The Leaving Season (11 page)

I waited. If I could hold my breath for a minute, how long could he? The air was still and quiet; nothing disturbed the solitude of the creek. I began to panic at the thought that Lee could drown—could he? Could he drown himself by sheer willpower? We were miles away from help. Not a soul knew we were here.

A second minute passed and nearly a third and still, Lee remained below the surface.

That was it. I lunged for him, dragging him up out of the water and pushing him toward the shore. Leaning over him,
I pressed my hand against his bare chest, ready to start CPR if necessary.

His eyes fluttered open and he coughed a few times, spitting water up and over his chin. He pushed back against the shore and sat up, coughing.

I paddled back and away from him. “We're even now. You saved my ass—”

“And you saved my flabby white one.”

He was trying to get out of this with a joke, but I wouldn't let him. “What was that? What the hell did you think you were doing?”

He shrugged, silent.

“And that bullshit about Nate. Why would you say that?”

Lee tried to swim away from me, but I grabbed his arm and forced him to look at me. “Why are you so angry?”

“Middie, you're the girlfriend.”

“So? What does that mean?”

He sighed and squirmed. “You've got a million people worrying about you, caring about you. Who am I? Huh? I'm no one.”

“You were his friend.”

“His
best
friend. My heart got broken just like yours. And there is not a single person who gives a shit.” He wiped a hand across his eyes as if he were erasing the emotions I could see in them so clearly.

Lee had never shown me this side of himself before. I wanted to reach out to him—to let him know that
I
cared.

We were side by side under the water, so very, very close to each other.

But Lee couldn't let the conversation remain serious. “So, hey, thanks for taking off all your clothes with me. This was awesome. Very therapeutic.”

“Glad I could help.”

“You want to do this again, you just . . .” He mimed dialing a phone and mouthed,
Call me.

“Uh-huh.”

I followed him to the other side, hunched over to cover myself. I had to figure out how I was going to get out, get dry, and get dressed without him seeing me. When Lee got to the water's edge, he ran to the bushes where his clothes were hanging and ducked out of sight.

“Close your eyes!” I called to Lee. “I'm coming out.”

“Please. You don't have anything I haven't seen before.”

“Maybe I do.”

“What is it? A third nipple? An extra toe?” His head popped up again. “Now,
that
I would have to see.”

“Stop. Go back and close your eyes. Now,” I growled. I waited until he was completely hidden by the bushes and then I dashed to the edge of the shore, grabbed my clothes, and stumbled to the widest tree I could find. I was dripping wet and reluctant to put on my dry clothes, but I didn't have much of a choice. Finally, I finished dressing and emerged from behind the trees to find Lee staring balefully at the creek. I felt like I was interrupting something.

“You ready to go?” I asked as I gathered my purse and took a quick look at my messages.
Ten
texts from Haley, two voice mails.

Lee nodded and we headed back to the Vespa through the woods. “Thanks for coming to the creek.”

“So you always wanted to skinny-dip with Nate?” I teased him.

Lee looked surprised. “I always wanted to come to this swimming hole,” he said. “
You
were the one who turned it into a strip joint.”

I laughed as we stepped into the brutal heat from the cool of the woods. “You want a photo to commemorate this?” I asked when we got to his scooter.

He grinned. “Yeah, okay. But get my good side this time.” He leaned in close to me as I held the phone in front of us. I felt his warm cheek against my cool one. The smell of the freshwater creek clung to his face and arms. “Naked cheese!”

I burst into laughter, my eyes squeezing shut as the camera clicked.
Oh yeah, that's gonna be one great photo.

Haley and I navigated a crowded cafeteria a couple of days later as a team of school council members were decorating the room for Halloween. Black and orange streamers fell in crisscrossing swaths while paper skeletons danced on the walls.

“So you were deep into studying—is that what you're telling me?” Haley asked as we both dodged glittery black cats made of crepe paper.

“Chemistry,” I said, nearly blushing at the memory of Lee naked in the creek. “So many pop quizzes, you know?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I just needed some more time with the books, so I shut
my phone off,” I went on. “Didn't even see your message till last night.”

Haley slid into an empty chair at our table. I hated lying to my best friend, but I knew it would just make her mad to know the truth.
Studying
was a better alternative to
skinny-dipping with Lee
.

“Messag
es
,” she said, emphasizing the last syllable. “Yeah, okay. As long as you're all right.” She held my gaze for a long moment, scrutinizing me even as she unpacked her lunch. “You look . . . I don't know . . . refreshed?”

I nodded and quickly glanced into my own bagged lunch before she could read anything on my face. “Oh yeah. Got some extra sleep.”

Haley smiled. “Good. Sleep is good.”

“Hey! Did you see the decorations?” Katrina asked as she sat opposite us at the table. Debra took a seat seconds later.

“I think the giant jack-o'-lantern is new this year,” Haley said as she bobbed her head toward the caf entrance, where a couple of girls were maneuvering a big soft-sided pumpkin. “Cute.”

