5. Kyle
CHAPTER FIVE
KYLE
“ W hat should I pack?” I ask Ren, who’s sprawled out on my bed, tossing the baseball from my junior year championship into the air and catching it with his bare hands. “If you miss, you’re going to lose your front teeth,” I tease.
Ren laughs carelessly, continuing to toss the baseball to himself. “Pack for summer, but add some layers like sweaters and hoodies and shit.”
I nod, folding clothes and placing them neatly into my small suitcase.
We finished our exams today, and the plan is to leave tomorrow morning.
I’ve had pretty good success not thinking about Marissa this entire time, especially since I’ve been so busy with finals and packing for our road trip. But I’ve wondered how Ren’s doing with the whole Paige thing. Lost in my own issues, I never found the right time to ask, and now it just doesn’t seem appropriate.
“Are you all packed?” I ask him instead.
“Yup. All ready to go. If you are too, we could head out tonight. There’s nothing stopping us.” The impatient twinkle is back.
“That sounds awesome, but we can’t leave without saying bye to my mom, and that means family dinner with my parents and Nelson tonight.”
Warren groans, and I can’t blame him when he’s not even subjected to his own family dinners, but he agreed to go, and he knows he has to say bye to my mom.
“You can bring Val if you want. My mom’s always happy to have another girl at the dinner table.” I’m looking for a distraction, and Warren’s sister is almost as close with my mom as he is.
“Nah. If she comes, she’ll only drag the dinner out. If we just eat and say goodbye to your parents, in a respectable amount of time of course, we could possibly still hit the road tonight.”
“You’re really eager to get going, huh?” I chuckle lightly.
“Aren’t you?” Ren asks in return. His gray eyes shimmer with excitement, reminding me of the hidden lake and secret dock.
Thoughts of Marissa hover at the surface, but I push them under. I don’t care what she’s doing this summer. I’m going on a road trip with my best friend.
“Yeah,” I say wholeheartedly. “ I am. ” My grin mirrors his, slowly stretching into a wide smile. “You’re right. We should try to leave tonight. Even if we only drive for an hour. Let’s get the fuck outta here.”
Val apparently got wind of Sunday dinner from Nelson, so here she is sitting across the table from me in a white sundress with red roses, looking like a prettier version of her brother.
“Valentina, honey, I’m so glad you could join us tonight,” my mom coos, smiling warmly. “You look lovely. Doesn’t she, boys?”
We all hum our agreement. There’s no question that Val is beautiful. Nelson’s been chasing her for years.
“Thank you, Mrs. Fitzpatrick. I’m so happy to be here.” Val gives me a wink before helping herself to my mother’s famous green bean casserole and baked chicken legs.
“How many times do I have to ask you to call me Carol, honey?” my mom insists with a kind smile.
“Sorry, Carol.” Val smiles sweetly. Her shiny dark hair, full red lips, and perfectly white teeth make her as popular with the guys as Ren is with the girls on campus. “Thank you so much for having me over, you know I love your cooking and your company.”
My mom beams fondly at Ren’s sister before passing her homemade butter rolls. “Eat up.”
We all dig in, eating in silence for a while. My mom is an amazing cook, and I’ve tried to learn a few of her recipes, but nothing seems to compare.
Engrossed in my meal, I nearly jump out of my seat when Ren moans loudly as he takes a bite of Mom’s fluffy rolls. “So fucking good, Mrs. Fitz,” he mumbles with his mouth stuffed full and his lips glistening with butter.
My dad clears his throat, frowning at the curse word and poor manners. He’s a quiet man, but he’s old school when it comes to respect. Kinda like Ren’s dad, so he should know better.
Ren’s cheeks go pink as he continues to chew the large bite, and Val snickers under her breath.
Once he swallows the lump of bread without choking, he smiles sheepishly at my dad. “My apologies for the foul language, sir. Like my sister said, I really enjoy having dinner with you all, and your wife’s cooking is just icing on top of the cake.”
