The Read And Weep Bundle: Anonymous, Perfectly Hopeless, Run (20 page)

Maven sat on the porch of her parent’s summer home. She had a horrible dream the night before. One where she was completely and totally helpless, her parents stood by laughing with the crowd of family and friends, all laughing as Jake made out with Tatiana for the world to see. Everyone pointing fingers at her, taunting her, but she couldn’t run. It was as if her feet were cemented in place and she was being forced to watch the one guy she ever had real feelings for cram his tongue down someone else’s throat—it was torture.

She rocked a little faster on the old rocking chair she was sitting in. The arms of the willow trees melodiously fluttering as if they too were trying to get away from something just like her. Maven wrestled her hair behind her ear ignoring the more than light breeze. She chewed on her bottom lip, staring straight ahead lost in the dark unbearable dream. How could Jake do what he did to her?

Some would call it betrayal.

Just then a newspaper dropped at her feet echoing against the wooden porch. She came back to life. Bending forward and picking up the paper. She rested it in her lap.

“Have a good day.” The brown-eyed boy said—the same one from the yogurt hut. She felt a bit embarrassed seeing him again after nearly breaking her neck—and  to make matters worse crying about her ex boyfriend behind the yogurt hut.

“You too,” She called out, watching him hitch the newspaper sack up on his shoulder and head to the next house. He looked back shooting her a smile.

She stood, all the shame melting away unexpectedly. “You’re the boy from the yogurt hut.”

He shook his head, recovering another paper from his sack. His dark eyes were dazzling when he smiled. “You’re the girl I found behind the yogurt hut.” He left out the part about her crying.

Maven’s cheeks flushed. But she didn’t bother denying it. He looked nice enough not to make her feel even worse. And judging from the way his mouth curled into a crooked grin she knew he meant no harm.

“I’m Maven.” She told him, coming all the way down the extensive staircase. Now they were eye level. She nervously looked at the lush grass beneath her feet. Now that she was only feet away from him she was tenser than she expected.

He tucked the newspaper under his arm, coming toward her. “I’m Henri.” He offered his hand. This caught her off guard, it wasn’t the old days, it had been a long time since she saw a boy with manners.

“Nice to meet you, Henri.” Maven smiled. “How many jobs do you have?”

Henri dropped his head to one side, a big smile pinned to his face. This only made her smile even bigger at his sheepish ways. “Just a couple, anything to keep me busy.”

She could only wish she was as smart as Henri. Instead she spent her afternoon sitting on the porch reliving her nightmares.

“There not really jobs. I just help out when I can.” He tugged the hat down he was wearing. His eyes looking troubled all of a sudden. “I got to go. Nice meeting you, Maven.”

And with a quick wave he started across the lawn to the neighbor’s house. She watched him toss the paper on the porch, wondering who Henri was exactly. She had never seen him before.

Henri worked quickly. Putting his mind back into the zone and away from the blonde haired blue-eyed girl that always seemed sad, he had enough sad for the both of him. He knew deep down she was a happy person. But something was bothering her. And even he could see it was sucking the life out of her.

“Probably the boyfriend,” He muttered to himself. Just then his phone chirped. The song
free bird
sailing through the air, he listened for a moment before answering.

“I
swear
I am on my way.” He smirked, staring up at the old house in front of him, running a hand down the back of his neck. “Yes, I know it’s important.” He rolled his eyes, ending the call, even when he was being scolded like a child he still held the same unchanged smirk.

Henri was nineteen. And he couldn’t remember the last time he enjoyed anything. He never would admit that though. That’s the way he liked to keep it.

He pulled into the old doctor’s office on the outskirts of Portwood. A small place. The staff including one
local doctor that was older than dirt, and the usual summer staff, various doctors who lended a hand while on their vacation. Dr. Moore wasn’t in the best health so it was always much needed.

Henri killed the engine of his beat-up pickup. He let out a long sigh, staring at the old sign on the side of the office. His fingers twitching—nerves. He hated going, usually found something to make him miss his appointments altogether. Unless his aunt had anything to do with it, then he had no other choice but to go.

And there she was. Aunt Janet. She jogged to his truck, holding her hair in place against the wind. “Henri. Out of this car now, you’re almost late.” She wrapped on the window.

Henri kissed her cheek and slammed his door shut. “Nice scrubs.”

She ignored his compliment, looking him over with deep concern. “They have a new doctor in today. She wanted to go over your charts.”

Henri ran a hand along his face. “Great. More people to tell me the same thing.”

His aunt opened the door for him, acting as if he was even incapable of doing that for himself. “Where were you this morning? Uncle Ray made French toast.”

Henri allowed her to open the next door. “I paid John five dollars to let me deliver the newspapers.” He smiled at her shocked sigh.

“Sign in I have to get back to my sandwich before my break is over.” She kissed his cheek, giving his arm an extra squeeze before she took off.

