Filed to story: My Life with the Walter Boys Book (I & II) PDF Free
A Tale of Two Cities essay. I was hustled into taking his, Nathan’s, and Lee’s coffee orders as well, but it was a small price to pay. Sleep hadn’t come easy last night; I tossed and turned until nearly two o’clock, worrying about what would happen to Isaac. Slowly but surely, all the Walter kids were worming their way into my heart, even the annoying ones.
The line to order nearly reached the door, so I pulled out my physics notes to pass the time while I waited. One last review session before my test wouldn’t hurt, especially after Cole’s attempts to distract me yesterday. As I scanned through practice problems on Newton’s third law, I couldn’t help but overhear the conversation taking place ahead of me.
“—in Luke Snyder’s car!”
“That’s hardly surprising. Who hasn’t ended up in his back seat? At this point, it’s practically a rite of passage. No, the real bombshell is that Alex Walter and Kim Henderson got caught hooking up in the janitor’s closet by Mr. Piper.”
My head snapped up. The same two girls I’d caught gossiping about Cole in the library—Savannah and her blond volleyball friend—were standing directly in front of me in line.
“Wow, real classy,” the nameless girl said with a snicker.
Not wanting to get caught eavesdropping, I buried my face in my notes but kept listening.
“Yeah, that whole family is a hot mess,” Savannah replied, and I couldn’t stop my shoulders from tensing. “Have you heard the rumor about Isaac?” she continued. “People are saying he’s behind the fire alarm incident and got arrested yesterday!”
I bit my tongue to keep from snapping at the girl. How the hell did she even know that? None of the Walters would spread gossip about one of their own, and Katherine and George hadn’t told us if Isaac was being charged with anything.
The blond giggled. “Am I a terrible person for finding that attractive? All he needs is a stint in juvie and some daddy issues, and he’ll be the hottest Walter of the bunch.”
“Hotter than Cole Walter?” Savannah scoffed. “Honestly, Megan. You’re delusional. Did you see him Saturday night? That boy is the definition of fine.”
Aha! So that was what her name was. The line shuffled forward as I added Megan to my mental catalogue of Valley View students.
“Yeah, you’re right.” She sighed wistfully. “His girlfriend is so lucky.”
“I don’t think they’re dating,” Savannah said, her tone conspiratorial. “I heard he’s hooking up with the manager of the Gas Exchange. Apparently, he’s there all the time.”
Before her words could sink in and wreak havoc, Megan responded and saved me from spiraling. “Yeah, because he works there. I’m telling you; he’s dating Jackie. Teagan heard from Heather, and those two have been friends since she moved to Colorado.”
“Even if you’re right, don’t you think that’s weird? I mean, they live together.”
Her comment made my cheeks burn. Not wanting to hear any more of the conversation, I peeked over the top of my notebooks to gauge how close I was to the front of the line. Thankfully, there was only one person in front of the gossip twins—a little old lady with a handbag so bulky I was impressed she didn’t tip over.
“Who cares?” Megan said. “They’re not related.”
“Sure, but the Walters took her in because she has nowhere else to go. Doesn’t that seem a bit messy, dating someone who’s part of your new quasi family?”
“Next!” the barista behind the cash register called.
As the girls stepped forward to order, I couldn’t stop Savannah’s words from echoing in my head. I wanted to dismiss the statement outright. The little I knew about the two was far from flattering, so I was disinclined to take anything they said to heart. But no matter how I rationalized, there was a part of me that wondered if she was right.
***
“Is this an abduction?”
It was Tuesday after school, and I was standing next to the truck, waiting for Alex to arrive and unlock the doors. Thirty seconds earlier, a familiar black car had whipped into the empty space next to me. Cole proceeded to roll down the window and tell me to get in without so much as a hello.
His response was, as usual, vague and lacking any important information. “No, it’s a mission.”
“Oh?” I raised an eyebrow. “And what would that involve, exactly?”
My question was met with a standard Cole smirk. “That’s a secret.”
Of course it was. I knew when to pick my battles, and Cole on the verge of an adventure wasn’t one of those times, so I released a sigh and walked around the Buick without further inquiry.
“Hey, Jackie!” someone shouted as I opened the passenger door. “Where are you going?”
I glanced up and saw Alex crossing the parking lot with Nathan and Lee trailing behind him. Isaac was, presumably, at home. In addition to a buttload of community service and a hefty fine, he’d earned himself a weeklong school suspension for the fire alarm stunt.
“Who knows?” I said, lifting my shoulder in a half shrug. Did the answer even matter? My lips twitched with a hint of a smile when I realized that no, it didn’t. I would get in the car and go with Cole no matter his explanation. “See you guys later.”
“Tell Mom we’ll be back in time for dinner,” Cole added as I climbed in. He fiddled with a dial on the dash, and once warm air was blasting from my vents, he backed out of the spot and expertly navigated the post-school traffic.
We drove for ten minutes before pulling up to a nondescript, brick building with a cryptic sign that read simply THE RIFT.
“Well, that’s not ominous at all,” I said, eyeing what appeared to be a storefront as Cole put the car in park. That there were no indicators clarifying what type of store it was struck me as a poor business strategy.
Cole laughed as he drew his keys from the ignition. “I promise you’ll like this.”
As I followed him out of the car, more than one possibility of what the Rift could be ran through my head, each one more ridiculous than the next—an outer spacethemed arcade bar; a sketchy money-laundering front; a tear in the fabric of reality that led to an alternative universe—but a thrift store wasn’t one of them. A bell above the door jingled as we stepped inside, and my first impression was that we’d stumbled onto a quirky movie set instead of an actual, real-life place. The shop was poorly lit and narrow, with only three long aisles that stretched backward into the gloom. In my initial scan of the room, I spotted a bust of Shrek, an old aquarium filled with stuffed animals, and a collection of fishnet-stockinged leg lamps. Lounging beside the register was an orange tabby cat, and a second one slept peacefully on top of an old grandfather clock.
“This way,” Cole said, taking me by the hand and dragging me into the depths of the clutter.
There was no rhyme or reason for the way the shelves were organized; books transitioned into household goods, then turned into electronics. Finally, we reached the end of the aisle, which opened up into a musty apparel section with racks of clothing, tables of accessories, and bins overflowing with shoes.
“Perfect,” Cole said, propping his hands on his hips and surveying the room with the satisfaction of a forty-year-old dad observing his freshly mown lawn. “Nobody’s here yet.” He glanced over at me. “What do you think?”
“That this is the strangest kidnapping ever,” I responded, still uncertain about why we were here.
“Did you happen to receive an invitation today?” he asked offhandedly.
My mouth parted in surprise. “How did you know that?”
At lunch, Chase had made an appearance at my friend group’s established cafeteria table. This wasn’t unusual—he and Skylar started dating a week before the dance—but his distribution of black envelopes closed with real wax seals was definitely different. The one he’d handed me had my name written across the front in perfect, gold calligraphy. Inside was an invitation to a costume party.
“Chase takes Halloween very seriously,” Cole explained, starting toward a table display dedicated to the very holiday he’d just mentioned; a wide range of masks, wigs, and props were laid out across its surface. “His party is the only one that comes close to rivaling our end-of-the-year kegger, but that’s because his parents are loaded, and they let him go all out on decorations and catering. I’ve only gone once, but he usually deals out invites after homecoming.”