Knotted Roots

Chapter EIGHT



I crawled into bed that night after a long hot bath, barely able to keep my eyes open. Grandma let me off the hook for the rest of the day; thank goodness, because I seriously doubted that I would have been able to make it up the stairs if she hadn’t. She was right though. I had never worked that hard in my life. My days had always consisted of shopping with Amber, going to movies, and partying in the Hamptons. We even had a maid, so I never had to do any housework either. I could officially say that I had been a pampered princess, and up until now, I had thought there was no better way to live.

I had never felt this level of satisfaction after a long day of shopping. Sure, I would come home with my arms loaded down with shopping bags, goodies overflowing their tops, but I had never truly known what it felt like to earn anything. Today I earned my sore muscles, and tomorrow I would do it again. Well, that was, if my body allowed me to.

As I closed my eyes I heard my phone vibrate on my nightstand. The noise shattered my peaceful moment of reflection and jarred me out of my sleepy stupor. I reached for the phone and was shocked to find Amber’s picture displayed on the screen. I couldn’t imagine what she had to say after the last time we talked, but a part of me was still missing her, so I answered it.

“What?” I snapped.

“Well hello to you too,” she sounded nervous. Good, she should be after the way she treated me. “How are you doing Rox?”

“Peachy. What do you want Amber?” I sat up in bed, my grip tightening around my phone as I tried to keep my voice from crumbling.

“Look, I’m sorry about the other day. I am a rotten human being, and I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but I’m hoping that you can find it in your heart to forgive me,” she rushed the words out, barely breathing between each syllable.

I felt conflicted. I couldn’t tell if she was being sincere, or if she was simply trying to appease me. With Amber, you could never tell one way or the other. I had always known that she was a superficial girl, but I believed that she actually cared about me as a friend. I mean, how can you know someone for your entire life and not care about them?

“I don’t know...” I started but as soon as I heard her sigh I knew that she wasn’t sincere. “Scratch that. I don’t forgive you. You ditched me for a bunch of people that you barely know, and hardly tolerate. I have never treated you like that...”

I heard the click of the call disconnecting and knew that she had hung up on me. I stared at the phone in my hands, unsure of what just happened. Why would she call me just to act like a brat again? Did she really think that I could just forget everything, acting like it was alright and just accept her apology? She had treated me like I didn’t matter enough to blow off a stupid party. I couldn’t be expected to just ignore that, could I?

Tomorrow was approaching at a rapid pace, and I knew I should get to sleep, but my mind refused to switch off and allow me to relax, not after that phone call. I tossed and turned the entire night. My body ached, my muscles screaming for relief, but it seemed that once again my head won out. I had lost so much since leaving New York, and yet I had gained so much more in the process. I just hoped that it would be enough.



* * * *



I was up early again the next morning, my body screaming even more than it had the night before. I had never felt this kind of pain before. I gave serious consideration to staying home today, but I knew that if I did then Grandma would have something to hold over my head for the rest of summer. No, I had to prove to her, and to myself, that I could handle the job. Hell, I had a feeling that Chase thought the same thing as well, and no way could I let him think I’m pampered on top of being a ridiculous nit wit.

I slowly climbed out of bed, gingerly placing my feet on the hardwood floor, and rubbed my hands up and down my arms. I got dressed as quickly as my sore body would allow me to and grabbed a pair of socks from my dresser before heading out of my room. The house was eerily quiet, which was unexpected since Grandma should have been up and moving by now. I walked down the hall to her door and knocked gently. There was no answer so I quietly turned the knob and pushed the door open.

Her room was as pristine as the rest of the house. Her bed was already made, the throw pillows expertly arranged at the top of her bed. Her bedside table was clear and dust free, no sign of clutter to be found. I remembered seeing my mom’s back home and all of the little trinkets she kept beside her bed. She was a true clutter bug, but her room was the only place that Dad would allow her free reign. I glanced at the bathroom door that connected her room to the master bath, but it was open, the lights off.

I shook my head and backed out of her room again. I closed the door and moved down the hall to the stairs once again. When I made it downstairs I was once again shocked to find all of the lights off, no sound reverberated through the house. I walked to the front door and peered outside; I looked for her truck, but it was gone. The old bat had left me here! I couldn’t believe that she left me here, especially after I told her last night that I would definitely be going back with her today. A few sore muscles weren’t going to stop me from proving myself.

I grabbed my hoodie off of the coat rack by the door, slipped Grandma’s work boots on my feet, and stomped out the front door. I slammed the door behind me, unable to control my anger. I had a general idea of where I was headed, but since I had only been there one time, I would have to be careful to follow the dirt road the way we drove the day before. Sure, it would be taking the longer route to where I was going, but I had no idea how to make it to the barn any other way.

