Page 62 of The Handoff

Chapter 34

Lisa

Idecidedafterspending pretty much all of yesterday in my room crying, avoiding phone calls and especially social media, that I would venture out. I’d been lying in darkness in a woman’s room, that I’d never officially met. Sure, I bumped into her in the mall, but now I was staying in her room.

I knew what was on social media, I didn’t even have to look. As much as most girls my age would love to see their names in lights, and having everyone talk about her, this was one occasion when no one wanted to be talked about.

The only person I wanted to hear from was mom. There was no text, not even a call. I did try calling her a couple of times, she didn’t pick up, nor return the call. I did call Nan who told me that I shouldn’t think of staying on campus, that I should come home from Thanksgiving. I didn’t ask if mom would be around, but the way she was talking, I had the distinct impression that she wouldn’t be around, that it would just be us. I didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing.

As for the boys, well I could hear them outside earlier but now it was quiet, and luckily their mom had an ensuite. I knew that I couldn’t hide in here forever, and that I had to venture out. I thought that seeing as they’d helped me so much, I would cook them something and show my appreciation. I had the distinct impression that they were not handy in the kitchen.

The apartment was quiet. It wasn’t that big, the idea that all three of them lived here with their mom felt a little pokey, and it made sense that Daxon worked at the bar. No doubt to help pay with the bills and stuff. I didn’t have anyone’s number, only Dane’s. He said that there was a spare key in the hallway, so I could come and go as I pleased. I had to leave, I had to get out of here after seeing a message from the library telling me that I had lost my job. I hadn’t turned up to work, and there was even a mention about the library being a quiet place. I wonder if the media had shown up, and that was the real reason why they’d laid me off. They didn’t want all the attention, I wondered if it was a matter of time before the Dean called me and told me that my time at college was over too. I tried not to think about it. The same way that I’d dealt with the media and dad’s case after the FBI arrested him, was the same way that I was going to deal with the situation that I was going through now.

Monday I would have to go to university, it would be two weeks since I last went to class. Sure, it wasn’t like high school where no one was checking my attendance, but I had to at least hand in assignments and it would be difficult to catch-up if I missed more classes.

So, after getting some groceries, I headed back to the apartment. The first thing that Nan did when we went to live at the farm was cook. She showed me how to win a man’s heart, or rather how she won Pa’s heart with her famous meat pie. I’d never cooked before going to the farm, we always had a housekeeper and a cook. Whenever the family got together someone else would do the cooking. Going to live at the farm was a reality check. I had to do things, things that I’d never done before and instead of thinking of them as chores. I ended up actually liking them and one of them was cooking.

I started to get to work. I had no sense of time, until I heard the door open, and after putting the meat pie in the oven. I smiled as all three of them appeared in the open plan kitchen.

“Cooking?” Dane asked.

David smiled. “Hey, good to see that you’re out of mom’s room. How you feeling?”

“So-so. But cooking helped.”

“Yeah, that’s one thing that we missed about mom being away. A home cooked meal, we’re just crap in the kitchen,” Daxon said.

We all laughed in unison, because I could imagine that was one thing that they really did miss, it was great eating out, but there wasn’t nothing better than a home cooked meal. The only thing that they had in their freezer were frozen meals and pizzas. And then there was bread, and I remembered that Daxon was the one that made a sandwich the night that I learned the truth or rather in the early hour of the morning.

“What you making?” Dane asked as he headed to the oven to open it.

I smacked his hand away. “Who’s going to set the table?”

Dane volunteered, “I will. Seeing as I need to have a quick shower and then eat. I’m starving and the only thing I was thinking about eating tonight was one of those frozen meals. Now we have something a lot better.”

Then he winked at me and disappeared, which left me with both Daxon and David.

“I cannot stay too late. I’ve got a gig tonight. Need the extra money, it’s as if everything’s going up these days,” Daxon said.

“Don’t worry, I can pay my way.”

David waved his hand as if to dismiss what I just said.

“He wasn’t hinting, he was just saying, and explaining that’s all, Lisa. You can stay as long as you want. Besides I think you need to. There’s a mob waiting for you on campus.”

I was no stranger to it, the media hunting me down, but when we moved to Kansas. All that disappeared, they couldn’t get anywhere near us, because there was a barrier now they were at it again and it brought back memories, not good ones, only bad ones.

“Yeah, I’m used to it. It was like that when Dad was first arrested. The media were everywhere, soaking up the news like venom. Even my best friend told me that hanging out with me was bad for her reputation and her friendship turned from kindness to being damn right spiteful.”

Daxon sighed, as he moved closer towards me.

“We can relate to that. Five years ago when Dad left. He cleared out our mom’s bank account. He left her with a home loan that she couldn’t afford to pay alone. Our dreams of going to college were shattered, so she had to sell everything from her 4x4 to our house and then we moved out here.”

I asked, “But I don’t get it. How did you all go to high school and then get into college as one person?”

“We didn’t. What we did was say that both Daxon and I moved to London with our dad and that Dane stayed with Mom. That was when we started to be one person. The idea was that we would trade places for classes, so I’m the smart one, and I attended most classes. Dane is the athlete clearly, so, he would go to practice and all the games and Daxon just filled in the gap. Just so he could be social, even if he had to be Dane. His real passion is music,” David sighed as he gave me the overview of their lives for the last few years.

“Okay. So, how did you think this would all work? Dane would graduate…”

Daxon chipped in, “He would get a contract for whatever amount and we would get on with our lives. I never had any desire to go to college, I’m a musician.”

I didn’t understand, Daxon didn’t want to go to college, but David being the smart one; he must have had plans to go to college at one point.

“And I would just figure it out. It was a sacrifice for me. One that I didn’t see us having an option in doing,” David continued to explain.

I was curious. “If you could do it again?”

Daxon said with all the confidence in the world. “I would do it again.”

David didn’t say anything, he shifted behind me and then started to set the table. Clearly, they were not on the same page about the choices they’d made. I could relate to it so well. I’d started college as a lie, one to get by, I felt at the time I had no choice, but I was regretting it. Thinking I never should have changed my name, but just come to college as me, and no one else. Otherwise, history wouldn’t be repeating itself right now. Daxon started helping David. I’d touched a nerve, so I decided to carry on making the salad. I shouldn’t have asked them the question about regret, it was the first time that we’d spoken and already I’d caused friction, wishing I’d kept my big mouth shut.

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