Forever Red (8 page)

I inhaled, trying to keep my voice even. “I give Lia a ride to school.”

“Not for the next two weeks you don’t.”

I dug the keys out of my pocket and dropped them into her hand. “Whatever.” I reached around her for the phone, but she slapped my hand away.

“What part about no phone calls did you not understand?”

I gaped at her. I’d been grounded twice in my life, for much worse offenses than this, and neither time had she shut April out of my life. “I need to let her know I’m not picking her up for dinner.” My voice came out as a growl, barely containing my anger. “She’ll worry if I don’t call.”

“Let her worry. The only person that will be calling her house is me. To let her parents know the two of you did God knows what, God knows where last night.”

No way in hell I was going to let Lia get in trouble, too. “You’re mad at me. Fine. Whatever. Be pissed. But leave her out of it.”

Mom’s face turned an ugly shade of red. “Son, I know you don’t understand right now…”

“You’re damn right I don’t understand!” I yelled. “I don’t understand why you hate her. I don’t understand why you are so against me being with her. And I don’t understand why you’re so angry about last night.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “I do not hate Lia. I don’t even know her. I don’t like how you’ve been acting, and yes, I put some of that blame on her. You’ve been through a lot in the last six months and you haven’t been yourself. But right now, I’m beyond angry about last night. Because no matter how you look at it, you are a child. My child! I made you, boy. And my child doesn’t lie to me about where he’s going so he can go lay out with his girlfriend.”

I opened my mouth to scream something back, but she gave me a look that had me backing down. “This conversation is over. I have a mind to add two weeks to your punishment, and if you don’t shut your mouth and go to your room, I’ll do just that!”

It wasn’t worth the risk. Two weeks without Lia was going to be hell – I couldn’t handle four. Glaring at my mom, I turned and hurried up the stairs, locking myself in my room. I might not fight her on my punishment, but I’d be damned if I was going to be civil to any of them.

I couldn’t get warm, even after a steam shower so hot that it turned my skin bright red. Piling the L.L. Bean down comforter Mom had bought me for Christmas last year onto my bed, I put the hooded sweatshirt Neil had left over my pajamas, and crawled under the covers. I was too tired not to sleep, but every time I closed my eyes, all I could do was replay last night and early morning.

I’d been stupid. I never should have gotten in the back of his truck with him after the way he had kissed me. No, that’s not true. He was the one keeping the entire thing PG. I never should have mauled him like some horny virgin on prom night. Good Lord, he was going to think I was the sluttiest girl in school. Either that or he’d think I was playing him to win The Game.

I groaned and turned onto my back, smelling his heavenly scent on both the sweatshirt and my comforter. Squeezing my eyes shut, I tried not to remember how he looked so hurt and disappointed when I had told him about the messed up competition my friends and I had going. Instead, I focused on the smile he’d given me, the one that made my heart ache and made me feel like nothing else mattered.

Our first date, if that’s what it was, couldn’t have been any more perfect if he’d actually thought it out and planned it for weeks. Every girl – I don’t care who they are – wants to cuddle with a hot boy in the back of his truck under the stars. What was that line he’d whispered to me in the darkness when I’d told him just that?
Country boys don’t need pick-up lines, Red; we’ve got pick-up trucks.
I grinned up at the ceiling. Neil was absolutely perfect, from his geeky lines to his green eyes. He was, without a doubt, one of the good ones.

Happy memories filtered through my mind as I drifted off.

I was hot. So fucking hot that I could have sworn I was sitting in a sauna instead of lying in my bed. I shoved at the heavy covers as I pulled myself from my nap, trying to clear my mind enough to figure out why I was so God-blessed warm. Sitting up in bed, I kicked all my blankets to the floor and tore off the hoody before I remembered that I’d turn up the heat before I had lain down.

Yawning, I walked into the kitchen to get some water, surprised at the time. I’d slept late, almost to three, and knowing Neil, he’d probably be here soon. The light wasn’t blinking on the answering machine so he hadn’t left a message. I grabbed the cordless phone off the counter and scrolled down through the missed calls list. He hadn’t called, either. Strange.

Frowning, I plopped down on the couch and flipped on the television. I was still tired and I hadn’t played in the game yesterday; Neil must have been exhausted. I had no doubt that he’d gone home and crashed – just like I had – and was most likely still sleeping. Knowing he’d probably call any minute, I forced myself to stay awake and watch TV.

A half hour later, he still hadn’t called and I started to worry. Another half hour and I was in full-blown panic mode. I’d only known him a few months, and even though I would swear on my grandmother’s grave that he was different from every other boy I’d been with, I didn’t really know for sure. Maybe he was no better than the rest of the men in my life.

