Chapter 2 Paige
Chapter 2
Paige
“Come down here, Paige. I’ve got something important to—” Instead of finishing her sentence, my mom let out a blood-curdling scream. It was quickly followed by a shocked yelp. “What the hell is that?”
I was slowly making my way downstairs, but the sound of my mom’s panicked voice had me racing to the kitchen. I’d never heard her scream like that before. Something must be horribly wrong.
I burst into the kitchen and found her pressed up against the fridge, one shaking hand pointing across the room to a spot on the floor. Her face was pale as my dad appeared in the doorway behind me.
“What’s wrong now?” he demanded.
“M . . . M . . .”
Whatever it was, my mom couldn’t seem to get the words out to explain. I glanced in the direction she was pointing and smiled when I saw something small and fluffy on the floor.
“Aw, is that a mouse?” The poor little guy was probably terrified from all the screaming. But as I went to walk over to it, my mom finally snapped out of her state of shock and reached out an arm to stop me.
“Paige, no. It’s dead.”
“What? Really? How?” I couldn’t help but feel sad, especially given the relief in my mom’s voice as she announced his passing .
“All that screaming over a dead mouse?” My dad shook his head. “I thought there was a real problem.”
“I was taken by surprise, Steven.”
“I don’t have time for surprises, Deborah. My flight’s in just over two hours, and I have a stack of emails to get through before I go.”
He stalked from the room without another word. My mom took a deep breath, straightened her jacket and smoothed a hand over her perfect dark hair that was slicked back in a tight bun. In an instant, her expression had transformed, and I almost forgot she’d been quivering in the corner only moments ago.
“Right, like I was saying, I’ve got something important to tell you.” She turned and retrieved her cup of coffee from the counter as though nothing had happened. “Your father isn’t the only one going on a business trip.”
“Oh, okay.” I failed to see how that news trumped the mystery of the mouse’s tragic end. My parents were always traveling for work, so this was nothing new. Had she no respect for the dead?
“I’m leaving tonight.”
That got my attention. “Wait, you’re both leaving today?”
“Yes.”
“How long will you be gone for?”
“They need me in Seattle first thing tomorrow,” she replied. “And then Chicago the week after that. It’ll be at least two weeks, maybe longer.”
She took a long sip of her coffee, as though she hadn’t just dropped a bomb on me.
“But Dad’s going to be gone even longer than that, isn’t he?”
My parents normally tried to time their business trips so at least one of them would be home with me, and it had been a while since there was a clash like this. I tried to remember the last time both my mom and dad were away. It must have been before my grandma died, because I could recall staying with her for a few days one winter, maybe in freshman year. Either way, I was certain my parents had never disappeared for this long at the same time. Now that I was a senior, I wondered whether I’d be allowed to stay home by myself.
“I know it’s not ideal,” my mom continued. “But your father refuses to change his plans, and my manager made it very clear how important my trip is when he called this morning.”
I zoned out as she began to explain in painstaking detail exactly why her presence in Seattle, or wherever she was going, was so crucial. She worked in sales for a tech company—hardly a matter of life and death. No, but for my parents, it often felt like their jobs were even more important than that.
The thought made me return my attention to the poor little creature lying on the floor a few feet away. If he’d still been with us, listening to my mom talk about fostering strong client relationships probably would have bored him to death anyway. I wasn’t particularly focused on what she was saying, but she continued her one-sided conversation, oblivious. After a while, she seemed to pivot from talking about building trust with stakeholders into something about the trust she was placing in me to finish my college essay while she was away. It was truly impressive how she could bring almost any conversation back to my lack of plans for the future .
“What about the mouse?” I said, interrupting her.
“What about it?”
I waved my hands at it, in case my mom had forgotten it was still lying there. “What are we going to do with him?”
“I’ll put it in the trash when we’re done here.”
“The trash?”
My mom bristled at my stunned response. “Well, it’s not exactly getting a funeral in the backyard, Paige. You’re not five anymore.”
“But—”
“No buts. I’m not concerned about that.” She snapped her fingers at me, making sure she had my full attention. “What I am concerned about are your college applications. I know you haven’t been working on them. And you’ve got your meeting with the career counselor this coming week. Now, obviously I won’t be around to check up on you, but I expect you to get all the applications drafted before the meeting so you can take them along and get feedback.”
“But—” I tried to protest again, and she cut me off even quicker this time.
“What did I say about buts? This is important, Paige. Your future is important. You’ve been putting this off for months, and even though I’m not going to be here, I refuse to let you avoid it for another second.”
I knew there was nothing I could say to win this argument. She was right. Not about the mouse. He did deserve a funeral in the backyard. But I had been putting off my college applications and avoiding my mom’s attempts to talk to me about my career plans. Or should I say, her plans for my career. It killed her that I didn’t have my whole life mapped out, like she did. But the more she pressured me into it, the more I wanted to drop out of school and join the circus .
“So, make sure you pack those college admission guides I got you, as well as all your books and homework—”
“What do you mean, pack?”
My mom looked down at me over her glasses. “You didn’t think I was letting you stay here alone for two weeks, did you? No, I’ve arranged for you to stay with that friend of yours...”
I should have known I was being too optimistic about having the house to myself. “You mean, Bonnie?”
“The one with a newborn baby in the house? No, there’s no way you’ll get your homework done with all that noise going on. It’s your other friend. The one who’s named after a color. Amber... Scarlett... Ivory...” She shook her head, giving up. “I don’t know. You’re always going to their house for dinner on Sundays.”
