Easy Silence (18 page)

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The next few days went by in a blur. Jaxson seemed to be working nonstop at both jobs, and I tried my best to keep myself busy without him. He made sure that he spent each night with me. I was grateful for the few minutes that I would get just to hug him or just to see the adorable sleepy look in his eyes when he would open them up first thing in the morning. He was filling my heart with something that had been missing my entire life, and as I reached deeper inside myself, I realized that something was love. I was starting to feel like I needed him in my life the same way I was hoping that he needed me. He had gotten so protective of me since that day in the woods, making me reassure him that I would never go out to that pond by myself again and wanting a detailed agenda of my day, so he always knew where to find me. I didn’t mind it. In fact, I kind of liked it. It was nice to know that someone actually cared enough about me in that manner. I was doing my best to avoid Henry and his relentless badgering about having me file a report. I had just gotten back from a walk with my grandmother and Doreen, and I was back to being Brooke to my grandmother. I went along with it, finally surrendering to the fact that she no longer knew who I was. So, if I could be in her life as Brooke, then so be it.

My head was buried in the fridge, looking for something to make for lunch when the sound of Hadley’s voice startled me.

“Watchya looking for?”

“Oh, just gonna make some peanut butter and jelly.” I grabbed the jelly from the fridge and watched as she placed the bags of groceries down on the counter. I stared at her questionably, deciding to pick her brain a little.

“Hadley, how long have you worked for Grammy?”

She turned around and placed her finger to her lip, looking deep in thought. “Hmm, Well, I lost track of the number of years, but your daddy was just starting high school.”

“Wow, that long?” I asked, reaching in the cabinet above her for the peanut butter.

“Yeah, time sure does fly.”

“So you knew Brooke?” I blurted out.

Her smile faded, and she froze for a minute before quickly nodding her head. “Sam, you better eat these strawberries; I got a ton of them because I know you love them.”

“What was she like?” I asked, totally ignoring her.

“Who?”

“Brooke.”

“She was…she was a sweet girl.” I noticed she was unable to look at me. “I’m telling you the price of chopped meat has doubled in just a week,” she said as she unloaded the bags in the fridge.

I remained persistent with my quest. “Well, why did she and my dad break up?”

She finally turned around to face me with an uneasy look on her face. “Sam, I think that would be a question for your dad. Now, would you like me to make you something a little better than just a stinkin’ peanut butter and jelly sandwich?”

I let out a deep sigh and shook my head. I was never going to find out about this girl who my grandmother insisted I was and who I so closely resembled. I knew that I should just drop it, she was part of my dad’s past, and it was silly of me to want to pry into that, but something deep down inside of me wanted to know more. I just needed to figure out how.

Another month had passed, and Jaxson's inner turmoil seemed to have subsided completely. We never spoke of that day at the pond and what almost happened, and despite Henry's adamant request, I still refused to press charges. I just wanted to put it out of my mind and forget about it. The same way I wanted to forget about the person I had seen Jaxson evolve into that day. That wasn't who he was. He was sweet, caring, and loyal, and he had proven that to me more and more over the past month. Little things that most people wouldn't even notice were huge to me. Like the way he would hold me when we fell asleep together with his arms encased around me like a tomb that was tailor-made just for me, or the way he would watch all of the Disney movies that I was so into, when I knew he didn't have any interest at all in seeing them. And my favorite thing of all, the way his eyes would beam with emotion whenever he looked at me. He didn't have to smile; he didn’t have to say a word. His eyes told me everything. Maybe it was crazy, but I truly felt myself falling in love with him. This was all uncharted territory for me; I had never had anything beyond a crush for any other guy. The thought of falling in love with him both excited me and scared me because I was unsure if he would ever be able to open up completely and reciprocate those feelings.

I was spending my afternoon lying on the beach sunning myself, when I felt a temporary refuge from the bright sunlight. I opened my eyes and did a double-take upon seeing Jaxson standing over me. I sat up and smiled. "What are you doing? I thought you were working?"

"I got done early." He took a seat on the blanket next to me and began to sift the sand through his fingers, looking like he had something to say. "So, this guy I work with is getting married on Saturday. He invited me to his wedding a while ago and said it's not too late if I wanted to bring someone." He paused and picked up another handful of sand. "Do you want to come with me?"

I lifted my sunglasses to the top of my head, trying desperately to wipe the ridiculous grin from my face. "I'd love to, Jaxson."

"Okay, cool." He nodded, looking relieved. "I got you something." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a necklace containing a large locket with a mermaid on the front of it. "I know it's not Ariel, but it looked pretty close." I was speechless as I took it from his hand to examine it closer. "Do you like it?"

I nodded, still unable to render words. He had no idea how much this meant to me, more than any gift I had ever received in my life. "I love this so much, Jaxson." I placed it over my head and leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek. “And you remembered Ariel’s name? I’m impressed,” I teased.

“Well, you only made me watch the movie a few hundred times. It kinda seeped into my brain.”

I looked down at it dangling from my neck and lifted it up to get a closer look. The background was done in beautiful filigree, and the mermaid was intricately edged out in detail. “This is seriously the best present anyone has ever given me.” I couldn’t resist kissing him again. “Now, I just have to get a picture to put inside.” I paused for a moment. “Of you and me.”

He looked a little surprised and showed some semblance of a smile. “You’re not dressed for the beach,” I said, looking at him still dressed in his old jeans and tee shirt, the same thing he always wore to work at Pete’s station. “Yeah, I know. I didn’t have a chance to change.”

I bit my lip, holding back my outer smile but allowing my inner one to spread deep inside of me. He had come right from work, just to give this to me. “Well, thank you. This locket and you have made my entire day.”

