Pieces of Me (9 page)

A
week later I'm standing in my dorm room after finishing my history midterm,
carefully selecting clothes to pack in my weekend bag. Grace invited me to go
home with her for fall break. I had been hesitant to agree until I had a better
grasp on where Cole and I stood.

I
didn't want to make him uncomfortable in his own home. But he'd slipped right
back into the easy friendship we'd had since after I had almost turned him down
the first time.

So
it was settled, I’m going home with them, even though I was ridiculously
nervous about the weekend. My family life was anything but normal, and I wasn't
sure how to act in a normal familial setting. But Grace wasn't going to let me
get out of going once I'd said yes.

I
am just getting ready to put the last of my toiletries in my bag when the door
to our room swings open and Grant and Grace stumble into the room laughing. I
watch, fascinated, while Grant manages to close the door, lean back against it
and pull Grace against him all at the same time.

His
hands settle on the back of her thighs, just under her ass, and he boosts her
up so their mouths can fuse together. I know I should say or do something to
let them know I’m standing here, but it’s like watching a train wreck.

I
want to look away, but can’t.

They
are totally wrapped up in each other to the point where nothing else seems to
exist to them. It is beautiful, and heart breaking, all at the same time. This is
something that I was never going to be able to experience.

Grant
spins them away from the door, their lips never leaving each other as he
carries her toward the bed. He collapses against the mattress bringing her down
on top of him. She sits up and starts to lift her shirt over her head, his
hands following the trail of skin she exposes.

When
he leans forward, his mouth moving along her skin I feel my grip on my hair
dryer, which I’d been about to put in my bag, slip. The sound of it hitting the
ground seems thunderous in the small room.

Grace
jumps off Grant so fast it’s almost comical.

“Uh,
sorry.” I smile. “There really didn't seem to be a good time to let you know I
was here.”

Grant
props himself up on his elbows, laughing. “Sorry, Del, we didn't think you'd be
back from class this early. And going home for the weekend means uh, less alone
time for us.”

“It's
not a problem.” I look over to Grace. “It was worth the peep show to finally
see Grace speechless.”

Grant
winks at me. “If you could have kept quiet just a little longer the show would
have been better.”

“Grant!”
Grace hisses his name, and I swear I see her cheeks turn a little pink, and I'm
glad to know I'm not the only one who still blushes. But I can't help but tease
her, just a little.

“Are
you seriously embarrassed, Grace? You strip down in front of me all the time. This
wouldn't have been much different.”

“Oh,
God.”

“Wait.”
This comes from Grant. “You seriously get naked in front of each other? That's.....awesome.
Do you have slow motion pillow fights too?”

Grace
glares at both of us then stomps over to Grant. She smacks him in the stomach
before settling on the bed next to him, “Pervert.” She mutters. Grant just
laughs, and grabbing her hand in his, he brings it up to his mouth to kiss.
“You know you love me.”

“It’s
debatable at the moment.” She switches her gaze to me. “I'm sorry, Del, I
didn't think you'd finish your midterm that fast, and you always go to the
library after class so I thought we had a little time.”

“It
was history. U.S. history, which I know with my eyes closed. I finished the
test in like fifteen minutes. And I needed to get packed.” I pick up my hair
dryer, shoving it in my bag before zipping it closed.

“You
have a two o’clock class, right?”

I
glance over to where they are still sitting on the bed, curled into each other.
I almost feel guilty for being in my own room.

“No.
Well yes, but I just had to write a paper for that class. No actual test and I
turned mine in on the way to my history class. So I'm officially free until
next Wednesday.”

“Oh,
that's perfect!”

“It
is? You have a two o’clock, don't you?”

She’s
nodding her head while digging around in the book bag she'd dumped on the floor
somewhere during their grand entrance. She comes up with her cell phone and a
triumphant smile.

“Dumbass
here,” Grace starts.

“Hey!”
Grant protests. “That's Mr. Dumbass to you.”

Grace
rolls her eyes. “Whatever. He told Todd that he could ride home with us this
weekend, but didn't tell me. But if you can leave now with Cole, since you
don't have another class, you won't have to suffer squished between Robby and
Todd in the backseat for three hours.”

I
feel panic start to build in my stomach. I can barely make it through our
history class sitting next to him, and now she wants me to ride three hours in
a car alone with him? With nothing to distract me?

“Can’t
he just wait and take Robby or Todd home with him after their class? It's not
that much later.”

“No,
for one we can't stick him and Todd in a car together alone. Todd probably
wouldn't make it out alive, Cole just barely tolerates him because he's Robby's
cousin. And he promised my mom he would be in town early enough to help her
with something. Hey Cole, you haven't left yet, have you?” She asks into the
phone.

Please,
please have already left, I think, although I know it will be a miserable ride
stuck between Robby, who is nearly three times the size of me, and Todd, who I
thankfully haven't been subjected to since that first night. It might just be
worth it to not have to ride with Cole.

“Oh,
that’s perfect. Can you pick up Del and take her with you? She doesn't have a
midterm this afternoon, and our car is going to be over its limit with five of
us in it.” Her gaze flicks up to me while Cole answers her. “Ok. I know. Ok,
thanks Cole. She'll meet you downstairs in five minutes.”

She
drops her phone. “Ok, it's all set, but he's ready to go, like right now.
You're all packed, right? Grant can carry your bag downstairs for you.”

“I
can?”

“Since
it’s your fault she has to leave early, yes you can. But come back up when
you're done.”

