Shattered Rose (16 page)

The realization hit me that for the first time in months, I didn’t think about throwing up. What I found amazing was not that I was able to resist it, but that I felt a calm that negated the desire to do it at all. I felt healthy. Of course, it had only been four days, but considering I had been alone in the apartment all that time, it was a pretty big feat.

I looked at the clock. It was 9:00 a.m., and I promised
Issy I would be at her house before noon. I didn’t want to get up. I just wanted to throw the covers back over my head and sleep the day away. There was nothing to look forward to. Parker had left last night for his parents. Issy was probably going to be very high maintenance, and Jake…well who ever knew with Jake. Would he be my kind, loving, sweet Jake? Or the angry, rude and emotionally unavailable Jake? Part of me didn’t know which one I would prefer. If “my Jake” were there, I would miss him, but I really did hate the other version. It was a no win situation for me. I sighed as my alarm continued to ding at me. Let’s get this over with!

The drive was relatively quiet and really pretty.
Issy lived an hour from school down predominately back roads. Trees lined the road as far as the eye could see and almost created a hypnotic setting for the driver.

I pulled off the main highway onto smaller roads and finally into a gated community called Season Oaks. The houses were spectacular, at least twice the size of my house in Georgia. I followed the curvy road in awe of every house I looked at, each having its own character and design.

Issy’s house was by far the most grand in the neighborhood. It sat on a half-acre off the street and was tall enough to be three stories, although, on closer examination, I saw it was only two. There was a circle drive in front with four white columns flanking wide steps that led to the front porch, which was scattered with luxurious outdoor furniture. I was awestruck as I walked to the door, realizing how dramatically Issy had downplayed her family’s wealth.

I knocked on the ornate wood door and suddenly felt underdressed in my jeans and sweater.
Issy flung open the door and rushed out to give me a hug. “There you are! I was going crazy!” Her voice was as dramatic as ever.

“
Issy, I’m thirty minutes early,” I answered patting her back, trying to hold in a laugh.

“Really? Goodness, this
morning is taking f-o-r-e-v-e-r.” She grabbed my bags and led me through the door. I could hardly move as I took in the beauty. The ceiling was at least twenty feet high with a huge chandelier in the entrance. The flooring was a pristine Carrera marble that reflected the light perfectly. The entry fed straight into a huge living room with hand scrapped dark wood flooring and a stone fireplace that ran all the way up to the ceiling.

The room was impeccably decorated with white area rugs, dark wood furniture and mushroom colored couches. There was light blue sprinkled throughout to bring in some color and floral arrangements placed perfectly for added warmth. Everything about the place screamed luxury and comfort, an impossible combination.

Issy began to get annoyed with my gawking and started to pull at my arm. “You’re upstairs, Avery. This way.”

“I’m sorry.
You just have a beautiful home,” I exclaimed, still looking around.

Issy
rolled her eyes as if I had said the most ridiculous thing ever and practically pushed me up the stairs. My room was the second on the left, next to Issy’s. It was perfect. The walls were two toned with soft white on top and dark taupe on the bottom. Bedside tables were on each side of the bed, which was beautifully made with crisp cotton bed linen, and a quilted satin throw. The final touch of richness, though, was a beautiful taupe ottoman that was situated in front of the bed and held bath towels and a perfectly placed mint. I felt a little like royalty.

“Avery…really. You need to snap out of it. It’s a room.”

“Issy, you may see stuff like this all the time, but not everyone grew up in a house this beautiful. I’m just taking it all in,” I explained, carefully setting my bags down in a way that didn’t add any clutter to the immaculate room.

“If you are this crazy over my mom’s house, j
ust wait until you see my dad’s.” I looked at her in disbelief. “Oh yeah…it makes this house look tiny.” 

She grabbed my arm and pulled me into her room, which looked pretty much like I would have expected. There was a large red platform bed, with white sheets and a black coverlet. Two of the walls were stark white with large windows and the other looked as if
Issy had flung every color of paint she could find at the wall. She was sitting on her bed holding a fuzzy lip pillow and started filling me in on her “horrific” week.

After a few minutes, I realized the
jist of it was that she had been stuck in her mom’s house all week with Jake, and they were making her crazy. New guy was out of the picture for her mom, which meant lots of alcohol and Valium.

“I swear, Avery, I’ve watched enough intern
et TV to be considered a hermit.” Issy had the typical whine in her voice that comes when she doesn’t get her own way, and then it changed abruptly. “So that is why I have tonight all worked out.” Her mischievous voice was out now, which was always the one that got me in the most trouble. 

“
Issy, the whole reason I came was to go with you to your dad’s house tonight. What on earth do you have planned now?” I was partially whispering not knowing where her mom was in the house.

“An after party,” she stated simply.

“Who has an after party on Thanksgiving?”

“Ben. His parents spend every fall in Europe, and it’s become a solid tradition around here.” She was going on as if it was the most practical thing in the world.

“Wait a second, ex-boyfriend Ben?”  She simply nodded and pretended she was fascinated by something in her magazine. “Issy, no! That has ‘regret’ written all over it.”

“Avery, I seriously could care less about Ben. I’ve gone to that party every year but last year, and people will talk if I miss it again. They expect me to be there.”

“Who does?”

“Have I not taught you anything? The same expectations I have at school, I have here.  I’m the social dictator. If there is a major party, and I’m not there, what does that say about me?”

“I don’t know…that it’s Thanksgiving!” I paused for a second, waiting for Issy to come to her senses, and then realized that Issy and I operated in such different universes that there was no possible way to get through to her. I really only had one choice…to go.  “Ok fine, we’ll go, but how are you going to get through Jake? He’ll never go for it.”

