Best Friend’s Brother: Best Friend's Brother Romance Page 2

  Jakob pretended to be appalled by her statement, and he put a hand to his chest.

  “The words though. Did you even pay attention?”

  “I did. Yeah. My grief is great and my joys are few, how poetic of you to notice.”

  “I’ll recite more of his stuff to you soon,” Jakob said. He spoke to her like he didn’t have guests in the next room. Weren’t they wondering where he was?

  “How soon?”

  “I don’t know,” he shrugged. “I guess when I feel like the words are right for you.”

  Zooey smiled at him. She appreciated that. He could tell something was wrong, but he didn’t pry. His way of understanding the situation came from the writings of someone else. He was so deep for someone just 14. Zooey would miss him next year. He’d be in high school, and she and Lauryn would have to wait 2 more years to join him.

  “Hey, I got everything set up upstairs already” Lauryn came back down the stairs. “You wanna come up?”

  Zooey could feel tears in her eyes again. These were happy tears though. This situation could have been much much worse, but now she knew that she had someone there for her. Maybe two someones.

  Zooey smiled at Jakob, and then at Lauryn. She nodded, and followed Lauryn up the stairs. And after that day, there was a small part of Zooey that never came back out.

  *

  A knock on the door brought Zooey back to the present. She rolled off of her bed and headed downstairs.

  What if it was…

  “Lauryn!” Zooey squeaked and practically leapt into her best friend’s arms. Lauryn wasn’t supposed to be in town for another week. They hadn’t seen each other in such a long time. Their colleges were just a half an hour away from each other, but Zooey was usually back home every other weekend to do laundry and to check in on her family. Lauryn was more the adventurous one, so she was always on a road trip taking pictures under the stars or sleeping on a yoga mat somewhere.

  “Where’s that fat face baby?” Lauryn tiptoed and peered over Zooey’s shoulder to see into the house.

  “Everyone’s out. And you know he walks and talks now, right?” Zooey laughed. Zooey’s mother Kady had remarried when they were almost finished high school. Zooey didn’t like her mother’s boyfriend at first, but when she noticed how he handled her mother’s mood swings, she knew he was special. He was like her. He would sit and watch Kady cry, and just hold her til things were all right. He didn’t make her feel guilty for being sad, like Zooey remembered her dad doing. Peter had come into their lives at the right time. Now Zooey had a three-year-old brother named Isaiah.

  “Last time I saw him he was still fat faced. Why aren’t you out with them?”

  “No reason,” Zooey lied. She was hoping to maybe go for a jog and bump into a certain someone by chance. Maybe they could relive the night before.

  Lauryn walked past Zooey and into the kitchen. She opened the fridge door and pulled out some chocolate almond milk.

  “So, have you seen Jake? He’s back for good this time, you know?”

  Jakob was home from his final tour in Iraq. He joined the army shortly after he started college. He always talked about going off to fight. He was a poet and a romantic, but also a patriot with a mighty heart. He had fought in Iraq three times. He told Zooey from the night before that he wouldn’t be going back.

  “There are too many ghosts on that battlefield,” she remembered Jakob’s words from yesterday, “and one day, you see the ghost of yourself wandering around...and you know that it’s time to come home.”

  Zooey wasn’t exactly sure what he meant, but she didn’t ask him to explain. The memories he had of war were so sad, and he described them like they were someone else’s experiences. He even made war seem poetic.

  “Jake? Oh. Yeah, I bumped into him last night,” Zooey closed the front door, but stayed in the entrance hall. She remembered how he was the night before. There was a humility and new charm about him, especially when he brought up Iraq, but Jake was still his silly self. There were some things that would never change. Lauryn was busy opening a packet of cookies and stuffing her face. “Your hair looks like Sarah Barthel’s.”

  “Who?” Lauryn said with cookie crumbs falling out of her mouth.

  “Lead singer of Phantogram.”

  Lauryn nodded. Her hair was jet black now. It was normally a dark honey brown. She had her bangs cut straight, and her hair fell to her shoulders, but rose to meet in the middle of the back of her neck.

  “Jake never told me he saw you,” she knew Zooey was stalling. She knew Zooey better than Zooey knew herself. “Anyway, enough about my brother. I told him I was here. He’s coming by later.”

  “What?” Zooey shrieked.

  “I’m kidding. He isn’t. But that tells me all I need to know now. Did you know Carla Mennez is here?”

  Zooey moved into the kitchen when Lauryn mentioned Carla’s name. She put a hand on the quartz countertop of the island and sighed.

  Carla and Jakob dated a long time ago. Carla never liked Zooey, and she made sure she knew it. She only had to endure her on and off for a year and a half though, but every time she saw Carla she’d get on edge.

  This was perfect timing. It was like one big happy reunion.

  “She asked me to invite you to her barbeque tonight.”

  “She did not!” Zooey laughed.

  “I am dead dog serious. Please come! I’m going. If you do, you uh, you get to meet someone special,” Lauryn started blushing. She bat her lashes and bashfully moved from side to side.

  “Who is she?”

