25. CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 25
ARI
“ D o you think Ethan killed him?” I dip down into another squat, my ass hitting the workout bench behind me.
“I would have.” DeShawn stands in front of me, hands barely resting on my forearms as I come back up to a standing position.
“Oh, he totally killed him,” Fonz adds from his spot on the floor where he’s sitting eating cheddar popcorn, white powder covering his fingertips and dusting his maroon henley. “Ethan has always been a bear when it comes to you.”
DeShawn holds one finger up, letting me know I have one squat left to go.
The rehab center has become somewhat of a second home for me, due to my twice-weekly physical therapy sessions. Fonz drove me, and instead of dropping me off for an hour and having to come back, he decided to just stay and watch. I used to hate it, but now I don’t mind so much.
DeShawn’s legs are spread wide, with the insides of his feet resting against the outsides of mine, giving me a little extra support.
I take a breath in, then out, and slowly start to squat down to the bench. I get a little shaky as my ass hits the seat, then let out a grunt as my heels drive into the floor. My thighs quiver as I push myself back into a standing position.
“Atta girl!” DeShawn high-fives me, then backs away to give me space.
After Ethan left me and Sophie at the ROC Record offices yesterday I decided not to reach out to him, instead letting him come to me once he cools off.
“OK, last thing.” DeShawn approaches me. “I’ve got one finisher, and then I’ll let you go for the day.”
Finisher? Fonz mouths in horror, shuffling around beside us as he gathers his things. “All this exercising you guys are doing is making me thirsty. I’m gonna hit the pop machine. I’ll meet you at the foyer.”
DeShawn always escorts me back to the car in a wheelchair when we’re done with our sessions. He says he’d rather work me to the point of exhaustion than to let me walk out of here on my own.
Friggin’ monster.
“Hey, there.” I hear a familiar voice as DeShawn speeds me down the ramp at the front entrance, and look up to see Ethan walking toward us in a pair of fitted blue jeans, a navy zip-up fleece, and tan Army boots.
I frown, surprised. “What are you doing here?”
Ethan assesses DeShawn, who is leaning his elbows on the handlebars of the wheelchair, his face right next to mine. “Fonz texted that you guys had PT today. I don’t have to be to work until a little later, so I thought I’d give you a ride home.” He puts his hand out to DeShawn.
“Ethan, this is DeShawn,” I introduce them. “He’s my physical therapist.”
DeShawn stretches his arm out and takes Ethan’s hand. “Hey, man. Nice to meet you.”
“Same here.” Ethan pulls his hand back and puts both in his front pockets. “What’s with the wheelchair? Everything OK?”
“Hells yeah,” DeShawn answers, dipping the wheelchair back so he can look down at me. “Our girl here kicked some serious ass today, ain’t that right, Ari?”
“Yes. You nearly killed me. Now will you please right-side me back up before I barf everywhere, please?”
Just as my world tilts back to its correct axis, Fonz pulls up in his car. “Hey,” he says to Ethan through his open window. “What are you doing here?”
“I got your text. Thought I’d take Ari home.”
“Awe, kinda like shared custody.” Fonz places a hand over his heart.
“I hate you both.” I look away and cross my arms.
After some more embarrassment, DeShawn helps me into the Jeep and Ethan and I take off with no particular destination in mind.
A few quiet moments pass before Ethan breaks it. “He seems cool.”
“DeShawn? Yeah. He’s been with me since the day I woke up in the hospital. He’s been telling me I need to start walking without my crutches. Not totally on my own, but walking along things, like the table or the countertop or whatever. He says my crutches are just that—crutches. They helped me thus far, but now they are starting to be a hindrance because I rely on them too much.”
Ethan nods as he glances at me, his eyes roving over my face. “Makes sense.”
My eyes fall to my hands in my lap. “I know. It’s all just really scary. Sometimes I think I should just resign myself to a wheelchair. I mean, you saw the piggyback ride I got from Sophie, right? I don’t want them to stop. They’re fun!”
Ethan chuckles as he accelerates to merge onto the parkway. “You’re insane.”
