Chapter Nine
1256 Words
Saturday came, and Lizzie wandered restlessly around the house until her father had finally had enough.
“Lizzie, either go for a walk or sit down,” he said, looking up from the book he’d been trying to read. “You are distracting me with your wandering.”
“A walk sounds like a good idea,” she said, then grabbed her hoodie and walked out the door.
“Be back in an hour!” her father called after her.
“Will do!” she called back, slipping into her jacket as she walked down the sidewalk.
She headed up the road, her hands in her pockets. At the end of the street, she turned and headed toward the nearby walking path. The path led along a creek that was lined with trees. It would be lovely to walk down later in the season.
Entering the shadows beneath the trees, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She could smell the greenness of the trees with a hint of decay underneath. Listening, she heard insects whirring and frogs croaking from the creek.
Opening her eyes, she smiled. She loved walking up this path. It was so full of life.
“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” she heard a familiar voice behind her.
Whirling around, she saw Sabrina behind her on the path, sneering at her.
She groaned inwardly while maintaining a calm exterior.
“What are you doing here, Sabrina?” she asked, looking to see if Tasha was with her.
She seemed to be alone.
“I was just clearing my head when who should I stumble across, but you,” she said, taking a step forward.
“Just our luck, huh?” Lizzie asked, flashing her a fake smile.
“Yeah, something like that,” Sabrina said, getting closer to Lizzie.
Lizzie stood her ground, watching Sabrina edge closer to her.
“I hear you didn’t take my warning to stay away from Deon seriously,” Sabrina said, her eyes narrowed.
“Deon is his own person and can decide who he wants to be with,” Lizzie said, narrowing her own eyes. “And, apparently, he wants to be with me.”
Sabrina barked out a laugh and shook her head.
“That’s only because he hasn’t gotten to know me,” she said.
Shrugging, Lizzie said, “That’s not my problem.”
“Oh, but it is,” Sabrina said. “Since you’re the one standing in between him and me.”
Lizzie shrugged once more, then looked at her watch.
“You know, I’d better be getting home and getting ready for my date tonight,” she said.
Pausing for a moment to walk past Sabrina, she turned and added, “With Deon.”
Then she walked away from Sabrina and didn’t look back.
Listening for movement behind her, she kept walking until she cleared the trees. Relaxing a bit, she walked toward home but passed it to go to Elle’s house first.
Knocking on the door, she waited, looking up and down the street in case Sabrina followed her after all. The sidewalk was empty.
Elle opened the door and looked at Lizzie in surprise.
“What are you doing here?” she asked. “I thought you’d be getting ready for your date with Deon tonight.”
“I was frazzled, so I took a walk, and guess who I ran into?”
Elle’s eyes widened, and she asked, “The Toxic Twins?”
“Just one of them,” Lizzie said, nodding. “Sabrina. She warned me off of Deon again.”
Elle rolled her eyes and asked, “What is wrong with that girl? Can’t she take a hint?”
“Seriously!” Lizzie said. “I knew I had to come to talk to you about it.”
“I’m glad you did,” Elle said, then asked, “But shouldn’t you be getting ready for your date?”
Lizzie looked down at her watch and let out a yelp.
“I have to run,” she said. “I promised Dad I’d be home fifteen minutes ago.”
She ran down the sidewalk with Elle calling after her, “Don’t forget to let me know how your date went!”
“Of course!” Lizzie called back.
She burst through the front door and said, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I had to stop at Elle’s real quick before I came home.”
Her parents looked at her, then at each other. Then they nodded.
“Just be more aware of the time next time,” her father said.
“Did you need any help to get ready tonight?” her mother asked.
Lizzie shook her head and said, “I think I’ve got this. I spent most of the day picking out just the right outfit.”
“Then I’d get going if I were you,” her mother said. “I think he’ll be here soon.”
Lizzie ran upstairs to her room. Grabbing her clothes, she went into the bathroom for a quick shower.
She was finishing up her makeup when her mother tapped on the door and called out, “He’s here.”
Giving herself one last look, she nodded. The simple black skirt and pink blouse looked date-worthy. She’d highlighted her eyes with her makeup and put her hair back in small French braids at the sides but left it flowing down her back.
She walked down the stairs, and Deon stood up from the chair he’d been sitting in, talking to her father. His gaze was pinned to her. Her father turned around in his chair and smiled at her.
Standing up, he came over to her and said, “You look lovely, my dear.”
“Yeah,” breathed Deon, still staring at her.
Lizzie’s face warmed, and she glanced down at the floor. Looking back up at him, she gave him a shy smile. He reached out to take her hand.
“You look so pretty tonight, Lizzie,” he said, then shook his head and added, “Not that you don’t look pretty all the time, but tonight you look extra pretty.”
She giggled and said, “I got what you were trying to say.”
He sighed in relief.
“Which movie were you going to see tonight?” her mother asked.
“Whatever Lizzie feels like seeing,” Deon said, looking at her.
Lizzie smiled at him and said, “We’ll see when we get there then.”
“Sounds like a plan,” he said. “Should we get going?”
Her mother stepped close to Deon, then stopped. Her nostrils flared, and Lizzie swore her eyes flashed yellow. Frowning, she stared at her mother, then shook her head.
Her mother smiled at Deon and said, “I expect you to behave like a gentleman tonight and have her home at a reasonable time.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said.
As they walked out of the door, Lizzie swore she heard her mother tell her father, “That boy has too many hormones for my liking.”
- Writer
