Washed out Rock Song

“You’re going to wear that on a date?” Kira asked. She stood in the doorway of my bedroom with a very concerned look on her face. “Please tell me you’re kidding?”

I shut the book I was reading and threw it onto the end of my bed. “It’s not a real date.”

“But it is to him,” she reminded me. “Get up.”

I shook my head and looked down at my ripped up jeans and oversized Brand New t-shirt. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing? It’s very… Me.” I smirked.

“Leah, you have to try a little harder than that.” Kira stepped up to my closet and threw the doors open. A pair of jeans tumbled out onto her feet. “How do you even find anything in here?”

I finally stood up and accompanied her in front of my closet. It was a mess and Kira’s, well, wasn’t. Everything in her closet was neat and organized by color and season. But I didn’t need a clean closet. I just grabbed a couple of things and threw it on before I left the house. It wasn’t a big deal. To Kira, fashion was a big deal. Right now she was wearing a white dress with a pink floral cardigan and a pair of heels. You would have to kill me before I put on a pair of heels.

“I don’t even have anything that would be considered ‘date appropriate’ to you.”

“It doesn’t have to be great,” she replied as she dug through piles of clothes, “It just can’t be what you’re wearing now.”

I sat down at the end of my bed as she threw clothes out of the closet.

She held up something black in front of her. “This is perfect.” She turned to me.

I laughed. “There’s no way in hell I’m wearing that.” She held up a plain black cotton dress that my mom bought a couple of years ago for a funeral.

“You’re wearing it. It’s simple enough that it won’t seem like you’re trying too hard. You can even wear a flannel over it, and your boots.” She threw the dress on the bed next to me, “Look, I’m not going to let you leave without this dress on, and he’s going to be here soon so you have to hurry.”

“Good, I don’t want to go,” I laughed. Immediately her face held a disappointed expression. Right now her heart was broken and she wanted revenge just as much as I did. I sighed, “But I have to. I’ll wear the dress if I have to.”

I stripped off my jeans and the T-shirt and threw them out of the way on the floor before pulling the black dress on over my head. I looked in my full length mirror. It was kind of cute, for someone like Kira. Not for me.

“It’s perfect,” Kira said, satisfied. “You should probably fix your hair too.”

“No.” I swatted her hand away from my head. “I’m wearing a dress, that should be enough torture for today.”

“Fine.” she folded her arms in defeat.

I went over to my closet and pulled out a green and blue flannel that was hidden under a pile of black T-shirts. If I was going to wear a dress, I definitely going to make it still look my style. Just then the doorbell rang and I looked over at Kira, my eyes wide.

“Oh God,” I said. I pulled the flannel on and grabbed my boots by my bedroom door. I turned to Kira, “Stay up here. I don’t want him to see you yet."

“What are you going to say if he recognizes the house?”

I shrugged and grabbed my phone off of the bed, “I’ll think of something.”

I ran down the stairs and pulled my boots each on before swinging the front door open. He was standing there, flowers in hand.

“Hey,” he smiled, “nice dress.”

I rolled my eyes, I knew the dress was a bad idea.

“These are for you,” he handed me the flowers. Kira never said anything about flowers.

I grabbed them and through them on the table next to the door before rushing out and shutting the door. The last thing I needed was a conversation from my dad about how I was grounded for ditching class.

“You didn’t have to buy me flowers,” I said, “this isn’t a date.”

He laughed, leading me to his truck and once again opening the passenger side door. “I know.” He shut the door and I watched as he walked to the other side, got in, and started the ignition. “Your house seems so familiar, it’s so weird.”

I ignored his comment. “Where are we going?” I asked. According to Kira, I would have a 40 minute car ride to a diner he brought all of his victims to.

“Nowhere special,” he said as he made his way down the road.

“So are you going to tell me now?” I asked.

“Tell you what?”

“Where you were last year?” I asked. “Those two months you disappeared. The deal was if I went to dinner with you, you would tell me."

He smirked a little bit, “Well we’re not at dinner yet, are we?”

I rolled my eyes and stared at the road ahead of us. We stopped at a few lights before turning into a parking lot that was just a couple of blocks away from the school.

“We’re here?” I asked, confused. I was sure he would take me a few towns over to avoid running into any other woman he had slept with, just as he did for Kira.

“Yeah, here.” He parked and jumped out of the drivers side. I got out before he could open my door for me.

I looked up at ‘Jenny’s’. It was a small restaurant that I always passed but never really stopped at. Nobody did. There was a Taco Bell and a Chili’s across the street, both were always better options.

John held open the door to the restaurant for me and followed closely behind. “Hey Garrett,” he said to a waiter passing by. I recognized him from John’s regular group of friends. He gave a head nod back before stopping at a register.

John started walking to the back of the restaurant.

“We’re not going to wait to be seated?” I asked, looking back at a “Please wait to be seated sign.”

John let out a small laugh. “No, we’re not.” He picked a booth in the back next to tall windows that looked out onto the main road.

Garrett came up to our table “What do you guys want to drink?” He asked.

“Dude, you don’t have to do that.” John answered.

“I have to,” he said. “Your mom yelled at me last time.”

I looked at him confused now and he laughed a little and looked back at me. “Uh, okay, what you want?”

“I’ll have a Jack and Coke,” I said.

“Uh,” Garrett looked at John nervously.

