Chapter 20 #2
I groan and stomp my way out of the room, into the hall, and upstairs.
Dr. Jones called my mom. This can’t be real. And it wasn’t even that big of a deal. Ugh. Did he go on about me being a dangerous menace to society? Doesn’t he know how easily he could’ve ruined my life? In one phone call, he could’ve gotten rid of my car for good.
I plonk down at my desk and sigh. My broken drone sits there, mocking me. I wish I didn’t have to act so hellbent on fixing it. With Mom and Dad buying me a car, getting a new drone for my birthday wasn’t gonna happen.
I turn toward my closed bedroom door, and my mind drifts downstairs to the guest bedroom.
Grandma and Grandpa will be here soon. Why didn’t I remember the possibility of them buying me a new drone?
Hmm, the last time Grandma asked me about my wishlist, the drone was still functional.
But maybe my parents hinted to them when I raged about that tree jumping out of nowhere and destroying my drone.
Dr. Jones pushes my grandparents out of my head, and my gut clenches. I pick up the drone part and focus on the places it needs to be adhered to. My fist is clammy as I push hard against the plastic. I only notice how hard I’m gritting my teeth when the plastic snaps.
The worst curses grunt out of my mouth, and I toss the drone.
It ricochets off the wall before hitting the floor, and the loud crack of hard plastic breaking doesn’t sound repairable.
With a guttural groan, I get up and kick my chair.
As the muscles in my shoulders harden, I punch the air, trying to loosen them up.
Dang it, Dr. Jones. Anything else you want to ruin today?
I look at the scattered mess on my floor and huff for breath.
Is this worth it? Is Tabitha worth it?
Who am I kidding? It’s almost worth pursuing her just to stick it to her dad.
That’d teach him to mess with me.
Tabitha’s doe eyes blink at me in my third eye, and I melt.
Dang. I gotta stop lying to myself. I like her.
I really like her.
This is beyond complicated.
I pull out my phone and reread my last message.
Should I tell her I like her?
I lower the phone and rub my hand over my stitches. It would’ve been worth busting all of them to carry her to safety.
I meant it, Tabby.
I’ll protect you, if you need it.
My phone comes to life with a new message from Tabitha. “My mom just asked me to pick what we’re having for dinner. That means she’s happy. Kai!! She’s happy with me!!”
I rest my elbow on the desk and rest my head against my palm. ”That’s awesome. Good to see studying wasn’t a total waste of time.”
“Even if we’re learning what the school mandates we learn? Is your tinfoil hat slipping off?”
An easy laugh murmurs out of me. “You can’t unseen the truth once you see it.”
“LOL. Give me a break.”
Tabitha didn’t text much for the rest of the night.
I imagine she was having a nice time with her mom.
I hope she soaked it all in while it lasted.
Her mom seems volatile, and I doubt one successful study session will keep her in a good mood forever.
I decided not to tell Tabitha about her dad calling my mom.
She deserved to have a happy night at home.
That kind of information would’ve been a way to ruin her mood.
***
The next day at school, I keep my excitement in check.
I don’t want to tip my friends off that there’s something to know.
But I’m eager to see Tabitha again. I want to see her light up when she talks about how proud her mom is.
The texts weren’t enough. I need to see those big brown eyes sparkle, framed by those unimaginably long lashes.
After first period, I walk with Tyler to history and spy Tabitha walking in the opposite direction. I badly want to stop and ask her about last night. I don’t want to wait until chemistry.
From the corner of my eye, I check what Tyler’s focusing on. He’s not paying attention to his right, which gives me an opportunity to subtly gain Tabitha’s attention. My eyebrows wiggle, and I lift a hand at my side.
It works. Her eyes dazzle with delight, and her pouty lips curve upward at the sides. She slows, like she wants to talk to me. I look down, checking for signs of a limp, and there aren’t any. I lift my gaze, smiling at her, and she subtly lifts a thumbs up, smiling back.
Dang it. I check on Tyler again. If I say I want to tie my shoelace, will he keep walking? Man, it’s history. He’s in no rush to get there.
I turn my face more to the right, deciding what I could subtly mouth to her.
Concern falls over her face, picking up on my awkwardness. As her chin drops, her gaze flicks at Tyler, and then back to me. And then she hurries past me.
My feet drag against the floor. There has to be something I can do. Some excuse I can make in order to turn around and chase after her.
“Dude?” Tyler calls, stopping up ahead. “What are you doing?”
I shake it off and catch up with him. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
“You’ve been a space cadet all morning. What’s up with you?”
“No, nothing. I’m cool. Don’t sweat it.”
