Arielle turned and walked down the few steps until she hit the dark blue carpet of her living room. “Yeah, Dad?”
Her dad pointed to the couch across from him. “Sit.”
She did, staring straight at her dad. She tilted her head and raised her eyebrows, a half smile forming on her face. “Am I in trouble?”
He grinned, running a hand through his longer brown hair, which he’d pulled back in a ponytail. “No, not in trouble. I wanted to check in with ya. See how everythin’ is goin’.”
Arielle shrugged. “It isn’t going bad, Dad, but it’s hard. Blake wanting to be friends hurts, but I’m trying the best I can.” She kept everything that had happened today from him. No need to make Dad hate him, in case they ever got back together. Which she didn’t see happening since she couldn’t even stand to look at Blake at the moment.
“I told ya before and I’ll tell ya again, there ain’t no way he just wants to be friends. I seen the way he looks at ya, Ari. That boy…”
Arielle’s cheeks grew hot. Talking to her dad about this kind of stuff wasn’t her idea of a good time, but it had always been easy to talk to her dad. “Thanks for checking on me, Dad, but I’m fine. Or, at least, I will be.”
He smiled. “I know you will, sweetheart. Ya always are. Doesn’t mean I ain’t gonna check on ya. Now, go on and get your homework done.”
Arielle nodded. “Thanks, Dad.”
He stood up and walked over to her. “Before you go off, how about givin’ your old man a hug?”
“I would never say no to that.” Arielle stood up and let her dad wrap her up in one of his famous hugs. She squeezed him right back, and when she walked back up to her room, a warmth had spread inside her chest, making her heart expand with happiness.
She’d won the best prize in the world when she’d gotten her dad.
***
That night, while she sat on the floor of her room doing homework and listening to the radio, a car door slammed outside. She leaned forward over the heat register and pulled her curtain back. She couldn’t see very well through the darkness, but it had to be Blake’s car in the driveway.
“What’s he doing here?” Arielle mumbled to herself as she ran her hands down the front of her to straighten her clothes. The front door shut and muffled voices traveled upstairs, but she couldn’t hear what they were saying so she stood up and leaned her ear closer to the door to get a better listen.
“Arielle. Blake’s here,” Dad yelled upstairs. She froze with her hand against her wall.
She didn’t want to see him yet, but she’d told herself she would try to be his friend…even though he didn’t deserve her. “Be right down!”
After she turned her radio off and stood in front of her mirror for a few seconds, she tucked her hair behind her ears and hopped down the stairs, opening the door and stepping out into the living room. She turned and there Blake stood, right in front of the door.
Mom patted her back and walked into the kitchen.
Dad smiled. “I’ll leave you two alone.” Then he looked at Blake. “But, I’ll be listenin’.”
Arielle grabbed Blake’s arm and pulled him out the front door to stand on the porch. “What are you doing here, Blake? Can’t you just leave me alone?”
Blake crossed his arms over his chest. “Ari, I don’t want to lose you.”
She snorted. “You just met me. Trust me, losing me wouldn’t be a great loss.”
He met her eyes and she could see straight to his soul. “It would be for me.”
She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Guess you should have thought about that before you went and got a new girlfriend.” Goosebumps lined her arms, so she rubbed her palms up and down them to try to generate some heat. It was getting colder outside, which meant the house would be colder. The old farmhouse had a heating system that matched the age of the house.
Blake’s eyes shone. “I’m sorry. I will break up with her right now. She means nothing to me.”
“Yet you took her necklace and hung it in your car. Sure. I believe that.”
Blake came forward and wrapped his arms around her before she could stop him. “What can I do to make you forgive me?”
She shrugged out of his arms. “Nothing. Not right now. I need time.” She paused, running a hand through her hair. “And honestly, I’m not sure I’m going to be able to forgive you. Only time will tell.”
“I can wait.” He leaned back against the bannister by the stairs, staring at his feet like they were the most interesting thing on the planet. “But just so you know, this is hard for me too. I found someone who I want to be with more than anything and I can’t be with her because I don’t actually live here.”
Arielle glared at him, then put her hands on her hips. “You broke up with me because you were scared, Blake. At least be honest with me. Either way, that was your decision, which I accepted.”
A cat meowed, and Bandit climbed the steps, rubbing against her legs. “Hey, buddy. You hungry?” She opened the door and let him inside. “I’ve got to go take care of him. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
“I can pick you up for school, if you want.”
She glared at him. “No. I don’t want. I need you to leave me alone for now.”
“Okay. I’ll be here when you want to talk.” Then he walked off the porch and got in his car, leaving her driveway, maybe her life, forever.
Putting Blake as far from the front of her mind as she could, she opened the door and stepped inside, then squatted down and rubbed Bandit’s head around his ears. “All right, big guy. Let’s get you some food.” She walked into the kitchen, poured out some dry cat food, and sat down at the kitchen table.
“Everything okay?” Mom placed the last dish in the strainer.
“Everything is fine.” Arielle dropped her head in her hands. “Peachy, even. But, if it’s okay, I’m too worn out to talk about it.”
Mom came over and hugged Arielle. “Then why don’t you head on up to bed. I will take care of Bandit.”
