Slammed

would just say I did one, Mr. Cooper won’t know. I doubt he’ll be there,” Nick says.
     
    “ No,” Gavin says. “He’ll be there. He’s always there.”
     
    The empty feeling in my stomach returns, despite being full from supper. I slide my hands across my pants and fix my eyes on a star outside the window. I’ll wait to join back in the conversation until the subject changes.
     
    “ Man, Vaughn really did a number on him,” Nick says.
     
    I cock my head in Nick’s direction. Eddie sees the interest perk in me and she folds her paper up and puts it back in her pocket.
     
    “ His ex,” she says. “They dated their last two years of high school. They were the couple. Homecoming queen, football star…"
     
    “ Football? He played football?” I’m shocked. This doesn’t sound like Will.
     
    “ Oh yeah, star quarterback three years running,” Nick says. “We were freshmen when he was a senior. He was a nice guy, I guess.”
     
    “ Can’t say the same about Vaughn,” Gavin says.
     
    “ Why? Was she a bitch?” I ask.
     
    “ Honestly, she wasn’t that bad in high school. It’s what she did to him after they graduated. After his parents…” Eddie’s voice trails off.
     
    “ What’d she do?” I sound too interested, I know.
     
    “ She dumped him. Two weeks after his parents were killed in a car wreck. He had a football scholarship but lost it when he had to move back home to take care of his little brother. Vaughn told everyone she wasn’t marrying a college dropout with a kid. So, that’s it. He lost his parents, his girlfriend, his scholarship and became a guardian all in the same two week time frame.”
     
    I return my gaze out the window. I don’t want Eddie to see the tears welling up in my eyes. This explains so much. It explains why he’s scared to take everything away from me, like it was taken from him. All this time I've been assuming his feelings just aren't as strong for me as mine are for him. Maybe I'm wrong. I fade out of the conversation as I become entranced with the falling snow as we drive toward Detroit.
     
    “ Here,” Eddie whispers as she lays something in my lap. A tissue. I squeeze her hand to thank her, then wipe the tears from my eyes.
     

9.
     
    “ A slight figure of speech
    I cut my chest wide open
    They come and watch us bleed
    Is it art like I was hoping now?”
    -The Avett Brothers, Slight Figure of Speech
     

 
     
    Chapter Nine
     
     
     
    When we enter the building, I immediately search for Will. Nick and Gavin lead us to a table on the floor, so much more exposed than the booth Will and I sat in. The sac has already performed and they are well into round one. Eddie goes to the judges table and pays her money and comes back.
     
    “ Layken, come to the bathroom with me,” she says as she pulls me out of my chair.
     
    When we get in the bathroom, she backs me up to the sink and stands in front of me with her hands on my shoulders.
     
    “ Snap out of it girl! We’re here to have fun.” She reaches into her purse and pulls out her makeup bag. She wets her thumbs under the faucet and wipes mascara from underneath my eyes. She meticulously applies my makeup. She’s extremely focused on the task. No one’s ever done my makeup before besides me. She pulls a brush out of her purse and pushes me forward, brushing my hair upside down over my head. I feel like a ragdoll. She pulls me back up and does some fancy handiwork as her fingers twist and pull at my hair. She steps back and smiles as though she’s admiring her accomplishment.
     
    “ There.”
     
    She turns me to the mirror and my jaw drops to the floor. I can’t believe it. I look… pretty. My bangs are pulled into a French braid that hangs loose down my shoulder. The soft amber hue of eye shadow brings out my eyes. My lips are defined but not too colorful. I look just like my mother.
     
    “ Wow. You have a gift, Eddie.”
     
    “ I know. Twenty-nine brothers and sisters in nine years, you’re bound to learn a few tricks.”
     
    She pulls me out of the bathroom and we head back. As we approach our seats, I stop. Eddie stops too, since she has hold of my hand and is suddenly being jerked back. She follows my gaze to our table and sees Javi…and Will.
     
    “ Looks like we have company,” she says as she winks at me. She tries to pull me forward but I pull her hand back. My feet are weighted to the floor beneath me.
     
    “ Eddie, it’s not like that. I don’t