Chapter 42 #2
Granted, Tyler and I have a rivalry because of the whole co-captain thing, but he needs to get his head checked. If he thinks I’ll accept being talked to like that, he’s got another thing coming.
My mood plummets when I get back to Mom and Dad.
“Didn’t Jamie show up?” I ask, picking up my duffle bag.
“No, she’s at the house with Milo.”
The groan reverberates through my entire body, and I drag my feet behind my parents toward the parking lot. Jamie’s aunt left for Hawaii today, and this is the first day she’s moved into our house for her week-long stay.
By the time we’re home, I’m zonked. My head hangs heavy and I stomp up the staircase to my bedroom. Before I get to the landing, a thunderous amount of laughter blasts from the upstairs living room.
With a huff, I dump my bag and stare at my brother and Jamie on the couch, folded over in laughter, with Shadow Quest paused on the TV screen.
“What the hell, James?” I snap. “You don’t show at my game, but you’re playing Shadow Quest with him?”
Jamie sits back on the couch. “What’s the big deal?”
“I thought you were supposed to be studying,” I say with more venom than I mean. “If you wanted to slack off, why weren’t you hanging with me?”
She shrugs, comfy on the couch next to my brother. “Give me a break.”
I can’t stand a second more of these two together. I grab my bag and march into my bedroom, slamming the door behind me.
With a grunt, I toss my bag to the carpet. I roll my shoulders back, remembering the horrendous way Tyler looked at me after the game. Coach Lyle’s barks circle in my head. The mortifying way my grandparents side-stepped my epic failures on the field.
I pull off my grass-stained jersey and sigh.
But Dr. Jones genuinely smiled at me.
He’s cool with me and Tabitha hanging out.
Dang, that feels good.
Geez, who am I? Losing feels good?
I catch myself smiling. No, being Tabitha’s boyfriend feels good.
I move out of my bedroom and find the upstairs living area empty. Downstairs are the sounds of my grandparents and Jamie catching up. It’s her first time seeing them since they’re back in town.
I close myself in the bathroom and run the shower. I let the steam and soap help rid my compounding body aches.
After my shower, I find Jamie in Milo’s bedroom. She’s at the desk, studying, and some of the weirder theories about apocalypses feel like they could actually come true.
She reclines on the desk chair, making eye contact with me. “I take it from how you came home today, you lost?”
I lean against the door frame, realizing slamming the door earlier was a pretty good tell. “Yeah. Worst of all, Tabby saw the loss.”
“Oof. You don’t think...?”
I cross my arms. “What?”
Her smirk speaks volume. “That she’s a bad luck charm. You know you should’ve won against that team.”
I push off the wall; the offense poisoning my body. “How could you say that?”
She shrugs. “I dunno. Just a thought.”
“She’s my girlfriend, Jamie. I’m nuts about her, and you call her a bad luck charm?”
“How am I supposed to know how much you like her?” her voice raises. “You barely talked about her before you made out with her on your birthday.”
“How could I talk to you about my crush? You go mute at the mention of other girls.”
Air lodges in her throat, and she roughly coughs to make a meek sound.
“Come on,” I say softly. “It’s not like I’m wrong. You’re not exactly a girl’s girl. When I need help to find something fun to do, or someone who can challenge my soccer game, then I turn to you.”
“You didn’t think I’d be cool with you dating Tabitha?”
I walk into the room. “Am I wrong? You haven’t exactly been taking it well.”
“Because you hid it from me. And now she’s at our lunch table. It was a shock.”
“I get that.” I sigh, my arms flopping at my sides. “I should’ve been better about giving you a head’s up. Honestly, I pulled back on telling you the truth. My bad.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t at your game. Coach Anders told me to miss my game to focus on my assignments.”
“Seeing you at this desk is a little trippy.”
She folds her arms and clicks her tongue. “At least your brother is supportive.”
“Ugh.” Sickness swirls in my stomach. “You two are getting way too close. It’s gross.”
“Gross?”
“It’s like seeing a lion and a gazelle hanging out,” I reply. “Shouldn’t one be killing the other?”
