A Tangled Mess
Dani Hastings sighed once again while staring at a family picture. It wasn’t her car and she didn’t want to damage anything else. She shoved the picture in the storage compartment and took out another picture that had been taken a very long time ago. Dani kept it in her wallet, secret from everyone. No one seemed to miss their old family except for her. They looked like a picturesque family to anyone, even Dani sometimes felt confused. She parked the car around the curb and started to walk. Her family was anything but picturesque. Her mother, Georgia, was a coffee courier who had never been able to progress in the work force because of all her maternity leaves. Dani was the youngest child with two older brothers. Dani’s father, Marcus, was a prominent doctor who rarely ever came home.
When Dani was just three, babbling in her cradle, her father had brought another woman home. It was one of the rare days when he was actually home. Georgia was working that day. Her brothers were both at school. Even at age three, Dani knew something was wrong when her father confessed his love to that woman. She was scarred at what she had seen. Dani had been afraid to tell anyone and hoped that it was a momentary thing. It wasn’t and she was the only one who knew about it. Her brothers were so naively unaware. She had finally told her mother when she was thirteen years old. Everyone in her family was angry with her. Her brothers and father blamed her for tearing the family apart. Her mother asked Dani why she hadn’t told her before. Dani had wanted to stay with her mother but her mother didn’t have the funds to raise a child and pay the bills.
Her mother lived an hour away but Dani always visited her every Saturday. She was the only person who hadn’t turned her back to Dani. It was like hell living in a new house her father had bought to signify his fresh start with Cassandra. Her brothers had accepted it so easily and even started calling that woman, mom. Chase, her oldest brother, still worked out in his old room when he was home from college. Lucas still had intellectual debates with their father and read his science magazines on the couch with floral patterns, the one that Cassandra had picked out. Sometimes Cassandra even joined in since she was a fellow doctor. She had been her father’s assistant a long time ago. They met at work and fell in love there too. Dani didn’t believe in love anymore. Cassandra was ten years younger than Marcus and an extremely beautiful woman. There was no way that Georgia could have competed with Cassandra.
“Dani,” her mother said excitedly when Dani rang the doorbell. She hugged her and Dani wished it could be like this every day. Her mother lived in a small apartment in San Francisco while her father lived in the dead heat of Sacramento. It took forever commuting but Dani didn’t have anything better to do. Anything was better than staying cooped up within Cassandra’s reach.
“Mom, I want to live with you,” Dani said again. She was always saying this every Saturday.
“You can’t honey,” her mother said firmly. She opened the door and they had tea together. Dani brought out a new tin of biscuits from the empty cabinet. They were packaged exactly like cat food. Dani pried the container open and felt the crumbs pouring out. Neither of them said anything about Georgia’s situation. Dani stared at her mother intently. She seemed . . . old. Maybe it was because Dani was so used to seeing Cassandra.
“Are you doing okay?” Dani finally asked. She always asked it when she figured she had to get going.
“I’m doing well,” her mother said. That was the end of the question. Her mother was busy at work, trying to catch up on the lost years. Dani glanced around to make sure that her mother was paying off the bills and eating something. She never asked what her mother exactly ate. The fridge was always empty except for a jar of pickles. The cabinets only contained one tin of biscuits and Dani knew they were there solely for her Saturday visits. Her mother had never liked the biscuits that crumbled immediately after one bite but she knew that Dani liked them.
“I should get going,” Dani said after twenty minutes. Her mother nodded her head. The sole purpose of visiting her mother was to see if she was doing okay. Dani left and her mother waved from the window. She didn’t want to return home, not just yet. She saw Gigi, the black cat, lurking in the alley. Dani loved Gigi like it was her own cat and never failed to pet it when she visited her mother.
“Gigi, where are you going?” Dani asked cautiously following the cat. She hadn’t explored much around this part of San Francisco. It scared her half to death but she walked, solely looking at the cat.
“Whoa,” someone suddenly said popping out in front of her. They were in front of a huge green garbage can. Dani wondered what to do in a situation like this. The stranger had blue eyes that twinkled with a darker shade of blonde hair. He wore a boyish grin and seemed pleased to see her. Had they met somewhere?
