The Summer of '98 Page 15

  “There it is!” Leroy interrupted with a loud voice. “I told you it came after Glensmith.”

  Noah sighed and retreated from between us, falling into the backseat. Leroy pulled into the underground hotel parking lot and gave me a quick glance as he paid the fee. “Sorry about that.”

  “About what?”

  “All the hostile language and shouting.”

  I laughed at his sincere apology, and he continued past the cars so that he could find a spare space. “It’s fine. I’m not offended.”

  We parked the car and the boys took the luggage for us. Cass was definitely a little bit tipsy, but she managed not to draw too much attention to herself as we took the basement elevator up to the hotel reception. We went through the check-in procedures and all the other requirements. Our room was on the fourth floor and it was nicer than anything I had stayed in before. Momma and I hadn’t traveled a lot, apart from the occasional weekends on her brother’s farm. We did go on one of the science class trips in junior year—Momma was a chaperone, but we stayed in cabins with stale mattresses and communal bathrooms. That was the extent of my traveling.

  The other three didn’t seem all that fazed by our accommodation, so I maintained a natural reaction, but quietly admired the large room that was decked out with two comfortable-looking beds, a kitchen/dining space, rich textured curtains, and soft patterned carpet. It was beautifully decorated and vibrant with hues of red and orange in the decor that contrasted with the soft-blue walls.

  “Shotgun the bed closest to the window!” Cass pushed past us and dived face-first into the white bedspread.

  “You should sleep before we leave,” Leroy suggested as he set our bags down beside the other bed where I was sitting. “You’ll be denied entrance if you’re too wacked.”

  “I’m fine,” she dismissed him and sat up. “You dudes should leave for an hour so that we can get dressed and ready.”

  “An hour,” Noah said sarcastically from where he was leaning on the little round dining table. “It takes that long for you to decide what to wear when we hang out. And the clothes don’t even stay on for that long.”

  “We’ll go and get something to eat and bring it back.” Leroy leaned down and gave me a quick kiss before he started toward the door. Noah followed him and Cass gave them a sarcastic wave as the door closed behind them.

  As soon as we were alone, we dug through our bags, and it wasn’t long before there were clothes scattered all over the floor and bed while we decided what to wear. We swapped our clothes and mixed and matched until we created two perfect combinations.

  It would be hot in the concert. It was the middle of summer and the arena would be packed. So, I wore a sheer black top over a bra the same color, and pulled it together with a navy-blue, high-waisted skirt. It seemed like the right kind of look for an Aerosmith concert. There was no chance I wanted to end up with broken toes, so I wore a pair of combat boots over some thigh-high socks.

  Cass went in a similar direction with a darker look, but she borrowed my KISS shirt and tucked it into a pair of black shorts that she wore over sheer stockings. She was tall enough not to need high heels, so she wore her sneakers and of course her hair sat in its signature tight curls.

  I used a wand to add some volume to my hair and teased it out with a comb before I let Cass attack me with more makeup than I had ever worn before. She laid it on thick: foundation, some nude lipstick, and a bit of blush. She gave me a darker eye look with a kohl liner pencil, and of course I added a few coats of mascara because I didn’t think that I could ever leave the house without decent lashes.

  We were in the bathroom fluffing and adding final touches to our looks when the hotel door opened, and we heard Noah and Leroy coming through. The aroma of hot food came in with them and we shared a look of delight before we ventured out into the main room.

  Leroy was busy taking items out of the bag and placing them on the table. Cass skipped straight over to Noah and fell into his lap as he helped himself to a burger. He gripped her thigh and murmured something that made her blush. I had to admit that it was cute to see them being so affectionate.

  Leroy glanced toward me and then back to the food before he did a double take and his gaze became awestruck. He stopped what he was doing, and his jaw dropped as his eyes drank me in. “Ellie,” he swallowed and walked toward me. “Shit, you look stunning.”

  “Lee,” Cass scolded. “You’re sweet. But wrong compliment. Right now, she looks smoking hot. A sex bomb. A straight-up betty.”