The walk took me twenty minutes, and by the time I arrived I was drained. Yesterday’s workout still lingered in my body, causing my strength to crumble quite easily. Once the barn came into view I immediately perked up. All of the anger and indignation had brewed during my walk over and I was ready to explode. I angrily stomped into the barn and glanced into the glass office, but Grandma was not there this time. I looked through the rest of the barn but she was not there either.

As I walked out of the barn I finally found the object of my rage. There she was, walking towards the two trucks parked out front, while Chase and Brian walked on either side of her. I stomped towards them, meeting them halfway. The smiles on their faces gradually dissolved when they saw the fire burning in my eyes.

“What the hell? Why did you leave me at home Grandma?” I yelled at her. I couldn’t control the spew of venom, and at this point, there wasn’t any point trying to. “I told you last night that I would come with you today!”

“Whoa, calm down Roxie. There’s no-” Chase began but I immediately cut him off.

“Stay out of this. This is family business, and you’re not family,” I growled at him. I turned my attention away from him, but not before I saw the hurt flash in his eyes.

“You listen here, young lady! Chase and Brian are both part of my family, so if you wish to be included in that category, I would watch that haughty tone of yours now.” I could practically see the anger as it boiled off of her, becoming nearly tangible in the early morning light of the day.

“So that’s how it is? You are quick to stick up for them, to protect them, but to hell with me? I’m your flesh and blood! Your one and only grandchild, but I guess that doesn’t mean much when you have these two,” I pointed my fingers between Chase and Brian, “here instead. Fine, I don’t want any part of this.”

I quickly whirled around and started to run away from them, refusing to let them see the tears that began to fall from my eyes. I angrily wiped them away as I jogged back to the dirt road that would lead me back to the house. I hadn’t made it very far when I heard footsteps approaching from behind. I spun back around, my eyes full of tears and malice, and came face to face with Chase. I was far too angry to be in awe of his appearance this time.

“Don’t. You. Dare.” I pointed my finger at him, vigorously shaking my head back and forth. “You have no right to follow me. Just leave me alone.”

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Betty can get a lil bit over protective of us sometimes,” he said as he carefully approached me, his hands raised in front of him as if to calm down a raging animal. I guess I did resemble one at that moment. “She loves you. I mean, really loves you. The whole week before you arrived she could do nothing else but talk about you and how wonderful it would be to have you here.”

“Could have fooled me, that’s for sure,” I said. I knew I was acting like a child, possibly even trying to pull some complimentary information from him, but at that moment I couldn’t have cared less.

He shook his head as he lowered his hands, shoving them deep into the pockets of his faded blue jeans. “You have no idea how lucky you are Roxie. Betty is incredible. I would give anything to truly be a part of her family, not just an honorary member.”

I stared at him, unsure what to say. Sure, everyone knew how great Grandma was, especially me, but did he have to remind me? In comparison to her, I was nothing. There was no way that I could ever live up to her legacy, or her expectations. Taking my silence as the end of the conversation, he turned to walk away. I had a moment’s panic as I realized he was about to leave. A part of me wanted him to stay, to have him attempt to calm me more, but another part wanted to throttle him for being so damn sweet and caring. I had never met anyone like him before. Maybe that’s why Grandma had tried to warn me away from him.

“Wait,” I started to reach for him, but when he turned and faced me I let my hand drop. “I don’t exactly know how to ask this...but why does Grandma treat you like you’re breakable?”

A brief flicker of sadness crossed his face so fast that I wasn’t sure I just imagined it. He ran a calloused hand through his hair as he raised his eyes to meet mine. “I’m not sure what you mean. She treats me like she does everyone else.”

How could I tell him what Grandma had told me the first day without revealing that I had been searching for a way to get closer to him? “I mean, she um, she told me to stay away from you.” Like a Band-Aid, I figured it would be better to just make it quick and hopefully painless.

“She told you to stay away from me? Why? Were you planning on kicking me or something?” he asked, only half joking.

I could barely look him in the eye. “Just forget I said anything.” I turned and walked away, leaving him standing there, unsure how to proceed. I couldn’t look at him anymore. Every time I spared him a glance he looked like a whipped puppy. One that had been beaten with a rolled up newspaper one too many times.

When I reached the house I was tired again. Guess I should have just stayed home today. But no, I had to try and prove a point, which I had failed at miserably. As I approached the front door to the house I noticed someone sitting in one of the rocking chairs, a book firmly clutched in her petite hands. She must have heard my approach because her attention was instantly riveted upon me. Her gaze slid from the top of my head, taking in my unruly curls as they stuck out in every direction, to the mud covered boots that covered my aching feet.

