Page 22 of Our Moon (JACT #1)

After Christmas, things changed between Ally and me.

It was like all of a sudden we went from talking about normal, everyday, friendly things like the band and Ally’s plans for culinary school, to flirting.

No, we aren’t sexting or anything like that, but there’s light teasing and, okay, maybe a few “what are you wearing” texts, but we’re only joking when we say it.

Isn’t that how it always starts, though?

I’m finishing up at the construction site for my day job when a message comes through on my cell. I step out of the work zone and pull my phone out .

Ally: Are you busy?

Me: at wrk

Ally: I’m sorry

Me: whats up?

Ally: Just having a bad day, wanted to hear your voice.

Despite all the text-flirting, Ally and I haven’t crossed the line to phone calls. So this is an unusual request. It’s not a big deal, just a first for us. Especially during the day when I’m at work and she’s at school. High school. Man, I’m fucked up.

Me: I take my brk in 20. call u then?

Ally: Thank you, Chase.

I should have just called her then since I’m completely useless for the next twenty minutes. I can’t stop wondering what could have possibly happened to make her text me in the middle of the day like that. And she wants to hear my voice? That’s different.

Finally I punch out for my break and walk off to find a quiet place away from the center of the job site. Scrolling through my contacts, I find her name and hit send.

“Hello?” her voice has an echo .

“Ally,” I say. “Where are you? Why does it sound like you’re in a cave?”

She giggles, I love that sound. “I’m sorry, I’m in the bathroom.”

“Uh,” I start, kind of disturbed that she’s talking to me while in the bathroom. “Al, you’re a cool chick and all, but I think that’s crossing the line.”

She giggles again, “I’m not going to the bathroom, silly. I’m just hiding out in here.”

“Oh,” well that’s a relief. Sort of. Not sure I like that she’s hiding out in the bathroom at school. “So what’s going on?”

She sighs, “It’s spring break for the colleges.”

“Yeah?” I don’t see why she would be upset about that.

“Yeah,” she trails off and it all comes together.

“Blake?”

“Some girls in the locker room were talking about having seen him around town. I guess it kind of sounds stupid now that I’m saying it out loud. I don’t know.” She’s starting to sound like that girl I found outside her house in the dark all those months ago .

“No, Ally. It’s not stupid. He hurt you real bad, and he’s been gone so you haven’t really had to face it. You have a right to get upset that he’s back.” Not that I liked it very much. Not that I had a right to like it or not like it.

“I just worry that I might bump into him, you know? And last time I saw him, gosh. It was so embarrassing. I mean I caught him cheating, and he broke up with me , Chase. I begged him not to. I offered myself to him like a freakin’ sacrifice.”

She what? “You what?” Shocked doesn’t even begin to describe what I’m feeling.

Ally is completely quiet on the other end.

“Al?” I ask.

“I’m here.”

“What did you mean by that? Sacrifice?”

“It’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing.”

“It’s just when he broke up with me,” she pauses.

“Al?”

“Sorry. When he broke up with me, I told him I’d do it with him if it would change his mind. ”

“What?!” I can’t even believe she had offered herself to him like that! She was right, it was just like a sacrifice.

“I know, pretty pathetic, huh?” She sniffs. Dammit to hell. Now I’ve made her upset.

“I’m sorry, baby girl.” Baby girl? What the hell is that about?

“Baby girl?” I could hear the small smile in her voice.

“Yeah,” I smile back. “I don’t know, it just seems to fit.”

“I like it,” she says quietly.

“Me, too,” I say. And I do like it. But I also know this is trouble in the making.

“I feel a little better. I’ve got to get to my next class, though. Thanks for calling me, Chase. It means a lot.”

“Anything for you, baby girl.” We say our goodbyes and hang up.

I have no idea what this thing is between Ally and me, but it feels right.

Even though I know I’ll be mincemeat if Trevor and Alex ever got wind of it.

Not to mention Mr. Monroe. The Monroes all love me, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m twenty-one and Ally is only seventeen.

Not only is a relationship illegal, but it also borders on perverted. What the hell am I going to do ?

Ally laid low the rest of that week. The band played a couple shows at a local hot spot since some of the college crowd were back in town for break, but our sets were over by ten, since Alex had school in the mornings.

Ally didn’t attend a single show, and for no reason apparently, since we never saw dipshit Blake.

***

A few weeks after the college spring break is the high school spring break.

