Page 5 of Falling Like Leaves (Bramble Falls #1)

“Ellis, come out here and help us,” Mom says, her voice just outside the curtains now.

I look at my plain gray shorts and sweaty yellow tank top, covered in dirt and dust from trying to clean my small section of the attic all day. I don’t have a mirror, but I can picture my high ponytail, loose and messy, and what’s left of my makeup smudged under my eyes.

There’s no way I’m going out there looking like this.

Mom rips the curtain open.

“Are you ignoring me?” she asks, barely looking at me.

“I was sleeping,” I lie. My eyes flit to Cooper, who turns quickly toward the boxes full of decorations, pretending he wasn’t watching us.

“No, you weren’t,” Mom says. “Now get up. It’s all hands on deck.”

“Whatever,” I mutter.

I trudge out of my makeshift bedroom and into the cluttered attic, folding my arms over my shirt to hide how filthy I am.

“Ellis, you remember Cooper, right?” Mom asks, gesturing at him. “You spent the summer after eighth grade with him.”

I chance a look at Cooper. He glances at me quickly before picking up a box. Judging by the way his biceps and back muscles strain against his white T-shirt, I’d guess it’s a heavy box.

“Yeah,” I reply. “We actually talked earlier today.”

Sort of.

“Oh, excellent!” Mom says, her smile growing. Aunt Naomi and Sloane climb the steps behind Cooper.

“Hey, Naomi,” Cooper says. “Should I put this in the living room?”

“That’d be perfect,” Aunt Naomi says.

He carries the heavy box down the steps, and Sloane hands me a light one, offering a nervous smile.

“Are things going any better with him than they did earlier?” she asks quietly while Mom and Aunt Naomi sort through boxes, picking out the heavy ones for Cooper.

“He hasn’t tried to kill me, but he also hasn’t spoken to me.”

“Are you going to ask him what his problem is?” Sloane asks. “Because I’m dying to know.”

I’m dying to know too. But I’d rather not have an audience of nosy relatives when I ask him.

I shrug. “Maybe eventually.” I step around her with the box. “But right now I just want to get this job done and take a shower.”

We spend the next hour carrying boxes from the attic to the living room, Cooper acting as if I’m not there and me wishing I weren’t.

By the time we finish, the five of us are dripping sweat, and I’m forcing myself not to stare at Cooper’s flushed cheeks or the toned stretch of abs beneath his shirt when he lifts it to wipe his forehead.

He is the definition of a distraction. I might actually be lucky he wants nothing to do with me.

“I ordered pizza,” Aunt Naomi announces, continuing to pull decorations from the boxes in the living room. She sorts them into piles only she and Sloane can make sense of. “It should be here any minute.”

“Oh. I actually have to go,” Cooper says. “I told my mom I’d be home by seven. I’m already late.”

“You didn’t think I’d let you come over to help and not feed you, did you?” Aunt Naomi asks. “Don’t worry—I already texted your mom to let her know.”

Cooper forces a smile. “Oh. Okay. Awesome.”

“Cooper, I’ve never heard you be so quiet,” Sloane says before chugging a bottle of water.

His eyes connect with mine for such a brief second, I question whether I imagined it. Then he shrugs. “I’m just tired. The shop was busy today.”

“Cooper works at the Caffeinated Cat,” Sloane tells my mom.

“Oh, how neat. I’ll have to check it out this week,” Mom says. “I’m thinking of applying for a job at the art-and-crafts store next door.”

I raise my eyebrows. This is news to me. “You are? Why?”

Mom grins. “I miss working, and I’d like to pay some form of rent.”

“Oh, stop that,” Aunt Naomi says, waving off Mom. “I don’t want your money.”

Cooper’s brow furrows in confusion. “Rent? How long are you visiting?”

“Ellis didn’t tell you when you talked earlier? We’ve moved here,” Mom says. “Temporarily!” she adds, seeing my horrified face. “We’re around long enough for me to get a job, though.”

Sloane throws her arm over my shoulder. “And long enough for Ellis to go to school with us. Isn’t that exciting, Coop?”

What an instigator.

I can’t read his expression—shock mixed with a pinch of dread, maybe?

