Second Down - Chapter 26

We didn’t actually get the lock on the door until Friday afternoon. Dad wanted to wait until mom was out of the house to ‘not cause an argument,’ which I guess I could see the point of. But it also meant I put stuff I cared about in my backpack and hauled it with me to school on Thursday.

Josh was escalating and I really didn’t trust him not to do anything stupid, even for just the one day.

At least we’d gotten the mattress on Thursday. Mom saw us but was lying down on the couch and other than looking at us carrying the mattress in didn’t really have much to say.

I really did feel better when dad put the new lock on my door. I talked him out of just replacing the knob with one with a lock, since I thought Josh could get that open, and instead had him install a hinge and I put a padlock on it, so that Josh would have to literally destroy my door to get in.

While that wasn’t out of the realm of possibility, at least that might finally be going too far and actually get him in trouble.

By Friday night, though, I’d put all of that out of my mind as I got ready for my date. I dressed in jeans and a nice button-up shirt, going for nice but not too fancy. Jimmy’s wasn’t exactly the Ritz and church clothes felt like a bit of a stretch for it.

I actually was way less nervous than I’d thought I’d be. Maybe it’s because I’d experienced dating in the dream life, but it wasn’t as scary to me as the few dates I’d been on in middle school. Those first dates I’d been on with Brandy in eighth grade, before we became a couple, I had been a wreck before each one.

Now, I actually felt alright.

Dad was working the night shift tonight and left as soon as we got the lock on my door and mom had gone to work for the first time in a week, so that left me on my own.

Thankfully, Melanie’s place was between my house and the school, so the walk wasn’t bad, and we weren’t far from Broad Street where Jimmy’s, the burger place we were going, was located.

Her house was a little two-story place that was really well kept up, like someone had put a lot of care into the way the yard looked, and the front porch light was on.

It was just starting to get a little cool so I’d worn a jacket, but otherwise it wasn’t too bad. I rang the doorbell and a few moments later an older woman opened the door. She seemed a little too old to be Melanie’s mother, maybe in her mid-fifties with silver-streaked hair, but there was a resemblance there.

“You must be Blake,” she said, giving me a warm smile. “Come in, Melanie will be down in a minute.”

I stepped into their entryway, noting the family photos on the walls. Except for a few pictures with a man around the same age as the woman who answered the door, all of the pictures had just Melanie and two other women in it. In the pictures with the man, Melanie was real little, but the other women confused me. There was the older lady who answered the door and then another woman who looked maybe ten or fifteen years older than Melanie.

The age gap was a weird limbo, and I could only guess that she was Melanie’s older sister, although why waiting so long between kids was a wonder.

Before I could contemplate it any more, footsteps on the stairs drew my attention. Melanie appeared, wearing a blue dress that made her eyes pop.

It wasn’t overly fancy, but it was still very nice and for a moment I wondered if I’d miscalculated with the jeans.

The other woman in the picture appeared from what looked like the kitchen and solved the mystery when she said, “Hi. I’m Donna, Mel’s sister.”

“Uhh, hi,” I said, not expecting to meet so much of her family on the first date.

“Okay, we’re leaving!” Melanie grabbed my arm. “Bye Mom, bye Donna!”

“Have him back by eleven,” her mom called after us as Melanie practically dragged me outside.

Once we were down the block, Melanie burst out laughing. “You looked like you were about to pass out in there.”

“Did not,” I tried to sound offended but couldn’t help grinning.

I’d been so calm and collected when I’d left my house. What had happened?

“Please, you were so nervous. It was kind of cute actually.”

“I just wasn’t expecting to meet your whole family.”

“Yeah, I’d hoped to get to the door myself, but I couldn’t find my earrings. You survived though.”

“Barely.”

She’d been smart enough to wear tennis shoes which actually went with the mid-thigh length dress, although it was a little cold for that. I saw her shivering and pulled up my jacket.

She looked surprised and then smiled when I put it around her shoulders.

“Well, look at that. Chivalry isn’t dead.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it,” I said.

We weren’t the only people walking and there were other people about, taking evening strolls and even some kids I knew from school heading to stuff.

“So the other day you were telling me about the extra classes you were taking. I’ve asked around and everyone says you’re really busting your ass.”

“I’m just trying to keep my options open.”

“But everyone says you’re amazing at football.”

She said it as if to say, why would I need any other options.

“Football’s great, but it’s not guaranteed. One bad hit and that’s it, you know? I don’t want to be that guy who peaks in high school, working at the scrap yard, telling anyone who’ll listen about his glory days.”

She nodded slowly. “That makes sense.”

We fell into silence for half a block. Although we’d done this flirting thing back and forth, we hadn’t actually spent much time talking to each other before now.