“I know.” I sigh. “I totally am. I’ve gone totally mad.”
Sensing Ethan staring at me, I turn my head and look at him before he says, “We all go a little mad sometimes.”
“Norman Bates. Psycho . 1960.”
He hits the steering wheel. “Damnit!”
“Seriously, you are the worst at this game. That was so easy!”
“One day, Red, I’m gonna stump you.”
I smile as I look out the window. “Keep dreaming.”
As we drive, I allow my mind to wander back to the first time I went for a ride with Ethan …
Whenever I check my phone and see a text, my stomach does a little flip.
Red, clear your afternoon. We’ve got a date. Vroom!
I bite my bottom lip, knowing exactly what it means. His driving test was today and must have been successful, and he’s going to make good on his promise to make me his first passenger. Gah!
I reply:
No way! Congrats!
Sitting on the bus, I hold the phone close to me, smiling like a goof, as my street approaches. Not much makes me smile these days, especially since Axel broke my tooth. But as soon as our houses come into view, my heart sinks. Lena’s car is in the driveway. Why is she home so soon?
Hearing the bus pull away behind me, I make my way up the driveway. At the same time that I see Papa come around from the garage, wiping his greasy hands on a dirty towel, the door to Ethan’s house swings open and he comes bounding out. “Alright, Red, you ready to go all Thelma and Louise …” He stops mid-sentence when I shake my head at him, eyes wide, and he hears Papa’s voice.
“What are you going on about, you shithead?” Papa says to Ethan, who tucks his hands behind his back to hide his dad’s car keys.
“Um, n— nothing,” he stammers. “Just, uh, asking Ari about her day.”
Papa gives him a look. “Yeah, well, just keep out of my hair today. My car’s been acting up. The good one. I gotta fix it and I don’t want to hear you two making trouble.”
I look down at my feet and murmur, “Yes, sir,” as Ethan gives him a salute then, when Papa spins and starts heading back to the garage, Ethan turns the salute into the middle finger at Papa’s back.
As soon as Papa’s out of sight, I pivot on my heel and make a mad dash for Ethan’s open garage. He gives me wide eyes, then makes dramatics out of silently running in that direction as well.
“Do you have a death wish?” he whispers, sliding into the driver’s seat next to me.
“Shhhh!” I hiss from my position on the floor. “Just drive!”
I see him give a wave to Papa as he backs out of the garage and heads out of the driveway, saying out of the corner of his mouth, “For the record, I think this is a very bad idea.” Ethan turns onto the main road and after a moment looks in the rearview. “Coast is clear. Now get up here and put your seatbelt on.”
I do as he says then look over at Ethan who has two hands on the wheel. He glances over at me, then back at the road. Then he does it again. “What?” he asks. “What’s that grin for?”
I cover my mouth with my hand, conscious of the fact that my broken tooth is on full display. “This just feels so exciting!”
“Yeah, well, it’s going to be a lot less exciting when Axel finds out and beats your ass for it.”
“Shhhh,” I admonish him. “Don’t ruin this for me. Just keep driving. Can we open the windows?”
Ethan hits the buttons on the door and our windows go all the way down. I immediately stick my arm out, and face, and close my eyes as the warm air swirls red locks all around, tickling me.
“You’re like a dog,” Ethan jokes, stretching an arm out his window.
We drive for only a mile or so before he speaks again. “So?” He glances over at me, and then back at the road.
“So?”
“Remember, I told you when I got my driver’s license I would take you to the hospital to see if you can find your birth records?” He glances at me again. “You still want to go?”
I freeze. The truth is, I don’t want to find my mom. Not right now. Not when I have a chipped tooth, a fading bruise on my cheekbone, and secondhand, mismatched clothing.
“Why don’t we wait a bit? Besides, you would have to take the highways and the Inner Loop, and isn’t that a lot for someone who just got their driver’s license?”
“Please,” he says confidently. “I could drive to California, that’s how good I am behind the wheel.” He smooths his hand over the steering wheel for emphasis.
