Common Ground (The Common Ground Trilogy Book 1) (20 page)

“Calm down,” he repeated, as he threw his legs forward and bounded out of the chair in one smooth motion. He casually walked towards where Annie and I were standing and kissed her briefly on the lips. “It won’t happen again.”

“It better not,” she smiled bashfully. “Now, go get me a drink, I’ll be just a minute.”

Liam didn’t need another warning as he quickly scampered into the apartment and shut the screen door behind him, leaving Annie and me alone. A bad feeling crept into my thoughts and I knew exactly what she was going to say, but barely had the energy to engage.

“Look,” she said, sounding more frustrated than angry. “I don’t know what is going on between the two of you. All I know is that I’ve never liked anyone as much as him. If there’s something you want to tell me, you better tell me now because I’m not sure how much longer I can stand seeing you two together.”

“I don’t think that even deserves a response,” I sighed, hardly able to stand. “I’m not sure how many more times I have to tell you that I don’t like him before you actually believe me. If you don’t want to, fine. But there’s nothing more I can do.”

I turned my back and walked into the house, leaving Annie standing alone in the dark as the last thing I needed was another fight with my best friend. I pushed my way through the massive crowds, out the door and back upstairs where luckily, the party hadn’t spilled into our apartment. For the second time that day, I collapsed onto my bed and felt my consciousness quickly start to fade. My parents and the Johnsons had both told me that it was normal to encounter life-altering experiences in college. But what was happening to me went far beyond normal and my world was starting to crash down all around me.

Chapter 9:  Girls Night Out

Depressing gray clouds blanketed the Seattle skyline as I found myself standing in a very familiar place behind my parents and the younger me. We were all standing on the deck of a memorable house that overlooked the Puget Sound, where my parents’ old silver jeep was parked in the driveway. Young Zoe had latched onto my mother’s arm and displayed a look of extreme nervousness.

“Now Zoe,” my mother said, looking down at my younger self while my father rang the doorbell. “You’re about to meet our closest friends. They have a daughter your age and we thought you two could have fun together today. So, I want you to be on your best behavior and promise me that you’ll be safe. Okay?”

She looked up anxiously at my mother. “But what if she doesn’t like me?”

“Oh sweetie,” my father said, leaning down to face her. “How couldn’t she like you? You are smart, funny and beautiful. We’ve met her and think the two of you will become very good friends. Just be yourself and before you know it, she’ll love you almost as much as we do.”

The front door creaked open and three warm, friendly faces appeared in the doorway. A burly, muscular man, who was shorter and much stouter than my father, had his arm around a petite, but beautiful woman with shoulder length, dirty blond hair. The woman was holding a much smaller hand that belonged to an eager looking little girl, who had sparkling emerald eyes and golden blonde pigtails.

“You made it!” the woman exclaimed. She broke the link with her family and gave my mother and father a hug. “I’m so glad to see you!”

“Nice to see you again Eli,” the woman’s husband bellowed, shaking my father’s hand.

“You too Mark, thanks for having us over today.”

“It’s our pleasure,” he replied, while he gave my mother a welcoming hug and kiss on the cheek.

“And is this little darling our birthday girl?” Mark’s wife said. She placed her hands on her thighs and hunched over in front of the younger me.

“I’m Zoe,” she said quietly, as she grabbed my mother’s hand and hugged her arm tightly.

“It’s so nice to meet you Zoe,” she said, smiling kindly. “My name is Marie. I’ve heard so much about you!”

The younger me recoiled even more behind my mother. It was a strange sight to see myself have any hesitation around Marie. Even though it was a dream, it still didn’t make it any less bizarre.

“And this,” she continued, carefully pulling the little girl forward next to her, “is my daughter Annie.”

“Hi!” the younger Annie squeaked as she extended her hand out, “It’s nice to meet you.”

Young Zoe stared at Annie’s hand with wide eyes, not sure what to do. Her eyes traveled up to both my parents with a look of confusion.

“It’s alright honey,” my father said patiently.

She then looked anxiously up at my mother, who just smiled brightly and nodded. Hesitantly, her hand extended out and shook Annie’s.

“Happy Birthday!” Annie said, releasing her hold on my hand. “Did you get any cool stuff today?”

“Yeah, I got a bike.”

“Cool! I love bikes! What color is it? Mine’s yellow, but I really want a pink one.”

“Mine’s pink,” she said with a little more enthusiasm.

