It's Complicated by Aubrey Wright

Author:Aubrey Wright
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-06-18T23:00:00+00:00

Twenty

Daniel

High school, Senior Year

I swept the rag over the handlebars of my bike, polishing where it didn’t need to be polished. It was what I did in the afternoons, took my mind off the shit that had been happening at school and at home. Not that I was a bitch about any of it. I was fine. I had my plans to leave Hope’s Hollow behind me, in the dirt my bike’s tires spit up.

Movement caught my eye, and I lifted my head, spotted her walking across the garden toward her maze.

I’d started thinking about it in those terms since my grandmother had first erected the network of hedges that led to a bench at its center. Maddy loved it in there.

And I love her.

No, fuck, that had to stop.

Things had been so much simpler when we’d been kids. I’d never thought of her as anything other than the kid next door who’d loved pretending to be a Power Ranger as much as I did. We’d argued over being the red one every time we played.

She walked through the entrance of the maze and disappeared from sight, but she was burned into my retinas.

Christ, she was gorgeous. Shapely beneath her blouse and skirt, her blonde hair glinting like golden thread beneath the sun, her skin pale, and her breasts full. She had become everything I’d ever wanted, and that was so not happening.

We were friends. Friends did not get together. If they did, it ended badly, and I wasn’t ready to lose one of the only people who’d stuck around.

Fuck, what are you, whipped?

I rubbed the rag over my hands, cleaning off the last of the polish, then turned my back on the maze of hedges and walked up the steps toward the front doors of the mansion.

They were open, and my grandmother stood on the threshold, her thin arms on her hips. She was paler than usual, though she was olive-skinned naturally, and her cheeks dipped inward. “There you are,” she said. “And where’s Madeline?”

“Hi Nans.” I gave her a hug. “I was just polishing.”

“Oh, I know what you were doing.” The scent of baked cookies drifted on the air behind her. “But I’m not too worried about your bike, dear.”

“Well, you should be. It’s an awesome piece of machinery.”

“I’ve baked cookies. and I would love for you and Madeline to sit down and have some,” she said. “Like old times.”

“We had cookies last week.”

“Old is a relative term, dear.” Nana Baker patted me on the cheek. Her hands were soft as worn leather. “Now, why don’t you go find her and invite her inside?”

My grandmother’s health had been failing fast lately, and she often wanted us in the house with her. She loved the warmth of people talking and laughing, and always had. It was part of the reason so many of the townsfolk came over for book club meetings and other events. If it was hosted in Hope’s Hollow, chances were my Nana was the one in charge.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.