“What about you?” I asked as we approached the restaurant. “What do you do besides cheerleading?”

“Promise not to laugh?”

“Never.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m teaching myself Japanese. I want to study abroad there in college.”

“That’s actually really cool. Why would I laugh at that?”

“Because most people think it’s weird. They assume I just watch anime or something.”

“Do you?”

“Sometimes, but not much,” she admitted. “But that’s not why! I just think the culture is fascinating. The way they blend traditional and modern, that’s amazing.”

She launched into an explanation of Japanese architecture as we reached Jimmy’s, her hands moving animatedly as she talked. She actually knew quite a lot about it. That was honestly very surprising. I’m not sure what I expected her to say, but that wasn’t it.

Jimmy’s was packed with the Friday night crowd. There weren’t a lot of restaurants in Wheaton, and half of those were fast food, so this one could get pretty busy. And tonight was no different. Thankfully, one of the hostesses was also on the JV squad with Melanie and got us a booth near the back.

It was warmer in here, enough that Melanie took off my jacket, but she didn’t hand it back. Instead, she folded it over and sat it on the seat next to her after she slid into the booth across from me.

“I love this place,” she said, picking up a menu she probably didn’t need. “Everyone acts like it’s just a burger joint, but their chicken is amazing.”

A waitress with frizzy red hair and a nametag reading ‘Darlene’ appeared with her order pad. “What can I get y’all?”

“Cheeseburger, fries, and a chocolate shake,” I said.

“Grilled chicken salad and a Diet Coke for me,” Melanie said, handing back the menu.

“Diet?” I raised an eyebrow.

Melanie was in amazing shape and got a ton of exercise in cheerleading, so the diet was a little unexpected. Most girls around here just drank coke or sweet tea.

At least the ones I knew.

“Hey, cheerleading requires a certain look. Besides, their salads are huge. And I plan on stealing your fries.”

“Ohh, you do, do you?”

“So, what’s up with you and Elijah? I have him in my math class, and to hear Brandy talk about you guys, you backstabbed them and ruined their chances for making JV. She went on this huge rant about you the other day in practice.”

“Ha. They never had a chance to make JV. I only did cause I got lucky. Elijah got pulled into the second string because he was trying to throw games in some kind of head games, power play. He has no one to blame for how he ended up but himself. Besides, she chose to be with Mason. She picked her bed. Literally.”

“She says you made up the stuff about her cheating with Mason.”

“I didn’t make up the fact that less than twenty-four hours after we broke up, she was dating him. But hey, maybe that’s a coincidence.”

Darlene arrived with our drinks. I took a sip of my shake while Melanie stirred her soda, and we fell into a kind of uncomfortable silence for a minute.

“What about you?” I asked, breaking the lull in conversation. “How’s cheerleading going?”

“It’s fun, mostly. Competition season is coming up, so practices are getting intense. Coach keeps changing the routine because some of the girls can’t get the timing right on their stunts.”

She talked for a bit about what she’d experienced in junior competitions and what she hoped for from them. I pointed out that if she moved to Japan for college, I wasn’t sure how much cheerleading there would be, but she didn’t have the same goal as me. This was just something she was doing through high school.

The jukebox kicked on with “Sweet Home Alabama,” and Melanie perked up.

“You like Skynyrd?” I asked.

“Love them. Donna got me into it before, well, when I was little. Dad’s vinyl collection was like her prized possession growing up.”

“Was?”

Something flickered across her face. “He passed when I was little.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I barely remember him.” She took a long sip of her drink. “What about you? You strike me as a top forties guy.”

“I can appreciate both.”

Our food arrived, and conversation flowed easily between bites. We were actually getting along a lot better than I could have hoped. I was reaching for the ketchup when familiar voices approached.

“Well, well, well.” Jerry stood at our table, flanked by Patrick, Miles, and Elton. “What do we have here?”

“Looks like our QB finally scored,” Patrick said with an exaggerated wink.

“Don’t you guys have somewhere else to be?”

“Nope,” Miles grinned. “This is quality entertainment.”

“Speaking of entertainment,” Elton said, “what’s with you playing matchmaker with my sister and that new kid?”

“Eduardo’s a good guy,” I said. “And Sarah seems to like him.”

“Yeah, well.” Elton crossed his arms. “If anything happens to her...”

“You’ll come after me. Got it.”

“As long as we’re clear.” But there was a hint of a smile on his face.

“Alright, let’s leave the lovebirds alone,” Jerry said, herding the others away.

They settled at a table across the restaurant, occasionally throwing thumbs up and kissy faces our way.

“Sorry about them,” I said.

“Don’t be. It’s sweet how they look out for each other.” Melanie stole one of my fries. “Even if they’re huge dorks about it.”

