The Sound of Shooting Stars (24 page)

I listen and watch as the screen scrolls the name of the song, ‘Hey Princess’ by Allstar Weekend. This makes me smile. He starts singing the second verse causing me to laugh and blush.

At the end of the song he claims, “Beckett, you are my princess.”

I look over, tears surfacing in my eyes. I blurt out, “Jamie I did it. I posted the video. I know you’re going to hate me.”

His hand reaches for mine and squeezes, “I know it was you who did it. I definitely don’t hate you, princess.”

I glance at his smiling face. I’m suddenly overcome with emotion for this boy beside me. How and why did he choose me? I want nothing more than to kiss him in that moment. His grasp on my hand loosens as he calls out, “Beckett, watch it!”

I look forward and swerve the car narrowly missing an oncoming car on the bridge. He lets out a long breath, “Okay, no more talk right now. You drive and don’t kill us.”

He directs me to turn south onto Flagler, the road that runs along the length of the intercoastal. It skirts the water all the way down south. Finally he directs me to drive further inland. After another twenty minutes we pull up to a planetarium. The building looks new and towers over us in white metal.

As we walk to the entrance he grabs my hand and pulls me closer to his lips grazing my hand. He stops and gathers me in his arms. His nose running along my chin to my ear and whispers, “Beckett, I told you that you make me crazy but that doesn’t mean I don’t want anything to do with you. In fact it seems to have the opposite effect.”

My heart soars at his words. I am falling hard for this boy and there is no net to catch me. At this point I don’t seem to care. The wall I’ve surrounded myself with has almost crumbled fully.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Jamie Grey

Horologium – The Pendulum Clock

Lacaille named the constellation after the pendulum clock to honour its inventor Christiaan Huygens.

~*~

Sam dropped me off at school because her words rang so true through my mind and of course dropping me off at the Chase house would be a bad idea. It was as if things had been blurry before and her statement made everything so clear. Her delivery wasn’t so eloquent but the meaning was vibrantly clear. I’ve followed the stars for half of my life. They give me peace and clarity when things are muddy. It’s just right that they would apply where Beckett is concerned. Are we written in the stars as Sam said? I don‘t know but there is something to explore. I can’t just walk away, as much as she wants to push me away. I refuse to make it easy for her.

She walked out of the building already accepting that I am here. Luckily for Brett, he didn’t follow her out. I’m not beyond fighting over Beckett. Any other girl, not so much but this one has gotten to me and I don’t want to fight it anymore.

I attempt to lighten the tension between us on the way to the planetarium. Unfortunately with my serenade she almost kills us in a head on collision. When we safely leave the car I express to her exactly how I feel, the fact that she makes me crazy which is true but I can’t live without her or more so, I don’t want to.

I lead her in, greeting Joyce the ticket booth attendant. She is a volunteer in her late sixties. Her blonde wig fits her like a helmet. She smiles revealing splotches of red lipstick dotting her two front teeth. She exclaims at the sight of me in her deep throaty voice from years of smoking, “Hi Jamie, it’s been a while.”

I smile at the familiarity of her, “Yes, Joyce it has. I’ve moved but I wanted to bring my friend to show her the stars.”

I pay her the ten dollars for our admission. She looks up when she passes our tickets across the counter and admits looking straight at Beckett, “You must be something. Jamie has never brought anyone with him before.”

I can feel my face flush at her words. Beckett exchanges a look with her and they both laugh at my expense. I pull Beckett through the doors and call back over my shoulder, “Thanks Joyce.”

We enter the darkened room extending high up into the sky. Beckett looks up and whispers, “I’ve never been to a planetarium before.”

This makes me smile that I can share her first visit here. I tell her quietly, “Watch your step.”

We climb the immense amount of stairs to the very top row. The room is deserted. We sink into reclining seats side by side and lean back. Beckett leans over and asks, emotion filling her voice, “Why me Jamie?”

I turn to find her face only an inch from mine. Her sweet smell fills my nostrils. I have to take a deep breath before I can ask, “Do you mean, why do I feel this way?”

She nods. I can just slightly see the outline of her cheek in the darkness and the soft movement of her face. Her smell and closeness overwhelm me.

“Beckett, why do you feel the way you do? We just do. Sam said earlier that maybe it’s written in the stars. I know it sounds corny but I think she might be right.”

My lips lightly touch hers before I turn to look back up at the glistening stars above us. I can feel her gaze lingering on me and a tiny whisper in my ear, “I think I’m falling in love with you Jamie Grey.”

A wide smile spreads over my mouth at her words. When I turn my head to look at her I find she has shifted to look up into the sky above. The silhouette of her face is breathtaking. I am falling for her too. I don’t tell her because that would be admitting it just because she said it. I want her to know for sure that I mean it when I say it. I release her hand and bend my arm to guide her chin back toward me. The stars above reflect slightly in her eyes. I move my face closer and meet her lips in a sweet tender kiss. Her hand moves to my cheek caressing it lightly. Yes, I am without a doubt in deep with this girl.

***

The ride home is quick. I want to talk to her about school and all of the things out of our control at the moment but I don’t want to ruin the amazing time we had this afternoon. We pull into the drive at six o’clock. Marla has just walked out to the porch as we leave the car.

She calls out to us, “Where have you two been? A phone call would have been a nice gesture.”

I’m still not used to having to check in. I’ve always come and gone as I pleased. No one cared enough to check up on me.

She continues looking to Beckett as we climb the first steps to the porch, “Beckett, this is new for Jamie but you know better.”

Beckett cuts her off, “Come on Marla, it’s been a long day. Sorry we didn’t call.”