“Gray?” I gasped. “As in Grayson Darling?”
“Yes. That’s the one.”
My mouth hung open in surprise. “Mom, you do remember Gray’s a guy, right?”
“Oh yes, yes, of course, I do. The little boy you used to run around the neighborhood with all the time.”
There was nothing little about Grayson these days, but that wasn’t the kind of thing my mom noticed. Apparently, she was also unaware that Gray had a very big and very bad reputation. It was totally undeserved, but people in Ransom loved nothing more than spreading rumors about Grayson and his brothers: the infamous Darling Devils .
Of course, when they won a hockey game everyone worshipped the ground the three boys skated on, but they generally did so from a distance. I’d seen strangers cross the street to avoid bumping into Reed, Grayson and Parker. I’d even seen people get up and leave our local coffee shop just because they walked in. I couldn’t imagine many people freely sending their daughter into the Devils’ lair for a sleepover. I guessed there were some advantages that came with having parents who were too busy working to take notice of town gossip.
“You know he grew up, don’t you?”
She gave me a pointed look. “I’m aware.”
“And he has two brothers. You’re really letting me stay in a house filled with boys?”
“When I spoke to their mother, she suggested you room with her daughter. But I can’t imagine it will be an issue. You’re not silly about boys and dating like that.”
Apparently, even my mother knew my love life was a disaster. She wasn’t wrong though. How could I get silly about boys when absolutely no boys were silly about me?
“Look, Paige, that family was not my first pick,” she added. “But your grandmother’s gone, and this trip came up at the last minute, so I didn’t have much choice. We’re just lucky Mrs. Darling was happy to take you.”
Ah, the truth. The Darlings were her only option. My mom just cared more about her trip than she did about where her daughter was going to live for the next two weeks. Again, I wasn’t sure why I was surprised.
The thought of the warm reception I’d get from the Darling family did make me smile though. I knew Amy would give me the tightest hug when I arrived, and Danny would be so welcoming. Cammie wasn’t going to be thrilled about sharing her room, but Reed would be pleased to see me, Parker would definitely crack a joke, and Grayson, of course, would barely crack a smile. Still, his reaction was the one I was most excited to see when I rocked up with my bags.
“I told Mrs. Darling to expect you at three, so you better go pack.” Mom paused and her expression soured as her gaze dipped to my outfit. “Is that what you’ll be wearing?”
I glanced down at the pink polka-dot skirt and yellow blouse I had on. I failed to see why my mom was so confused. It was maybe a little bright, but I was feeling positive this morning and wanted my outfit to reflect that. At least, I had been until something died in our kitchen. I was now wondering if I should be wearing all black.
“It’s just a skirt and top, Mom.”
“You look like you’re off to entertain at a child’s birthday party.”
“Well, I was planning to talk to the counselor about applying to clown college.”
I could tell my joke had hit a nerve, and I was punished with another lecture.
“Be polite at the Darlings’. Do your homework. Clean your dishes. Please work on your applications, and do not miss your meeting. I can’t afford to cut this work trip short and come back early. I’m trusting you, Paige. ”
I resisted the temptation to poke the bear with another witty retort, deciding instead to play it safe and give my mom the answer she needed to hear. “You’ve got nothing to worry about, Mom. I promise.”
Her mouth twisted in a pout, like she wasn’t sure whether to believe me. But then she gave a sharp nod. “Good. Thank you. But I’ll still be calling you to check in.” I wasn’t sure if that was a promise or a threat. “Now, go pack.” She ushered me from the kitchen. “You don’t want to be late.”
I was in a bit of a daze as I left the room. After the mouse tragedy and my mom’s sudden announcement that she was going away, I felt like I’d slipped on a patch of ice and hit my head, leaving the world looking slightly wonky. It was all a lot to take in, but I was at least beginning to shake off the initial surprise. And to be honest, the more I thought about going to the Darlings’, the more it felt a little like I was going on vacation. Well, what I imagined a vacation would feel like. My parents never took breaks from work. The closest I’d gotten to a holiday was joining Grayson and his family for a week at his uncle’s lake house one summer in middle school. It hadn’t turned out as I’d hoped. I’d fallen in poison ivy on the first day and Grayson, the thoughtful idiot that he was, decided I shouldn’t be in pain alone, and had jumped in the ivy too. We’d both spent the whole week itching and rubbing lotion on ourselves.
I was making my way up the stairs when my mom called out to me. “Paige? ”
I dreaded to think what she still needed to say after unleashing multiple rants and lectures already. I looked over the handrail just as she poked her head into the corridor.
“Was there something else, Mom?”
“Yes. For the love of all that is holy, do not cook for the Darlings while you’re there. I just disposed of the mouse, and it was surrounded by crumbs from those terrible muffins you made yesterday.”
“Terrible muffins?” I gasped as realization struck. “You think I killed the mouse?”
“I think I’d like the Darlings to survive your stay.”
“But the muffins can’t have been that bad. Plenty of people ate them and were fine.”
She lifted one eyebrow at me. “Tell that to the mouse.”
I stood frozen to the spot as she disappeared back into the kitchen. I’d never killed anything before—that I knew of. And I had honestly thought those muffins were okay. Could they really have been as inedible as my mom suggested? The Devils players had all finished theirs and given them glowing reviews.
Were they lying? Surely not. Unless... What if they had been forced?
There was only one person with the ability to make an entire hockey team eat something, despite the fact it tasted gross, and that person was my best friend. Grayson Darling was in trouble. And, unfortunately for him, I was about to move into his house.