Page 77 of Meet Me in the Valley
I came all this way for this exact moment. I knew this was going to end up happening. But I’m one breath away from shitting on her doorstep because of nerves, and that’s not very ladylike.
The upside is having Logan next to me. He doesn’t hold my hand or touch me intimately, but the warmth of his arm against mine as we stand side by side brings me enough comfort to calm my erratic heart.
“It’s going to be okay, T. I got you,” he whispers in my ear, pressing a soft kiss into my hair that completely relaxes me. I want to pull him to my face and kiss the breath out of him, but I give him a reassuring smile instead, and the door finally opens.
I freeze at the sight of a young girl standing in the doorway, staring up at Logan and me like she’s been expecting us.
She barely reaches my chest, and the graphic tee she’s wearing nearly makes me bite through the inside of my cheek to stifle a laugh.
It reads, “I Have Rabies,” complete with a picture of a raccoon standing on its hind legs, wearing a cowboy hat.
The three of us stand there in silence like characters in some bizarre western standoff, our eyes flicking between each other in slow, confused succession.
Logan speaks first. “Sweet shirt.”
“Thanks. I got an A on my math test, so my mom got it for me. She doesn’t like when I wear it in public because I get a lot of weird stares, but I don’t really care,” she says with a shrug.
Her mom?
“Who’s your mom?”
The girl’s face grows sheepish, breaking eye contact to stare at her feet. She has socks with little pizzas on them.
“I’m supposed to be in my room,” she mumbles nervously. I open my mouth to say something until Logan interrupts.
“Well, I’m Logan. And this here is my girlfriend, Tia.”
I choke on my spit, coughing and hacking into my elbow like a crazy person. Logan chuckles softly, patting my back and moving his hand in circles over it. It’s the first time he’s ever put a label on anything. Never in my twenty-eight years of life did I think I’d ever hear Logan Harper utter the words “my girlfriend.” Let alone to have said girlfriend beme.
Once my coughing fit subsides, the young girl’s face twists in slight disgust at my coughing fit—which makes me laugh a little—and I straighten myself out to gain composure.
“I’m Ca?—”
“Calista,” Nora scolds. “I told you to wait in your room.”
“I’m not sure who this Calista person is you keep talking about. It’sCali. Ca-li.”
Nora appears behind the young girl who I know now is named Calista—or Cali, according to her. My stomach drops at my feet, glued to the welcome mat. My breaths come in short bursts, and the panic building in my chest is becoming too much to overcome.
Minus the deep blue eyes, it’s clear as day to me who Calista’s mom is. The oval face. The exact hair color. The attitude to match.
No.
I shove the bile threatening to launch out of my throat.
“Okay,Cali,” Nora emphasizes with nothing but sarcasm in her voice. “Go to your room, and I’ll let you know when lunch is ready.”
“But—”
“Now,” Nora orders, narrowing her eyebrows. Cali mumbles ‘fine’ under her breath before stomping off down the hall. A door shuts. At least Cali doesn’t slam doors like I did when I was younger. Mom hated that more than anything. I stare at my sister almost despondently. I’m numb. Borderline angry.
Nora moves to the side, gesturing for Logan and I to come in. I hate feeling this awkwardness between us. Even though we saw each other just last night, I find my feet faltering now that I’m stepping into her home. A home she made all on her own. My breaths come in an unsteady cadence.
Am I ready for this?
Once Nora shuts the door behind us, my eyes lock on the door at the end of the hall. The door is decorated with colorful, hand-drawn pictures of cartoon characters and other faces I don’t recognize. There are phrases written in funky bubble letters with every color of the rainbow.
With a shaky breath, I turn toward Nora, her eyes misty, chewing on her bottom lip as she stares at Cali’s door, then back at me. I need to hear her say it.