Marla turns in frustration and calls back to us, “Michelle is here and dinner is ready. Hurry up.”

Once the door slams behind her Beckett turns to me, panic across her features, “What? No, she said a week. It’s only been a day. They can’t take you away. Not yet.”

I grab her hand and pull her into the crook of my arm. My head angles to kiss her forehead and I tell her, “It’s okay. Don’t jump to conclusions.” I move so that I can place my hands on her shoulders and face her. Gazing into those piercing eyes is almost my undoing with the emotion plastered across her face.

“Michelle only wants what’s best for me. I know she will do everything she can to make sure I get to stay.”

In a strangled voice Beckett wrestles with her words, “But she, why would she, I just don’t want you to go.”

I pull her into me once more before releasing her and grabbing her hand. She follows me in. We both unload our bags in the foyer and make our way to the dining room through the kitchen. David, Marla, and Michelle are situated around the table almost mirroring the same scene from yesterday. The first thing I notice though is Marla’s frown. She glances down at my hand still grasping Beckett’s and up to Beckett’s face. Quickly I release her hand and skirt around the table to a chair far from Beckett but I know Its too late. The emotion all over Beckett’s face tells Marla all she needs to know. My heart falters with the thought that this might not help my case with Beckett’s parents.

Sasha brings in a casserole of some sort but no one reaches for the food once she has left. The silence only lasts minutes but for me it seems like hours. Michelle finally speaks with a small smile looking across the table at me.

“Hi Jamie, how are you?’

I shrug with a non-answer. I care too much this time. I’ve delved back to the time when I lived at Sam’s. I wanted to be adopted by them so badly. I knew that if they made that commitment I’d always have a place to call my home. I never cared again until now. In two brief months those same feelings have surfaced and I find myself wanting something just as badly as I did back then. It scares me half to death.

“I’m here to let you know that the Rivers have proceeded and elicited the services of a lawyer.”

A piece of me breaks apart that Elizabeth would go to such lengths to keep me away from Sam. I start to analyze everything that has happened between us since I’ve been here. I haven’t posed a threat in any way to her.  I can’t figure out what has spurred this to happen.

“But I don’t understand. Why would she do this?”

Michelle’s sympathetic eyes make me look away. A hand grabs mine under the table and squeezes. I look over to Beckett and her mouth lifts at the corner.

Marla pipes up, “At this point I don’t think it matters why she has chosen to pursue this. The only thing that matters is what our next action will be.”

She looks pointedly at me and asks without an ounce of emotion on her face, “We need to know Jamie if this is what you want. There have been some issues between you and Beckett but I can see that things have changed.”

I look over to Beckett’s intense stare at her mother and her cheeks turn a shade of pink.

Marla continues, “I told you that we don’t give up. This is no different. If you want to stay, we will do everything within our ability to make sure you can.”

The brief moments I’ve had with the Chase family flash before me, a few weeks ago when Beckett and I weren’t speaking David made good on his promise to see the stars at the beach. It was a small gesture but meant so much to me. He wasn’t as knowledgeable as me but he knew a lot none the less. Marla’s insistence time and time again that whatever I need is not out of the question. All of the family dinners we’ve had with normal conversations as if we were actual parents and child. And of course all of the time Beckett has spent avoiding me, making me love her all the more. And finally, our time together today under the stars. The answer is hands down a resounding, yes.

Beckett squeezes my hand and I nod, “Yes, I want to stay.”

Marla looks over at David to signal that it’s his turn apparently. He explains shuffling paperwork across the surface of the table, “Then Jamie, I am going to repeat what I told you yesterday. You are not to have any contact with Samantha Jamison. A call from the school today alerted us that you didn’t go to school today. I can only guess that she wasn’t there either. Am I correct?”

I nod and look to my lap ashamed. It was stupid and selfish of me to skip today with Sam.

“They will be watching you and anything that you do could go against you. Please be mindful of this.”

I nod again at a loss for words.

His voice is all business, “We have a court date scheduled for the end of next month. Marla and I have started the paperwork for adoption.”

My head shoots up to look at him. I look between the two of them not believing what I just heard. Then my eyes move to Michelle. A smile has spread across her lips and she nods in acknowledgement of what he just said. Beckett’s hand moves from mine and the lack of warmth makes me turn my head. She is looking down at her empty plate as if she can find some unknown answer there. I wish she would turn to look at me. I want to see how this makes her feel but she seems to be avoiding my eyes. I look back up to Marla and her face is glowing with this decision.

David’s voice goes on, “I know you are close to eighteen and adoption might not mean quite as much now but it lends to a greater chance that you could stay here. It also entails meetings and visits from many different people.”

“Beckett, did you hear me?”

She looks up at her dad and whispers, “Yes.”

“You both need to know that there will be many people who want to meet with you. They will probably visit your school as well.”

This I already know. We went through so many home visits and interviews when Sam’s parents were going to adopt me. They did come to our school at the time and interviewed my teachers.

His voice turns more humorous, “I guess when you have as much pull as Jared Rivers, you can demand a court date any time you want it.”

With his last remark he stacks his papers and gets up. Marla asks, “David, what about dinner? You didn’t eat.”

“I have some work to do. Please have Sasha fix me a plate for later.”

He leaves the room and I turn my head to find Marla staring at me. She shifts her gaze to Beckett and back. Then she sighs before asking, “What exactly is going on between you two?”

Beckett seems to come out of her trance. Her head shoots up and she blurts out, “Nothing.”

My heart falls at that one word.
Nothing. How can she say nothing is going on?