“No way,” Annie awed. “You want to go ride with me?”

“I, I don’t know how.”

“Oh, don’t worry Zoe, we’ll all help you with that,” Mark said. “Ann, why don’t you go upstairs and get your helmet while we help Zoe get her stuff out of the car.”

“Okay pop,” Annie said hurriedly as she turned and bounded through the door and up the stairs.

The Johnsons, my parents and the younger me all headed back towards the Jeep, where my father pulled out the pink bike and helmet. Mark opened up the garage and wheeled out Annie’s sun yellow two wheel bike. My father placed the bike on the level sidewalk while my mom took the helmet from him and softly put it over her head.

“Just be yourself,” she whispered to her. “Annie is a sweet little girl. You two are going to have a lot of fun together.”

The younger me nodded and gave her a simple smile.  

A minute later, Annie came sprinting out of the front door and leaped over the small flight of stairs that led up to the patio. She came to an abrupt stop right in front of young Zoe. Instead of just carrying a helmet, her hand was gripping a small box that was wrapped in pink polka dot paper. Annie softly placed the box in her hands.

“I got this for you, I hope you like it!” she said in her high pitched voice.

A smile brighter than the sun lit up her face. She glanced at the package, over at the much shorter Annie, then back at the package. Almost instantly, all wrapping paper and lid to the box went flying off as a blank expression dawned.

“It’s a bicycle bell!” Annie gleefully said. “I have the exact same one, but mines yellow, not pink. Now we’re twins!”

“What do you say sweetie?” my mother added in from behind.

“Thank you Annie.”

“You’re welcome,” she replied, showing her wide, gap tooth smile. “We’re going to be the best of friends, I know it!”

My father approached the two little girls, took the bell from my young hand and installed it onto the handlebars of the new bike. Annie pulled her bike away from Mark, leaped onto the banana seat and started flawlessly riding around the driveway. The younger me approached the pink bike and threw a leg over the narrow seat. Both my parents approached the bike before she could start peddling.

“Be very careful Zoe, we don’t want you to get hurt,” my mother said anxiously.

“I will mommy,” she replied confidently.

“Okay honey, I’m going to give you a slight push and then I want you to slowly start peddling. I’ll keep a hold of the bike and your arm until you get used to the feeling. That way, if you stumble, I’ll be right there to keep you from falling. You understand?” my father said.

She nodded feverishly while her tongue protruded out between gritted teeth. A look of concentration spread across her face when my father started to push. They quickly gained speed as my father picked up the pace to a steady jog. I looked over at my mother, whose hands were covering her mouth nervously. Marie had a comforting arm around her, while Mark kept a watchful eye on an uninhibited Annie. Just as the sound of a bell ringing and a little girl laughing gleefully rang out into the afternoon sky, everything turned dark.

My eyes flickered open and the familiar sight of my apartment bedroom quickly came into focus. An empty feeling resided in my heart at the memory of my first meeting with Annie. Everything looked so serene and peaceful in the dream, which made it even more heartbreaking to think about how much things had changed since that wonderful day.

The Halloween party had been over for a week, and Annie hadn’t set foot into the apartment once. It turned out to be the most quiet, lonely week I’d ever had in my life. Even Hope and Steph were too busy to hang out and I barely saw them at all, except for in classes or around campus.

Releasing a massive yawn, I sat up and stretched out. My bedroom door was wide open and an empty silence filled the apartment.  As my feet landed on the floor with a light thud, I picked myself up and groggily stumbled towards my desk. While the computer warmed up, my hands reached down to the foot of the desk and opened my backpack. The one benefit of being alone was that it gave me plenty of time to complete extra homework that built up over the course of the week.  While nonchalantly flipping through the neatly placed folders and textbooks in my bag, my fingers grabbed hold of a random, wrinkled scrap of paper. I pulled the paper out and unfolded it leisurely. A seven digit phone number and Simi’s name were scribbled out in perfect handwriting across the paper.

My hopes rose quickly as the memory of Simi’s offer rushed back into my mind. If there was one person who could truly understand what was happening to me, it was her. I leaped out of the chair and in one giant stride, reached out and grabbed my cell phone off the desk. When it flipped open, 10:30 am glared back at me, which was a late enough time, even for a Saturday, to dial the number. Each new, answerless ring added to my anxiety. Just as I was about to surrender, a spirited voice spoke on the other end.

“Hello?”