Henri did as she asked. He gave each of the old men waiting their turn to be seen a smile, snagged a magazine and took a seat nearest the door.

The first old man in the cotton shorts and blue polo let out a dry cough. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and looked Henri over. “Nice day.”

Henri looked up from his magazine. “Yeah. Love the sun.” He dropped his gaze.

The old man cleared his throat again. “I see you in here damn near every week.”

He nodded. It had been awhile since he had to explain. Silently he counted to ten. Hoping this would be enough to end the conversation.

“Henri Levitt,” The nurse said from the doorway. She smiled sweetly at the sight of Henri. And Henri silently thanked her for getting him out of an uncomfortable situation.

“How you feeling, Henri?”

“Great.”

She smiled again. It seemed anymore that’s all anyone did when they were around him. He missed the days he pissed people off and they let him have it. Because anymore there was nothing he could do to evoke any emotion in anyone. They all were walking zombies.

“There is a new doctor today. I’m sure your aunt told you this already. Dr. Wilder.”

Henri nodded, and took his place on the scale. He closed his eyes, concentrating on the rattling. When it ended he listened to the familiar scratching of her pen.

“You gained five pounds. What’s your secret?” She pushed the marker back to the beginning.

“My aunt and uncle’s cooking.” Down the hall they went. Room four. She let him in first. He took a seat on the crinkly paper.

“Anything new to report?” she asked, strapping the blood pressure cuff to his arm.

“Nope. Feel fine.” He stared past her auburn hair to the tacky wallpaper at the top of the ceiling.

“The doctor will be with you shortly, Henri.” She closed the door ever so gently, leaving him to a welcomed silence, the only sound coming from the black wall clock.

There were two shorts knocks before Vanessa Wilder entered the room. Dressed in a white blouse and gray slacks, she was young looking, with shoulder length strawberry blonde hair.

“Hi, you must be Henri.” She shook his hand, staring down at his chart. “I hope you don’t mind I am doing your checkup today. Dr. Moore has been down ill.” She smiled, taking out a pair of reading glasses to get a better look at his chart.

“No, I don’t mind.” Henri sanded his hands together. He hated every detail about his health documented for the world to see. “I’m s
ure you’re a lot less cranky than Dr. Moore.”

Her head shot up. She studied him closely before she smiled and let out a laugh.

“It says here you’re nineteen.” She took a seat at her desk. Henri noticed a photograph. As he looked closer he recognized the girl in the photo.

“Is that your daughter?” Henri asked, staring at the image of Maven on her desk.

She turned the frame. “Yeah, this is my oldest daughter. She’s miserable anymore. But this has always been my favorite picture of her. Back before her boyfriend dumped her.” She jumped, suddenly realizing she was rambling. “I’m sorry. You’re not here to discuss my teenage daughter’s issues.”

Henri shook his head. “It is a nice picture. She’s beautiful.”

She smiled at his compliment. “Her name is Maven. And I agree she is beautiful.”

“So let’s get a look at Dr. Moore’s recent work.” She quickly washed her hands. Henri pulled his shirt over his head, revealing a pinkish scar. He touched his chest, his fingers tracing his battle wound. To him that was what it was.

Maven followed Nick onto the beach. Doing her best to lug the giant cooler with both hands, she thought he would have offered to help, but no, there she was doing most of the work herself. She finally dropped it in the sand.

“Nick could you?” she asked, letting out a sigh. Nick was too busy talking to the girl from the yogurt hut.

He ignored Maven’s plea. Instead he started an introduction. “Maven this is April, Sandra’s sister.” He gave her a hard glare.

Maven pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head. She extended a hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“Same to you, you go to school with my sister Sandra right?” April kept a smile pinned to her lips. She had probably heard a lot about her just like everyone else in town Maven thought. But Maven tried to forget about that and be polite for her brother’s sake.

“I think we are in the same history class.”

April nodded, shooting Nick a secret glance. She wasn’t interested in socializing with Nick’s kid sister as much as she wanted to spend time with Nick. Maven got the hint.

“Well, I think I’ll get to sunbathing.” She started unbuttoning her sundress.

April gave her one more look, a bit sad for the girl with the horrible social life. She bit her lip, wondering if it were worth it. “My cousin is down by the lifeguard stand, maybe you could convince him to relax rather than work in this heat.” She suggested.

Nick looked at Maven wondering if she would take the bait. He wasn’t even sure who April’s cousin was.

Maven dropped her dress on the towel. She swiped some sand from her hands. “I don’t even know who he is. That’s nice of you though.”

“Henri,” she said offering a cheap introduction. “He was at the yogurt hut when you guys stopped by the other day. He doesn’t know many people around here. My mom is forever trying to get him to meet people.”