Arielle nodded. “Sounds good. Thanks Mom.”
Once she made it to her room and her head hit the pillow, she closed her eyes and fell right to sleep.
Chapter 11
Friends Again
The next few weeks went by slowly. Arielle tried hanging out with Jess a couple times, but she was always with Damien so she didn’t see her as much as she hoped. Also, she’d been acting weird, distant and irritable, so Arielle didn’t do much besides stay at home and work on homework.
Her last day of school before Christmas break went so fast she blinked and it was over. She went home that afternoon, dropped her book bag on the porch, and marched out to the chicken coop. After she fed them, she grabbed the basket she kept at the entrance and climbed inside.
A fine layer of snow crunched under her feet as she walked there. The cold had come, but not so bad she couldn’t stand it. As it stood, she had a light jacket on and not her thick winter coat, so winter hadn’t hit hard yet. It would come, though. It always did.
Mama sat on the eggs and stared at her with beady little eyes.
“How you doing, girl?” Arielle asked, stroking the back of her all black chicken. “Staying warm?”
Mama clucked as if in response. She stood up, flapping her wings a few times, so Arielle moved her and grabbed the eggs from under her. There were only about eight today, not many, but enough. Sometimes, Arielle felt bad eating eggs because she knew Mama could turn them into babies, but it was the way of the world. Eat or be eaten.
She put Mama back in the hay she laid in most of the time, sprinkling a bit of food before her. “I’ll tell you, things haven’t been the best for me either. My life is probably worse that it has ever been, which is funny because at the beginning of the year I thought it was bad with Karla and her teasing. Then it turned into the best time I’d ever had when I met Blake.” Arielle sighed. “Maybe I should forgive him. What do you think?”
Mama tilted her tiny head.
Arielle smiled and stroked her feathers once more. “I know. You have no idea what I’m talking about, right?” Laughing, Arielle stood and brushed off the back of her pants, carrying the basket in front of her with both arms tucked in the handle. “Maybe I am crazy for talking to chickens.”
She kicked an acorn lying on the ground and it hit the side of a tree, ricocheted back at her, and slammed into her forehead. Arielle winced, rubbing her head. “Things keep getting better and better.”
When she made it back to the house, she put the eggs in the fridge and walked out the front door to grab her bag. Blake halted at the bottom step of her porch, his eyes wide.
Arielle jumped, placing her hand over her heart as she gasped. “What are you doing here?”
Blake climbed the first step. “I miss you, Ari. I’ve tried to give you time, but has it been long enough for us to revisit the possibility of being friends again?”
Arielle took a step back until her back hit the door. “I don’t know, Blake.”
“Can we give it a try? See what happens?” Blake asked with a certain desperation in his voice.
Arielle hadn’t been as hurt or mad the last couple weeks. The only time she spent with Jess was when she let her best friend fix her up with a couple of Damien’s friends. She’d gone on a couple of dates, but they hadn’t worked out well. The guys were morons and she couldn’t stand them. Maybe she could let Blake back into her life. At least give him a chance.
“Well?” He climbed the stairs to stand before her on the porch. He kept a little distance, though, acting like Arielle had morphed into a deer that might spook if he moved too fast.
Arielle shrugged. “Whatever. I don’t know. I guess we can see what happens.”
Blake smiled.
“You wanna come in?” she asked, her heart racing.
He nodded. “Would I ever.”
Inside, she tossed her book bag in the computer room. She wouldn’t have to touch it during winter break because none of her teachers had given her any homework, so she could spend her days being lazy, reading books, and watching TV. The downtime would do her some good. Well, maybe. It would also give her more time to think, which she could do without.
“Sit down. We could watch TV, I guess.”
Mom and Dad weren’t home. Mom could be at work still, but Arielle thought they might have went grocery shopping. Reed had practice after school for one of the sports he played. She couldn’t keep track, even if she wanted to. Any way she looked at it, nobody was in the house, leaving her utterly alone with Blake, something she hadn’t been in a long time.
Arielle turned the TV on and sat on the couch. Blake sat by her, but on the opposite end, still trying to give her the space she needed. She hesitated around him now and didn’t like it one bit. Before, she had been able to be herself with him no matter what, but she didn’t know how to get back to that place.
“So, how’s everything been?” Blake asked.
“Fine.”
“What have you been doing?”
“Nothing.”
“Why not?” he asked.
“Because.”
Blake scooted closer her, the heat from his arm melting into her own. She tried to move away but she had nowhere to go, so instead, she slid off the couch and sat on the floor.
Blake frowned down at her. “If you are going to try, then try. This isn’t trying, Ari. One-word answers isn’t trying.”
She shrugged. “I know. I’m sorry. I can’t help it. It’s not the same.”
He joined her on the floor. “I know. I screwed everything up, but…never mind. Maybe I should just go.”
He stood up and started walking toward the door.
She stood too. “No. Don’t go.”
He met her eyes. “Are you sure?”
She forced a smile. “I’m sure. Stay.”
Together they sat down and watched TV.
