Happenstance 2 (Happenstance #2)(15)
Author: Jamie McGuire

“Okay. See you in a few days.”

For some reason, I took a detour home to pass by Gina’s house. It looked the same. The windows were still dirty, the screen door was still hanging off-kilter, the porch still needed paint, the backyard fence was still broken. I wondered if she’d left my room the way it was, or if she’d sold everything. Nothing ever seemed to change there. I wondered if she cared enough about me that she didn’t want to look at my things, or if she was so relieved to get rid of me that she wanted to be rid of any reminder of me too.

The garage door slowly closed behind the BMW, and I pressed the ignition button to turn off the engine. Silence. Absolute silence. Just me, the garage, and the new car smell.

Julianne opened the back door with a big grin. “You’re home early! Did you talk with Patty?”

I grabbed my backpack and shut the driver’s side door behind me, nodding as I passed her, heading straight for my usual stool at the kitchen island. She followed me and leaned against the stove with her arms crossed.

“What’s up, buttercup?” she asked. “Patty wasn’t upset, was she?”

I shook my head. “She said you already talked to her about it.”

Julianne cringed. “Oh gosh, Erin, I hope that’s okay. I didn’t mean that she had to cut your hours. I just told her I was hoping you would want to, and that I was going to talk to you about it.”

“It’s okay. I was going to…She just beat me to it.”

“Oh. So…you’re not upset with me?”

“No. But I need to tell you something. I think you’re going to be upset with me.”

“Oh?” she said, suddenly worried.

“I was going to wait until Sam got home, so I could tell you both.”

“He has a late case.”

“Then I’ll tell you, and maybe you can tell him?”

She nodded and took a few steps until she could lay her palms flat on the granite of the island.

“I, um…I went into Alder’s room. I was curious, not that it’s an excuse. But I saw her tub full of journals.”

Julianne didn’t react. She just listened.

“I read one. Not all of it. But I read a few entries.”

Julianne dipped her head, and after several seconds, she wiped her eye with her wrist.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I won’t go into her room again. The worst part is that I knew it was wrong, but I did it anyway.”

Julianne looked up at me with wet eyes. “You’re not the only one.”

“Pardon?”

“I’ve always known that she kept journals. I’ve been reading them too, since she died. Curiosity is an awful trap, isn’t it?” she said, sheepish. “But, Erin…You shouldn’t read any more. You won’t like it.”

“You sound like Weston,” I said, looking away.

“What do you mean?”

“He said the same thing. That I shouldn’t read any more. He acted really weird about it.”

“Really? What else did he say?”

“Nothing else.”

She fidgeted. “He came by today.”

“He what?”

“He told me you were reading Alder’s journals, and he told me to tell you to stop.”

Weston had left art to tattle on me? There had to be a reason he didn’t want me to read the journals. He wouldn’t just try to get me into trouble with Julianne. Something was in there that would hurt me, and he knew about it.

“Why would he do that?”

She looked down, troubled. “Alder is different than we thought, Erin. Some of the things she wrote are…upsetting. She knew things. Things Sam and I had no idea about. And…” She shook her head. “I haven’t read all of them. It was too hard. I haven’t told Sam. I’m not sure how he would react.”

“I’ll keep it between us.”

“Thank you,” she said, relieved.

“Julianne? Is there anything in there about me? I mean that I should know.”

She hesitated. “Yes.”

“Can I read them?”

“I don’t know how to answer that, honey.”

“I think…I think I have to.”

Chapter 7

MY BLACK CONVERSE KNOCKED AGAINST THE BLEACHERS AS I climbed to the top. The baseball team was running laps, their T-shirts soaked in sweat, their faces red. I hadn’t been seated for more than five minutes when Coach Langdon called practice, and they ran to the dugout.

After a short meeting, they began filing out to the parking lot, including Weston. After a few moments, he ran back in, looking up to where I sat. He jogged up the bleachers, taking two at a time until he reached me. His arms wrapped around me, and he pressed his lips against me. His skin was covered in a thin sheen of sweat, but he could have been covered in toxic waste, and I still wouldn’t have complained.

“I was just getting ready to drive across the street, and I saw your car in the parking lot. What are you doing here?”

I shrugged. “Just thought I’d come watch you practice since you don’t have many left.”

He looked out on to the field. “I can’t believe it’s my last year. I’m going to miss it. For the most part. Prom. Graduation. Then it’s all over.”

“Have you talked to your dad about Dallas?”

He shook his head. “He’s too excited about Duke, Erin. Every time I think about bringing it up, it doesn’t seem like the right time.”

“There isn’t a right time for something like that, and you’re going to wait until you run out of time.”

“Maybe he’s right. Maybe Duke will be good for me.”

“So you want to be a lawyer?”

His face twisted into disgust. “No.”

“Weston,” I said, turning his dirty, sweaty face toward me. “You have to tell them. You only have one life. One shot. Don’t waste it on someone else’s dream.”

His eyes danced back and forth to each of mine. “God, you’re beautiful.”

I looked down, embarrassed.

“Do you have a date for prom yet?”

I shot him a look. “You know I don’t.”

“Will you go with me?”

I shook my head. “We talked about this already.”

“That was when you didn’t have Julianne Alderman for a mother. She’ll help you find a dress.”

“I can’t ask her to buy me a dress.”