I wasn’t like most of the girls I knew. I’d never been clingy, and couldn’t imagine myself going crazy and crying if I overheard a boy admit that he was cheating. But I now had an inkling of understanding as to why some girls behaved that way. No way in hell was I about to be blown off without an explanation. I wasn’t about to sit around and wait for him to call me and then whine to all my friends or make some over the top dramatic scene at school tomorrow when he didn’t reach out. I wouldn’t beg him to come over and talk, only to try to convince him that I was good enough for him. No, if Neil didn’t want me around, I’d go.

But not until he told me why.

Grabbing the phone, I dialed the familiar number. When Mr. Kelly answered, I faltered. Neil always picked up when I called and the deep, Southern voice of his father threw me.

Thankfully, Mr. Kelly chuckled as I tripped over my words. “Lia, is that you?”

I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me, and mumbled something that I hoped sounded like an affirmative answer.

“Hold on one second, darlin’.”

I took a deep breath, suddenly nervous. What exactly would I say to him? Every thought that crossed my mind made me sound like a jilted girlfriend – which I wasn’t – and I didn’t want him to think I was too needy. I heard a door shut and knew his dad must have gone to get him.

“You still there, ‘lil lady?” I smiled at his dad’s voice, remembering that Neil told me how much his father enjoyed playing up the accent when he talked to Northerners like me.

“I am.”

He cleared his voice, and when he spoke again, it was almost a whisper. “Nate can’t come to the phone, Lia. He’s in a heap of trouble. His momma is fit to be tied right now and he’s lost his phone privilege and his truck.” He paused as if to wait for my reply, but my mouth was hanging open in surprise. “I didn’t want you to worry. If I have a chance, I’ll tell him you called and you’ll see him at school tomorrow.”

After I thanked him, I hung up and stared at the muted television, feeling like a complete idiot. Neil hadn’t called me or shown up because he was in trouble. His dad hadn’t said what caused this punishment, but I was pretty sure it was because of last night. What would my mom think if I told her I’d spent the night with Neil? She’d ask if we’d used protection and then act as if it were completely normal for a sixteen-year-old to spend the night with a boy that wasn’t her boyfriend.

I didn’t know which of us had it worse: the kid with the overbearing mom or the one with the absent parents.

I didn’t have long to think about it, though, because not a minute after I’d gotten off the phone, someone knocked on my door. Mike was the last person I expected to greet me. I couldn’t remember the last time he’d come to my house, but wouldn’t be surprised if I’d still had New Kids on the Block posters on my wall. Yeah, it had been that long.

“Did I wake you up?” he asked, scanning my outfit and bedhead hair.

I just shook my head, in no mood to explain my attire to him.

He raised his eyebrows when I didn’t answer but continued talking just the same. “So, Gram would like to know if you want to join us for dinner.”

“Why?”

“It’s Sunday.” He offered the words with a slight shrug as if that would explain everything.

Mike’s grandmother, Ginny, was the sweetest old lady in the world; when my grandmother passed, Ginny stepped in and treated me just as she treated the rest of her grandkids. Sunday was the day Mike came to visit her. When we were younger, I always joined the two of them for lunch, and even though Ginny had asked me repeatedly to come back, Mike had never voiced the same invitation. Until now.

“Unless you have plans with Kelly.”

I quickly weighed my options. A warm and delicious dinner with good company at Ginny’s or leftover Chinese here alone – again. It really wasn’t a hard choice.

“No. Neil and I… but…” I fumbled over my words, unsure of how much I should tell him, so I changed the subject instead. “Can you give me five minutes to change?”

Mike nodded, grinning, and I ran into my room to change.

The meal was, as always, scrumptious. I laughed the afternoon away, enjoying the familiar company, forgetting that it had been years since we’d all spent time together. It was almost nine before I stood to leave, hugging Ginny. I argued when she suggested Mike walk me home, but they ganged up on me, so I smiled and waited for him to say his goodbyes, and then I let him follow me out.

I wasn’t really surprised that my mom’s car wasn’t in the driveway, but I was disappointed just the same. Since Neil couldn’t talk on the phone, I was all on my own. Mike, seeing that no one was home, insisted on coming in. I really didn’t want to be alone so I didn’t fight him.

He kicked his shoes off next to the door, like my mom used to make us do when we were younger, and headed straight for my fridge. I fell into the chair sideways, watching as he pulled out a bottle of water and chugged half of it down. When he wiped his mouth with the back of his arm, and then smiled over at me with his goofy grin, I couldn’t help but smile back. If I hadn’t known better, I’d have sworn it was 1994 all over again and that we hadn’t actually missed any time together.

