Page 38 of Rough Start

“No!” Eliana screeched, and Kate tackled her as Lyndsey continued her dramatic monologue.

“The only thing bigger than his fabulous brain and intrusive ego is his massive, engorged donkey schlong!” Eliana was screaming, Kate was laughing, and Lyndsey stumbled off the bed and crashed hard onto the floor before curling into a fit of laughter.

“You did not just say ‘donkey schlong’!” Kate said with tears of mirth in her eyes. Eliana managed to push her off and rolled onto the floor where she grabbed the journal.

“It does not say that,” Eliana protested, and Lyndsey groaned as she tried to stand. Clearly, there would be a bruise on her side from the hard impact, but in her drunken state, it seemed to be the funniest thing ever.

“Liana likes her some big, hairy, donkey schlongs!”

“Just add bestiality to her resume for law school.”

“Having sex with Alan Meinke would be bestiality; he’s a pig,” Eliana reasoned and tucked the book back into the box.

“Mmm, but he’s so hot,” Lyndsey cooed, sitting on the edge of the bed next to Kate. “What’s that?” she asked suddenly and picked up a photograph from the floor that had fallen out of her diary. “Ho-ly shit, girl!” Eliana paled and reached for the picture when she realized what it was only to have Lyndsey pull it away.

“Let me see!” Kate hollered, and Lyndsey handed it over. “Wow, look at you, sexy-mamma! Why haven’t I seen you in something sparkly and backless?”

“Stop, guys, give it back,” Eliana pleaded but relented her effort to grab the photograph for fear it may rip. “That picture is a million years old from stupid senior prom. I totally forgot I had it.”

“So, spill already! Who’s the tall, dark-haired sex in a suit? He’s a lot more than a random prom date.”

“Liana, he’s gorgeous, like… ten of Alan Meinke!” Kate added, and Eliana shoved her way between them to lounge on her bed.

“His name was… I mean, is Kye Driscoll. We met the summer before senior year.”

“And?” the two girls asked together.

“And what? W-w-we went to prom together, that’s all…” she answered vaguely.

“You are going to need to learn to lie better before law school, sweet cheeks,” Kate teased, and Eliana was able to snag the picture from her. Looking down at it, she felt her heart flutter, and the sensation frustrated her. After all these years— four years two weeks and five days to be exact, just the sight of his picture brought all those memories and feelings back.

It had taken almost a year for her father and her to find somewhere to settle after they’d fled Pine Hill. After declaring her intended apartment to be unsafe because Kye knew the address, she’d had to cancel her lease. Bouncing from motel, hotel, and eventually an apartment two towns over from Harvard that required three bus trips to get to classes, they’d unpacked the few boxes they’d managed to escape with. Henry had gotten the pictures developed from their last night in town. Prom night. This particular one was of her and Kye standing under the tree in her front yard.

He looked incredible in his black and silver suit with his hair pulled back and his blue eyes beaming. Eliana was turned slightly and pressed into his side. Her eyes weren’t on the camera as she was looking up at him with a brilliant smile. Just seeing herself so happy made her smile softly.

“He was my first love,” Eliana admitted, and Kate and Lyndsey squeaked simultaneously. “But that’s all history now,” she said decidedly and set the picture on her end table.

“What happened? I mean, you haven’t really mentioned him,” Lyndsey asked.

“It’s a long story.”

“Well, good news is— we’re not going anywhere!” Pulling the cork out of the Patron bottle, Lyndsey poured three more shots and passed them around.

“Oh, why not,” Eliana relented and cringed as she downed hers.

“Spill!” Kate demanded.

“Pine Hill was kind of a brutal town,” Eliana began, already feeling the effects of the alcohol. “All quaint and charm on the surface, but there was a lot of crime. Smuggling. Drugs. Stolen car rings.”

“Ooh, this sounds like the plot to a mystery novel!” Lyndsey elbowed Kate in the ribs to shut her up.

“I didn’t know it at the time, but my dad got involved with a lot of it. He ran the lumberyard and would illegally export lumber on the train line, fudge the numbers to look like he’d been transporting via truck routes, and claim the extra commission.”

“That’s illegal?”

“Forgery? Commission scamming?”

“Oh.”