Ren grunts when I kick him in the shin under the table, hoping he’ll stop laying it on so fucking thick.
“I understand you like to eat, and you know we’re happy to have you, but let’s do without the curse words, hmm?” my dad asks with a stern smile. “There are ladies present.”
Valentina giggles, batting her eyelashes at my dad, and my mom stands up, heading for the kitchen.
“Well, this old lady is off to get dessert,” she jokes, petting Ren’s head as she walks by. “Glad you enjoy the butter rolls, honey.”
I follow Mom into the kitchen while the table continues to laugh and joke. I catch Ren’s eye and give him a reassuring nod that I’m okay before I disappear.
He knows I’ve been dreading this, but I need to speak with my mom privately before we leave, even if I have to brush off any talk of my ex.
“Hey, Mom,” I whisper, walking into the kitchen with small, shuffling steps. This is her domain, and it makes me feel like a kid again.
She spins around with a potholder on. “Hi, baby. Give me a hand, please?”
There’s a sheet pan covered in foil sitting on the countertop, and I can smell them without even looking. Underneath are her famous double chocolate chip brownies, fresh out of the oven.
I grab the vanilla ice cream and whipped cream, while Mom sets out a bowl for everyone. As we busy ourselves making brownie sundaes, she finally speaks the words I’ve been dreading.
“We haven’t talked since you and Marissa broke up. I’ve been concerned, Kyle. You two were together for a long time.”
I grab the can of whipped cream, shaking it before squirting a small mountain on top of each scoop of ice cream. The loud whooshing of pressurized air takes away some of the quiet when I don’t answer right away.
I exhale a long, slow breath. “I know, Mom. I’m sorry,” I say, apologizing for ghosting her. “I just don’t really wanna talk about it, okay? Ren and I are going on this awesome road trip to take our minds off girls, and I’m really looking forward to it. You don’t need to worry.”
“I always worry when you’re with Warren,” Mom says with a sigh. “But don’t ever apologize for not being ready to talk. I just want you to be happy, honey.”
“I will be,” I tell her, knowing I’m happiest when I’m with my best friend.
“I sure hope so,” she whispers, patting my arm gently.
We finish up and put the leftovers away, working silently yet comfortably.
“Well then, let’s serve these beautiful desserts. I don’t know about you, but I was looking to gain a couple pounds tonight,” Mom jokes.
I burst out laughing, nearly dropping the four ceramic bowls I just picked up. “ Mom! ” I admonish.
We have a good laugh before we carry dessert to the dining room, both of us feeling proud of our creations, even though my mom was the one to actually bake the brownies.
I smile warmly at her as we serve dessert and sit down to enjoy it.
Everyone voices their thanks, diving in and devouring the brownie sundaes. Nothing but clinking spoons and low hums of approval fill the air.
“You boys are going to need a lot of things you aren’t even thinking about,” my mom suddenly says, pushing her half-eaten bowl away. “I have some bags in the garage for you—toilet paper, snacks, drinks, and paper towels. Oh, and just a few other essentials like hand soap, paper plates, plasticware, a pot, skillet, cookie sheets, spatulas, and a mixing spoon.”
My mom is thorough.
I didn’t think of any of that, and I’m sure Warren didn’t either.
“Mom, you’re the best. What would we do without you?”
“Starve, probably,” she answers unhelpfully. “I don’t want you eating fast food for two weeks, so I expect you to cook and eat healthy too. You should at least be able to fry sausage and scramble eggs. Wash a salad. Those sorts of basic adult things.”
“We got this, Mrs. Fitz,” Ren assures her with his charming smile, slinging an arm over my shoulder. “Kyle can cook, and I’ll drive.”
I shrug his arm off. “Oh, fuck off, Ren.”
He tips his head back, laughing loudly. “It was just a suggestion.”
“Suggestion denied.” I may not be one hundred percent comfortable driving that behemoth, but I’ll be damned if that means I’m stuck in the kitchen cooking the whole time.
