“And what kind of memories would that be?” she smirked.
Suddenly, I realized something.
“Did you really tell your mother how I got stabbed?” I asked, causing her to look at me in surprise.
“THAT’S what keeps you squirming!?” I didn’t answer and waited for her to just answer. “Yes, I did. Why?”
“How do you even know? I never told anyone outside of work.”
“Duh! Ava told me.” she answered, like I was a five-year-old she needed to remind for the third time that the stove gets hot.
“When!?”
“The day after it happened.” she just shrugged.
If I weren’t so concerned about piloting eight metric tons of steel across the roads, this would have stunned me. Just yesterday, I had accused Ava of not standing up for me. Which was true. However, according to this interesting new piece of information, Ava may have succumbed to peer pressure when her entire cheer team was present, but readily advertised my heroics when it was just her and Mia. Or it was just more of the same. She wanted me to come home after I bought her stuff, and she acknowledged me after I protected her. Neither was to last. Probably. I made a mental note to check.
“You know...” she continued. “I have to admit, that was impressive.”
“I got my ass handed that day. Broken rib, busted eye, and a knife in my stomach. Not exactly what I’d call impressive.” I dismissed her statement.
“That’s not what I’m talking about, you idiot. You guys are all the same. So what if it didn’t play out like you’re the untouchable main character in a Jason Statham movie.” she sounded annoyed, but that changed as she continued. “You stood up for your family. Put yourself on the line to protect them. That ... takes character. Especially with ... I mean, considering how ... your relationship with your family...”
As she stammered in my backseat, I glanced at her through the rearview mirror. She looked just as uncomfortable as she sounded. But not as if she was somehow forced to say something she didn’t want to. It was more like she was considerate towards me, but not used to acting that way. I immediately feared what Nora might have told her about my private life to cause this. It was way too strong a contrast to how she normally behaved.
“What do you know about my relationship with my family?” I asked, playing dumb, earning me one of those looks I couldn’t quite interpret before she spoke quietly.
“We ... don’t you remember that Joan and I were right next to Ava when you told her about moving out? It ... like ... caused a few discussions. Having your own apartment at seventeen, while still in high school, is not exactly common, you know? And Mom told me ... she made me realize some things. It made me remember how you told Ava that you were gone for a week before your family even noticed.” she sighed, and I, for the hundredth time, was wondering what exactly Nora had told her. She should know even less than Mia about my home life. “For what it’s worth ... I’m sorry, Tim.”
“Uh ... thanks? But where’s this coming from?” I asked incredulously. I really hadn’t thought she even knew those words.
“Look, I know I was a bitch, Okay!?” she shot heatedly all of a sudden, throwing her hands in the air and dropping them in defeat again. “After I talked with Mom, I realized that. We treated you like crap, and you still helped Jenny. Ava spread those rumors about you, and you still risked your life to protect her. And Jack and I ... did a lot. And you still helped us. Still ARE helping us.” she paused for a second. “Thank you.”
That last part wasn’t heated anymore, it actually sounded sincere. That stalker dude must have really scared her.
“Well ... you’re welcome. And thank you. Though, I hope you’ll put in a good word for me when Jack comes back. I think he’s not gonna be too happy when he sees me in his home.”
“Oh, I’m sure Mom and Dad will take care of that. But I can still talk to him.” she smiled.
“What did Nora tell you about me, specifically?” I asked, noticing her eyes narrowing somewhat suspiciously when I called her mother by her first name, like it was the most normal thing.
“Nothing specific. Just that you have ‘enough shit to deal with, without me adding to it’. That’s what made me remember the cafeteria thing with Ava.” she answered, making air quotes when repeating her mother’s words. “She also said, you’re going out of your way to drive me around, and the least I could do was appreciate it. Mom and Dad were both pretty angry with us when they learned why we always called you ... you know ... Tiny. Especially Dad. He’s also made it clear how disappointed he’s with Jack after he saw that video of him and Jenny. He outright threatened to disown Jack if he ever did anything like that again.”
I believed she meant what she said, and if she actually could calm Jack down, my job as Mia’s chauffeur would probably continue. I had worried about how I could continue to see Nora once Jack came home for Christmas the following week and possibly protested my being in his home. I actually felt pretty good after that talk, knowing Nora didn’t run around advertising my private affairs.
“Who’s Tess?” Mia suddenly asked casually, ripping me out of my thoughts, but also throwing me off.
“What?”
“When Ava came to you in the cafeteria, and finally learned that you moved out, she asked if you moved in with a ‘Tess’.”
I looked at her through the rearview mirror. She sounded casual, with her head turned to the window as if looking out, but I could see her eyes fixated on my headrest and her hands fidgeting.
“Oh. My Gir ... Ex-Girlfriend.”
“Ouuuh!” she gushed, her eyes sparkling, suddenly intrigued upon the prospect of hearing relationship gossip. “What happened?”
I SO wasn’t going to tell this girl about my love life. Next I have to tell her I’m fucking her Mom. I quickly thought of a way to deflect.
“You know, are you sure you’re not secretly interested in me?”
“WHAT!?” Interestingly, she sounded shocked, but not appalled like I had expected.
“I mean, think about it for a minute. First, there was that sudden interest of yours in my sexual prowess, then you wondered about the size of my dick, and now this. Why do you remember the name of some girl I may have been involved with, even if you just heard it in passing? And weeks ago! If you really didn’t have any interest in me as you claim, why did you even bother filing that name away for future reference?”
I smirked while the car fell deadly silent for the roughly five seconds she just stared at me, her entire body frozen still. Then I chuckled as she suddenly pummeled the top of my head and kicked my seat, accompanied by girly squealing sounds of protest, though it never was strong enough to hurt or even distract me from driving. It actually seemed playful. The rest of the drive was quiet again, though it only took us maybe another five minutes to arrive at school. She almost jumped out of the car before I even came to a full halt.
I spent the day in the library with my laptop again, until it was time for Mia’s classes to end. Since she had her Cheer practice today, I picked her up to walk her to the gym. I was quite glad they moved their practice indoors due to the cold weather, since I had absolutely no clue how I was supposed to stick close to her while every sports team ran circles around us on the field. When she left the classroom with Ava and Joan in tow, she made a big display of ignoring me, causing Joan to giggle and Ava to watch us with great interest. As they went to the locker rooms to get changed, I went ahead and took a seat in the gym waiting for them.
“Mr. Brown. Nice to see you again.” I heard a female voice that turned out to belong to the friendly smiling Mrs. Jenkins, who was clad in tight black yoga pants and an equally tight sports-top. Obviously, her being still in such great shape wasn’t because she was married to our football coach, as I had wondered last year, but because she was training our cheerleaders. I immediately, and not entirely consciously, watched my language like last time I talked to her.