“Halloween is my very favorite holiday,” Katrina said, although this was not news to us at all.

“Because we celebrate things that are orange? Like your hair?” Debra teased.

“Ha, ha. I've been working on the haunted house.” Katrina immediately got down to business, pulling a small notebook out of her purse and opening it to a page filled
with blue pen scribbles. She pushed aside her salad to make room for her notes.

Every year she, Debra, and Haley volunteered to work at a haunted house that raised money for local charities. They dressed up as witches and vampires to scare kids and their parents, who paid a few bucks to walk through an old house decorated like something from
The Addams Family
.

“I don't want to be a witch this year,” Haley said. “I'd rather be a zombie.”

Katrina consulted her notebook. “Okay, I think we can do that.”

“Oh, me too!” Debra said.

“You can't both be zombies.”

“Why not?”

“Because I need some witches too. Every haunted house
has
to have a witch.”

Listening to them gently bicker about costumes and makeup reminded me that this year I wouldn't be celebrating Halloween like I normally did: with Nate, handing out candy at his parents' house. Maybe this was the year to try something new.

“Hey, I'll be a witch,” I heard myself say. The girls turned to me.

“You will?” Katrina asked. When I nodded, she picked up her pen and began jotting notes. “Awesome!”

I felt Haley's inquisitive eyes on me. “Really? You never do the haunted house.”

“This year is different, you know? I want to try something new.”

A grin spread across Haley's face. She looked as if I'd told her she'd won the lottery. “You are going to have so much fun. I promise!”

“Oh yeah! We have the best time,” Debra said. “We scare all the kids—”

“And their parents too!” Katrina added. “Remember that guy last year? Totally flipped out when Haley jumped out of the closet. I thought he was having a heart attack.”

For the rest of the lunch period, we talked about costumes and hairstyles, how to apply wounds, whether to buy or rent a cape, and so on. Debra and Haley were going to be zombies, shambling the grounds in tattered clothes and mud-streaked shoes, while I would take Haley's place as the witch in the closet, jumping out at unsuspecting guests.

The more Katrina told me about my assignment, the more I began to sweat the details. Was this really my thing? Could I pull it off? Or would I embarrass myself and my friends? Just as I opened my mouth, ready to take it back, to tell them I'd changed my mind, Katrina said, “Our last haunted house together!”

And Haley added, “Our last Halloween together!”

I glanced around the table at the three of them, my best girlfriends. Of course I could do this. The bell rang, but we were still engrossed in the haunted house.

Haley turned to me as we walked out. “I'll show you how to lunge. You might want to start doing some squats to prepare yourself.”

“Yeah, it's a long night,” Debra said.

“But so worth it,” Katrina said with a grin. “This will be awesome!”

“Whoo-hoo!” Haley said and then she looked at me and lifted my hand to high-five hers. “That's right. Whoo-hoo!”

Putting together a witch's costume was a lot harder than I'd imagined, but fortunately Emma could earn a badge for helping me sew, although I probably spent more time teaching her
how
to sew than she actually sewed. She also had lots of ideas for how I should scream and say
Boo!

“You can practice on me,” she offered.

“Don't you want to be surprised at the haunted house?”

She shook her head. “No. I don't like surprises like that.” She wagged her finger at me. “And don't be too scary.”

I swallowed my laugh and made a solemn promise. “Not too scary. Got it.”

By the time Halloween rolled around, I thought I was pretty well prepared. I had a crazy black wig with streaks of white in it, a pointed hat that came down past my ears, and a heavy velvet cape I'd borrowed from Katrina. A black dress from Debra over high-heeled boots finished the outfit, but the look wasn't complete until I'd hollowed out my cheeks with green-tinted makeup and added gray lips.

Lee texted me just as I was touching up a fake mole on my chin:
trick r treat?

I quickly texted him back with a photo of the mole.

His response:
needs more hair

Laughing, I wrote him:
ewww

Gotta see this. Where?

I sent him the address, adding:
u can bring liza

Maybe

Maybe he'd come? Or maybe he'd bring Liza? Before I had a chance to text him back, my phone exploded with a flurry of calls from the girls. Katrina was on her way, picking each of us up so we could arrive together at the haunted house and “bond” on the ride over. More likely, as Debra put it, she just didn't want any of us to be late.

Debra's zombie makeup was fantastic, as was Haley's. They'd followed an online tutorial for just the right amount of undead and they'd shredded some old jeans and flannel shirts, which they wore over torn T-shirts. Both of them looked liked they'd died during the Nirvana grunge era. Katrina was a vampire, and she'd sprayed and teased her hair until it was an airy red nest.

To put us in the mood, Haley led us all in singing “This Is Halloween,” which was the only Halloween-themed song we knew besides “Thriller.” By the time we arrived, we were shouting “Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!” at the top of our lungs and sweating off our carefully applied makeup.