  “He is Ryan,” Lauryn grinned. She had told Zooey she was bisexual when they were 14. Lauryn had a crush on a tenth grade girl. The two of them would sneak off and kiss at lunch or during free periods, but the tenth grader would act like a total cow to Lauryn in front of everyone. She cried of course. For the bolder one, Lauryn was actually the one who was more open to crying. She showed her emotions honestly. She finally got over that girl, but it was onto the next after that.

  Zooey sighed and gave in. She was going to the barbecue for Lauryn. She was going because she wanted to meet Ryan, and get to know who her best friend was currently dating. At least that’s what she told herself. But the honest truth was she wanted to see if Jake would be there, and to figure out why Carla invited her to her pre-4th-of-July barbecue when she had never done so in the last half decade.

  Chapter Two

  Zooey sat on her front porch with her brother Isaiah. She was waiting on Lauryn for a ride to Carla’s barbecue, while her parents were inside getting ready to take Isaiah. Zooey sat on the small wicker couch, looking out into the street and blowing bubbles to entertain him. He ran around, part clueless and part curious, following the trail of bubbles Zooey blew out into the air.

  To Zooey’s relief, Carla had invited her entire family to the barbecue, and most of the rest of their town. Zooey could relax a bit, and not consider this to be an act of childish post high school drama.

  She remembered a time in 10th grade when she was sleeping over at Lauryn’s. Jakob and Carla were already inside watching TV.

  “Stealing that away from you for Ghost Whisperer and Numbers please ok thanks bye!” Lauryn marched past the living room and waved. She didn’t much like Carla, and tried to interact with her as little as possible.

  “But the Sarah Connor Chronicles are on,” Carla made a face. Lauryn stopped mid stride and froze the smile on her face. She blinked several times and walked into the living room with the same frozen expression.

  “Oh no no no. There will be none of that in this house.”

  Jakob’s eyes widened, and he looked from his sister to the TV to his girlfriend. Zooey had just shut the front door. She heard, but didn’t see what was going on.

  “Jake, I thought we were gonna be alone tonight!” Carla whined. Her voice sounded like a deflating balloon.

  “Nope. And Zooey’s sleeping over,” Lauryn said.

  “What?! Oh, there is no way in hel
l!” Just as the tips of the last word escaped Carla’s mouth, Zooey appeared by the living room entrance way. Zooey felt embarrassed, but she was more angry than any other emotion. What did she ever do to Carla to make her hate her so much?

  “Hi Zoo,” Jakob said. Despite the tension, he managed to say it with a genuine upbeat kindness. Zooey waved, but looked away quickly. She really wanted to be upstairs. Her blood was rushing. She was either going to say something rude, or scream for minutes on end.

  “Hi Carla,” Zooey said loudly. Carla grumbled a greeting, but rolled her eyes and looked away as she spoke. “I’m on this side of the room. I hope you’ve been having a good day.”

  “Carl, don’t be rude,” Jakob affectionately called her Carl. He had a nickname for everyone it seemed. He put his hand on Carla’s, and they interlocked fingers. Lauryn made an audible gagging noise, and Carla shot her a look.

  “What? I said hello,” Carla squeezed his hand and smiled up at Zooey.

  “Anyway, whatever. I call TV at 8 and 10. Sealed and dealed big bro, you know the rules.”

  Lauryn left the living room and started bouncing up the stairs. Zooey took one last look at Carla before doing the same.

  Isaiah crashed into Zooey’s knees and gave her a big hug. He didn’t even notice that she was lost in thought. He giggled and asked where bubbles came from. His eyes were wide when he asked her. Zooey loved him so much, especially when he looked like that. It meant that there was no one else in the world that could answer his question. It meant that Zooey was his go-to for knowledge on all the wonders in his little life.

  “Bubbles are soapy water balls that float and can make rainbows, like this,” she blew a few more bubbles her little brother’s way. He clapped at each one. He looked so much like her stepfather. He still had a round face and dimples that Zooey hoped would stay forever. She already missed him being a baby when she would sing Nat King Cole to him while he struggled to find the peace to fall asleep. He loved her singing the most when he was teething.

  Now that her mother was married, Zooey looked the least like anyone in her family. Her mother was half black and half white, and her stepfather was black. Zooey’s biological father was Irish American. Zooey looked like a doll. Her hair was so ginger that it was a bright almost red, not a variant of a dull orange. She had long messy curls she let flow free, but didn’t usually let grow past her shoulders.

  Her eyes were a dark grey like her father. The freckles and physique she certainly got from her mother. Kady also usually kept her hair short and sleek like Josephine Baker, but at the start of the year, she made the decision to start fresh. She cut off all her hair, and there were now little curls starting to form.

  A car pulled up to the front of the house and broke Zooey out of her daydream. She had been daydreaming a lot lately.

  “Inside ZyZy,” Zooey kissed her brother’s forehead and opened the front door. He ran clumsily into his mother’s arms.

  “Is that Laur?”

  “Yeah. We’ll see you guys there,” Zooey told her. Kady went to the door and waved to Lauryn with Isaiah in her arms. He waved frantically at the car too, even though he didn’t even remember who Lauryn was.

