You Again (Completed) ✔️

17.

I sharpen the pool stick and turn towards my friends. "Let's get the game started. Antwon, you're on my team. Liam, you're on Frankie's team." Setting the balls up, I move the black ball setter and break. The balls go in all directions, and a ball goes into the hole. Leaning towards the table's hole, I look at the ball that went in. "Antwon, we're small." I hit the ball again, and I miss the pocket.

"Can you turn the radio on?" Liam asks. "I want to know what the weather is like."

"Sure," I say, walking over to the CD player and turning it on. "Why do you need to know what the weather is like?"

Liam lines up the shot: "I have a feeling that Julia took Veronica to our secret place, but knowing my sister, Julia won't be listening to the radio to find out how the weather is." He looks at Antwon. "Do you remember when we took Julia to our spot, and it rained?"

Antwon's face pales. "Yeah, she nearly fell, slid down the dirt track and headed towards the rock cliff." He shakes his head. "The memory of that day haunts me. I don't want to go through something like that ever again." He hits the smaller ball into the pocket. Then he has another go and misses.

I pick up the beer bottle and drink from it.

Liam's phone rings, and he looks at the caller ID. He looks at his brother and says, "It's Mom. She's probably wondering if we'll be home for dinner." He answers the call and puts it on the loudspeaker.

Liam: Hey, Mom.

Mrs. Harris: Are you going to be home for dinner?

Liam: I don't know. Why?

Mrs Harris: I was thinking about asking Cole to join us. So, he and your sister can have a civilised conversation where Julia won't walk away from him. I know she's stubborn when it comes to that boy.

Me: Hey, Mrs. Harris. I'll be there for dinner. Thank you for helping me have a conversation with her.

Liam: What's for dinner?

Mrs Harris: What do you boys feel like?

Antwon & Me: Pizza.

Mrs Harris laughs.

Mrs Harris: I should have known you boys would say that. Cole, you could always spend the night if you don't feel like going home.

Me: Thanks, Mrs. H.

Liam ends the call and then picks up the cue. He hits the white ball, which hits a larger ball and goes into the pocket. Liam hits another ball, which misses. Picking up his beer, he takes a drink. "How has talking with Julia been going?"

I run my hand down my face. "It's not going anywhere, Liam. She keeps telling me that she's not ready to talk about it. I didn't know everything I did to her in high school affected her so much."

Antwon slaps my back. "Now, you do. You have so much to make up for when it comes to my sister. I hope it's not too late for you to make her change her mind about you."

I nod. "I hope so, too. Do you think Julia will want to attend the high school reunion in a few months?"

Liam laughs. "She's not going to want a repeat of what happened then. I'm sure she will boycott that thing."

I hoped to show her that I had changed, especially with all the people who helped me make her life hell.

The music stops, and a female gives us the latest news before saying, "There's rain on its way over. Please drive carefully and have your headlights on so other drivers on the road will be able to see you."

Liam puts his cue away and looks at Antwon. "We should leave, " he says, turning towards me. Call Mom and tell her to bring the girls' clothes over. This place is closer than ours, and I don't want them wearing wet clothes longer than they have to."

"Okay," I say, pulling out my phone and looking for Mrs. Harris in my contacts.

Liam and Antwon run out of the house. They climb into their car and pull out of my driveway.

Frankie rubs the back of his neck and looks at me. "Should I go?"

"Yes," I hit the call button, and the phone rang.

Frankie starts to walk out of the house as Mrs. Harris answers the phone.

Mrs. Harris: Hey, Cole. What do you need?

Me: Liam wants you to bring some clothes over for the girls. We heard on the radio that it would rain, and Liam was afraid Julie and Veronica would get caught in the rain.

Mrs. Harris: I'll be over there shortly.

Me: Thanks.

I hung up the phone and returned the leftover beer to the fridge. I walked into the living room and started cleaning it. I had clothes all over the floor and a few containers of leftover food I had brought from the Chinese restaurant down the road from my place.

After cleaning the living room, I saw Mrs. Harris pull into the driveway in her husband's car.

She climbs out of the car with two bags of clothes. She runs to the door just as the sky opens up.

I open the door for her. "I didn't expect it to rain this soon. I thought it would hold off longer."

Mrs. Harris shakes her head. "I knew it wouldn't hold off. Once the clouds come over, that's it," she says, holding the bag of clothes up. Where do you want me to leave the clothes?"

"Put Veronica in the bathroom close to the kitchen, and I'll take Julia up to my room."

A smile spreads across Mrs. Harris's face. "You want to show off your house to Julia? Do you think that will make her fall for you?"

I shrug. "I could hope."

She laughs. "It's going to take more than that, Cole. You've got a lot of work to do to thaw my daughter out." Mrs. Harris gives me Julia's bag of clothes.

"Are you calling her the Ice Queen?"

"Yes, I am." She walks down the hall and heads to the bathroom.

I take Julia's bag to my bathroom and set it on the counter in my ensuite. It has his and her basins and draws. My side has a lot of stuff on it, and on the other side, it's clean and unused. The draws on her side are empty as well.

Mrs. Harris walks into the bathroom and looks around. "You did a really good job designing this bathroom. Have you told my sons that you've done all the work here?"

I shake my head. "No, all they know is that I'm good at fixing cars. I haven't told anyone about my building skills. If I did, I'm sure a lot of people would want me to help them with their houses, and then my hobby would become something I won't enjoy anymore."

She nods. "I was going to ask you to help us with our new laundry, but it looks like that's out of the question."

"I'll do it. Please don't tell everyone that it was me who did it. If they ask, tell them you hired a builder to do it."

Mrs. Harris looks outside. "I better get going before my daughter shows up. Knowing her, she'll put up a fight. So she doesn't have to shower here. I'll tell my sons that they should leave with Veronica after her shower. Julia likes to spend a while in the shower after swimming." She walks out of the room.

I watch from my bedroom window as Mrs. Harris pulls out of my driveway.