“So, I should kill Milo instead of letting him help me with my homework?”
“All I’m saying is, it’s weird you two are hanging out when it’s not just studying.”
She sighs, nodding. “Yeah, it is.”
“Phew. I’m glad you didn’t get a head injury and start thinking Milo’s your friend. Come on, let’s get out of this room. I can smell that dang cat without him even being in here.”
“I really should work on my history paper.”
Blisters of pain sizzle under my skin. “Seriously? I thought this weekend would be epic. My best bud is over and we should be out at the skatepark or hiking at Logan’s Point. Or even just playing a video game.”
Can't things just be normal?
“The weekend isn’t over. I have a mountain of extra work from every teacher and I need to get it off my plate.”
“You’re staying in here?”
She shrugs. “I guess.”
I groan, scuffing my way out of the bedroom. “It’s bad enough I have Milo’s crap taking up space in my bedroom. Now you’re hanging out in his room. This is not my idea of a fun weekend.”
“Gosh, Kai, I’m so sick of all your complaining,” Jamie snaps. “I’m sorry I’m not as privileged as you!”
I turn back around. “Excuse me?”
“I’m the one getting kicked out of school. My aunt is away. Plus, I have to work at the café while finishing all this homework.”
Shame hits me from every angle. “I’m sorry, James. I just hate that everything has changed. Things used to be so easy, but I feel like I haven’t seen you all week.”
“I just need your support. Don’t you see how hard all of this is?”
I pull her into a hug. “No, I get it. I just miss hanging out with you.”
She hugs me back and then pulls away. “Just give me an hour to study and then we can hang out.”
“No, I’ll leave you to it. I’ll call Tabby so I won’t bother you anymore.”
I can’t help noticing how much Jamie dislikes the idea of me leaving to hang out with Tabby. But she can’t have it both ways. She either stops studying and spends time with me, or she studies and I see my girlfriend instead. Besides, my brother will be here to fail at another level of a video game.
Ugh.
What the actual hell?
Why was Jamie playing that game with him?
I can’t. I can’t think about it. It hurts my brain.
I make it downstairs, and Mom and Grandma are in the kitchen, preparing lunch. I tell them I’m going out to meet Tabitha, but Mom corners me before I pick up my car keys.
“Grandma and Grandpa want to go to Morton’s Café tomorrow for breakfast,” she blurts at me.
“Yeah, okay,” I drawl, not seeing the big deal.
Mom grins. “Ask Tabitha to join us.”
“Mom, I…”
“Don’t start with me.” Her hands plant on her hips. “I want the family to meet your girlfriend.”
“But that’s a lot of family; including grandparents.”
Grandma shuffles in beside Mom. “And what’s wrong with your grandparents meeting your girlfriend?”
I slouch, hating the idea of offending this sweet old lady. “Nothing, Grandma. I’d take just you and Grandpa to meet her if Mom would let me.”
Mom sniggers. “She won’t let you. Can you ask Tabitha if she’ll join us?”
I nod, backing away as I lift my phone. “I was about to call her, anyway.”
“Tell her we will pick her up on the way,” Mom calls out.
I shudder at the thought. Umm, no. I’ll be driving her with no need for Mom and Dr. Jones to come face to face.
I already successfully avoided that at the soccer field.
Besides, Tabby’s dad gave us the green light to hang out today, unprovoked.
The smartest move I can make is not seeing the guy for a week, so I don’t mess up whatever goodness he sees in me.
On the phone, Tabby was hesitant, but quickly agreed to hang out with my family. I gave her several chances to back out, but she was up for the challenge.
She figured seeing as I’d had dinner with her family—and dealt with her brothers one too many times—that it was high time for her to spend time with my family.
I tried to let her off the hook, pointing out the awkward encounter with my parents after last week’s soccer game.
Her giggle put me at ease, and she told me that hardly counted.
The only hiccup from her point of view was the location.
Morton’s Café. She hasn’t been before, and it’s pretty clear Jamie has wanted it to stay that way.