My mom chuckles and stands from the table, my dad right behind her. “Well, like I said, honey, the supplies are in the garage, and a few bags are in the fridge. Goodnight and be safe. Call me when you’re comfortable and on the road tomorrow.”
We didn’t tell her we’re leaving tonight.
“Grab the first aid kit out of the garage and take that with you too,” my dad insists, squeezing my shoulder affectionately.
“Good thinking, Randall,” my mom says, giving us both a kiss on top of the head before my parents retreat upstairs, leaving us alone with our siblings.
“Hey, Nelson,” Ren says, licking his bowl clean.
Literally, licking his bowl clean.
“What?” my brother grunts, slowly finishing his own dessert while he steals obvious glances at Val.
“Could you get us some alcohol for our trip?” Ren leans to the side and slips his wallet out of his jeans. He counts out a hundred bucks and scoots it across the table to my brother. “One nice bottle of whiskey, two cheap bottles of vodka, and a twenty-four pack.” He slaps another twenty down. “And that’s for you.”
“ Fine, ” Nelson grumbles, glancing at Val one more time before he scoops up the money and shoves it in his pocket. “I’ll be right back.” He won’t be an asshole and say no in front of Ren’s sister. Especially when he’s the only one here who’s twenty-one, and knows we can’t use our fakes in town.
When the front door clicks shut, Valentina speaks up. “Good. It’s finally just us.” She reaches under the dining room table and pulls out a sparkly gift bag that flakes everywhere. She sets it on the table in front of Ren. “For your trip.” She smiles kindly at her brother, and I watch as he tugs out sheet after sheet of white tissue paper.
Ren gasps, staring for a moment before gently reaching into the bag. “ No way, ” he says in awe, pulling out what looks like a small Polaroid camera. “It’s the one?—”
“That you wanted,” Val finishes for him. “Prints out those cute little square photos, like Instagram from the seventies,” she chuckles.
Warren laughs, setting the camera down before getting up and walking around the table to give Val a huge hug that lifts her off the ground. “Thank you, sis.”
“Welcome,” she chirps.
After they sit back down and talk about cameras for a little while, Nelson finally returns with two brown paper bags full of alcohol, handing them over to Ren.
“Don’t do anything stupid and make me regret this,” he warns quietly so that Val can’t hear.
Ren’s lip slowly quirks up on one side, and my brother sighs. “Let me rephrase that. Don’t get drunk and get yourselves hurt or in trouble because of it. Mom would kill me if she found out I bought you alcohol.”
“We’ll be fine, Nelson.” I grab the paper bags from Ren, supporting the heavy bottoms.
We say goodbye to our siblings and Nelson walks Valentina to her car, always trying to prove himself a gentleman.
I head upstairs with the alcohol stash, safely placing the beer and liquor bottles in a tote bag with a throw blanket stuffed around them. I grab sixty bucks out of my wallet, intent on paying for my half.
“Ready to hit the road?” Ren asks, jogging upstairs to help me carry my stuff down.
“Yep. Here,” I say, handing him the money.
“Thanks, man.” He stuffs it in his pocket and grabs the tote bag and my backpack. “We can’t forget the stuff in the garage, either. Mama Carol buys the softest toilet paper.”
Ren laughs when I shove him. “Don’t worry. We’ll grab everything on the way out, and my bike too.”
There’s an extra level of excitement about leaving at night, and a strange sort of thrill washes through me.
We open the garage door and sneak out to Ren’s truck, loading my luggage and securing my bike in the bed, before setting my mom’s groceries on the floor of the backseat.
The drive to Moretti’s Auto Shop is quick, and Ren leaves his truck in the back lot that’s protected by a chain-link fence and barbed wire. We load everything into the RV to unpack later, and strap both of our bikes to the back, right next to the metal ladder.
I’m more than ready to get on the road. We have energy drinks and cold-brewed coffee stocked, in addition to everything that my mom bought for us.
We can drive all night if we want to, and I can’t fucking wait.