Chapter 14
O n Sunday morning, Kalista stifled a yawn as the preacher at Clementine Community Church droned on.
When Viv insisted she join her and Bo at service, Kalista resisted.
But her stepmother was firm, and here she was, sitting on a hard pew, fighting to stay awake.
She’d only been to churches for weddings and her great-grandmother’s funeral.
She’d been so young when Grammy died that she didn’t remember it.
The weddings had always been about having fun, not paying attention to a sermon.
At least they were sitting in the back pew so she could people-watch.
There were two sets of pews with one aisle in the middle, and when she scanned the other side of the church, she was surprised to see Mr. Hudson and Tyler sitting on one of the middle pews.
She hadn’t seen either of them walk in earlier.
Good, now she’d have a chance to thank Tyler for buying the funnel cake instead of waiting until tomorrow morning.
She glanced at Viv and Bo seated next to her, holding hands. Viv had been exhausted after the hoedown, and this afternoon people from the community were coming over to help with the cleanup. Her potato salad had won first place, so she was happy, and Kalista was happy for her.
After the service, Viv and Bo were visiting with other people in the greeting area outside the sanctuary. Kalista slipped away to search for Tyler. When she didn’t see him in the building, she went outside and spotted him in the parking lot.
“Tyler!” she called out, waving to him as he reached his car.
He looked up, then got inside his car and drove off before she could make her way to him.
Rude. She put her hands on her hips. All she wanted to do was talk to him, but he was ignoring her now. How could he be so nice to her one minute and so insulting the next? What a weirdo.
“Ready to go?” Viv appeared by her side.
“Totally,” Kalista said. She couldn’t wait to get out of here.
For the rest of the afternoon, she helped clean up outside.
Although she was wearing a tank top and shorts—she was shocked Viv didn’t make her go back inside and change her top—she was sweating profusely.
Thankfully there was a table with water bottles on it, so she went to grab a cold one.
She took a gulp, feeling a stinging on her shoulders.
When she glanced at her left one, it was bright red.
Terrific. Now she was burned, and then she’d blister, and then she was going to peel.
Yuck. How could she have forgotten sunscreen?
When the cleanup was done and everyone went home, Viv prepared a simple supper of ham sandwiches, corn on the cob, and of course, leftover potato salad.
Kalista gave up trying to stick to any kind of low-carb, sugar-free eating in Clementine.
It was impossible, and she was starving after all the physical work anyway. As usual, Viv’s food was delicious.
Bo didn’t stay very long, and both he and Viv still looked tired.
Once he left and Viv went to her room, Kalista was by herself.
Back home she was so busy doing stuff that she rarely had to sit alone in silence.
Even if she was by herself, she either had the TV on or was listening to music on her iPod.
Daddy had even taken that away. He truly wants me to suffer.
She looked for a snack. Dinner had been filling, but she felt the need to eat. At least it gave her something to do.
Then she spied the phone on the wall. Other than the time she called Abbie after her father had shut off her phone, Kalista hadn’t tried to reach anyone.
Oddly enough, she hadn’t been tempted to until now.
Surely Daddy wouldn’t mind if she made one little phone call on her day off.
She’d have to keep quiet since Viv was asleep in her room down the hall.
Should she call her father? No, he would be too busy, probably with Bettany.
She didn’t want to get into an argument with him anyway.
And she wasn’t calling Abbie—not after she betrayed her with Ryan, something she still didn’t understand.
If he liked Abbie, why had he strung Kalista along?
They hadn’t been exclusive, but that didn’t mean he could go out with her best friend behind her back. He owed her an explanation.
She dialed his number, and he picked up after the first ring.
“Hello?”
She gripped the receiver at the sound of his voice. Now what? She couldn’t just open with “How dare you cheat on me,” even though she wanted to. “Hi, Ryan.”
“Oh, hey, Kalista.” He sounded nervous.
Good.
“How’s your vacation going?”
“Just perfect,” she snapped. “Especially after I found out you cheated on me with my best friend.”
Silence. Just when she thought he was going to hang up on her, he said, “I’m sorry.”
Huh. She expected a load of excuses or for him to be like Abbie and put the blame on Kalista for his hurtful behavior. “You are?”