“I guess we should get the check,” I said, spotting Darlene heading back our way with it.

“Thanks for dinner,” Melanie said when I pulled out my wallet.

“My pleasure.”

Outside, the temperature had dropped further, and Melanie shivered before slipping my jacket back on. Without thinking, I reached for her hand. Her fingers interlocked with mine, and she gave a small squeeze.

“So what’s it like having an older sister?” I asked as we walked. “Must be nice having someone to look up to.”

“Donna’s ... complicated. We don’t really talk much anymore. What about you and Joshua? What’s he like?”

“He’s going through some stuff right now. It’s been hard on everyone, especially my mom.”

“What kind of stuff?”

“It’s hard to explain. Just … stuff.”

“That’s rough. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, well, it is what it is. So tell me more about your architecture obsession. What got you interested in that?”

“Nice deflection,” she said, but went along with the subject change. “I saw this documentary about Japanese temples when I was twelve, and something just clicked. The way they use space and light, how every detail has meaning...”

She continued explaining various architectural styles as we walked, her free hand gesturing expressively. I wasn’t really following half of it, but I was enjoying just hearing her talk. Hearing the sound of her voice.

Much too soon, we reached her front porch.

“I had a really good time tonight,” Melanie said, turning to face me as we stepped onto the porch.

“Me too.”

We stood there for a moment, neither moving. Her eyes met mine, and I found myself leaning forward. She tilted her head up slightly, and our lips met. The kiss was soft and brief, but perfect.

When we pulled apart, Melanie’s cheeks were flushed pink. She bit her lower lip, trying to hide a smile.

“Goodnight, Blake,” she whispered.

“Goodnight.”

I waited until she was safely inside before heading home. The walk back felt shorter somehow, maybe because I spent most of it replaying the evening in my mind.

I was still floating as I got to the house and walked in the front door, thinking nothing would take this feeling away. I was thinking through that kiss with Melanie over and over.

That feeling came to a screeching halt as soon as I walked through the door.

"Blake Andrew Sims, get in here right now!"

She was standing in the middle of the kitchen, arms crossed, with Josh hovering behind her with a smirk on his face, since she couldn't see him. She looked pissed and I knew he'd done something to try and get me in trouble.

I wanted to wipe that stupid smile off his face.

"You want to explain why there's suddenly a lock on your bedroom door?"

There it was. Josh had tried to get into my room and saw the lock. My room was past his down the upstairs hallway and the bathroom was past that, so the only way he wouldn't just happen to see it walking by. He'd have to walk down to my room to see it.

"I put it there to protect my stuff, and Dad approved it. He installed it this morning for me."

"You went to him without discussing it with me?" Her voice climbed higher. "I'm your mother. You don't get to make decisions like this behind my back."

"Behind your back? I just said Dad literally installed it himself."

"Only because you went to him without talking to me. You're always trying to pit us against each other, telling me one thing and him another, or not telling him when I tell you no. I won't have it."

"I didn't do anything like that. And how does he even know I have a lock on my door unless he tried to get into it while I was out?"

"That's not the point," Mom cut in. "I won't have you hiding things in there. For all I know, you could be doing drugs…"

"Drugs? Are you serious? You know they randomly test athletes and I'm not going to do anything that will put my football career in jeopardy. You want to know what I'm doing in there? Homework. That's it. The only reason I need a lock is because he keeps stealing my stuff and he literally peed on my mattress."

"That's a lie," Joshua said, stamping his foot.

"Blake, I will not have you spreading lies. You can't blame your brother for things you have no proof of."

"Proof? Why do you think Dad and I brought that new mattress in a few days ago or why there's a mattress out in the garage right now waiting for heavy trash day, with a big yellow stain right in the middle of it? Unless someone broke into our house to piss on my bed, or you're suggesting that you or Dad did it, then it had to be Josh!"

She didn't even acknowledge what I said. "I will not have you spreading lies in this house, Blake."

"He's been sneaking out at night, too!" Josh said.

"What? Is this true?"

"Seriously? He says something completely made up and you just believe him, but anything I say is automatically a lie?"

"Do not talk back to me like that! I want that lock off by tomorrow."

"No. Dad approved it, and it's staying. You can talk to him about it."

"It's not fair!" Josh screamed, stamping his foot and storming up the stairs, stomping on each step as hard as he could.

"Get out of my sight." Mom's voice was ice cold.

I headed upstairs, furious. How the hell could she be so blind to how he was acting.

What's worse, I could hear Joshua's theatrical sobbing through the door, and then, of all things, mom talking to him, trying to soothe him. Like anything had been done to him at all, instead of he just wasn't allowed to break into my room anymore.

I guess the night could have been ruined after all.