“You’ve only reminded me about this conference a bazillionty times,” I said from my perch on the couch. And that meant reassuring her a bazillionty times that I’d be fine without a babysitter.
“That’s never a guarantee you’d remember.” She kissed Dr. Griffin on the cheek and turned to me. “Did you settle the matter with your phone?”
“It wasn’t about my phone,” I said. She raised an eyebrow. I shook my head. “Forget it.”
Mom pressed her lips together in a tight line and exchanged glances with Dr. Griffin before she nodded once. “I’ve e-mailed you our flight information, and I posted our itinerary on the refrigerator.”
“Okay.” I stood to follow them into the foyer. Mom’s rolling carry-on bag waited by the door.
“The conference is at the convention center, and we’re staying at the Hilton.”
“And the phone number and address are on the itinerary,” I said. “You’ve covered this.”
She frowned. “Well, it won’t hurt to go over it again. Are you sure you have Rob’s and my phone numbers programmed into your phone?”
I sighed and tried to hide my annoyance. “Yes, Mother.”
“Make sure you call if there’s anything you need.”
“I will.”
She paused and studied me. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay on your own this week?”
“I’ll be fine,” I promised, a hint of a smirk tugging at my cheek. “Mrs. Bassett’s next door, and Bianca’s mom said I can come over whenever I want.” I parroted everything she’d told me the previous night.
Mom still seemed uncertain but said, “I left you my AmEx for emergencies only, and there’s pepper spray in the top left-hand drawer of my desk.” She gave me a stern look. “Don’t use it—”
“—unless it’s absolutely necessary. I know.” We’d had to air out the house this past summer after Ally and I had decided to see what would happen if we sprayed a tiny bit indoors. Her brother Tommy had raged at us for what seemed like hours, as if choking to death and wanting to claw out our eyes to keep them from burning hadn’t been enough for us to learn our lesson.
“And no parties.”
I rolled my eyes. “I promise not to reenact some lame ’80s movie while you’re gone.”
She caressed my cheek and smiled. “You really are a good kid,” she said. “I don’t know how I got so lucky to have you.”
I smiled. I couldn’t help it. “Thanks, Mom.”
“We’ll be back Sunday afternoon.” She held me by my shoulders before engulfing me in a big hug.
I tried to wriggle free. “Dude, Mom, you’re just going to Vegas, not Mars. I’ll see you in a couple of days.”
She gave me a tight squeeze before releasing me, and a few minutes later, they were in Dr. Griffin’s car and on their way to the airport.
I grabbed my backpack and climbed the stairs to my room before I pulled out my phone and texted Jake. Mom just left.
Seconds later, I got his reply. Want me to come over? ;-)
I laughed as I texted, Dork. I flopped down on my bed and tapped out another message. So what’s up tonight?
Not long after I hit Send, Cheap Trick blared from my phone.
“I’m not letting you program ringtones into my phone anymore,” I said, answering it almost immediately. “I’m so over that song.”
Jake laughed. “Why? It’s a classic.”
“Maybe, but haven’t I had to listen to ‘I Want You to Want Me’ enough to last ten lifetimes? It’s almost as bad as ‘You Really Got Me,’” I said, reminding him of the Van Halen song he’d programmed into my phone all summer.
He laughed harder, and I could picture him on the other end of the line, doubled over. “Okay, fine,” he said when he caught his breath. “I’ll lay off the classic rock.”
“Classic rock’s fine,” I said. Jake’s music teacher was a big fan of old arena rock bands and dead musicians, and I’d often said he’d turned Jake into a music snob. “But can you pick something I haven’t had to listen to you practice nonstop? Bonus points if it’s something from this century.”
“Sure. I’ll look for something more current that isn’t all power chords or lame auto-tuned popcorn.” He paused. “You know, if it really bothers you, you can change it yourself.”
I smiled into the receiver. “But then I wouldn’t be able to give you grief.”
He laughed again. “Fair enough.”
“So what’s going on?” I said, studying the ends of my hair.
“Not much right now. Finn and I are going to play some old school computer games when he’s done with basketball.”
“On a school night? That’s not like Finn.”
“Merrick assigned us some games to deconstruct,” he said, referring to his computer science teacher. “It’s basically a lab, but way more fun.”
“Sounds riveting.”
“You should come, too. I’ve been promised pizza.”
“Maybe.”
“At least for pizza,” he said. “I know you don’t like to eat alone.”
He got me there. I could’ve invited myself to dinner at Bianca’s house, but pizza was a better offer. It wasn’t like it took much effort, but Jake knew exactly how to persuade me to do anything. It was almost as though he knew me better than I knew myself.
“Maybe,” I said. “I have actual homework to do, though.”
“What a coincidence. So do I.”
“I’ll let you know,” I said with a laugh.
“Cool. See ya.”
I ended the call and stared up at the ceiling. A tiny spider in the corner crawled along its web, and I made a mental note to knock it down later.
The setting sun cast some funky shadows of the tree branches outside my window. I watched some of the figures bobbing as if to a silent tune and thought about my mom and Dr. Griffin. I wondered if she had any idea he was going to propose to her. Was it something they’d talked about? Would it be a surprise? And then I wondered if it would all come crashing down the same way her first marriage did.
I hoped not.
The silence was eerie, punctuated only by the sound of the heater kicking on to warm the house. There was a time I would’ve begged for everything to be quiet, but this stillness was unnerving. If anything, it made echoes of my parents’ fights reverberate that much louder in my mind.
I pulled out my French homework and started working on it, pausing only to put on headphones to drown out the quiet. But even through the music, I could still hear them shouting.
I lasted ten minutes before I texted Jake to let him know I’d meet him at Finn’s house. I had to get out of there. It was the only way to escape the memories.
Chapter Six
Bianca came with me after school the next day to Blue Period Arts, my favorite place to spend my allowance. It was one of about a dozen stores in Playa del Lago’s commercial district, which, in reality, was seven blocks of upscale boutiques, overpriced restaurants, and nondescript office space crammed together. Our city council liked to make things sound more impressive than they really were.
“Thanks for coming with me,” I said as we left the school.
“Anything to get out of watching tonight’s game.” She pressed a button on the console, changing the radio station. “I don’t mind basketball or anything, but after a while, it all kind of meshes together.”
I grinned. “And Ally said you’d become more of a sports fan now that you’re dating a jock.”
She paused before she snorted. “I’ve been dragged to my stupid brother’s games my entire life. I’d be fine skipping the rest of them.” Bianca changed the station a few more times. As an announcer began shouting about a tire sale, she said, “Ugh, why are there so many commercials?”
“They don’t last long.” I pressed a button on my steering wheel to an alternative rock station. “There. Just leave it alone.”
“So how was it last night?” she said, settling into her seat. “I wanted to go to your house to check on you because you didn’t call or anything, but Mom told us you were probably okay.”