Nick scratched his head. “Yeah, what’s up with that guy? Why haven’t we seen him before?”

Maven was busy searching for Henri along the sandy shore, the high temperature pelting her from overhead.

“Oh, well, Henri hasn’t been with us long. He’s a good guy.” April took Nick’s hand. “Let’s take a swim, that’s what we’re here for isn’t it?” She giggled, taking off for the water, Nick in tow.

Maven slid her glasses back down. She started walking toward the first lifeguard station. Her feet slipping through the dry sand, as she got closer to the water it became more dense and gritty. Her eyes secretly darted back and forth searching out Henri. April had sounded so desperate to help Henri out.

She wondered if she and Henri were more alike than she knew. He wasn’t a bad looking guy. So why would he have a hard time socializing?

Finally she found him. There he was trying to persuade the blonde boy up atop the chair to let him stand watch. This made Maven smile. It seemed he was forever trying to keep busy.

“I told you, Henri, Jack would kill me if I left my post. Besides, you’re not even certified.” The kid spit, doing his best to shoo Henri away.

“I’m a strong swimmer.
I swim better than you, Liam.” He ran a hand across his hair. “Twenty bucks.” He waved the money in his hand.

Liam shook his head in a hurry, scanning the waters to make sure no one had drowned while he was being bought.

“Henri you never swim. You never take your shirt off anymore.” He shook his head in frustration. “Get going now before someone dies on my watch.”

Maven approached. “Hi.” She gave a small wave.

Henri sighed. “Hi.” He started away from Liam and Maven defeated. Maven hurried along the sand. Liam shot her a concerned look, sorry he upset Henri, but he would never hear the end of it if he handed the reigns over to someone unqualified.

“My boss would kill me,” Liam explained.

Maven nodded understanding. “I get it. I’m sure he does too. I’ll go talk to him.”

“Henri!” She shouted, her quick step turning into more of a sprint to catch him.

He slowed down and finally turned around. “Sorry about that.”

She shoved her hair behind her ear and pushed her sunglasses back to the top of her head. “It’s okay. Would you like some company?”

Henri raised an eyebrow. “What for?”

Her mouth dropped, she was astounded. She didn’t know what to say. She was a girl on the beach chasing after a boy. And suddenly she felt stupid when she realized how that must look.

Henri’s smile returned as he watched her fail in producing any kind of answer. “I suppose you could tag along for a bit.” He waved her over. She quickly joined, walking alongside him.

“Should I get my dress?”

Henri gave her a quick inspection. Not a slimy kind, just a casual one. “No, it’s a beach your fine.”

She looked at him. Shorts and a black t-shirt. “What about you?”

Henri examined his own outfit. “What about me?”

“Black attracts the sun.” She pointed at his shirt. “You must be sweating.”

“Is this your subtle attempt at getting me out of my shirt so you can see my bod?”
He laughed. Maven blushed. “I’m only kidding. Besides, I’m pretty scrawny.”

She studied his frame. He was, but not skeletal. “No you’re not. You look just fine.”

Henri took a spot under the shade of a willow far away from the water. Maven did the same. She touched her neck making sure the pink top was still tied securely and dropped her legs, staring at her French manicured toes.
So much for a tan
she thought.

“Nice toes,” Henri commented, staring at her feet. “I didn’t know girls worried about manicuring their toes.”

Maven looked at him. “Do you think it’s too much?” She never thought it weird before.

“No, I think it makes you look fancy. That’s not a bad thing though.”

“Fancy. I don’t know if that’s a good thing.” She looked away, overwhelmed.

“Okay,
I take that back than. It makes you look…maintained. Groomed?”

They both began laughing. “Now I feel like a horse.”

Henri laughed some more at her joke.

“Why don’t you ever swim?” She concentrated on the water. “It’s the best part of coming here in the summer.”

Henri would have agreed at one time. But now he knew underneath his shirt housed a secret, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to explain that to her. She seemed sad enough as it was already.

“Horrible tattoo, I’m too embarrassed to let the world see it.”

Maven studied Henri closely. He didn’t look the type to ever brand his body. But she didn’t want to keep pushing either. “What horrible tattoo? Is it a girl’s name? Or what about
Mom
? Those are always the worst.” She smiled at him.

“Yeah those are pretty horrible. I’d never put a person’s name on my body.”

“Me either. Talk about a big mistake.” She imagined how awful it would feel to be branded with Jake’s name. And suddenly this made her feel somewhat better.

Henri could see it in her eyes. Something about their conversation made her features soften.

“What is it?” He searched her eyes.

“I just realized something.” She looked into his brown eyes. “Thanks for that.” She squeezed his arm. He stared down at her grip, not moving an inch. Just staring, it was the first time in a long time someone touched him with real emotions not for medical procedures, or to comfort him.

Maven pulled away. “Sorry.”