Grant
reaches over and grabs my bag and heads for the door. I turn around and glare
at Grace.

“You're
trying to get rid of me so you can have the room to yourself.”

She
grins. “No, but I'm not heartbroken that it worked out that way. Have fun with
Cole.” The way she's says the last part lets me know that she understands
exactly how difficult this is going to be for me.

“You
are such a bitch, Grace.”

“You'll
thank me one day. Now go, the quicker you get down there the quicker Grant
comes back.”

Grant
graciously offers to wait with me until Cole arrives. Normally I would have
told him not to bother, but I find I'm petty enough to make Grace wait as long
as possible for him to come back.

Cole
pulls up in front of Howard Hall in a blue pickup truck and Grant places my bag
in the bed of the truck next to Cole’s and then opens the door for me.

“You
ready?” Cole asks as I buckle my seat belt. I want to say no, but I nod my head
instead. He has the radio on, but it's so low I can barely hear it. Does that
mean he wants to have a conversation? Because the scent of him is every damn
where in this truck and I can't concentrate.

He
doesn't say anything for the first twenty minutes of the trip, but the moment
we hit the main highway he says, “You finished your test pretty fast this
morning.”

“It
was pretty easy.”

He
glances my way for a second then looks back to the road. “You didn't even study
did you?”

“Not
really.”

“I
was up half the night trying to remember some of those dates that he says are
so important. I don't know when in life I'm going to need to know what day
Grant surrendered to Lee...”

“Other
way.”

He
cuts another quick look to me, “What?”

“Lee
surrendered to Grant on April 9, 1865 at the Appomattox Courthouse.”

“Well
shit, I guess I got that one wrong.”

I
can't help but laugh and I feel some of my apprehension about being in the car
with him start to fade away. He's laughing too when he says, “Regardless of who
gave up to who, why do I need to know that? I've never understood people who
like history, or why they like history so much, I guess I should say.”

“Don't
you think it's important to know how we got here? That’s all history is. The
story of how we got to where we are today.” I shrug my shoulders. “So I like to
study it and try to figure out why things happened the way they did.”

“What
are you planning to do after graduation?”

“I
don't know yet, but I still have plenty of time to figure it out. What about
you? It's business, right?”

He's
tapping a thumb on the steering wheel in time to the soft music playing in the
background.

“I'm
thinking about law school.”

“Like
your father.”

He
nods his head. “Yeah, but don't tell him that, it'll go straight to his head.
He's already hard enough to put up with.”

There
was easy affection in his voice when he spoke about his dad. It was the same
tone I heard Grace use when she spoke about her parents, and with the stories I
had heard it wasn't hard to understand why. Tom and Claire Marsh had been very
involved in their children's lives.

“Grace
said you were helping your mom with something this afternoon?”

“She
wants to plant some flowers and Dad’s been swamped at work lately, so I told
her I'd come home early and help her.”

He
was going to help his mother plant flowers. I studied his profile for a few
minutes. The strong jaw, the ink black curls falling over his forehead and dusting
along the collar of his shirt. Even through the loose white t-shirt he's
wearing you can see the strength in his shoulders and arms, but he's heading
home to plant flowers for his mother.I didn't have any trouble merging the two
images together.

“You're
a really nice guy, Cole.”

His
head turns toward me again, with a smile. “You're just now realizing that?”

No,
I’m not just now realizing that, but I don’t tell him that. Every second I
spend with him pushes me farther and farther to the edge of a cliff I’m not
sure I’m ready to jump off of.

The
Marsh house is set on a couple of acres outside of a little town named Dover.
Cole tells me that his father works in a larger neighboring city, but that they
had wanted to raise their children in a small town.

“Did
you enjoy it? Growing up in a small town?”

He
turns the truck down a road made up more of rock and dirt than pavement. The
truck bounces a little over ruts in the road and I bounce along with it.

“It
had its moments. You couldn't get away with anything, that's for sure.
Everybody knows everybody and everything about everybody. But overall it was
great. Here we are.”

He
pulls up in front of a sprawling two story white ranch styled house with a
large wrap around porch. He parks the truck in front and I see five rocking
chairs sitting on the porch. There are potted plants and flowers spread all
over the porch and stairs and there is a large chocolate lab sleeping at the
top of the steps.

Even
from here it looks warms and inviting and like nothing I've ever seen in real
life.

As
Cole puts the truck into park I see the dog lift his head to almost study the
truck. His tail starts to wag a little, but he makes no other movement until
the front door opens and a woman steps out. The dog stands, following her down
the steps.

This
was obviously Claire Marsh, as she was every bit an older version of Grace. She
had longer hair, but I know that this was what Grace was going to look like in
twenty years.

“Delaney?”
I blink, bringing myself back to the moment. Cole has gotten out of the truck,
and is watching me closely. “You alright?”

Why
does it seem like he's always asking me that?

“Yes,
of course.”

I
slide out of the truck and wipe my damp palms on my jeans. I come around the
front of the truck just as Cole wraps his mother in a hug.

“I’m
so excited to have all three of you coming home this weekend. It's been a long
time since we were all together.” She says as she pulls back a little from
Cole. Then she turns so she can smile at me. “And this must be Delaney.”

“Yes,
ma’am. It's very nice to meet you. Thank you for having me.”

She
has Cole’s eyes, the startling navy blue that look right into you so you know
they see more than you want them to. She studies me now with them, a smile on
her face.