“You’re not worried about our upcoming game, are you? I know you’ve been trying to perfect those crazy skills, but Coach won’t bench you if you can’t do a freaking rainbow kick.”
I huff. “I’m not worried about my game, Ty. I’ve got that covered.”
“Then what is it?”
Yes, it’d be easy to cover with jitters over my game performance, but I can’t stomach that. No way am I having anyone believe I’m nervous about soccer. That’s never gonna happen.
“Kai?” he presses.
I should tell him. It’d be good to tell someone. I could at least admit to studying with Tabitha at Village Coffee. Ah, scratch that. None of my friends would approve of me going to Jamie’s competition.
I shrug as we turn into our history classroom. “Just something I was listening to on a podcast.”
“And it has you this rattled? Usually you’d be talking my ear off about a government cover-up or an underground celebrity mafia.”
My mind is still on Tabitha as we walk to our seats in the back row. “You know that case on the Crime Spree’d podcast, about the couple who kept arguing in a coffee shop and no one said anything?”
Tyler exhales hard as he takes his seat. “That was rough. I still can’t forget how they described that crime scene.”
“Exactly. Something yesterday reminded me of it. I can’t get it out of my mind.”
“Did you see a couple getting into it?” he asks with concern. “Do you need to say something? Like, to the police or something?”
Okay, he’s buying this a little too much. I fake a smile to calm his nerves. “Actually, someone did, and the police questioned them. Might be a good outcome.”
Tyler grins. “Sweet. Too bad it wasn’t good for the other couple, right?”
I nod. “Right.”
Is this really what it’s come to? Lying to my friends?
And for what? I don’t even know if this thing with Tabitha will amount to anything. And if it does, what then? I can’t lie about where I am and who I’m with forever. Eventually, they’ll need to know I’m spending time with her.
I clear my throat. “Well, umm, the weird thing was…” I huff a breath and decide to spit it out. “I was studying with Tabitha Jones yesterday. You know, we’re stuck together on that chemistry assignment? Anyway, she brought up the podcast.”
Okay, it’s done. I said it.
Tyler’s eyebrow pops, but the rest of his expression is neutral. “Tabitha Jones listens to Crime Spree’d?”
“See why I’m rattled? Who’d have guessed?”
“Not me, dude. She seems too squeaky clean.”
“She’s actually a lot more fun than she presents herself.”
Tyler’s lip slightly upturns as he gets a read on me. “How often are you hanging out with her?”
I shrug. “We just have to keep texting each other because of our assignment.”
This gets a bigger reaction. “You two are texting? That’s weird.”
“It’s just for homework.” I bite the bullet. “And, yeah, we go off topic sometimes.”
“What does Jamie think?”
“I dunno. Why don’t you tell her and let me know?”
Tyler sniggers. “You haven’t told her? Since when are you chicken?”
I groan. “She knows Tabitha and I are lab partners. I just never mentioned the texting or study dates.”
“Dates?” Tyler fixates on the word.
“I’ve just bought her these fru-fru coffee drinks. That’s all.”
Tyler leans forward, narrowing her eyes. “Man, you like her.”
I bite my lip, remembering holding her in my arms and hoping it doesn’t show on my face. “I’ll admit, I’ve noticed she’s pretty.”
“Pfft. She’s gorgeous, no question.”
“But Jamie doesn’t like her.”
Tyler smirks. “Jamie doesn’t like any girls.”
I tap the edge of his desk. “So, you’ll tell her?”
Tyler laughs. “Nah, man. You can dig yourself outta that hole all on ya own.”
I sigh. “Yeah, thanks.”
Our history teacher hands out a list of group discussion questions, and they may as well be in a spiral and written backwards. There’s only one thing on my mind, and it’s not schoolwork. Besides, my history teacher always discredits anything I write as too radical.
Around the classroom, there are the sounds of pens scraping against paper, and the murmurings of quiet conversations. Breaking me out of my zombie state, my phone buzzes in my pocket, and my mind instantly goes to Tabitha.
Although, it could be James whining about her math teacher.
When our teacher isn’t paying attention, I sneak my phone out and check the text message. I catch myself smiling when the notification reads from Tabitha.
“Maybe we should stick to talking via text, lol.”
I look up to check my teacher is still reading at his desk. ”It’s a little awkward in the hall, huh.”
“I figured you didn’t want your friend knowing you’re talking to the enemy.”
“You’re not limping! I wanted to cheer when I saw you!”
“Nope. Mom fussed over me and made sure there was ice on my foot. Dad called and talked us through some physical therapy. Good as new.”