“I’m kidding,” I said, “Water is fine.”

“Two waters,” John said, smirking a little.

“Cool, I’ll be right back then.” Garrett left towards the kitchen and it was once again silent between John and I.

“So I should probably tell you,” John started.

“John!” An older woman exclaimed as she approached our table. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming tonight?” She smiled at me. “And bringing a friend?”

“Because I didn’t want you to do this,” he said. “Leah, this is my mom. Mom, Leah."

I was surprised. Kira definitely didn’t mention meeting his mom on the first date. Then again, he told her his mom was dead. I smiled politely. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. O’callaghan.”

“Leah. Little Leah Dunn? Wow, I haven't seen you in years. Hardly recognized you. You can call me Jenny.” She smiled. She seemed like such a nice person, how was it possible for John to be related to her at all? "John has never brought a date here, you must be special.”

John’s face was turning pink. “It’s not a date, Mom.” I had never seen him embarrassed before. He was such a confident person, so sure of everything. He didn’t care what anyone thought about him.

“Well,” his mom said. “Whatever you guys want, let me know.”

“Can we just have the chicken wings?” He asked and turned to me, “It’s the best chicken you’ll ever have.”

She smiled and nodded, “I’ll get that for you right away.”

“Thanks, Mom.” John said as she walked back toward the kitchen. On her way, Garrett passed and placed the waters on the table before heading over to a couple seated a few tables away.

“I didn’t know your family owned this place,” I said.

He shrugged, “It’s not really something I tell a lot of people.” He looked around the restaurant. “It’s a family place, I don’t need a bunch of people from school showing up just because I’m working or something.”

This was understandable, but it didn’t explain why he brought me here then. “So why did you bring me here?”

He smirked, “Because I don’t have to pay the bill at the end of the night.”

I rolled my eyes even though I knew he was kidding.

“Really though, I’m not sure why I brought you” he said, “I guess I knew you could keep a secret.”

He started talking about the few people that did know about the restaurant, which was secluded to his tight knit group of friends and about how a couple of them worked there, like Garrett. It wasn’t long before his mom brought our food out to us.

Halfway through the meal he looked up at me, “It’s good, right?”

I couldn’t deny the fact that it was really good. I just nodded. “So when are you going to tell me your secret?” I asked. “Where were you those two months?”

John sighed. “I thought you didn’t care.”

“I don’t,” I shrugged, “I’m just curious since you keep dodging the question.”

“You have to tell me something about you first.”

“Like what?” I asked.

He took a second to think. “Like why are you so secluded?”

“What do you mean?” I asked, even though I knew exactly what he was asking.

“Why don’t you have any friends or try to talk to people? Why are you so opposed to being around anyone ever?”

“I just like to be alone,” I said, dropping my napkin onto my plate to signal that I was done eating.

He shook his head, “That’s not a good enough answer.”

I sighed and looked up, “I, I don’t know.” I shrugged a little bit. “I’m used to people not liking me,” I said honestly, “I guess I would rather keep to myself than risk possible rejection from other people.”

He nodded, “I think I get what you mean.”

For a second I thought that he might. That he would be human enough to know how I was feeling. Then I snapped back to reality and remembered who I was talking to, who I was having dinner with right now. This guy that manipulated Kira and half of the other girls in this city.

“Your turn,” I said, annoyed.

“I can’t tell you,” he said.

“What?”

He shook his head. “I can’t tell you why I was gone those two months.”

“What the hell?” I said, “You promised you would.”

“No, I didn’t, actually,” he flashed his world famous smile at me. “I said I would tell you, I didn’t promise that I would tell you.”

“It’s the same thing,” I said.

“Look,” he said, “I promise that I will tell you, eventually. Just not right now.” He took his wallet out and threw a tip on the table for Garrett, who kept asking us if we were okay or needed anything. “Ready?” He asked me as he stood up.

I stood up and lead the way to his car. We drove back to my house in silence. This night left me extremely confused. He obviously had a different set of plans for different girls he hooked up with since this night was nothing how Kira said it would be.

He pulled up in front of my house and we both got out. He walked me up to my door in silence. I was getting worried now. If he thought I wasn’t interested in him at all, this plan would never go the way I wanted it to.

“Look,” I started, “I’m sorry I’m kind of a bitch.”

He laughed a little, “I don’t think you’re a bitch.”

“Why not?” I asked. I was incredibly mean to him sometimes. There’s no reason why he would think otherwise.

“I think that you’re just guarded,” he said, “And I think that you and I are more alike than you think.”

He was wrong there. We were nothing a like. Just as I was about to tell him he was wrong the front door opened and my dad stood in the frame.

“Where have you been, Leah?” He asked. “You’re supposed to be grounded.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Dunn,” John said right away. He reached his hand out to my dad. “I’m John. Leah and I just went for a quick dinner tonight. She didn’t want to come, but I convinced her to. It’s my fault she’s been out.”

My dad shook his hand. He seemed surprised that I was out with a boy at all. “Well John, you can make it up to us by coming for dinner on Friday.”

“No, dad, John doesn’t want to do that,” I said quickly. This was so like my dad. He thought the best of everyone and the second he saw me at the door with a guy, he had to invite him over. This would ruin everything. John couldn’t find out that Kira was my sister.

John smiled at me, “I’d love to come.”

Shit.