I try to let the issue drop, but Ethan pushes. “She’ll love you just the way you are, Ari. She’s your mom.” I keep looking out the window. “Come on, Red. What’s the point of writing all those letters if you’re never going to give them to her?”
“I don’t write them for her,” I spit out. “I write them for me. And I don’t want to go. Can we just drop it?”
Startled, Ethan stammers, “Yeah. Sure.”
He turns the radio up as “We Are Tonight” blasts from the speakers.
Ethan hits the open road where there's nothing but corn fields and tall grass on either side of us, and I’ve never felt so free. I take in the sight of Ethan’s strong jaw, hair that’s in need of a trim blowing around, his shirt pressed against his torso from the wind. The warm, sweet-smelling summer air blows in as Billy Currington goes on about a bunch of rock stars on a riverbank singing.
Ethan glances quickly at me, then frowns as he looks back at the road.
“What?” I ask.
“I really hope Axel doesn’t find out. You could be in serious trouble if he does, Ari.”
I cover my ears. “La la la la,” I chant, drowning out his voice. “I don’t want to think about it. I just want to enjoy this.”
“I’m serious, Ari. He’ll flip his shit if he finds out.”
I shrug and put my arm back out the window. “Totally worth it.”
Ethan just shakes his head. “What am I going to do with you, Red?”
The song changes, I turn the radio up, and we both sing along as Jason Aldean starts chanting about a dirt road.
We aren’t out that long, and when he turns onto our road, I crouch back down on the floor as Ethan pulls back into the garage and parks the car. I start to get up, but Ethan pushes me back down. “Dad!” I hear him say.
Crap!
“Hey, son. How was your first joy ride? You kept it under the speed limit, right?”
“Yeah.” He unbuckles his seatbelt and opens his door, quickly sliding out and slamming it shut. “But, I’m starving now. What’s Mom making for dinner?”
I hear the door to the house open and close, and wait a second before peeking my head up to look out the window and see they are gone. But then I hear the motor of the garage door and see it coming down.
Double crap!
I fling open the car door, jump out, and sprint toward the narrowing space and duck under it before the garage door finishes closing. So much for having a safety sensor! I stand up straight and turn on my heel—and come face to face with Papa. He’s looking at me, then he looks behind me like he’s processing where I just came from. He’s about ten feet away from me.
Piece of cake!
And I bolt, heading straight for the wheat fields.
“Yeah, you better run, girl!” he yells after me, not even attempting to follow. I can’t keep the smile off my face as I reach my arms out to my sides and feel the comforting whip of the wheat against my skin. It’s a stark difference to the wind on my face as I was riding in Ethan’s car, and yet it’s similar. Turning back, I see Papa heading back to the garage, staggering. He’ll be passed out soon enough and forget he even saw me.
When I glance at Ethan’s house, I see him standing in the window, arms crossed and a grin on his face as he watches me run away. His body shakes with laughter.
Then I see his father standing outside. His arms are also crossed over his chest, but he’s not laughing.
Triple crap.
I’m not sure how long I stay out, but it’s almost dark by the time I venture back. I slowly crack the door open and look inside but don’t see anyone, so I tiptoe in. I make myself a peanut butter sandwich, settle on my bed with a book, and check my phone. Sure enough, there’s a message from Ethan that just came in.
Was that you I saw creeping back across the lawn just now?
I smile and type out a reply:
Yes, stalker
Hey, was just making sure you weren’t eaten by a coyote
Did you get in trouble?
A minute passes before he responds.
Nothing I couldn’t handle
I send him back a sad face, and he replies:
Hey, no frowns
Then I send him an angry face.
Much better
Well, goodnight
Goodnight
The next morning I wake up early and decide to just get up, even though the bus won’t be here for a while. I’m pouring myself a bowl of cereal when I hear Ethan’s garage door open and run to the window and see him opening the passenger side door. He has early practice these days, so his dad drops him off in the morning. I knock on the window to get Ethan’s attention, and he swivels around and gives me a wave and a smile.
My heart sinks when I see he has a fat lip. Seeing my face fall, Ethan digs into his pocket, pulls out his phone and types something in. I run over to my backpack and pull out my phone.
Totally worth it