“Oh my god, there's already a line!” Debra said as
Katrina pulled up. True enough, a long line of kids and their parents snaked from the front entrance down the sidewalk. “There must be fifty people here and it's not even dark yet.”

I started to get nervous, seeing all those kids. Would I be scary enough? Too scary? I felt Haley by my side, felt her squeeze my arm. “I'm so glad you came,” she whispered. “This will be a blast.”

An image popped into my mind of the little kids coming to Nate's house on Halloween night. While his parents went out with his brother and sisters, we stayed home to hand out candy and make out on the couch.

I felt a little wistful seeing these kids in their costumes. This would be a different experience, for sure, but I was ready for it. I wanted it. I squeezed her back. “Me too!”

The wind gusted, sending dry leaves skittering across our path—nature's own special effect. As we got closer to the house, we could hear man-made creaks and groans; wisps of dry ice gave the path a creepy vibe and made the air feel crisp.

Inside, strands of fake spiderwebs hung from the rafters and fake black spiders ate fake black flies. The hallway was pitch-dark in places, lit only by electric candles in pumpkins. Haley giggled beside me, and her nervous laughter was contagious.

“This is amazing!” she whispered loudly. “Do you love it?”

“I love it!”

“Hi!” Katrina's face appeared between our shoulders and we screamed and then collapsed into fits of giggles again. “You guys go back there.” She pointed to the other end of the hallway where there was a door underneath the stairs. “When you hear people coming, jump out and scream!”

Haley grabbed my hand and we ran down to the staircase, throwing ourselves through the small doorway. There was barely enough room for both of us to be there, let alone one with a tall, pointed hat.

We huddled inside like we were playing hide-and-seek. Haley kept peeking out the door. “What are you going to say?” she asked me.

“I think I'll just scream. What about you?”

“Braiiiiins!” She half closed her eyes and reached an arm through the door. We heard a small boy yelp. Haley's eyes widened and she snatched her hand back. “Sorry!”

“Oh my god! You scarred him for life!”

“He shouldn't be there, then!”

We fell over onto each other, laughing like kids.

“Shhh! Here comes another.” Haley shoved me toward the door. “Go, your turn!”

“Me? Why me? I thought we were doing this together!”

“Go, go!”

I took a breath and lunged out the door, screaming and raising my arms over my head. Two boys about Emma's age yelled and fell backward. I quickly retreated and Haley closed the door.

“You did it!”

“I did it! Oh my god!”

“Did it feel good?”

“It felt awesome!”

Haley laughed. “Sometimes it's fun to just scream.”

I remembered Lee screaming at the pond last week. Fun, cathartic, whatever you wanted to call it, it felt good to let loose.

Haley squealed and hugged me. “I'm so glad you came out with us tonight.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. We like hanging out with you.”

I felt my mouth open. “You do?” It was hard to take her seriously with her pale zombie makeup and fake open neck wounds, but I knew what she meant.

“Well, don't get a big head about it,” she teased me with a sly smile.

“That's not my head, that's my hat!” I said, and we both started laughing again.

Haley whispered-sang, “I am the one hiding under your stairs . . .”

“Fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair . . .”

“This is Halloween, this is Halloween . . .” Our voices grew louder, filling the small closet. “Halloween, Halloween!”

Haley flung open the door and we threw ourselves out into the hallway with our arms over our heads, falling on top of a small group of kids and parents, who ran away laughing and screaming.

All except one: Lee. He stood in the middle of the hallway, his mouth agape and his eyes crinkling with amusement. His gaze traveled from my hat to my boots and then took in Haley beside me. We stood facing each other for a long moment; screams and shouts echoed in the old house and feet stomped on creaky floorboards.

I looked at Lee, raised my fingers like claws, and said, “Boo!”

Taking my cue, Haley's arms shot out in front of her and she reached for Lee's head. “Braiiiiins!”

His face split into a grin and he roared with laughter. “Not much of a meal,” he said. “More like a snack.”

Haley didn't break character, groaning and swaying, limp fingers swiping the air around Lee. “Unhhhhhhh . . .”

“Nice hat,” he said, bobbing his chin at me. “You should wear one more often.”

But like Haley, I tried to stay in character, remaining as witchlike as I could. “I'll get you, my pretty!”

“That mole . . .” Lee pointed to a spot on his chin. “Yeah, right there. Get that looked at, huh?”

I tried not to smile, but it was hard not to when Lee was doing his best to make me laugh. Fortunately another group was coming down the hallway, so I pushed him away with both hands. “And your little dog too!”

He glanced back at me, grinning again, and I was glad the hideous green makeup covered my blush. I let Haley pull me back into the closet to reset for the next group, but my
thoughts lingered on Lee. I was irrationally happy to have made him laugh.

I readied myself to lunge, elbows tensed like springs, when another thought popped into my head: I didn't see Liza.

“Boo!”