Henri shook his head. “Are you kidding? Glad I could make you feel better.”

“Well, thank you, Henri.” She dropped back into the grass, propping herself up on her elbows taking in the water, the way it splashed slowly against the shore. The multitude of teens parading around, some swimming, some tanning, it always made her feel better.

“Care to share why?” Henri said, breaking her concentration. “If you want to that is.”

Maven nodded, she wanted to. “The guy, that guy at the yogurt hut, we had a bad breakup this year. And I just realized that things could be worse. And that made me feel better.”

Henri scratched his head. “Worse how?”

“I could have tattooed his name on my body. That could be worse than what I feel now.”

“What do you feel now?” Henri watched her blue eyes blink rapidly, she was close to crying. He wanted to comfort her, he didn’t know why, but he wanted to. Suddenly he found himself wishing she would cry just so he could wrap his arms around her and tell her everything was going to be okay.

“I have this pain in my chest always. And I feel empty.” She sat up, staring at her hands. “Everything feels terrible anymore.” She never revealed that to anyone. Not even her parents who asked her all the time if she was okay. She felt stupid to feel so bad over somebody like Jake.

Henri cursed himself, standing up. “What if I said I’d go swimming with you?”

Maven stood. “Really?” She already felt a little better.

Henri nodded. “Sure. If it makes you feel better.”

“It would.”

“Well, let’s go.” They started to the water and Henri was the one with the chest pains now. He thought about backing out of it, but when he looked at her and the big smile on her face he couldn’t. He thought about going in with his shirt on, but knew that would only cause more questions.

“Ok, are you ready?” Maven asked excitedly, waiting on Henri to remove his shirt. He gave a nod and drug his shirt over his head. Suddenly he felt as if everyone on the entire beach was looking at him. It wasn’t a great feeling.

Maven noticed the scar close to his shoulder. It was new she could tell. She was the daughter of two doctors she knew a lot about stuff like that. She noticed several gawkers nearby. She took Henri’s hand in hers and pulled him toward the water, not bothered in the least by his scar.

“I feel better already,” she said, running into the water until it was touching her thighs. Henri stared down at the current. “Isn’t this fun?” she asked.

He had to admit it was a bit fun. He moved further in, until the water was covering the parts of his body he was ashamed of. “Pretty fun.”

Maven disappeared under water. Henri searched for her and finally she emerged behind him. She poked his shoulder with her fingertips. “Boo!”

An hour later when their skin was shriveled and resembling that of old people they found a spot on the shore, Maven found her beach towel and they both sat staring at the water, tired and at peace.

“That was fun,” Maven said for the third time since they finished.

“Yeah it was.” He smiled. Already back in his black t-shirt. She was okay with that, it didn’t take much to realize how insecure he was with the scar. But it didn’t bother her at all. She wanted to tell him that. But she worried bringing it up would end their fun time and make him withdraw in his shell.

“Maybe we could do it again sometime.” Maven hoped he would agree. She liked being around Henri. He was a nice person.

Henri admired her pink bikini, and the dewy glow her skin held after their swim. He thought her hair looked amazing wet. It made her look shimmery
. Even better than when she was dry. He knew deep down he wanted to see her again, his head was screaming it the entire swim. But the idea of another swim was torture.

She could see how reluctant he was. “I understand if you don’t want to.”

Henri sighed. “I want to. Maybe next time we can do something else. Have you been to the art museum before?”

Maven’s eyes filled with radiance. “Once when I was younger, that sounds fun.”

Henri was glad to hear it. “I could walk you home.” He offered. The beach was slowly thinning and the sun was nearly setting in the sky.

She dropped back on the towel, sprawling out. Her hands folded and resting on her abdomen, she stared up at the soft blue of the sky. “Or we could hang out for a little while longer.”

Henri batted away a bit of sand from her cheek, studying her expression. “You had sand on your face. I didn’t want it to get in your eye.” He dropped down beside her, putting his arms behind his head and he too stared up at the tiny wisp of clouds sailing by them.

Their sandy feet touched, and neither of them bothered to pull away.

“So how did you get the name Maven?” Henri started, ending the peaceful calm all around them. Maven smiled, closing her eyes, the sounds of the waves crashing the shore was magnificent. The moment was heavenly.

“My mother and father always had high hopes for me. My father said the moment they laid eyes on me they knew I was going to be something special. And the name fit.”

“I like it.” Henri told her.

Maven dropped her head to the side, “I like your name too, Henri.”

“What’s to like? It’s an ordinary name.” He looked at her. Her eyes shimmering with life and he couldn’t believe it—happiness for once.

“Henri is French. It means ruler of the house.” She told him. “It’s also a very kind name. And you seem kind.”

He thought about this. “My grandfather was French
. Maybe that’s why than. I’m no ruler of the house though. I’m not the ruler of anything.”