“Gigi!” Dani yelled. She shook her head and pulled the cat out of the garbage. Gigi was a stray cat but both her father and mother hated animals. Dani looked up at the stranger for just a second and found that Gigi had wandered off somewhere. “Gigi!”
“Is that your cat?”
“No, not exactly, I know her name is Gigi but that’s about it. My mom introduced me to her a long time ago.”
“Oh, that’s it, that’s my grandmother’s cat. My grandmother said someone had been taking such good care of Gigi.”
“It’s not a stray?” Dani asked. She suddenly felt guilty. The stranger started to laugh.
“I better find that cat for my grandma,” he said with a little smile. “Gigi!” Dani quickly nodded and started to yell the cat’s name too. Gigi finally appeared under the trash can. She pulled it out swiftly and heard its gentle little purr.
“It’s so precious,” she said half to herself.
“I’m Noah,” he said with another boyish look. She nodded hesitantly. What would her father say to that? He was the biggest hypocrite when it came to relationships. He never allowed her to even introduce herself to a possible boyfriend. Chase was allowed to date since seventh grade but she wasn’t even allowed to introduce herself to any guy outside of school.
“I have to get going, here’s your cat,” she said nervously. She was already blushing when he had only smiled.
“Oh you have to take that cat to my grandma. I don’t like cats,” he said shying away from Gigi. Dani sighed but reluctantly followed him up the apartment stairs. She was doing a good thing by returning an old woman’s cat. There was nothing wrong about that. Well except the fact that she was blindly following a really, really attractive guy to a possibly empty apartment. He opened the door without ringing the doorbell. Dani wondered if this was a trap. He seemed to sense the apprehension on her face.
“Relax, my grandma’s a bit sick. That’s why I’m here.”
“You don’t live here?”
“Nah, I live in New York now,” he said almost wistfully. He waited for her to walk into the apartment first. “Grandma, I’m back!”
“Did you find Gigi?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a laugh. His grandmother hobbled to the living room and looked happy to see her. Noah and his grandmother had a remarkably similar smile. Dani set Gigi on the floor and it purred while nestling next to her leg.
“Why you brought a friend, Gigi,” his grandmother said.
“I’m Dani-Danielle,” Dani said quietly.
“Hello Danielle,” his grandmother started to say but spurted a series of coughs.
“Grandma, sit down,” he said helping her to the couch. “I thought I’d make you dinner as a thank you but…” He started to say something else but his grandmother had another coughing fit.
“It’s okay, I’ll cook up something,” she said excited for the opportunity to use a stove. Noah was too distracted to see her slink away into the kitchen. He was busy searching for the right medication. She opened the fridge to find absolutely nothing. It was just like her mother’s kitchen. Dani opened the cabinet next to the fridge and saw a can of tomato sauce and some pasta in a clear jar. A frying pan was hanging from the wall and she gingerly pulled it off its hook. The cabinet next to the stove had a bounty of jars. She reached for the olive oil but was disappointed to see only the littlest bit left. There was a whole clove of garlic and a trove of little jars each containing a different spice. Dani sat down and took them all out. She held the little jar in her hand and pushed the plastic lid off. It smelt of wonderful oregano.
“What are you doing?” Noah yelled over a cough.
“I’ll make some spaghetti,” Dani said getting another pot from the cookware wall. She poured a cup of water and turned the heat to high. She put the frying pan on the other burner and chopped garlic. Dani opened the single can of tomato sauce. She dumped it into the pan and seasoned it with all the spices that she liked. In about half an hour, everything was done.
“That smells good,” Noah said with fascination. He helped his grandmother to the table.
“Thank you,” she simply said before looking around for silverware. They ate together and Dani wondered if her father was even slightly worried about her.
“Who’d you learn to cook from?”
“Oh, I didn’t learn,” she refuted quickly. “My father hates whenever I have to even walk through the kitchen. He wants me to be a doctor, like him, but I’ll never do that. I’d never do anything to make him happy,” she said bitterly. She wished she hadn’t said anything. It all tumbled out too quickly.