  “I’m trying to eat here,” Noah muttered. Leroy shot them a curt glance but didn’t pay them a lot of mind as he stopped in front of me and his sights settled on my chest, which was nice and visible through the sheer fabric. Heat crept up my neck and into my face as he stared at me. I was definitely disappointed that we weren’t alone.

  He inhaled a deep breath after a moment and wound an arm around my back. “Come on, food before we have to leave for the arena,” he led me to the table so that we could sit down.

  After we’d finished eating, Cass revealed the box of beer that she had brought along. She and Noah were fast to pop the lids and of course offered us a drink as well.

  “I’m driving,” Leroy declined, pulling his shirt up and over his head so that he could swap it for a black tank top that went under his black, short-sleeve button-up that he left undone. I was practically salivating over his defined chest while he was topless. A cold bottle being touched to my shoulder gave me a fright and I turned to see Cass waving it at me.

  “Oh, no,” I said. “I promised Eleanor that I wouldn’t drink again while I’m here.”

  “She won’t know,” Noah shrugged and guzzled back the entire contents of his bottle in about ten seconds flat.

  “I’d rather not.”

  “Fair enough,” Cass said. “Momma Eleanor can be kind of scary when she gets pissed off.”

  I was glad that she dropped it. Eleanor wasn’t the only reason that I declined the offer. We were going to a concert. I wanted to remember the experience, not black out or embarrass myself in front of thousands of people. It was one thing to go to a house party with people that we knew and down a few beers. It was another to go somewhere that was completely unfamiliar while battling the wobbles.

  Leroy pulled on his Chucks and buckled the belt on his black jeans before he suggested that we leave. He looked incredible. His arms were glowing from the amount of sun that he’d had, the firm bulge of his biceps making me weak whenever he gestured or unintentionally flexed.

  I was unequivocally grateful that Cass had eyes only for the younger brother. But I still couldn’t understand it. He was attractive in a sense. But his personality marred whatever physical attributes he had. He would be a total catch if he wasn’t such a gross, self-righteous pig.

  We piled into the car downstairs and set a tape to play. Leroy turned in his seat. “Ready?”

  I was more than ready. The excitement was palpable. Tonight promised to be one of the best nights of my life and I couldn’t wait.

  Ellie

  Cass and I broke into a loud applause and cheer when “Dream On” finished. We had a decent spot, considering how many people were here. We were off to the left about halfway back from the stage, and we were sandwiched but Leroy and Noah stood behind us so that we had a bit of room to dance.

  “We should go and get a water from the concession stand?” Cass shouted when the next song intro started up.

  I leaned into Leroy and shouted. “We’re going to get a water.”

  “We’ll come?”

  “No.” I shook my head as Cass tugged on my arm. “Save our spots. We don’t want to lose them.”

  He nodded and gave me a quick peck on the cheek before Cass dragged me away. It took us a little while and a lot of apologies before we broke free at the back of the pit. Security guards gave us polite smiles as we skippe
d over to the concession stand at the back of the arena.

  The fresh air was a blessing. We weren’t out in the total open. But even just being free of the packed-in area was a relief. I fanned at my face as we jumped into the line, still moving to the music while we waited. There was no alcohol being sold since it was a sixteen-plus event, but there were a lot of people picking up chilled bottles of water and snacks.

  The line moved at a fast pace. I suppose the fact that there weren’t a lot of options to choose from kept it moving. When the man in front of us was finished handing his cash over, he spun around and walked straight into Cass, standing on her feet and almost dropping his bottle of water down her front.

  “I am so sorry,” he apologized. He looked concerned that he had hurt her.

  “It’s not a problem,” Cass shouted back as she stepped forward with me. I leaned on the bar and peered at her over my shoulder but she was occupied with the man so I purchased a bottle of water each and figured that we could share with the guys.

  I stepped back into place beside her and handed the water over. The ground underneath us was sticky from all the beverages spilled on the hard concrete floor.