He doesn’t reply before my mom says, “Maybe you two will have some classes together.”

His eyes lock on mine. “Yeah. Maybe.”

Sloane turns to me. “I’ll give you a tour Tuesday morning and show you where the office is.”

“Thanks.”

Sloane is only a junior, so I’ll be on my own this week if Bramble Falls High is anything like my old school, where the grades are in different halls and rarely interact.

The doorbell rings.

“Come in!” Aunt Naomi shouts.

My head whips to her. People just invite people into their homes here without checking who’s at the door first?

A short, plus-sized Black kid with fun blue hair, a nose ring, and a THEY/THEM button pinned to their red Cheesylicious uniform walks in carrying two pizzas.

Their eyes wander over the boxes and decorations until they find Aunt Naomi hidden among the mess. They grin. “You want this in the kitchen, Naomi?”

“I’ll take them,” Cooper offers, grabbing the pizzas. “What’s up, Sterling?”

“Just living the dream,” they reply with a wide grin.

Sloane steps forward and hands them money. “You want a piece for the road?”

“Thanks, but naw, I’m pizza’d out,” they say with a wave of their hand.

“There’s no such thing,” Sloane insists. “But okay.” Sterling tries to hand her change, but Sloane pushes it back toward them. “Keep it.”

“Thanks,” they say.

“Sterling, this is my cousin Ellis. She’ll be going to school with us,” Sloane tells them. “Ellis, this is Sterling. They’re a junior.”

I offer them a smile. “Nice to meet you, Sterling.”

“You too.” Sterling sticks their hands in their pockets and turns to the group. “Well, I gotta get going on the next delivery. Good luck with the decorations, everyone. See you next weekend, Naomi.”

“Thanks, Sterling,” Aunt Naomi says.

“So, what event is happening next weekend?” I ask after Sterling leaves and everyone is making their way to the kitchen for pizza.

“Saturday is apple picking at the Vanderbilt Orchard,” Aunt Naomi says with excitement.

I nod as I place two pieces of cheese pizza on my plate. “Cool.”

“Are you going to come?” Sloane asks. “We can always use more volunteers to work the registers, give tours, help people pick apples, load cars, or show attendees where the bathrooms are….”

I stop with my pizza halfway to my mouth. “Oh, um, I don’t know. I mean, starting at a new school is a lot. I might need to see how this week goes first.”

Mom’s face oozes with disappointment.

“Makes sense,” Sloane says. She takes a bite of her pizza.

“We totally understand,” Aunt Naomi adds with an empathetic smile. “This is a big change for you.”

Cooper stays quiet but looks deep in thought. With his mom being on the tourism board and him being here tonight, I can only assume he volunteers at the events. So he’s probably relieved by my answer.

A half hour later, Cooper heads home without so much as a goodbye in my direction, and I head to the shower. But just before I hop in, someone knocks on the bathroom door. I swing it open and find my mom standing there.

“You will help next weekend,” she says, her voice low and stern. The sternest I’ve ever heard from her, actually.

“Mom—”

“Your aunt is letting us stay here for free. She filled her fridge and went out of her way to set up rooms for us, and she asked for nothing in return. The least you can do is volunteer at weekend events.”

“So, I’m being punished for your decision to move us here?” I ask, fury building in the pit of my stomach. This isn’t fair. Isn’t it punishment enough that I’m here at all?

“It’s not a punishment, Ellis,” she says, annoyed with me.

“Volunteering your time is a kindness, and it’s the right thing to do.

They’re family, and they’re helping us. You can hate me and treat me like I’m the worst person in the world, but I didn’t raise you to act spoiled and entitled.

Frankly, I can’t believe I have to have this conversation.

” She turns, but as she walks away, she adds, “You’ll be there next weekend.

It’s not up for discussion. But if it makes you feel better, think of it this way: helping the local government will be a great activity to add to that high school résumé you’ve been so concerned about. ”

She disappears down the steps, shaking her head, and I close the bathroom door.

For the next twenty minutes, my tears are washed away while the sound of the shower drowns out my sobs.

Nothing is how it’s supposed to be. I’m surrounded by family in a town where everyone knows everyone. Yet I’ve never felt so alone in my life.