Page 36 of Missing Pieces
“Oh my god! Are you boning my brother?” she asks while putting her hand over my struggling one holding the corkscrew.
Ivy shouts over everyone who has started to whisper amongst themselves, “I told you, Bella! She totally said bone! Pay up!”
Bella rolls her eyes. “In a completely different context. I said she wasn’t going to tell Harper to bone him.”
“Semantics.” Ivy throws her hands up in the air and walks over to her overnight bag.
Tacoma has kept her stare steady on me the whole time as Ivy rejoiced in her win over Bella.
I finally find the courage to spit out an entire sentence. “I-uh…he’s fixing my car.”
“More like he wants to get under her hood,” Ivy mutters loud enough for everyone to hear as she plugs in a curling iron. Laughter spreads across the group.
Tacoma flips her off and then pulls the wine bottle out of my hand, successfully rips the cork out, then proceeds to chug wine directly from the bottle. I like her.
“So, you aren’t sleeping with him?” she asks, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
I shake my head.
“But you want to?”
What the hell am I supposed to say to that? If it was Ivy, I would say yes.
“I’ll take your silence as a yes.” She turns to Ivy asking, “Does that mean he finally broke up with that fucking bitch whore, Quinn?”
Ivy scrunches her forehead. “Two months ago. When was the last time you talked to him?”
“Shit.” She runs her hands down her face. “I didn’t realize it had been that long. God. I am an awful sister.”
Now I start to feel awkward. I know Easton loves his sisters. If he hasn’t talked to Tacoma in two months, then how is he gonna feel when he finds out I saw her. Well if he decides to talk to me again. I still haven’t heard from him. We ended on such a good note on Tuesday. If Ivy was right about him going to see his sister, I hope it’s nothing bad. That’s the only reason I can see for him not texting me back.
Tacoma’s voice shakes me out of my thoughts. “So does he like you?”
Ivy jumps in, “He’s been flirting with her since day one. And they seem to be hanging out an awful lot. Especially because they are practically neighbors. And he’s letting her borrow the green truck.”
The wine bottle Tacoma was holding slid out of her hand, crashing to the floor. Casey ran over with towels from the bathroom dropping them on the wine.
“He gave you the truck?” Tacoma’s voice is short, each word staccato.
I guess that truck was not just some truck that was left at the shop. Shit. How does this girl keep asking me questions that are hard to answer. “I…he’s just letting me borrow it until my car is fixed.”
“Un-fucking-believable.” Tacoma storms out of the room.
I stand bewildered looking at the door. Everyone else is silent. “Ummm so does anyone want to tell me what that was about?”
Casey, Taylor, and Charlotte high tail into the bathroom. Laney pulls Bella into another room with Grace following close behind. I raise my eyebrows at Summer and Ivy waiting for an explanation.
“Well—”
“I sh—”
They both start at the same time. I cross my arms and tap my foot.
Summer looks at Ivy and nods telling her to speak.
Ivy’s hand rubs the back of her neck as she looks at the ground. “That truck belonged to their dad. Easton got it for his sixteenth birthday. He took so much pride in that truck. He fixed it up over the years and got it running to how his dad had it when he first got it.”
She sits down on the edge of the couch, a somber look taking over her face. Summer walks up and runs her hand down her back. “Their dad was driving the truck the night of the accident. Tacoma wanted it. But Easton wouldn’t give it up. He fixed it back up. It was his way to keep the memory of his parents alive. Whenever Tacoma is in town, she tries to take it. He never lets her.”