  I guzzled back big mouthfuls of water to rehydrate while Cass talked with the blue-eyed boy. I wasn’t listening and it was too loud to pick up on the conversation, so I just stood idle while she had a chat. There was nothing flirtatious in her body language, so I wasn’t concerned when I saw Noah making his way toward us through the throng of concertgoers.

  He apparently wasn’t as placid about the conversation because his gaze narrowed and he stormed forward, all but knocking me out of the way as he gripped Cass’s upper arm. “What the hell are you doing?”

  “Having a conversation dipshit,” Cass ripped her arm out of his hold and glared. “I’m not you, Noah; I can have a chat with the opposite sex without wanting to fuck them.”

  If I wasn’t mistaken, it did appear that guy looked a little bit disappointed, but he regained himself and gave Noah a shove in the chest. “Don’t handle her like that, man, it’s not cool.”

  Noah shoved him back and I began to panic at how this was escalating so fast. “Don’t tell me what to do with my girlfriend, man.”

  Cass and I stood behind Noah, who appeared to be growing really agitated. She glanced over at me and winced as though she knew this was on her, but she didn’t mean for it to get out of hand. I didn’t think it was her fault; Noah was acting like a hothead.

  Cass leaned around and gripped Noah’s bicep. “Noah, come on—”

  “Quiet,” he shoved her off again.

  “You’re an asshole,” blue-eye boy shouted and stepped forward. “Stop handling her like that.”

  “Mind your own fucking business,” Noah took a handful of blue-eyed boy’s shirt in his fist and punched him in the jaw. My hand flew up and I smothered a loud gasp. That was so uncalled-for.

  The boy regained himself and lunged forward, his closed fist connecting with the side of Noah’s face. Cass started screaming and attempted to jump between the boys, who were now engaged in a full-on brawl. Dozens of people surrounded us within seconds, and I was getting shoved left and right as they scrambled to get a view of the fight.

  I tried to keep my feet planted in a firm stance so that I wouldn’t end up on the floor. It was hard considering I was stressing out over Cass, who was now diving on top of Noah while he pummeled the blue-eyed boy. The boy wasn’t going down without a fight, though, and he landed some painful-looking blows to Noah’s stomach.

  Unintentionally, the fight ended up getting closer and closer to me, and I was sure that I was about to get an elbow in the head, when I was pulled back at the arm and drawn into Leroy’s chest. He used his strong arms to shove a few people out of the way and stared at his brother with a violent glint.

  “Stay here,” he ordered, as if I would wander off. He went over and ripped Noah off the stranger, throwing him into the ground and leaning one knee on his chest.

  The blue-eyed boy looked as though he wasn’t willing to let the fight go, but Leroy held Noah down by his throat and looked up, saying something to the guy that I couldn’t hear. My heart was pounding, and the crowd was still pushing and shoving so hard that I kept tripping while I watched. Leroy turned back to Noah. The blue-eyed boy didn’t leave, but he wiped the blood on his nose and made no move to attack further.

  “Stay the fuck down, Noah,” Leroy yelled at his manic brother, who was thrashing under his hold. “Chill out!”

  Suddenly the crowd started to dissipate as security broke through, shouting inaudible orders. Cass sprinted toward me and started to pull me along with the rest of the departing onlookers. “Come on, let’s go.”

  “Cass, I’m not leaving.” I shrugged her off and waved at the boys, who were still struggling against each other. Noah clearly wanted to get up and continue fighting with the guy, who had disappeared. But Leroy’s hold was unwavering as he kept ordering him to get a grip.

  Two security guards cleared the crowd before ripping apart Noah and Leroy and shoving them, ordering them to move. They were clearly being led to the exit, so Cass and I joined hands and followed as best we could. It was humiliating: people were watching, whispers of scandal. Noah was a magnet to all things drama, and I was so over it.