“Simi?” I asked tentatively. “It’s Zoe. I hope I’m not calling too early.”

“Zoe!” she cried happily. “Don’t be crazy, I’ve been up for hours. What’s up? Is everything alright?”

I hesitated for a moment, unsure of exactly what to say. I’d gotten so caught up in the moment of remembering that there was someone to turn to that I never even thought of how to ask for her help.

“Actually,” I started to say, fighting the frog that had gotten stuck in my throat. “I could use a friendly ear if you have one. Things aren’t going so well and I didn’t know where else to turn.”

“You just tell me the time and place and I’ll be there in a heartbeat,” she replied urgently.

“Problem is that I don’t have a car to get anywhere. Could you possibly come over here today or are you too busy?”

“What time?” she asked flatly.

“Whenever, I’m around all day.”

“I’ll see you in twenty.”

The line went dead before I could say goodbye. I hurriedly pulled out a pair of black capris and a red blouse and sprinted into the bathroom for the quickest shower in my life. 

Just as the light to the bathroom turned off, the doorbell echoed loudly through the empty apartment.  I bounded down the hallway and around the corner, stopping abruptly in front of the door. Taking a deep breath, my hand twisted the knob and pulled it open. Before I could react, Simi burst through the door, carrying a small doggie bag and a cardboard cup holder.

“I guessed by the sound of your voice that you just woke up, so I decided to grab some breakfast on my way over. If I remember correctly, you’re an OJ fan, right?”

“Um, yeah, thanks,” I said, closing the door slowly.

“Don’t mention it,” she responded. “Now, talk to me. What’s going on?”

I led her into the TV room, where we both sat onto the rough futon. She handed me a tall plastic cup full of orange juice and a glazed doughnut from The Pit. As if nothing else mattered, she rested her hands on her knees and leaned in towards me.

“I’m not really sure where to start,” I sighed.

“My guess is that this all has something to do with Annie and Liam, right?”

“How’d you know that?”

“Call it a gift,” she said calmly. “What happened?”

I proceeded to tell her all about the double date and the consequences that followed. It had been a while since we had talked, so it took a little time to go over the details of everything that had taken place during that time. During my never ending monologue, Simi sat there and listened without any expression at all. On occasion, she sipped her juice or nibbled at her doughnut, but other than that, she was like a rock. Once I finished telling her about the Halloween party, she finally leaned back and let out a loud whistle.

“I hate to tell you this, but I’m not surprised at all,” she said matter-of-factly. “Remember what I told you? This is exactly what he does. He finds a girl that appeals to him, gets her to believe that he’s really into her and then breaks it off before things get too serious. If you don’t do something quickly, Annie is going to get really hurt.”

“Well what can I do?” I groaned. “She won’t listen to me, especially now that she thinks I’m out to steal him from her.”

“Let me ask you this,” she said inquiringly. “What is it about Annie that makes you love her so much? I mean, you two don’t have much in common but yet she’s like a sister to you. How’d you guys get to be such close friends?”

The past night’s dream struck me like a lightning bolt. All of the innocence and peace replayed in my mind over and over again as Simi sat there waiting for me to respond.

“It’s ironic given the circumstances, but she’s always looked out and been there for me,” I said. “Ever since we first met, she’s been my guardian angel. Anytime things got bad, she was my shoulder to cry on. Whenever things were going well, she was the first one there to celebrate with me. And when my parents died, it was her family that adopted me and gave me a home to live in. We may not have the same taste in hobbies or fashion, but there is a connection between us that runs deeper than any of those material things. She’s more than my best friend, she’s my sister,” I finished.

Simi pursed her lips and nodded slowly. “That’s some pretty deep stuff Zoe. It’s great that you two are so close, but you haven’t met anyone like Liam before. As I told you, he has this nasty gift of brainwashing women to believe anything he says. Just from what I’ve seen, this has the potential to end very badly.”

“What do you mean badly? Is he going to hurt her?” I asked in alarm.

“Not physically, no,” she said. “At least not from what I’ve heard. He just does some major damage to a woman’s psyche. He knows the perfect time to get out of relationships before they get too serious. He’ll do it whenever it works best for him, no matter what the circumstances. And all I can tell you is that when it happens, Annie will need you more than she’s ever needed you before.”

“There’s no question I’ll be there for her whenever she needs me, but there has to be a way I can get through to her before it gets that far, right? Don’t you have any advice at all? Any ideas on what I can do?” I pleaded.