Blake left after about an hour, and Arielle went upstairs to write in her journal. Her parents still hadn’t come home, so the house remained quiet. She turned her radio on and cranked it up loud, way louder than she would have if Mom and Dad had been home.
She wrote about what happened with Blake and how nothing had changed—she still cared about him no matter how hard she tried not to. Blake had planted himself in her heart and her feelings for him still grew even though she’d stopped watering them a long time ago. Okay, she thought. What is wrong with me. Now I’m comparing Blake to a plant…
“Anyone home?” a voice called upstairs. Footsteps followed.
Arielle’s heart stopped as she froze, pen poised on the paper of her journal.
Blake peeked his head around her door. “Hey. I’m back.”
She blew out the breath she’d been holding. “So I see.”
He stepped inside. “What are you doing?”
She slammed her journal closed. “Nothing.”
“Is that a journal? Are you writing about me?” Blake bent down and grabbed her journal out from under her.
“Give it back!” she yelled.
He ran out her door. “No way. Not until I see what you wrote about me.”
She heard him thumping down the steps and stood to follow him, almost falling as she ran after him. She slapped her hand against the door to catch herself before she slammed into the couch. “Come on, Blake! Give it back.”
But he stood in the kitchen with the notebook open. She didn’t know if he’d read it or not, but it looked like he had. When he met her eyes, he snapped it closed, holding the book out to her.
She smacked him in the chest. “What the hell is wrong with you? That’s mine!” She snatched it away from him.
“I was kidding.” He paused, folding his arms behind his back. “I didn’t read anything.”
She took a couple of deep breaths, secretly thrilled he hadn’t read it. The book had his name inside the pages more than her own. It would have mortified her.
“What are you doing back?” she asked.
“My grandparents weren’t home and I forgot my key. You care if I hang out?”
She shook her head. “No, that’s fine. Let me put this away.” She ran her journal upstairs and came right back down. Blake stood in the doorway.
His hair had gotten longer, she noticed. It was still short on the sides, but the top had grown so much he could probably French braid it. She laughed.
“What’s so funny?” he asked, shifting his weight to one side.
She held a finger up. “Wait here.” She ran to the bathroom and grabbed two hair ties and a small mirror, then joined him again. “Stay still and don’t move. Turn around. No peeking.”
She worked his hair into pigtails, laughing the whole time. When she finished, she grabbed the small mirror, holding it in front of his face.
“Wow, Ari. You should go into the hair biz.”
“I’m not done.” She pulled her cell phone from her back pocket and snapped a few selfies, putting her cheek right up against his. “Now I won’t ever forget the boy who wore pigtails.”
“You’d better not post that on social media.” He frowned.
“I won’t.” She chuckled. “Even though you’d deserve it if I did.”
The hairdo broke the awkwardness and they spent the rest of the afternoon together watching movies. When her parents came home, they made dinner, and after Blake ate, he called his grandma, who had arrived back at his house, and he went home.
***
The day before Christmas Eve, Arielle went to bed early but couldn’t sleep. She had butterflies swimming through her stomach because tomorrow was the big party they went to every year at her aunt’s house. She loved spending time with her family and this was the biggest gathering they would share.
When Arielle went downstairs to get a drink of water, the flicker of the TV drew her gaze. Her dad sat rocking in his reclining chair. “Dad, what are you doing up?” She glanced at the digital clock on the satellite box under the TV. “It’s three in the morning.”
/> Then she saw what played on the TV: Little Princess, one of her all-time favorite movies. It starred Shirley Temple and was one of the first movies the child star acted in which wasn’t in black and white. Of course, you could get all of them in remastered color, but it wasn’t the same as watching the old black-and-white films or the old color ones.
Ever since Arielle was a child she’d loved these movies. She used to watch them over and over so much the tapes she’d used back in the day got ruined. But there Dad sat, rocking back and forth and pulling an all-nighter to make sure he recorded every one of the movies, because from the looks of it, the channel he had it on had a marathon going on. It didn’t matter that he didn’t need to because with all the modern technology in the world, she could go almost anywhere online and find somewhere to watch it for free. The thought he put into making his children happy…she couldn’t believe she’d gotten so lucky to have him as her dad.
A lump formed in Arielle’s throat and her eyes filled with water. “Dad, you didn’t have to do this.”
Dad turned around and a big grin spread across his face. “Yeah, I know I didn’t have ta. But guess what? I’m your dad, missy, and if I want to stay up and make sure my daughter has her favorite movies, I’m going to.” He winked. “Now get on back to bed. Tomorrow is a big day and I’m sure your mom’ll need some help.”
“I’ll go, but I wanted to get a drink of water first.” Arielle started walking toward the kitchen. She flipped the light switch up on the wall as she crossed the threshold from the living room to the kitchen, but with her hand still on the fixture she glanced behind her. “Thanks, Dad. You are the best.”
“If you keep sayin’ those kinds of things, it might go straight to my head. Then it’ll swell even bigger.” He chuckled and turned back to the TV.
Arielle went into the kitchen, shaking her head the whole way. After she got her drink of water, she went back up to her room and fell asleep.
***
The next day, Arielle woke to her mom yelling upstairs. “Arielle, you have a visitor.”