“Well here,” he said pulling something out of his pocket. “It’s a card for Le Cordon Bleu, the high school division. You might like it here.” Dani graciously accepted it. She would never be able to go but there was nothing stopping her from dreaming.
“Thank you so much,” she simply said and left. Her car was still parked and it was slightly past six. She sighed. It had been a good day and she didn’t regret it. The card was safely in her pocket as she opened the car door. It would be about seven when she got home. This was where the dream ended.
“Danielle, where were you?” Cassandra asked angrily. Cassandra raised her voice and Dani just rolled her eyes. It was such a fail whenever Cassandra tried to punish her.
“I was visiting my mom. She wanted to have dinner with me since she never sees me,” Dani said and retreated to her room. It was obvious that she had interrupted a perfect family dinner. It was a perfect family without her. She just wished her father would let her leave. It was what everyone wanted anyway.
Dani sighed and tried to sleep. She had a lot of sleepless nights and it was obvious that tonight would be one too. She smiled just by thinking about Noah. Dani knew she should’ve just been happy being able to meet a guy like him. A guy like Noah belonged only in some sort of chick flick. He had even said that they should meet again before he left. He was only staying a week after all. Tomorrow was Sunday and she wondered if it was even slightly possible. For once, she could escape the misery of her life and jump into another story.
She woke up early in the morning to find that her family had left her. Cassandra had left a neat little post it note on the fridge. Dani could barely read the messy scrawls but managed to figure out that they had gone somewhere without her. She poured cereal for herself and waited for the door to open. She waited for her father to come back and say, “Dani! You’re awake, oh how the family isn’t complete without you. Come with us, dear Dani.” A single tear rolled down her cheek. Even if she hated her family she was still looking for acceptance. Dani didn’t feel like eating either. She put the cereal back in the cupboard and she retreated back up the stairs. Maybe she would pay Noah a visit. She changed into a decent pair of jeans and a slouchy hoodie her mother had gotten her from Santa Cruz. Dani brushed her hair back and applied mascara; it was a special day today. She grabbed the car keys and simply left.
The car was parked right in front of her mother’s apartment. She pushed the doorbell to Noah’s grandmother’s house. She heard footsteps racing towards the door. There was a sense of excitement swallowing her.
“Hi,” Noah said suddenly smiling. He seemed surprised to see her but it was a good sort of surprised.
“Hi, you wanted to see me, right?” Noah just nodded.
“I’m glad you showed up,” he said with a reassuring smile. He pushed the door open. “Wait just a second and I’ll go get changed.” She sat down on the couch and wondered why his grandmother wasn’t upset. His grandmother hadn’t even come out of the room. Her father would have been furious if Noah had suddenly showed up their door. Or would he? Dani didn’t know anymore. It was the first time her family had deserted her. Noah came out from his room moments later and Dani felt butterflies flying about. He opened the front door just as her stomach grumbled. Dani carefully followed him out of the apartment. She trusted him for some strange and illogical reason. They had breakfast at the café down the street. It was bustling with people. They talked for a while before he suggested sightseeing. Everything felt like a dream, a dream that was too good. Dani had never liked taking BART but there was something reassuring about it today. Noah made a good tour guide in a city he hardly knew. The trip ended at about two and Dani fell asleep on BART with her head resting on his shoulder. She didn’t want to return back to her life in Sacramento. He walked her to her car and there was a lingering moment hanging in the air. Dani wondered what it would be like to date someone like him. She hadn’t asked, and didn’t think of asking, if he had a girlfriend. He was about to kiss her but Dani said a rushed goodbye and got into her car.
Noah was confused when he returned to New York. He couldn’t stop thinking about Dani. There was something about her that he couldn’t let go about her. He could be so natural when he was with her. Even their silence was a sort of conversational silence, and not an awkward pause. She hadn’t talked about school or anything that could be used as identification. He didn’t know how she was so different from other girls, Dani just was. She was extremely vague with all personal questions. At the end of Sunday, he had finally figured out that her parents had had a nasty divorce and that her father was remarried. He knew for sure that she was a culinary genius. She belonged at a place like this. If only he could convince her to attend… Dani had let it slip that she lived in Sacramento. She had given him her phone number after he had incessantly asked her. It had taken five tries for him to even stutter out the question. His grandmother had approved of her though. She was probably the first girl that his grandmother actually liked. His grandmother would have been appalled at someone like Vanessa. He wondered why his grandmother was still living in the old apartment. His parents had graciously offered to move her to France but she rejected every time. His mother and sister were returning to New York next week. Noah sat down on one of the benches placed around campus. He pulled out his phone and wondered if he would be able to dial her number. It was the first time he wasn’t bold and intrepid while talking to a girl.