“He’ll never know.  We’ll be at my dad’s, remember? Ben lives right down the street, and if I act as annoying and rude as I always do over there, by nine o’clock he’ll be begging for me to go back to my mom’s house…”

“…which, of course, we won’t do until much later,” I reasoned.

“You are so smart! So, I already packed a bag for us and put it in the car. You will wear what I picked out.” She gave me a stare so severe, I didn’t respond. Instead, I let her believe I would change knowing that I probably wouldn’t. 

I shook my head. For some reason, every time I was with Issy, I felt like I was doing some form of espionage. I had forgotten how exciting her life really was.

“Isadora, honey, where are you?”
Issy’s mom called from the bottom of the stairs.

“Isadora?” I questioned.

“It’s better than Kaitlyn, and she refuses to call me Issy,” she explained as she headed to the door. “I’m up here with Avery. We’re on our way down now.”

Issy
motioned for me to come and led us down the stairs. I quickly realized I had no idea what her mother’s name was. “What does she go by?” I asked quietly.

“Call her Diana. She stopped using my dad’s name a while ago, and her first name makes her feel younger anyway.”

We walked in the kitchen, which was as grand as the rest of the house. Issy had on a smile so fake, I was sure it was done just to annoy her mother. Ironically, Diana didn’t seem to notice, and instead was pulling the turkey out of the oven. Jake was getting the cutting knives out of the drawer when he looked up and saw me standing there. My heart leapt into my throat upon seeing him, and I secretly cursed my body for reacting.

“Avery, you’re here.” Jake dropped the knife and fork and came to give me a big hug and a soft kiss on the cheek. I stood frozen wondering who this person was.

“Diana, this is our Avery, Issy’s new roommate.” He announced me proudly while keeping one arm around my shoulders as if there was some relationship still going on between us.

I looked up at him with total confusion, wrestled my way out of his grip and walked towards
Issy’s mom. “It’s very nice to meet you. Thank you so much for having me. Your home is absolutely beautiful.” She smiled at me warmly and seemed to beam with pride when I mentioned the house.

Issy’s
mom was the picture of beauty and grace. She had Issy’s dark hair and green eyes and carried herself like an aristocrat. Every inch of her was perfectly manicured and not even one hair was out of place, despite obviously being in the hot kitchen for hours. While Issy was close to the visual replica of her mom, the stark contrast of their mannerisms and style was almost unnerving.

“Well, we are so glad you are here. Jake has told me all about you. We’re so lucky that
Issy got such a great roommate this year.” She turned back to the turkey, and I looked at Issy with a mixture of shock and disbelief. She just rolled her eyes and left the room.  I felt like I was in some episode of the
Twilight Zone
and was really wishing I had learned to say “no” to Issy.  The only positive was that Jake was being cordial, which I decided was much better than the silent treatment I usually got.

“Can I help with anything?” I offered, feeling like I needed to say something.

“Oh yes, can you fill the glasses? There is water in the fridge and red wine on the bar in the dining room.”

I grabbed the pitcher of water and walked into the dining room. In the center was a long mahogany table that easily had to seat twelve guests. It was beautifully decorated with a fall centerpiece, which included pinecones, candles and small pumpkins. On the far side sat our four place settings consisting of fine china atop gold chargers, real silver, and crystal water and wine glasses. I poured the drinks, careful to place everything back in its perfect location, and returned to the kitchen. 

Diana and Jake had all the dishes ready to go, and I helped them bring the feast to the table. There was more than enough food for an army, let alone four dinner guests, but I didn’t say anything except to compliment on how lovely everything smelled. Again, Issy’s mom beamed with pride and smiled.

“Isadora, we’re eating dear,” Diana called out to the living room.
Issy came bouncing in and took the far seat, leaving me next to Jake, who was at the head of the table, and facing her mom. Jake reached over, covered my hand with his and shot me a breathtaking smile. I quickly looked down at my plate and put my trembling hands in my lap. My stomach was in full turmoil at this point. What was he doing?
Issy’s mom said grace and then started serving the plates.

“Avery, Jake says that you are an engineering student. That is wonderful dear. I have been trying to get
Issy to declare a major for a while now.” Diana’s voice was as sweet as honey, but I knew her words were meant to sting. I suddenly felt very protective of Issy as I hated when people were passive aggressive like that.

“Well, I think
Issy’s theory on choosing a major is brilliant. If I wasn’t on scholarship, I’d totally do it her way.” I thought of Parker’s words and continued, “Originality is a gift after all, and Issy never ceases to amaze me.” I tried to match the sweetness in Diana’s voice, but wasn’t quite as good at it. Issy hit my leg under the table and tried to hold in her laughter. Diana quickly moved on to other subjects, mainly Jake’s internship at the stock company. Seeing his eyes light up as he talked about it reminded me of the hours we would spend in my bed just sharing our day together. I willed the tears to stay back and took a deep breath.

Issy
was no help. She ate in total silence. In fact, I had only seen Issy this quiet when she was sleeping and even then, she made more noise.

“So Avery, are you also going to do an internship your junior year as well?” Diana voice continued to sound angelic.

“Um, no ma’am. I work at the engineering school now as part of the program I’m in. It’s been a great experience for me.” I was totally lying, but I didn’t feel like saying that I hated every second I was in there.

“I didn’t know you had a job,” Jake said, looking at me with a mix of surprise and admiration.

I wanted to say,
Of course you didn’t. You didn’t take the time to know anything about me before you decided you needed space.
Instead, I shot him a sweet smile. “Well, now you know.”

I could almost feel my life being sucked away as we finished our meal. Jake was watching my every move, while Diana continued to interrogate me on my plans for the future. Every minute felt excruciating, and I was starting to think that
Issy actually hated me, otherwise she wouldn’t have forced me to sit through this.