The whole walk home, I worried about what Aunt Sarah would say. Would she have even noticed that I was missing? Shivering in the cold, I suddenly remembered Jonah.
“Oh…” I groaned. He glanced over at me.
“What?” He asked. I frowned.
“We need an excuse for you being with me.” He wrinkled his nose in irritation, and we both thought for a moment. My face brightened.
“You could be a German exchange student,” I suggested. He looked confused.
“For a school project,” I clarified. “You know, I’m showing you around town and things like that.” His expression cleared.
“Sounds good,” He acknowledged me grudgingly. I sighed. I was going to have to confront Jonah sometime soon, because there was obviously something about me that he didn’t like.
Opening the door and tiptoeing inside, I braced myself for an explosion. Sounds of the television drifted over from Aunt Sarah’s room, and we trudged unwillingly towards the sound.
“Hey,” I announced myself quietly once we were in front of Aunt Sarah. She turned towards me, and I could’ve sworn I saw flames flickering in her eyes.
“How can you even show your face?” She demanded suddenly. I flinched. “Do you just think that you can disappear for two days, and I won’t notice?” She said, her voice trembling in anger. Yes, I thought. My expression seemed to set her off.
“You’re grounded- three weeks; no friends, no cellphone, no computer. Come straight home from school and you clean until I get back from work.” She said. Seen it all before, I sighed. Way too much of it.
“Oh and,” Aunt Sarah paused as if for effect. “No books either,” She said with relish. My jaw dropped.
“I’m taking all of your books, and sticking them inside my closet. If I catch you stealing any out, your sentence will be tripled.” She finished speaking and smirked at me, as if to say, I win. I glared at her, but didn’t say anything in fear of getting grounded for any longer. Simmering, I blew out of her room and clomped up the stairs. Jonah followed silently behind.
I stopped in shock when I entered my room- the sight of my empty bookshelves was like a blow to the stomach. She must have been planning this punishment for a while, I thought sadly. Deflated, I slumped onto the bed. Jonah sat down against the wall, folding his arms and assuming a thoughtful expression. I frowned at him.
“Are you always this quiet?” I asked him. He shrugged.
“When I’m with someone I don’t really want to talk to, sure,” He replied. That’s it, I thought in anger. I’ve had enough. Standing up, I went and stood right in front of Jonah, crossing my arms.
“What’s your problem?” I snapped at him. He looked up in surprise.
“Huh?” He said. I rolled my eyes.
“Oh, come on. You know what I’m talking about.” I said. He gave me a look of pretend innocence.
“I have no idea,” He sniffed, and then returned to watching the fan. I gritted my teeth, not giving up.
“Ever since you met me, you’ve been giving me these rude looks, like I’m a piece of gum on your shoe that you can’t scrape out. And the things you’ve said haven’t been that tactful either,” I pointed out. This time Jonah rolled his eyes.
“Oh, stop feeling sorry for yourself,” He said with a smirk. That was too much for me. Furious, my eyes overflowed with angry tears. Only after a few seconds, they morphed into something a little more pathetic. Giving up, I crumpled to the ground and leaned my head against the wall.
Glancing down, Jonah noticed my changed expression, and his face changed to one of slight guilt. But then just as fast, he looked away and it was gone.
“What do you think that will help?” He said angrily. “Girls in tears don’t bother me.” He said in a very bothered tone. I frowned.
“Why do you hate me so much?” I whispered finally. “Was it something I did?” I asked in confusion. Jonah sighed, and glared at the carpet.
“Not really…” He began, and then stopped. I silently urged him on.
“Did Samuel tell you about the attack on our village?” He asked eventually. I slowly nodded.
“The one after my mom left?”
“That’s the one,” He clarified. “It happened around the time I was a year old. All the able villagers were called to defend our people,” He paused and added in a quieter voice, “Including my parents.” A pit formed in my stomach, and I felt I knew what was coming next.
“They died defending against the attack,” He whispered. His voice was empty, but I could see the sadness in his eyes.
“I grew up never knowing them,” He said slowly. “For the longest time, I felt the need to blame someone on their deaths. But I never knew who.” He raised his eyes and glanced at me. “Then I found out the cause of the attack. They were looking for someone.” My throat suddenly felt dry.
“My mom,” I whispered. He nodded.
“Seeing as you are her daughter, I figured that you were the closest I could get. So my whole life, every time I thought of my parents, I also thought of you.” He smiled grimly. “I didn’t even know what you looked like, or what kind of person you were. I just knew that your mom was the reason why I never had a real home.” I stared guiltily at my interlocked fingers.
“I’m sure I was a big surprise to all of you, just appearing like that.” I said.
“Hate someone your whole life, and eventually they’ll turn up on your doorstep,” Jonah answered. I flinched at the word ‘hate’. Jonah noticed, and once again I could notice that little sliver of guilt before it flashed away again.
“I completely understand why you feel the way you do.” I said, fishing around for the right words. “I know how much I wish I could blame my parent’s death- I mean, disappearance on someone,” I sighed. Jonah frowned. He doesn’t believe that they’re still alive, I thought in disappointment. No one does.
“Can we just put this whole thing behind us?” I pleaded. Jonah grimaced. “I know that’s asking for a miracle,” I said, “But please just give it a little thought. I’m not really looking forward to being with you all the time if you’re going to hate my guts,” I pointed out.
There was a long awkward silence between us, during which I think I bit my entire lip off. Jonah groaned.
“Girls,” He said in explanation to himself. “Always making things difficult,” He muttered. I didn’t retaliate, although I really wanted to. Biting back the retort on the tip of my tongue, I sat back and continued waiting for a real reply.
Sighing, Jonah finally looked up; staring into my eyes, I couldn’t read his expression.
“It’s going to take something a lot bigger than this to change the way I feel,” Jonah said.
“I realize that I’m being a jerk, and I’ll try to do better with that.” He sighed. “But I can’t just forgive you on the spot. Do you know what it’s like for me?” He asked. “Every time I look at your face, all I can think about is my parents. All I can think about is the fact that I’m now protecting the daughter of the woman who caused their death,” He said bitterly.
“Wow,” I whispered. This is going to take a lot longer than I thought, I realized. Standing up, I wiped my face off with the back of my hand, and then opened the closet up. Jonah didn’t even look in my direction- his head in his hands, pulling at his hair like it was a wig he just had to remove. Reaching up, I took a pillow and blanket off of the top shelf, and set them next to Jonah.
“You’ll have to sleep on the couch,” I said quietly. We waited in another awkward silence for a few moments, and then Jonah nodded. Standing up, he grabbed the blanket and pillow and strode out of the room.
I got up and walked into my bathroom. When I saw my reflection in the mirror, it was all I could do not to shriek. My face was all swollen and red from my tears, and cuts and scratches reflected on our dash through the rainforest.
“I look terrible,” I moaned in despair. Too tired to take a shower, I splashed some water on my face, and then brushed my teeth. Walking back into my room, I made sure the door was securely locked and then changed into my pajamas.
Climbing into bed, I turned to the alarm clock and my jaw dropped.
“There is no way I’m getting up at five thirty,” I growled as I removed the batteries. Reaching over, I turned off the lamp, and dove under the covers. The soft fabric felt like heaven under my exhausted limbs, and I fell asleep in seconds.
