Friday, December 17th
Cat
“Of course,” I mutter to myself when the final bell rings after school today and I step outside only to be met by rain pouring down so hard I can barely see ten feet ahead of me. “The one day when Vada and Tori are both out sick. Just great.”
I pull my jacket up and over my head to shield myself from the downpour.
Today was the last day of the fall semester, the last day before Christmas break, and to my utter dismay, Vada texted me early this morning to let me know she was sick in bed. So I walked to school by myself only to find that Tori, too, was out ill. Luckily it was a half day, and we were dismissed just after one. The prospect of no school for a couple of weeks, and my upcoming one-week trip to North Carolina to spend Christmas with my dad and siblings, gives my mood a definite boost amidst the constant ache of missing Ronan.
I’ve been trying to make the absolute most of school in an effort to distract myself, but I haven’t been all that successful. My mind always wanders, and every day the pain that comes with Ronan’s absence grows. It doesn’t help that the rumors about how Ronan got hurt and the reason for his disappearance have taken on a life of their own.
Only Zack, Summer, Tori, Vada, and I know the real story of how Ronan got hurt and why he left New York. Not even Cheyenne—Summer’s best friend—or Drew, who actually hasn’t hung out with us all that much lately, are aware of specifics. And we want to keep it that way. As annoying and hurtful as some of these rumors are, we’re not about to divulge Ronan’s painful history to people who will just see such information as a juicy opportunity to spread more misinformation or to make themselves appear in the know in an effort to grab more attention and popularity.
So, we try to ignore it when we’re confronted with the latest gossip, though Tori and Vada have no problems shutting down rumors that I’m somehow to blame for Ronan’s departure. Not that it stops the nasty side glances or whispers when I walk by a cluster of girls who, I’m pretty certain, either have or at least wanted to hook up with Ronan. I just remind myself of Tori and Vada’s words: all this is just jealousy that I managed to tie down the exceptionally handsome but previously unobtainable varsity hockey center forward.
Heavy rain drops hit the fabric of my jacket and I look briefly around for Summer and Zack, only to remember that Summer has already left for her Christmas vacation in Colorado and Zack had planned to spend the afternoon in the film lab working on his college admission movie, which, he explained to us, would be an exposé of us—his closest friends—minus the painful details of Ronan’s life.
I take a deep breath, readying myself to get absolutely drenched, then start toward the gate at a semi-jog. My shoes and pant legs are soaking wet before I even reach the sidewalk. At this rate I’ll be dripping wet by the time I get home. And what makes this situation worse is that it’s really freaking cold today, my warm breath like white fog against the frosty air. Winter is on our doorstep.
“Cat! Do you need a ride?” I hear Drew call to me.
I look around and spot him sitting dry and warm in his dark-blue Camaro, window down, a friendly smile on his face. “Oh my gosh, that would be fantastic,” I call back through the noise of the rain and people leaving campus, sprinting to their cars, the bus, or just toward their homes.
Drew leans over and opens the passenger door for me, allowing me to quickly slip into his car and slam the door shut behind me. “Did you not finish your dinner last night?” he asks with a grin.
I take off my sodden jacket and place it on the backseat of his car, noting his huge bag holding his hockey goalie gear. “What?” I ask, utterly confused.
He chuckles. “My mom always says that weather like this is the result of us not finishing our dinner.”
I laugh. “I’ve never heard that.”
“Yeah, sorry, my family’s weird, I guess,” he says with a laugh and pulls away from the curb. “Do you mind if I stop by the elementary school really quick? I need to pick up my sisters and drop them off at home before hockey practice.”
“Yeah, of course,” I say, eternally grateful for the ride. This weather is atrocious. “I didn’t know you had sisters!” I hold my hands out to the vent, letting the warm air thaw out my frozen digits.
“Three of them. But we’re only picking up two. The baby’s home with my mom.”
“Do you have brothers?”
“No, just three little sisters. But trust me, they keep me in check,” he laughs.
“I bet. I have a little brother and a little sister.”
“Man, we’ve been hanging out for almost a year now and I never knew this about you,” he says with a sidelong glance at me.
“I know, weird. I guess it just never came up in conversation. How old are your sisters?”
“Janie is eight—she’s in third grade; Daisy is six and in first grade; and then there’s Marie who’s eight months old.”
“Oh, they’re all a lot younger than you.”
He nods at me. “Yeah, so, they’re actually my half-sisters. My dad skipped out on my mom right after I was born, and it was just her and me until I was eight. Then she met my stepdad, they got married, and, well, you know how it goes,” he says with another throaty chuckle.
“How’s hockey going?” It had been my intention to watch hockey games this season, but that was when Ronan was here, when it was really him I was going to see. I haven’t watched even one game—the ache of missing him has been too overwhelming.