“Welcome.” He responded. He stared straight ahead, still struggling with taking compliments. “So, I was wonderin’ if you would want to come shopping with me tonight and help me figure out what to wear for this wedding. I’m kinda’ clueless.”

I giggled and nodded. “I would love to help you out.” I lifted his hand up to my mouth and brushed my lips on top before resting my head on his shoulder, closing my eyes, and sitting in our familiar silence.

“Sam!” I heard a familiar voice in the distance and was shocked to see my best friend, Jewel, traipsing through the sand in my direction. Her blonde hair looked much longer from when I had last seen her just a few months ago. I could only assume that she had gotten hair extensions put back in again.

“Oh my god! Jewel, what are you doing here?” I stood up and hugged her just as she reached me.

“Well, if you ever returned my phone calls then you would know. Cole and I are taking a road trip down to Florida to visit his brother, and we stopped off here to visit his grandfather who lives about a half hour away, so I figured I would check on my best friend to see if she was still alive, since I don’t hear from her anymore!”

“I know. I’m so sorry.”

She finally caught a glimpse of Jaxson, and her eyes widened at me, waiting for an introduction. I was hoping this would go well. I knew that Jewel would never get Jaxson the way I did, and I knew that Jaxson would only see Jewel as
that kind of girl.
The same kind he assumed I was when we first met. The only difference was that Jewel
was
that kind of girl. Both of her parents were surgeons, and she was very high maintenance. As much as I hated to admit it about my best friend, she did turn her nose up at others and only dated guys who came from money. It didn’t matter if they were jerks or didn’t treat her nicely. Her boyfriend Cole was the perfect example of a pretty rich boy personified. I was praying that he wasn’t around because I knew Jaxson would have no time for that. I only tolerated him for Jewel’s sake, but I could see right through him.

“Oh, Jewel, this is Jaxson.”

“Oh, hey.” She forced a smile.

“What’s up?” Jaxson said in his usual unimpressed manner. He stood up. “I gotta head back to Pete’s and shower.” I wasn’t sure what to do. I didn’t know how long Jewel was planning on staying, and I didn’t want to blow her off after coming all this way, but at the same time I wanted to go shopping with Jaxson.

“Oh, okay. I’ll just meet you at Pete’s later on, and we can go to the store.”

He nodded, and I stood on my tippy toes, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. “See ya,” he muttered to both of us.

“Nice meeting you,” Jewel said as he was halfway off the beach. “Okay…ummm…who was that?”

I smiled. “He’s just…I don’t even know how to explain it.”

“Well, I would guess that his looks are about the only thing he’s got going for him because he seems to have the personality of a rock.”

“No, he doesn’t,” I raised my voice in defense, toning it down ever so slightly when I saw the look of confusion on her face over my brusqueness. “It’s just…you don’t know him like I do. He’s really a great guy.” I hated that I felt like I needed to justify my feelings for him to her, but why would she be any different from the others who prejudged Jaxson? None of them saw the sweet, caring soft side of him.

She shrugged hers shoulders. "Okay, whatever you say. Any- whoo, Cole's friend, Carl, is with us.” I rolled my eyes at the mention of Carl’s name. He was just like Cole, and I didn’t want any part of that.

“What?” she asked, catching on to my eye-roll.

“Nothing.”

“Well, he wanted to see if you wanted to hang out tonight. We’re leaving first thing in the morning.”

“Umm…I’m really sorry, Jewel, but I’ve already made plans for tonight.”

“Sam! We haven’t hung out in ages! Are you seriously gonna blow me off for some guy you just met?”

“First of all, I didn’t just meet him, and second of all, I don’t want to hang out with Carl I’m-so-in-love-with-myself Matthews.”

“Fine then, would you and Mr. Personality be willing to hang out with just Cole and me?”

I let out a deep breath. I knew that Jaxson wouldn’t want to go. I didn’t even want to go, and Jewel was my best friend. “Umm, I kinda told Jaxson I would go suit shopping with him tonight.”

“Okay, we can meet up afterwards.” She was persistent.

“Well, umm…let me see how long we are, and I’ll text you.”

She let out a deep sigh. “Why do I get the feeling that means ‘no’?”

“I didn’t say that, Jewel. I just got to see—”

“You gotta see if
he
wants to go! Yeah, I get it, Sam. What’s happened to you?”

“What do you mean?” I asked in defense.

“The Sam I have known my whole life would never have to ask permission from a guy to hang out with her friends.”

“I don’t have to ask his permission for anything!” I shouted. “I just want to make sure he’s comfortable hanging out with people he doesn’t know.”

She shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Okay, because he’s a social moron, you’re going to become anti-social as well?”

I had enough. She knew nothing at all about Jaxson, and I wouldn’t allow her to stand here any longer and make her callous assumptions. “You know what, Jewel? You don’t know anything about him. Nothing! You don’t know what he’s been through or everything he’s done for me. So, until you do, maybe you should just keep your comments to yourself.” I began to hurl my things into my beach bag, not even wanting to look at her. I was so angry. How dare she talk about him that way?

“Geeze, Sam, lighten up! It’s not like you’re in love with this guy or anything?”

I finally met her gaze and stared deep into her pale blue eyes. “Oh my God…you are?” I didn’t respond and looked away. She grabbed my hand and made me sit down on the blanket with her. “Well, can you tell me a little about him then?” Her tone was much softer.

I let out a deep sigh. “Well, he is a little shy or maybe just a little peculiar, but I don’t know, Jewel, there’s just something about him.” I pushed a strand of hair behind my ear and gathered my thoughts. “Remember, how we would always talk about soulmates?”

She nodded.

“Well, I think he’s mine. I know it sounds crazy, we’re complete opposites, but I feel this pull to him that I’ve never felt with anyone before. A couple months ago, I almost drowned in this ocean.”