Page 2 of Not Your Enemy
I’d grown up in Riley, which was still a relatively small town about an hour and a half from there, but compared to Clark it might as well have been New York City. They had a college in my hometown, Jefferson, but I just wanted to get away from my parents, to be honest. Not that we didn’t get along, but I’d been itching for some freedom during my high school years. They could be overbearing, and I needed more distance than a handful of miles.
A knock sounded at my door at 7:15, not surprisingly, considering Jana was one of those people who was always running from one thing to another.
“Well, don’t you look just gorgeous!” she said, giving me the once-over as she stepped inside.
“Ha ha,” I responded. It wasn't that I didn’t think I was pretty or anything, more that I was still wearing my jeans and an old T-shirt that I’d been in all day. I’d held off on changing since I kind of expected her to be late.
“Have I told you that you’re the best friend I’ve ever had?” she inquired, fluttering her long eyelashes at me.
“Laying it on thick, huh?” I teased. She winked at me and took a seat at my bar-top.
Noting her outfit, I headed back to my closet to see what options I had. As always, Jana was dressed to the nines in her business attire. Pencil skirt and a tucked in blush colored blouse that complemented her blonde curls so well. Oh, and don’t forget the six-inch tan heels and matching laptop bag that were certainly both designer. Personally, I felt like we had the same style, but she had a budget and an eye that I could only dream of. I’d put on a tight-fitting beige cocktail dress and a pair of clear kitten heels. My auburn hair was pulled back in a half-up, half-down style, and I touched up my mascara and applied a berry-colored lip gloss before heading back out front.
After pulling Jana away from her laptop, we made our way to her white Lexus and then into the city.
“Where are we going for dinner?” I asked, knowing she had probably made reservations earlier today. For all her running from one place to the other, she was still someone you’d never catch without a plan.
“Seraphine’s. I know you love their salmon, and I booked us a table that’s just the right distance from the piano player.” She wasn’t wrong. Their salmon was amazing, and I loved their cocktails too. But just to be petty, I planned on ordering a high-end bottle of wine tonight, just like I’d promised her I would. It wasn’t as if she couldn’t afford it.
Chapter 2
Sipping my cabernet, I thought about what the hell I’d signed up for. We’d discussed my plans to leave the next day after work. That way, on Saturday morning, I could get started bright and early. I hoped that if I were determined enough, I could get the job done way quicker than two weeks.
“I hope you know that this dinner and that dress are only the beginning of the solids you owe me,” I told Jana between thoughts. She needed to hear that I was serious about it.
“Yes, of course! I will totally do whatever you want me to do. This is a huge ask, I know, and I totally pity you for having to put up with Jade.” She shook her head in mock disgust before continuing, bringing a hand up to her chest. “That alone should earn you a medal or something.” I snickered at that.
When our food arrived, I immediately regretted ordering the chef’s special and not sticking with the salmon I knew and loved. It felt like a good idea to run up an exorbitant bill for Jana, as if that somehow made us even for the favor she asked of me. The capers alone made me feel like I was getting the karmaI deserved for thinking that way. They'd never been my favorite, and I swear I saw Jana giggling at my expression when I took my first bite. She tried to hide it with a pat of her napkin against her wine-stained lips, but I knew her well enough to see right through it.
Five o’clock came, and I packed the last of my work stuff and my knitting tools before loading up my car. I was really doing this, going to clean out a dead couple’s house for my friend. It was a lot, and I would fully take advantage of everything she offered me as payment for the favor. Like another dinner when I got back in town after last night’s slimy mess. Making one last stroll through my apartment, I turned all the lights off and locked the front door. It was a modernized space with all-white walls and cabinets. I’d made sure the dishes were done, the trash was taken out, and I'd swept and mopped on my lunch break the day before, so I felt good about the state of everything. Leaving behind a mess of any kind to come back home to would leave me feeling antsy.
Shuffling through radio stations, I had a hard time picking one. I was looking for something upbeat and not a reflection of what was probably going to be the vibe for the next while. The rock station I passed by was way too heavy for the nerves fluttering in my belly. What if Jade hated me? What if we couldn't work together and Jana had to end up getting involved when she desperately didn't want to? I didn't love change, and I liked to know exactly what I was getting into so that I could plan accordingly.
Settling on an eighties station, I mentally tried to plan my strategy. I planned to be as nice as possible to Jade since I’d need to work well with her if we were going to wrap this up quickly. Not to mention, as rude as she might be, her dad had died a few weeks ago. I wasn’t so cold-hearted that I couldn’t show empathy to anyone in that situation. Next, I tried to think of how I'd go through the clutter room by room, creating stations to sell, keep, or donate. I'd always been obsessive in my planning of things. I felt totally lost going into things blindly, and surely the plan was simple and precise enough that Jade would have no issues going along with it.
I had to stop for gas around the halfway point, and I grabbed some greasy fast food for dinner. It had been years since I’d eaten like that, but under the circumstances, I felt like allowing myself comfort food was the least I could do. Riley was a bit out of the way, soI decided I’d stop in and see my parents on my way back home just to make sure they were doing okay. It'd been a while since I'd seen or even talked to them. Jana had suggested checking in on them at dinner last night, you know, still trying to butter me up with all the ways she was actually doing me a favor by sending me on this trip. But the sooner I got this over with, the better, so I skipped the Riley exit and headed straight for Clark.
The last leg was the worst. My butt had fallen asleep from sitting for so long, and the earlier nerves that had kept me on edge faded into tiredness. Pulling down the long dirt driveway to Jana’s house, I noticed the black, sporty-looking Mustang I assumed belonged to Jade. Hopefully, she’d spare me some of her wrath considering she didn’t even know me. Surely she didn’t go through life being mean to everyone.
Grabbing my suitcase from the trunk of my tan Camry, I rolled it up to the front porch; the wheels kicked rocks up as I went. The house was bigger than I remembered, a fact that did not help my whole finish up early plan. It was a two-story white farmhouse with a big wrap-around porch that was surrounded by woods. I could hear the loud chorus of insects that I knew would grow louder the later into the night it got. Before I could knock on the front door, it opened slightly.
“Who are you?” a tall, dark-haired woman asked. I assumed she would have to be Jade, but she looked nothing like her sister.
“Hi, I’m Libby.” I reached out my hand to shake hers, but she looked at it without accepting. We stared at each other silently for a moment before she spoke again.
“Hi Libby, what the fuck are you doing here?” Well, she was already quite the charmer, and with an attitude like that, she hadto have been Jade. I put my hand back down since she clearly wouldn’t be shaking it.
“I’m Jana’s friend; you’re Jade, right?” She nodded and stepped onto the dimly lit front porch. Looking behind me as if trying to find someone else, her mossy green eyes made their way back to mine.
“Where is Jana?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Oh, um. She said she’d told you she was sending her best friend in her place to help. Did she…not do that?” Jade shook her head and rolled her eyes, looking away again momentarily.
“That sounds like something Jana would do.” I made no comment on that statement. While I felt some need to defend Jana, I didn’t want to get off on the wrong foot here. Not to mention I was kind of pissed at her for not telling Jade the plan like she said she did.
“Well, I’m here to help you get this done.” I gave Jade a big, toothy smile, trying my best to seem genuine. Her eyes made their way down my body and back up again, and I couldn’t tell if I was being admired or assessed. My cheeks flushed at the unexpected feeling.
With a sigh, she continued. “I’m sorry you got roped into this. You must be one hell of a friend to do this for her. I hope she appreciates you.” Taking that as a compliment, I simply smiled and nodded at Jade. “Come on, I’ll show you to Jana’s old room.”