“Hi,” some girl said to him. His suitcase was right next to the park bench. He was smiling stupidly to himself and he wondered what happened. She was a new face but he was too confused about everything to pay attention. He wanted to see Dani again. Noah wondered why he had almost kissed her. He had stopped midway and her hand had firmly gripped the car door. He sort of wished he had kissed her but there was nothing he could do now. He had given up on Vanessa completely. They had a couple bad dates and Noah didn’t see how any girl could be worth that torment, even one as beautiful as Vanessa.
“You’re Noah, right?” The girl said again. Noah just nodded and tried to walk away from her. “I’m Carrie. I heard around campus that you’re a genius in the kitchen. It’s not fair when a guy is perfect in every single way.” He tried to get away from her but she strategically blocked him. She looked at him with her big eyes and Noah found her revolting. She looked and behaved more like a vulture than a girl.
“Well it looks like you already know everything about me. Well since I am the perfect guy, I don’t date girls that are so imperfect, like you, so move along and tell that to another guy. I might suggest that you change your tactic,” Noah said snidely. He wasn’t in the mood for people like Carrie. He had more pressing matters. Noah stopped by the restaurant. It had deteriorated even further while he was gone. Was Claire making progress with her grades? At this rate, it would shut down either way. He was supposed to be searching for new workers, but no one at this school would want to sink down to this level.
“You work here, don’t you? I think I’ve seen you around before,” Carrie said. She was obviously new and he had been in San Francisco for a week. He would have remembered someone like her. It was the first time he had ever seen her. It was obvious she wasn’t smart. Carrie refused to give up. There had to be another motive behind this. Carrie was a generic girl with long platinum blonde ringlets and piercing blue eyes. She didn’t seem like the type to want his money but it couldn’t hurt to try. He smiled and she seemed happy about his sudden change.
“I’ll give you a hundred bucks if you tell me why you’re doing this.” She seemed nervous. So she was doing this for some reason, for someone’s money.
“I seriously like you, Noah,” she said. Her tone was wavering and he wondered why she even bothered to lie. Was it because she wanted more? That was very probable.
“How long have you attended school?”
“I’ve attended this place for a year, Noah. It’s sad that you don’t know who I am.” There was another lie.
“Five hundred, you can buy some shoes or something with that,” he said. Her eyebrows jolted up in surprise. She swallowed. The act was up and there wasn’t much else Carrie could do.
“Fine,” she said quietly. “Is there a place that we can go talk?”
“Sure,” he said rolling his suitcase to his dormitory. He held the door open for her and then pressed the button to the elevator.
“I’m transferring out next week,” Carrie began as the doors to the elevator slid close. “I was hired to do this.”
“Uh huh, hired by whom?” He asked crossing his arms. Five hundred dollars had to buy more than that.
“Kiana,” she said almost silently. Noah had suspected Kiana from the beginning.
“Tell me what Kiana is planning,” he said as the elevator doors opened. They walked quickly to his room and he locked the door.
“She wanted me to distract you for a month. That’s all I know, okay?” It was a shame that he didn’t have a lie detector.
“Did she hire anyone else?”
“She hired Stephen, well sort of.” Who in the world was Stephen? Was she seriously waiting for more cash? He raised his eyebrow and waited for her to continue.
“Well Stephen is her cousin and he was indebted to her for some reason. He transferred here and I guess he plans to stay.”
“Is this targeted towards Claire?”
“Vanessa,” Carrie simply said. Noah was immediately worried. He knew Vanessa was smart but was she smart enough? She would never believe him if he told her this.