As I moved up the front stairs a smile lit up her face. I took in her relaxed appearance. She had dark, curly brown hair, pulled back in a messy ponytail, and light brown eyes resembling the color of honey. I tried to return her smile, but only managed a pained grimace. It didn’t seem to faze her at all. She put her book down and walked towards me, her hand outstretched.

“Hi there! You must be Roxanne, Betty’s granddaughter. I’m Katy. I live next door,” she said as I gripped her hand lightly. I scanned the surrounding wooded area and looked back at her, completely perplexed. “Oh, well, not technically right next door. My house is about a mile down the road. But I am your closest neighbor.”

I nodded and stepped back, unsure what to make of her. This kind of friendliness was unheard of where I grew up. Sure, I made friends easily at school, but none of them would have gone out of their way to greet a neighbor, especially a stranger. I bet they didn’t even know their neighbor’s names.

“Nice to meet you?” It came out as a question, but she didn’t seem to notice. If anything, her smile grew even bigger. I didn’t know someone could smile that wide without something cracking.

“Betty tells me that you’ll be here all summer. It’s so great to see a new face around here. I’ve known everyone around here my entire life, and while they’re awesome and all, sometimes ya need a new face. Ya know?” Her quick speech made my head spin as I struggled to keep up. It wasn’t so much the speed, as the accent that came with it. Her voice was straight out of “Gone with the Wind”.

“Sure. I guess,” I replied as I made to move around her and head in the house. Before I could grasp the door handle I heard a very distinct male voice call my name. I turned, already sure of who it would be. Hasn’t he ever heard of a dramatic exit?

“I see you’ve met Chase already,” Katy said as I stared at Chase while he crossed the yard. It might have been my imagination, but I could have sworn I heard a twinge of jealousy in her tone.

“Yes, we’ve met,” I groaned, sure this was not going to end well. The look on his face was not one of anger as I had expected. He looked sad. Didn’t this boy ever wear a different expression?

“Hey Katy, nice to see you.” Chase gave her a small smile and from the look on her face she was already melting. Yep, she had it bad for him. No wonder she didn’t seem overjoyed that I had already made his acquaintance. “Would you mind if I spoke to Roxie for a moment? In private?”

She slapped her dazzling smile back on her face and nodded. “Of course. You two have fun. I’m going to head home and see if Momma needs any help with lunch.” She strolled down the stairs, almost bouncing, and never looked back as she made a quick getaway.

I looked at Chase and the smile was already gone. Crap. “You’re not going to let it go, are you?”

“Not a chance. Why did Betty tell you to stay away from me? I mean...I thought she trusted me. I would never do anything to harm you. Never.” He spoke so vehemently, never breaking eye contact, and my heart filled with shame. He thought Grandma was trying to protect me, not him. I couldn’t let him continue to think that.

“It has nothing to do with you hurting me,” I paused, my nerves threatening to get the better of me. “She was worried about you getting hurt...by me.”

He stared at me for a long moment before bursting out laughing. “Seriously? How could you possibly hurt me?”

I looked him straight in the eye, hoping to find the strength to answer him, but in the end I diverted my eyes. I was not going to tell him that part. Some things are better kept a secret. “How should I know? You know her better than I do, so you ought to know.”

“Well I don’t,” he replied, a smile creeping back onto his face. “I’ll talk to her about it. Get everything straightened out, once and for all.”

“No,” I replied quickly. I must have surprised him as he jerked back a little bit. “Please. I’ll talk to her. Don’t worry about it.”

He stared at me again, those blue eyes searching my face, before settling on my lips. His eyes seemed to blur slightly as his tongue briefly flicked over his full lower lip. As I watched him, I felt a flutter in reaction. He seemed to realize that he was staring and rapidly raised his gaze, looking me once more in the eyes. “I can’t promise not to worry, but I’ll leave you to it.” He turned to walk away but turned back to face me. “And if it’s any consolation, I don’t want you to stay away from me.”

He smiled devilishly before sauntering off again. Whoa! Well, that was interesting. I swear I could still feel his eyes as they caressed my face, as physical as the touch of a hand. And those lips! When his tongue snaked out, moistening his lip, I seriously thought I was going to melt right there. Grandma would find nothing left of me but a quivering puddle on the front porch. He had to know what kind of effect he had on me. Hell, the effect he had on all females.

Something told me he wasn’t as oblivious as he wanted everyone to believe. My interest was definitely piqued now and no amount of scolding from Grandma was going to keep me away from him. I would just have to keep Grandma out of the loop as much as possible. For the entire summer, if need be.