“Meh,” Drew says, making a face. “Not super great. I mean, we’re doing fine, but not as well as my coaches had hoped. We’ve lost some key players, you know? With, like, Shane and Steve graduating and then Ronan leaving…” He trails off, glancing at me. “So, my coaches had to pull a bunch of kids up from JV and it shows. Hey, you should try and make it to a game after break.”
“Yeah, maybe I will,” I say, my heart stinging in my chest. The last time I stepped foot in the rink was to watch Ronan at conditioning last summer, just days before our world was turned upside down. I still remember how easily he moved on the ice, how thrilling it was to watch him, even though I finally understood Shane’s comments about the physicality of the sport. When Ronan got checked or thrown into the boards, it always made a gnarly sound, though he didn’t seem too affected by it. I remember how pleased he was when he was named team captain just the day before his mother almost beat him to death. Now he may never get to play hockey again.
We pull up to the elementary school located only a couple of blocks away from the high school, and I immediately see two little girls running toward Drew’s car. He throws his car in park and gets out of the driver’s side to move his hockey gear to the trunk and open the back door for his younger sisters, who slide into the backseat with a squeal of delight.
“It wasn’t me,” the younger one says to her bigger sister. “I finished all my mac and cheese last night. Maybe it was Marie.”
“Marie gets a bottle; I’m pretty sure she finished that,” the older sister says confidently. It dawns on me that they must be talking about which of them failed to eat all of their dinner, causing the bad weather.
“Told you,” Drew says to me with a grin as he buckles himself back into his seat. “I have a weird family.”
“Hey, who are you?” the younger of the two sisters asks, leaning forward in her seat, poking her index finger into my upper arm.
“Hi, I’m Cat,” I say with a giggle.
“Hi, Cat, I’m Daisy. This is Janie,” she says, pointing first at herself, then at her bigger sister sitting right behind me.
“Hi Daisy and Janie,” I say, turning around in my seat.
“Are you guys dating?” Janie asks with an inquisitive look at her brother.
Drew chuckles. “Nah. Cat’s just a friend of mine. We’re going to give her a quick ride home if that’s alright with you guys.”
“I’m starving,” Daisy whines, drawing out the last word.
“Me, too,” Janie says. “Can we stop by Macho Burger really quick?”
“What? No way,” Drew says, his attention on the road, driving slowly so as not to aquaplane.
“Why not?” Daisy whines again. “I’m so hungry!”
“You can eat at home.” Drew slows for pedestrians jaywalking across a busy road.
“You sound like Dad,” Janie complains with a huff.
“I can’t wait until we’re home,” Daisy says. “I’m going to die before we make it there.”
Janie backs up her little sister. “Yeah, we need food right now.”
“Please, please, please,” the two sisters singsong, making me laugh out loud.
Drew groans. “Oh fine, fuck.” He quickly turns his head in my direction. “Do you mind if I stop really quick to grab those two pests some food?”
“Not at all,” I laugh. “You’re a good big brother.”
“I’m an annoyed big brother,” he says, laughing, already pulling into the drive-through of a small fast food place. “Want anything?” he asks me.
“I’m fine,” I say quickly, shaking my head.
“Okay, cheeseburger and fries for Cat it is,” he laughs and pulls forward to the speaker where he orders food for everyone.
“You gotta eat this in the car, and don’t tell Dad I got you fast food!” Drew warns his sisters when he passes out the food after paying for it. “Here you go.” He places a warm paper bag on my lap.
“Thanks,” I say with a smile.
Drew pulls into the parking lot, giving everyone a chance to eat before continuing the ride home, and I pull out my burger and unwrap it to take a bite.
“Look what I made!” Daisy shouts with her mouth full of fries as she pulls a drawing out of her backpack.
“What is it?” Drew asks, inspecting the picture with knitted eyebrows.
“Drew, that’s clearly a castle with a beautiful princess,” I say.
Daisy gives me an appreciative nod.
“Really?” Drew asks, turning his head, still analyzing the picture Daisy’s holding up proudly.
“Yes, duh!” Daisy says with sass in her voice and shoves the picture unceremoniously back into her backpack.
“Okay, if you say so,” Drew says with a shrug and a grin.
“I like Cat,” Daisy says, “she’s smarter than you.”
“Wow, thanks for that,” Drew chuckles, then wipes his hands on a napkin and turns his attention back to me. “Ready to go?”
I nod, stuffing the empty burger wrapper back into the paper bag along with the untouched fries.
We drive the ten minutes to my house and Drew pulls up as close to the curb as he can, trying to minimize my exposure to the rain.
“Thanks for the ride,” I say sincerely. “And the food.”
He smiles. “Anytime. Are you going to be at Shane’s this weekend?”
“Probably not,” I say, shaking my head. “I have to pack for my trip to North Carolina. You?”
“No, I’m heading to Michigan tomorrow. We always spend Christmas there with my mom’s family. But you should definitely come to the hockey game after break is over.”
“I’ll think about it,” I say and clamber out of the car, quickly waving at Drew and his sisters before sprinting up the walkway and the five steps to my front door.