“Thanks,” he simply said and waited for Carrie to leave. What other sorts of other evils did Kiana have planned? Why? There were too many questions that he just couldn’t answer. He grabbed his phone from his pocket and stared at Dani’s number. He had promised to call but he doubted that Dani was waiting for anything. He put the phone on the counter and wondered what the next logical step against Kiana was. Noah left the dorm a few minutes later to visit the Sunshine Café.
“Noah,” Claire waved energetically. He hadn’t talked to her since he had left for San Francisco.
“Hi Claire,” he said walking over to her. She proudly beamed at him.
“In your absence, guess what came out?” Noah’s eyes flashed to the paper that she was holding up. “I already talked to the dean, perfect A’s.”
“What?” Noah asked again. He examined the paper and there it was. All they needed now was some renovation and someone to work in the café.
Claire smiled eagerly at Ryan. It had been two days since report cards came out but she was still celebrating with Ryan. The only person she hadn’t told yet was Kiana. Kiana was so busy, working a hundred and ten percent for the restaurant. His arm wrapped itself naturally around her shoulder. Claire had momentarily forgotten Ryan was dating Kiana. She shook her head and slid it off.
“Ryan, we can’t,” she said firmly. She had said this more than a million times but he had never listened to her, not even once.
“I’ll break up with her, okay?” Claire bowed her head and stared down at the grass. They were sitting at a picnic table and Claire had spent all last night preparing their food. She didn’t seem to have an appetite anymore. She hated it when Ryan brought up the only solution both of them could think of. Claire didn’t want to hurt another person. She was still apologizing to Vanessa. Ryan opened the picnic basket and pulled out a sandwich. Claire took out a can of Sprite and Ryan instantly grabbed it. He pulled tin covering off and handed it back to her. Ryan knew her so well. Anyone around identified them as a couple and she was getting antsy too.
“Fine,” Claire said meekly. Ryan looked surprised but he knew that Claire was still a pushover.
“Claire! Claire!” A familiar voice yelled. Kiana was running towards their table with her bun loosely hanging on top of her head. She was out of breath and Claire felt ashamed. Kiana eyed the two of them but didn’t say a word. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere! You wouldn’t believe who I ran into. I was just walking past the front office and some guy was asking for you. He has a British accent and everything.” Claire felt a sinking feeling.
“That’s weird,” Ryan said with a shrug.
“Yeah, he looked so worried that I dragged him around with me! Stanley, come over here!” Kiana yelled. Stanley? Stanley was here? Stanley was standing ten feet away from her? Claire swallowed hard. They hadn’t officially broken up.
“Hi,” Claire said glumly.
“Blimey, you have sandwiches, Claire,” he said inviting himself to the picnic. Kiana sat down next to him and pulled out a Tupperware full of fruit. Wasn’t he going to say hi or anything?
“I’m Ryan,” Ryan said with a glare. Why was this happening to her? “I understand that you’re the ex, right?”
“Isn’t that you? No, no, Claire and I are happy together,” he said with a smile. He stood up from the picnic table and grabbed Claire’s hand. She had no choice but to stand up awkwardly next to him. “I missed you so much darling that I had to come visit. Isn’t it odd that your Skype got disconnected?” Claire tried to swallow again. He pulled her closer against him and started to kiss her. Claire felt her cheeks burning as Ryan simply watched her. She finally pulled away and had the urge to slap him.
“Stanley! I think we should break up,” Claire said. She was starting to tear up. He stared at her with absolutely no idea what was going on.
“You know what, Claire, keep him. You told me you broke up! I can’t believe it.”
“Ryan, you’re one to talk,” Claire yelled back. She wondered where her hostility came from. “You do this all the time, to Vanessa, to Kiana, and probably will to me. Maybe it’s better if we don’t see each other.”
“I perfectly agree. Goodbye Claire,” he said and started to walk away. Claire saw the hesitation in Kiana’s face.
“Go follow him, Kiana. I’m sorry,” Claire said. Tears were dripping down her face.
“No, you obviously need me more than he does. Poor thing,” Kiana said.
“Claire, love, you’re in love with that chap.” Stanley said in a matter of fact way. He was making everything worse. He sounded upset. He had every reason to be upset.
“Why’d you have to show up Stanley?” She was screaming at him now. Kiana sat her back down on the picnic table.