  The window of the car wound down.

  “Is that fat face?! I’ll see you later, fat face!” Lauryn called out and honked the horn of her car. Zooey laughed and got into the passenger side. She was a bit relieved that Jakob wasn’t in the car. She assumed he would have gone with his sister, but Lauryn was alone in the car.

  “Where is everybody?”

  “Ryan and Jake went up already in Jake’s car,” Lauryn looked really nice. Most of her hair was in a ponytail except for the long strands that went down to her shoulders. She was wearing a white cotton dress with a black belt. Zooey felt a little under dressed with her black top and tight dark jeans. “You look so pretty Zoe! I love your headband.”

  Zooey smiled at Lauryn. Lauryn always had something nice to say to or about Zooey. She buckled her safety belt, and the two of them made their way over to Carla Mennez’ pre-4th-of-July barbecue.

  Chapter Three

  “Well look at little Zooey Dempsey,” Carla hadn’t changed much since high school. No matter what expression she wore, there was always the hint of ‘bitch’ on her face. It made it almost impossible to tell if she was ever being sincere. “You look beautiful, hun.”

  Carla took Zooey by both her hands and gave her a kiss on each cheek. Zooey smiled, but caught Lauryn’s expression from the corner of her eye. She tried not to laugh. Carla was being sincere. Maybe. Who knows?

  “Thank you. You too!”

  “Please make yourselves comfy. There’s a buffet over there, and some music. Just try to stay clear of the barn,” Carla smiled. Zooey and Lauryn thanked her and made their way to other guests.

  Carla lived on a large property by a manmade lake. It looked like a former great house even though the house was built somewhere between 1900 and 1930. It was all white with white louvres in the windows. All the lights were on, and there were lights in the grass along the property. To the south was a small barn with just a few horses.

  The reason why Carla and her family had a barbecue every year was because they were from Texas, and they made sure they were in their home state for the actual 4th of July. The Mennezes were a friendly family, and they invited most of the town to their event every year.

  “I see Ryan,” Lauryn had linked arms with Zooey, and they were walking around arm in arm saying hello to old high school friends and people they hadn’t seen all summer. To no one’s surprise, Zooey and Lauryn were still practically connected at the hip. Lauryn raised her arm and waved at Ryan.

  Zooey’s eyes widened slightly. Ryan wasn’t at all what she was expecting. He looked...normal. That was new for Lauryn. She usually dated people with bright hair and tattoos. Ryan was a tall man in a casual suit. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and he had on pressed slacks. He looked like someone you’d seek out for real estate advice. He also looked older than them. He smiled when he caught sight of Lauryn and waved back.

  “Hello beautiful,” Ryan had a beard that connected to his sideburns and a mustache. Lauryn looked absolutely taken by him. Her eyes glistened when she found her way into his arms for a big hug.

  “Ry, this is my best friend in the entire universe,” Lauryn beamed and stretched out an arm for Zooey to come closer. Zooey shyly made her way over to them and smiled.

  “Zooey. I feel like I know you. Lauryn’s always talking about you,” Ryan gave Zooey a kiss on her cheek, and then embraced her. His hug was warm. Zooey liked him already.

  “Where’s Jake?” Lauryn asked.

  “Last I saw he was talking to the hostess,” he perked his head up and looked around. He looked at least half a foot taller than everyone around. Zooey felt a strange feeling in her stomach. It was jealousy, she knew, but she wasn’t going to be childish about it. Jakob and Carla had history, and they were probably catching up.

  She wandered around with Lauryn and Ryan for a bit, listening to their stories about Argentina and how they met when Lauryn did her study abroad program the year before. They had been together since just before she left. He went to Argentina and spent some time with her for a few months while she was away. After so much between them, it seemed strange that Lauryn hadn’t really told anyone until recently.

  It wasn’t a secret relationship, but Lauryn was the kind of girl who would tell you what she wanted when she wanted. The fact that it had taken her this long to tell Zooey meant either there was something Lauryn knew was special about him that she was saving for when he could meet her best friend, or there was something she wasn’t saying. The look on Lauryn’s face gave it away. She had been absolutely smitten with Ryan from the moment they met, and not wanting to jinx this one, hadn’t said anything to anyone until she was absolutely sure about him.

  Ryan was a doctor who had just turned 30. He was the antithesis of Lauryn’s taste and style, but they had found each other
, and everything seemed perfect.

  Zooey’s family had finally arrived, but Isaiah was asleep in his father’s arms. It was almost 11, and Jake was still nowhere to be seen. Zooey was starting to worry. She drifted away from Lauryn and Ryan who were in a deep discussion with Kady about something, and she wandered about the property.

  “Zoo,” her heart skipped a beat when she heard her name. She turned and saw Jakob. He had just walked out of the house with a large tray of food. He was walking over to the buffet with it. “Look at you with your Godiva headband.”

  Jakob planted a soft kiss on her cheek and left her for a moment to put the food down. Zooey stayed put. She couldn’t think. She almost couldn’t breathe. All she could think was how happy she was to finally see him.