“Go ahead, make yourself at home,” I deadpanned.

“Don’t worry, I will.” He came into the living room and sat on the rug in front of my chair, facing away from me, just like he always did, leaning back a little. One big difference between this Mike and his eleven-year-old self was that his legs were a lot longer and he looked horrifically uncomfortable on the floor. It was weird how normal this felt after all the time apart and I was seconds away from reaching down and ruffling his hair like I used to. “God, this place looks exactly the same.”

I looked around the room, trying to remember if it really hadn’t changed. “You think so?”

He didn’t answer but instead, leaned forward, twisting around to look at me. “So, I have a confession.”

When he didn’t say anything else, I pushed myself up into a sitting position and tried to force the nerves away. I had no idea what was coming, but by the worried look on his face, it couldn’t be good.

After what felt like forever, he met my eyes and sighed. “I asked my gram if you could come over today.”

I arched an eyebrow.

“I know Kelly’s grounded – his mom is friends with mine and she called earlier today to see if he’d spent the night with me. I guess she was wicked pissed. But she wanted my mom to know that even though he was gonna be grounded, she’d make sure he was still at practices and games. I didn’t want you to spend the whole night alone.”

“Oh.” I didn’t know what else to say. A flash of lights moved over the wall as a car pulled into my driveway. The door slamming a few seconds later let me know that my mom was finally home.

Mike stood up then, pushing himself to his feet awkwardly, and was sliding on his shoes when she stepped into the room.

She came to a dead stop, the door half open behind her. “Mikey?” The disbelief in her voice almost made me laugh. She glanced at me and then back to him before pulling him into an awkward hug.

“Hi, Ms. Merrill.” Mike laughed as he backed away quickly. “How are you?”

Mom reached out and patted his cheek, the way she’d done a thousand times when he was little. Winking in my direction, she faked a yawn. “Exhausted. Absolutely exhausted. So tired, in fact, that I’m gonna hit the hay. Night, kids.”

And, just like that, she was gone. “Well, I guess she was tired.” It was lame, but nothing else came to mind. It was crystal clear to both of us that she was giving us unnecessary privacy.

Mike laughed, though. “Guess so.” He reached for the door and then paused halfway, meeting my eyes. “What time does Kelly usually pick you up?”

“I can take the bus, Mike.”

He shook his head. “No, you can’t. He’d kick my ass if I let his girl ride that thing. What time?”

I told him and then promised I’d wait in case he was late.

After he left, I locked the door and went straight to my mom’s room. I’d missed her and wanted to tell her all about my weekend, and most importantly, last night with Neil. But when I got to her door, she was lying on her bed, talking on the phone and laughing at whatever the other person said. Sometimes, I wondered which of us was actually the teenager. 

I never did get to tell my mom. I’d waited for what seemed like hours for her to finish her conversation, and when she didn’t, I gave up and went to bed. By the time I got up in the morning, she was already gone. Sighing, I got ready to go meet Mike.

Mike wasn’t late, which shocked me. He was late to everything. When I stepped up into the front seat of his Jeep Wrangler, he took my bag and tossed it into the back before pointing at a coffee. “Cream only, right?”

I nodded, thankful he’d paid attention. I hadn’t slept the best and needed the caffeine to make it through the day. We didn’t talk much on the way to the school, but that was okay with me; Neil was the one that usually facilitated conversations between the two of us because, other than Neil and a few classes, we had nothing in common anymore. When we pulled into the parking lot, I immediately saw the lone boy waiting outside in the frigid temps. He had his knee bent and a foot propped back against the building, his hands were shoved in his pockets and his head was down to combat the cold. But he looked up when we drove by and then headed straight for us, a smile on his face.

Mike had barely shifted into park before my door was pulled open and Neil was reaching over me to unhook my seatbelt, pulling me into his arms. He’d obviously missed me as much as I had him. My giggle was muffled as his lips covered mine.

“Jesus, get a room, you two!” Mike yelled behind us.

Neil laughed, threading his fingers through mine, and then pulled me across the parking lot into the school. The bell hadn’t rung yet so there were students everywhere – standing in the cafeteria, sitting in the gym, and leaning against lockers in the halls. A few people stopped us, football players that wanted to talk to Mike or Neil, but they didn’t do more than glance at our joined hands as if it wasn’t something new. By the time we were headed to first period, I breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe no one would make a big deal out of it.