  By the time we got outside, the security was gone. Noah and Leroy stood about ten feet apart, both looking enraged. Cass dropped my hand, heading straight for her boyfriend. There was seriously something wrong him. The fact that Cass couldn’t even talk to another man without him throwing down spoke volumes to his unfaithful nature. He had no trust because he had no loyalty.

  “You’re such an asshole,” Cass shouted, gaining the attention of a few stragglers hanging around on the footpath, smoking cigarettes or climbing into cabs. “You just ruined the concert. We got kicked out because you’re a shady little shit who can’t miss the chance to start a scene.”

  Noah got in close to her, intimidatingly so. She didn’t seem worried, she stood tall. “You’re the one who wanted this exclusive bullshit. Why bother if you’re just going to whore it out to the first dude you see?”

  She slapped him across the face and I froze. Noah’s hand rubbed the bottom of his jaw and he stared at her, furious.

  “I was having a conversation with him. About the music, the night,” she seethed. “He apologized for bumping into me, and then I ask—” she stopped and shook her head. “You know what, no, I don’t have to explain jack to you.”

  “Could you both grow the fuck up,” Leroy snapped, leaning on a bike stand at the edge of the footpath. The three of us watched him. “You’re a shit-show. This relationship is a toxic shit-show.”

  “Lay off,” Noah spat. “We all know you’re the shining star of Castle Rock. Perfect game, perfect grades, even though you can’t submit a damn paper without me looking over it. Everyone knows your relationship is perfect, we’ve all heard. You’re all that, we get it. Just shut the hell up. We can’t all be Leroy Lahey.”

  “Again with this shit? You’re the one who makes yourself a victim. No one puts me above you. You do that to yourself. You act like an asshole and wonder why people are fed up with you all the time.”

  Noah threw his arms wide and shouted, “I’m not imagining this, asshat—just watch Mom and Dad boast about their precious Leroy to everyone and I’m lucky if they even remember that I exist.”

  Noah was mad, and he was hostile, but there was a hitch in his tone and pain in his expression that I couldn’t help but see as heartbreak. He believed what he was saying.

  “Do something that makes them proud then,” Leroy was calmer, factual. I wondered if he recognized his brother’s hurt too.

  “I wrote a fucking paper on the subtle privilege of the working-class economy and presented legitimate numbers that could assist in the funding of free education for financially burdened families that was r
ecognized by the state senator! How is that not something to be proud of?”

  Cass and I looked at each other, sharing a silent ‘wow.’ That is something to be proud of.

  “Mom literally threw you a party and you didn’t even show up,” Leroy countered, and I winced, looking around at the loiterers who were now watching with interest. This was too personal to be said in front of a crowd of strangers.

  Noah laughed derisively. “She was just being a shooter—she wanted to brag in front of all of her elite friends.”

  “Are you fucking serious?” Leroy stepped forward, toe-to-toe with his brother. “You just said she didn’t mention you enough, but if she does, she’s showing off? You are such a wack job. And no, the reason you didn’t show up was because you were sticking it in Natalie and that was more important.”

  Noah averted his stare, red crawling up his neck.

  The air was still, the tension pulling at all four of us. Someone had to move; it had to snap sooner or later. And then, it did. Leroy stormed toward me, wrapped his arm around my shoulder, and we started down the sidewalk.

  “Where are you going?” Cass called. “You have the car keys.”

  I was trapped under Leroy’s arm. I couldn’t see past him when I tried to peer back at her. But he answered for us. “Back to the hotel. Walk.”

  “That’ll take hours!” Noah shouted.

  “Good. Cool off. We need some space.”

  He offered no more explanation as he pulled me tighter against his side and we started toward the car, which was parked in the lot beside the stadium. We climbed in, Leroy started the engine, and we drove away from the pair of them. Streetlights overhead illuminated the interior.

  “I’m so sorry that he ruined the concert for you,” Leroy said, knuckles white as he gripped the steering wheel.

  “Oh, no, it’s fine. It’s not like I paid for the tickets.”

  “Doesn’t matter,” he mumbled. “You love music, you were excited, it—it’s just not okay.”