder if his parents don’t agree with his decision.

  “No judgement here. I’ve decided to not go either, at least not yet anyways.” He perks up like he’s glad to finally find someone who isn’t in college, but considering the kind of people at the party and his friend, maybe he normally feels like he’s on the outside. I know I do.

  “What are you doing then?”

  “Well, I just graduated but I’m going to take a year and road trip. Take some time for myself. See the Grand Canyon, the Redwoods, camp in cool places, stuff like that.”

  “You’re definitely speaking my language now. I love to travel. I’ve seen so many beautiful places and had so many unique experiences by just going where the wind takes me. I think it’s something everyone should do.” He smiles brightly.

  “That’s really good to hear. I think my friends think I’m crazy.” They’d never actually say it but I know some of them feel that way.

  “I don’t think you’re crazy at all.” He smiles at me again and I decide I really like his smile.

  The front door opens again and we both look to see who it is. It’s the blonde in the sparkly dress that let us in earlier and she’s with a guy. His hair is blonde and shaggy and his face is the classic pretty boy face that drives Stacy crazy. They are all over each other and behind me woodsy man sighs. They both turn towards us at the sound and the guy leads her over to us.

  “I see you found a friend. Hope you don’t mind but I’m gonna bail,” the blonde guy says, giving the guy next to me a wink.

  “Knock yourself out,” he replies. He looks annoyed and waves his hand dismissively.

  The other guy winks again and the pair walk down the stairs and disappear down the street.

  “That was my friend, Caleb,” he explains.

  I turn back towards woods man and he has a disapproving look on his face.

  “He seems,” I try to think of a word that won’t offend him, “interesting.”

  To my surprise, he laughs.

  “Not the word I’d pick to describe him but I suppose interesting works. He’s not always like what you just saw, there’s more to him than that.”

  “Don’t judge a book by its cover right?”

  He smiles and looks up at the sky. I don’t know when but at some point he put his arm on the back of the swing behind me. It doesn’t feel like a move though, more like he is just more comfortable sitting like that. He turns his eyes back towards me and extends his hand.

  “I’m Oliver by the way.” I take his hand and shake it.

  “Nice to meet you. I’m Ailey.”

  “That’s unique,” he smiles and releases my hand. “It’s Irish isn’t it?”

  “Yeah, I’m surprised you know that.”

  “Like I said, I like to travel. Does your family come from Ireland?”

  “No, that’s where my parents met. They thought it was fitting to give me an Irish name. It means light.”

  “I have a feeling that that normally fits you quite well.”

  His words poke my heart.

  “Normally?” I ask.

  “You seem very sad to me,” he smiles again but it’s not the full face smile like before, it looks sad.

  “I guess you could say that,” I don’t want to tell him that my parents just died. It’s been nice not having to be the grief stricken girl that others treat me as.

  He simply nods and looks at the sky again. I’m relieved he doesn’t ask me about it. I don’t feel like I’m suffocating around him, he’s like a breath of fresh air. He’s new and doesn’t know my past; it’s what I’ve wanted from my road trip and it hasn’t even started. It gives me hope that it really will help me get back to normal.

  “You can’t see the stars very well here,” he states suddenly.

  “No, the streetlights make it pretty hard but probably the best place to see them is the cemetery. There’s not as many streetlights and it’s on the edge of town. I wish you could see them better. Do you like the stars?”

  “I never get tired of looking at them. There’s something about them that calls to me.”

  I can understand that. My mother was the same way. We spend a few minutes sitting in silence looking up at the sky. Too bad I was leaving. I wouldn’t have minded getting to know him better.

  “Well, I better go find my friend and make sure she hasn’t gotten into too much trouble.” I get up and he does the same.

  “Do you need a ride home?”

  “I think we’re okay. I didn’t drink so I’m good to drive. Thank you though.”

  “No problem at all. It was a pleasure meeting you.”

  He walks down the stairs and walks to the road. When he gets there he turns back and waves at me. I return the wave before going back into the house. Before I close the door, I look back but he’s gone already. I close the door and go search for Stacy.