“Claire, I do agree with your previous statement. We should break up. I’m obviously not enough for you. Sorry I even bothered coming to check up on you.” Stanley looked heartbroken. Claire couldn’t stop crying. How had everything gone so horribly wrong? Kiana finally dragged her away from the picnic table. Claire’s eyes were bloodshot and red.
“C’mon, Claire, let’s get you fixed up,” Kiana said. “Where do you wanna go?”
“Home,” Claire said between a sob. Kiana nodded and lead Claire to the shining dormitory. Vanessa wasn’t home and Kiana watched Claire punch in the security code. Claire almost collapsed on the couch and Kiana wondered if she was pretending or if she was actually this hurt. She walked promptly to the kitchen and filled a kettle with water.
“I’m so glad I have you,” Claire said after wiping her eyes. She was sitting upright and Kiana put the cup of tea in front of her. “What would I do without you?” Kiana politely nodded and sat down in front of her. They talked for a long time. It was mostly Claire sobbing and Kiana nodding. Claire suddenly heard some kind of ringing in her head. Was she about to faint? Was this a sign of dying? Was she actually incapable of living without Ryan?
“Sorry, I have to take this,” Kiana said standing up. Claire’s eyes narrowed in to the phone that Kiana was holding. She felt a sense of relief but wondered what was so important. She heard the word ‘Mar’, Mara’s nickname, and instantly, her hopes sank again. Claire knew that Kiana was spending all her precious time with her. She should have been happy, but she just wasn’t.
“I have to go,” Kiana said hurriedly picking up her things. A vein was throbbing on her forehead. Had that always happened when she was stressed? Claire stared in awe of it; it was getting larger and larger each minute. Kiana picked up her bag in one swooping gesture. She gone in another second and Claire wondered what was so important. Had Mara broken her heart too? Claire stood up to put the empty tea cup in the sink. When was Vanessa getting home? She hadn’t seen much of Vanessa lately. Claire was about to go back into her bedroom until her eyes wandered to a little card face down on the floor. It must have slipped out from Kiana’s bag as she left in a scurry. Claire bent down and picked it up. She was astonished when she found Stanley’s number scrawled on it in Kiana’s handwriting. It was messily written, which was extremely rare for Kiana. The pen ink was slightly smudged and the paper had at least four creases. Kiana had had this paper for a long time. Claire’s breathing slowed down. She picked up her phone and dialed his number.
“Hello?” Stanley’s voice said. He didn’t sound so sad over the telephone. Maybe he was never sad at all. Claire wanted to say that Kiana would never have even thought to do this to her, but she couldn’t. Claire finally answered. This was the only way to make sure.
Vanessa was in a state of bliss. In just a week, she and Stephen had become the total It couple. They were so perfect for each other in every single way. Vanessa picked up a latte from the coffee shop that Nelson used to work in. She didn’t know how Eugene had started working but he was, luckily not today. Stephen was busy today and she wanted a little time to herself too. She hadn’t even told Claire yet about him. She didn’t know how. Vanessa walked into the dormitory and knocked on the front door. Claire opened it and she was looking awful.
“What happened to you?” Vanessa asked. She immediately sat herself down on Claire’s couch but Claire looked, busy. She was preoccupied with something for sure.
“We can’t trust Kiana,” she suddenly blurted out. Vanessa gave her a weird look. Claire was the one who told everyone and anyone that Kiana was an angel. Even though Ryan was dating Kiana, Claire was still happy that Ryan had found “such a perfect girl”. Vanessa had just gotten to like Kiana, but it would always be Claire over her. Did Kiana want Ryan back? It was understandable.
“Claire, I don’t mean to take her side but it wasn’t right for you to take him away,” Vanessa said carefully.
“No, it’s not about Ryan. It’s not about me either. Stanley, my old boyfriend, walked into campus today without any sort of phone call.” It was starting to sound weird.
“Maybe he missed you so much that he had to visit. You did cancel your Skype account on him.” Vanessa wished some guy would fly fifteen hours for her. It sounded romantic. Claire always landed the best guys.
“Well he broke up with me and told Ryan that we hadn’t broken up.”
“You guys broke up?” This was totally new information.