Since it’s Alex and Ally’s last high school spring break, Mr. and Mrs. Monroe rent their usual summer cabin at Lake Lure and invite everyone to join the family for the week.

Joey and I join them, and Ally invites her friend Lucy, but she declines because her family is going on a trip as well.

I can tell Ally is bummed, but since she’ll be with us, I know she’ll have a good time anyway.

We spend our days hiking the neighboring trails and boating on the lake.

The water isn’t warm enough to swim in, so our watersports are limited.

We visit nearby Chimney Rock and hike to the top, taking pictures of all of us on what appears to be the top of the world.

But most of our time is spent at the cabin hanging out, talking, playing games, and, of course, music.

I can’t remember the last time I had had so much fun.

We’re leaving on Sunday, and Mr. and Mrs. Monroe surprise us all that Friday night, announcing that they’re spending the night at a nearby resort that specializes in Dirty Dancing nights.

It’s not the same resort that’s in the movie, but apparently there’s some obscure connection to the area, and Dirty Dancing is one of Mrs. Monroe’s favorite flicks.

“You’re gonna be gone all night?” Alex asks, completely surprised at the turn of events.

“Yes,” Mrs. Monroe answers. “Trevor, Chase, and Joey are all adults. You and Ally are close enough. You’re good kids and hang around alone at home enough. We trust you.”

“Just behave yourself, Alexander.” Mr. Monroe gives Alex a stern look, and I smirk. I know exactly what’s going through Alex’s head; he wishes he had met some chicks on this trip so he could party it up with them. I’m sure Trevor and Joey share similar thoughts.

“We’ll be good, Mom,” Ally assures her.

“I know you will, angel,” Mrs. Monroe says back as she kisses Ally on the forehead.

“We will be back early tomorrow afternoon,” Mr. Monroe says as he scoots his wife towards the door. “Make sure you clean up any mess you make.”

“Have a good time,” Trevor tells them as they walk out the door.

Their parents really don’t have anything to worry about. We’re good kids. Well, we’re not exactly kids anymore, but you know what I mean. We don’t drink excessively or do drugs, and we don’t party with the rough crowds.

We end up hanging around the cabin watching reality TV, before finally watching a bad horror movie on demand. I’m cursing the movie choice until a scene startles Ally, who is sitting next to me on the couch, and she practically jumps into my lap.

Our eyes meet and she blushes, before breaking eye contact and scooting away from me. Before I can stop myself, I drop my arm that was resting on the back of the couch down to her shoulder and pull her back into my side.

Her eyes widen and she quickly looks around the room to see if anyone has noticed our new position, but they’re all staring at their phones or the TV. She looks back at me, and I just shrug and go back to watching the movie. She eventually does the same.

When the movie is over, Ally bolts off the couch, out of my embrace, and brings the popcorn bowl into the kitchen. Joey suggests a fire in the pit on the back deck, and we all agree. We start the fire, and Ally comes out a few minutes later with all the makings for s’mores.

“You freakin’ rock, little sis!” Alex says as he pulls her into a hug and spins her around .

“You’re like four minutes older than me, Alex.”

“That’s still older,” he grins.

“How is it you failed math freshman year? You’re so smart.” she taunts.

“Because that’s the year you grew boobs, and people stopped thinking I was you and you were me.”

“Alex, that doesn’t even make sense,” Joey adds.

“Yeah it does,” Alex starts. “Before she had boobs, they’d think she was me so I’d get her good grades.”

“That would only make sense if I ended up failing my tests,” Ally says rolling her eyes.

“And I never fail. Plus, we write our names on our papers, and we were never in the same classes.” She pops him on the back of the head a minute later, making him drop his marshmallow into the fire. “And don’t talk about my boobs!”

We all crack up at that. Alex and Ally bicker like cats and dogs, and most of the time it doesn’t make any sense at all, but they’re entertaining to watch.

They’re so similar in some respects, like their facial expressions and some of their mannerisms. But they’re extremely different in the most overt ways, like their personalities.

Alex is so outgoing he’ll talk to anyone, while Ally is more reserved and saves her carefree attitude for those who are closest to her.

Which basically means that when they’re around us, they’re more similar than not.

But they complement each other so well. It’s like they’re one complete person when they’re together.

When Ally was dating Blake, you could tell Alex missed her.

He would zone out a lot and lose his focus.

It was like something was missing from him.

Since she has been hanging out again, he’s been back to his usual self.