Page 33 of Irons

“Sorry.” I stepped forward then looked back at the guys who had probably realized their boners and jumped in the pool, but they were still staring at Wrenly with their jaws dropped. Then I looked around and saw some high school pricks doing the same thing, just staring at Wrenly like she was one of the biggest wonders of the world and I felt my hands clinch into fists.

I looked back at Wrenly and wondered if she knew how much she changed. And when the hell did Clint approve that bikini? What was he thinking by allowing it? Did he even know she owned that stupid thing?

I watched as she put her beach towel on the chair and bent over just a little and I could hear the faint groan in my throat. No wonder Uncle Tony had so many sleepovers. It was all starting to make a whole lot of sense.

“Young man!” I heard the woman again and went to step sideways and tripped over my own foot because I couldn’t take my eyes off Wrenly. That was when I noticed both lifeguards not even looking at the kids swimming, but at Wrenly. One of them was a girl and even she had her sunglasses lifted to look at my best friend.

My eyes trailed back to Wrenly, and she laid down on the lounge chair where I saw her flat belly and her hip bones, and I swallowed hard. Was that what being athletic did to a girl’s body? Because she did not look like her teammates at all. There wasn’t one ounce of Tom Boy in Wrenly.

“You who, Travis.” I heard a girls voice and turned to see Simone, a girl a few years older than me working the concession stand. I looked at her and she was leaning into the window. “Hey, are you here with Matt and everyone else?” She asked.

I stuttered. “U.. um..w..n..no, I’m with Wrenly.”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course you are. What can I get you?”

“I…I um..I guess I want one Dr. Pepper and one Cherry Coke.” Cherry Coke was Wrenly’s favorite.

She went to get our sodas, and I turned to look at Wrenly again, but three high school guys were standing over her. Oh, hell no that wasn’t happening. She wasn’t even in eighth grade yet.

“Here you go, that’s 2.50.” She said, and I gave her three ones and told her to keep the change before I raced over to get rid of those assholes.

Saying Goodbye

Wrenly

It was my last night home, and I had everything ready to go. Most of my things were already shipped to Creed’s Lake, and my suitcases were already packed.

I was in a great mood, but the anticipation was growing. Not just about the huge step in my career, but I knew I’d soon see Travis again. I was excited about that but also nervous. It was a bit scary because I didn’t know how he would react. He would be one of my bosses and I was taking one hell of a leap of faith. If he decided it was too hard to work with me, I could be gone faster than I came. Then again, he was always really protective of me. The first time I ever wore a bikini he got into a fist fight with a group of high school boys and got kicked out of the pool. Then there was the time Tim Sellers snapped my bra, and he punched him so hard the kid hit his head on the sidewalk and had to go to the hospital for a concussion.

Travis was never a really talkative or hyper guy, and he was hard to read for other people. He would be perfectly quiet and laid back as the kids talked about Bobby and suddenly he would be on top of them pounding their faces in. Between kids saying and doing things to me and also bringing up Bobby and his family, Travis was suspended from school more than he attended. He had so much anger built up in him and it washard to anticipate when his monster was going to be unleashed. He was the kind of guy that sat back and listened, watched his surroundings, and was usually kind until someone made him angry. Then girls came into the picture, and everything changed.

I couldn’t count how many times he got into trouble in a span of about fifteen months. Having your uncle as one of the cops in town made it hard for him to get away with anything. The upper classmates liked him and once he became friends with them it was like I completely lost my best friend. At first it was the fighting, then it was being out past curfew, then he started drinking and smoking pot. It seemed like he was always getting caught, and sometimes I think that was what he wanted. He was crying out for his parents attention.

It wasn’t known at the time, but I am now more than aware that his father completely stopped paying any attention to him after Emma got pregnant. He was also hiding his growing alcoholism pretty well. When Travis thought his dad was traveling for work, he was really in Tulsa with his new family. His mom was always with Charlie, the detective on Bobby’s case since the beginning. His parents only ever made public appearances together to portray the grieving family in the media. Paula had done an outstanding job keeping her sons case in the news. In some ways she became famous and the picture perfect spokeswoman for other mothers of lost children. She literally made a career out of it.

Then there was Emma, which was a completely different story. She was young, and also the aunt of none other than Matt. I knew her for years and didn’t know Robert was the father of her baby. They even had a home together in Tulsa. Robert met her when she was working at the police station. My dad and Tony found out and they went insane. They were so mad because they worked with her while she was pregnant, and Tonyknew she was carrying his nephew. There was a lot of guilt he felt because he thought Travis should know, but Robert and Paula warned him that it would mess with Travis's head. He was already out of control, and they didn’t want to make it worse. Then I learned they worked with Charlie and Tony had to face him knowing he was having an affair with Tony’s sister in law. I was an adult before I even found out about it. I even held that baby and didn’t know it belonged to Robert.

I was having dinner with my family when the doorbell rang. My dad answered it and returned back to the dining room with Matt. My heart raced again, and I froze in shock.

“Sorry to disrupt your dinner. Wrenly, could I talk to you for a minute outside?”

My eyebrows scrunched together. “It’s raining.”

Matt chuckled then scratched his head. “Yeah, that was stupid. The garage?” He asked.

Dad stood next to him with his arms crossed, looking down at me. My dad was not happy with me when it came to Matt. I was the asshole in the relationship and my dad liked Matt. He wasn’t happy when I got pregnant so young, but he also didn’t think too highly of me when I left the relationship for the Marines.

“There’s nothing to talk about.” He was the last person I wanted to see.

“Please?” He asked again and I looked at my dad who nodded his head.

“Fine.” I threw my napkin down. “It’s not like I was hungry anyway.” I lied, I was starving.

I scooted my chair out and it was loud, just so I made myself clear that I wasn’t happy about it. It wasn’t because Ihated Matt, but because he didn’t do anything wrong to me. It was because looking at him was hard and he was married. It wasn’t like that attraction and love I felt for him would ever disappear, and I didn’t think him stopping by my house was fair to her.

I led the way to the garage as he waved at my family then followed me. I swung the door open and stepped out as he shut the door behind us.

“What do you want, Matt?” I crossed my arms and glared at him.

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