“I told him we should take a break and the last time I called, maybe two months ago, some girl named Victoria picked up on his cell phone! Stanley wasn’t interested in fixing anything. And he left without any sort of fight and even suggested that we officially break up.”
“How is this Kiana’s fault?”
“So she stayed with me for a while hearing me cry. She left all of a sudden with some phone call from Mara. As she left, this little card dropped out of her bag. The card looks old. She had to have held at least ten times for it to become like that. It means that she was talking to him. I don’t know how she got this number. I called him too, just to confirm. He said that he did it so he could get concert tickets for front seat Lady Gaga to see with Victoria!” Vanessa couldn’t argue with that. “What have you been up to?”
“I met the most perfect guy,” Vanessa said. “We’ll deal with Kiana, don’t worry.” Vanessa wondered what to do. She didn’t know, anymore, if Kiana was capable of pulling all that off. Maybe, just maybe, Claire was blaming this on the nearest person. Vanessa was glowing just by the mention of Stephen. It was a bad time to mention this but she had to say it somehow. There was another person knocking at the door.
“Noah,” Claire said and opened the door.
“Vanessa, you have to stop dating that guy,” Noah said, panting. Claire pushed the door close. How in the world did Noah know about this?
“What’s your problem with him?” Noah explained his whole situation with some girl named Carrie. Noah said that Stephen was Kiana’s cousin and that he was getting paid to spend time with her. Was she really that bad?
“That can’t be true,” Vanessa said after listening. “Stephen would never do that to me.”
“Call him,” Noah demanded. He was still standing. Had Kiana really done all this behind their backs? What was she trying to accomplish? Vanessa’s head was full of doubt as she scrolled down her contact list to find his name. “I guess we’re out of funds too if Ryan and Claire fought.” Everything was starting to fit together. Kiana needed Ryan out of the picture since Claire’s grades miraculously made the goal. She was trying to distract Noah and Vanessa so that they wouldn’t spend time planning for it either. But why? Vanessa’s heart melted a little when she heard Stephen’s voice.
“Hi honey,” Vanessa said casually with Noah watching with eagle eyes.
“Nessa, hi,” he said yawning. Had she interrupted an afternoon nap? It seemed like the perfect moment to say bye and hang up.
“I was trying to make some reservations to some gala my parents are invited to. They told me that I should bring a date and it seemed like the perfect opportunity for you to meet them. I realized that I don’t know your last name.”
“York,” he said sleepily.
“York, wait, like the York family of New York?” There was only one prominent family in all of New York with the last name York. It was ironic but easy to identify. “Are you related to Kiana?” Vanessa felt her heart thudding.
“What day’s the gala? I should tell my parents to come. She’s my cousin, I thought you knew that. Kiana’s the one who pointed you out to me. You should thank her for getting us together.”
“Stephen, we have to talk,” she said. “I just have one question that I want you to answer truthfully. Have you been getting paid by Kiana to be with me?” She wanted nothing more than for him to say no. She wanted to hear him laugh and say how ridiculous that idea was. Vanessa waited but instead heard gravitational silence.
“Nessa, Nessa, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you. I, I didn’t know anything about you. I truly wanted to be with you after that first day. When you crumpled my phone number, I wanted to give it to you again.”
“Stop, just stop Stephen,” Vanessa said. Her energetic voice had digressed into hollowness. “I probably don’t have to tell you but, we’re over. This isn’t some sort of crazy movie where you can say that and I can forgive you. I hope that the money was worth it.” She hung up and started to cry.
“Kiana duped us,” Noah said. He was sitting down and the three of them wondered where to go from here. “I don’t know what she’s doing but we have to get this restaurant back in shape. We can now.”
“We don’t have the funds,” Vanessa said after blowing her nose.
“I’m an O’Shea,” Claire said suddenly. “I can get funds. Don’t worry about that.” Vanessa knew that Claire needed Ryan, at least for moral support.
“We also need workers,” Vanessa said again. “It’s not going to work, guys.”
“I know a girl,” Noah said. “Maybe you can get Stephen…” Vanessa laughed a full hearted laugh.
“You know it’s not looking so bad right now.”
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