It’s moot, anyway. Tabby has to go to the café on Monday afternoon for this society meeting.
All thanks to the new it girl of Victoria Falls falling in love with the milkshakes.
Again, thanks Jamie for not inviting me.
***
So, here we are. Sunday morning, taking two cars to the cafe.
Dad drove the grandparents and Jamie, so she wasn’t late for work.
Mom lets me drive to Tabitha’s, and is riding shotgun, and Milo’s sitting in the back of my car.
So much for picking up Tabitha on my own.
I guess, for a moment, I’d forgotten how stubborn and headstrong my mother is.
When I park outside Tabitha’s house, Mom unbuckles. “Okay, let’s go in.”
“I’ll just text her to come outside,” I reply.
Mom gasps. “For shame. Be a good boyfriend and walk to the door. Besides, I want to chat to her parents.”
My eyes roll. “Because that’s gone so well in the past.”
“Oh, hush.” Mom turns around to Milo. “You too, honey.”
“Why?” Milo complains.
My sentiments exactly.
Mom lets out an ear-piercing whistle. “Both of you. Out. Now.”
We move down the path to the front door, and as if we planned it, Tabitha’s door opens.
Mrs. Jones waves from the open doorway. “Hi! Hello everyone. So nice to see you.”
Mom moves in, clasps Mrs. Jones’s hand, and they kiss each other on the cheek. “Hi, I’m Grace Nelson.”
Mrs. Jones places a hand on her chest. “I’m Juliette. I think I remember you from a bake sale.”
Mom nods. “Yes, that seems right. Well, these are my boys. You know Kai, and this is Milo.”
“Hi boys.” Mrs. Jones wave. “Oh, Kai. Sorry we couldn’t make your game yesterday. Corby was so sick, the poor thing.”
I wave it off. “No big deal. It’s cool.”
“I hope he’s okay,” Mom says with concern.
Mrs. Jones grins. “He’s fine. He brought it on himself by sneaking two bags of candy into his room the night before.”
Mom laughs. “Oh dear. That takes me back.”
“Mom,“ Milo and I both grizzle.
“Oh, hello, Mrs. Nelson,” Dr. Jones says, moving toward the doorway. “Nice to see you again.”
“You too,” Mom replies and then awkwardly clears her throat. “Better circumstances this time around.”
Dr. Jones gains my eye contact, and a has a wry smirk. “It’s all fine. Kai seems to be smartening up.”
From the corner of my eye, I catch Milo’s lip upturn and his brow scrunch in confusion.
Mom’s just as startled. “Oh, you think so?”
Dr. Jones puts an arm around his wife. “He’s impressed us. My boys, especially, like him.”
Mom looks at me, half-baffled, half-amused. “Well, that’s good to hear.”
“Hi, I’m here,” Tabby calls, dashing toward the door with the click of heels. “Sorry, Corbin was being a little brat.”
Mrs. Jones kisses Tabby’s cheek. “Have fun, sweetheart.”
Tabby smiles at her mom with amazement. “Thanks, Mom. For everything.”
Dr. Jones waves to us all. “Bye everyone. Have a lovely breakfast.”
On our walk back to the car, Mom murmurs to me, “That was strange. I was expecting us to be interrogated.”
“You mean you weren’t?” Tabby pipes up.
Mom clutches her chest, flinching. “Oh, honey, sorry. I didn’t mean for you to hear that.”
Tabby giggles. “Don’t worry. I was expecting a lecture on the way out, too.”
Mom rubs a circle on her back. “Well, there’s no interrogating with our family. Just be prepared for some cheek pinching from Kai’s grandmother, and too many questions from his grandfather.”
Tabby smiles at me, her brown eyes sparkling in the morning sunlight. “Sounds wonderful.”
Mom still takes the front seat on the drive to the cafe, and I listen to Tabby attempting a conversation with Milo behind us. Milo at least gives her one-word answers, opposed to the stony silence Jamie gives her.
I can’t wait to be out of the car so I can hold her hand throughout breakfast.