“Of course,” he said. “What kind of guy do you think I am?”
A cheating one.
“For the record, Abbie and I aren’t together anymore.”
A tiny feeling of triumph filled Kalista. “That was quick. You guys lasted what, two, three days?”
“Three and a half.”
“Why did you break up?”
“I thought she was different.”
“In what way?”
“I thought she wasn’t like you.”
Ouch. “Ryan, that was low.”
“I don’t mean it that way. Well, maybe I do.”
“I’m hanging up now—”
“Don’t,” he said. “I want to explain.”
She wrapped the cord around her index finger. “Go on.”
“I needed a change.”
Her chin drooped. “From me.”
“From everything. I can’t live my life as a party guy anymore.
I need a new direction—any direction than just filling my life with empty junk.
When I mentioned that to Abbie after you left, I thought she felt the same way—that she was tired of being aimless too.
Turned out she was just telling me what I wanted to hear so she could go out with me. To hurt you.”
“What? Why?”
“I don’t know, and I’m not getting in the middle of it.”
She was in shock. Ooh, she was calling Abbie next to find out what was going on. She was the worst best friend ever. But now Ryan was free again. “I’ll be home in August,” she said, starting to smile. “We can pick up where we left off.”
“I like you, Kalista, but you’re just too immature.”
“I don’t think so. We’re the same age!”
“Our ages don’t matter. What are your goals in life? What are you doing other than shopping, parties, more shopping—”
“I do other things.” She had to think for a second. “The spa. I go to the spa. And the beach. I love the beach.”
“Don’t you want to do something more important?”
“The spa is important.”
He sighed, and she could imagine him running his hand through his sun-kissed blond locks like he always did when he was annoyed.
“I registered for college classes. My parents made me apply back in the fall, but I didn’t think I was actually going to go.
I don’t know what my major will be, but I want to get a degree. I also started working for my dad.”
Ryan’s father owned a huge computer software business, but Kalista didn’t know anything else about it because business talk was boring. “I thought you said you would never work for your dad.”
“I changed my mind, and I actually like having a job.”
She almost told him about her carrier job, then stopped herself. Their conversation was already embarrassing enough.
“We had some fun times together, but I’m moving on. Sorry if that hurts your feelings.”
Kalista didn’t answer, and her feelings hurt deeply. No one wanted to be called immature or lacking substance. But at least he was telling her the truth, unlike Abbie. “It’s okay,” she said.
“Really? I thought you’d be mad and yell at me.”
She probably should be. For some reason, she wasn’t. “Thanks for keeping it real.”
“Good luck, Kalista, with whatever you decide to do with your life.”
She hung up, conflicted feelings washing over her.
Her father had called her immature too, and that made sense coming from him.
But having an eighteen-year-old say the same thing hit differently, because a couple of weeks ago, Ryan had been just fine engaging in the same things he berated Kalista for doing.
Except now that she looked back on their relationship, she remembered there were instances when he would beg off going to a party, and a few times when they were at the beach with their friends, he seemed disconnected, like he was preoccupied.
She’d barely paid attention to it back then, but for some reason it was clearer now.
This wasn’t a last-minute decision. He really had been thinking about it for a while.
Kalista got up and pushed the chair back to the table. She should call Abbie and demand to know what the problem was between them. Then again, why bother? Their friendship was over. The reason didn’t matter anymore.
She went to the bathroom to brush her teeth, then paused to look in the mirror.
Not only had her shoulders gotten sunburned, but her face had too.
Of course that would peel as well, but for once she wasn’t panicking about it.
Lotion would help, and it wasn’t like she was going to see anybody during the week other than Viv and Bo in the evenings.
And Tyler at work. Maybe Mr. Hudson if they happened to run into each other. But mostly Tyler.
Tyler. An overly nice, enthusiastic guy who worked not just one job but two and seemed to enjoy both.
Up until yesterday in Viv’s kitchen, she hadn’t seen him upset, downcast, or irritable.
Just happy. He was her age, and he was writing newspaper columns, making sure people got their newspaper on time, dealing with subscriptions, and all the other things that went along with his many responsibilities.
He did it all with a great attitude. A mature attitude.