Little Known Facts A Novel - By Christine Sneed Page 0,57
the director . . . if she hadn’t called him back . . . if Uncle Fenstad hadn’t done so well . . . but these were ridiculous thoughts. Even so, they persisted. If only Belle were a brother, then the sibling rivalry would be of a different shade, if it existed at all. From what she had been told, Renn’s brother Phil handled Renn’s success capably. Sisters, however, especially ones close in age, rarely seemed to be devoted allies, something Elise had figured out in high school.
Her mother was too stricken with grief and worry to start an argument about anything, and when she flew back to L.A. the next day, Elise felt a little more secure in her relationships with her mother and sister than she had in a while. Belle had told her that she hadn’t actually wanted to kill herself, but she had been so angry at her ex-boyfriend, having seen him out with another girl the night before, that she supposed she had wanted to show him what a bastard he was.
Elise wondered if Belle had lost her virginity to the bastard, but she didn’t ask. Belle claimed to have lost it her freshman year in college, but Elise had never been sure, especially because her sister had gotten so chubby, and as far as Elise knew, Belle had not had a boyfriend in Denton during her four college years.
Before she went to the airport, Elise offered her sister a gift. “If you’d like to go to a spa and relax for a couple of weeks, I’ll send you to one I like in Scottsdale. There’s a great one in Cabo San Lucas too, if you don’t mind going to Mexico.”
“I’m not sure,” her sister said wanly. “I’ll let you know.”
“I think it’d be really good for you.”
“I look so bad in a swimsuit,” said Belle.
“Don’t be silly. It’s a spa. You can wear a robe the whole time you’re there if you want to. You can sit on the veranda and read romance novels and not do a thing except get a massage and eat fresh fruit all day.”
“I’ll have to think about it,” was all Belle would say.
Before Will called her, he sent an e-mail asking if she minded if he called, and if she didn’t, could he have her number? He had gotten her e-mail address from his sister, who had most likely gotten it from their father, but Will didn’t know for sure. He included his own phone number in the e-mail, saying that if she wanted to, she could always call him. But she didn’t call, nor did she know what to say in response to his e-mail, so she stalled. Before she had a chance to think of a tactful reply, he called her. Hearing his voice, her stomach and heart both leaped. It was as if he were in the same room, about to kiss her again.
“Can I see you?” he said, no hello, no awkward pleasantries.
“How did you get my number?”
“I’ve had it since New Orleans.” He hesitated. “My dad gave it to me when I first got there. He gave me all of the main cast members’ cell numbers.”
“. . . Will, I don’t think it’d be a good idea for us to see each other.”
“Does that mean you don’t want to see me, or you don’t think you should?”
“I don’t think I should.”
“Why not?”
“You know why. Because I’m with your father.”
“But maybe you could be with me instead if you wanted to.”
She sighed. “No.”
“Could you translate that?”
“No,” she repeated.
He was silent. Then he said, his voice breaking, “I can’t stop thinking about you, Elise. I don’t know what to do about it because I’ve tried to date other people since Danielle and I broke up, but I haven’t been interested in anyone else.”
She felt her throat constrict. She wanted to see him, but would not let herself tell him. It would be a mistake, for so many reasons. “I’m sorry, but I can’t be with you. I just can’t.”
“Break up with him. I think you might want to be with me instead.”
“I haven’t heard from you in over five months, and now you’re calling to tell me to break up with your father?”
“You know it’s been five months?”
“Yes, of course I do.” She paused. “I have to hang up now, Will.”
He was silent.
“Will,” she said, plaintive and impatient. “I have to hang up. Please say good-bye.”
He still didn’t speak, and after a few more seconds,