“I’m not laughing at you… I’m laughing with you?”
I tighten my frown and scowl with my eyes. “Okay, so not with you, but still, not at you either.”
I feel my features start to soften. How can I stay mad at him? But then he opens his mouth and I realize I can be hurt at least. “You know we’re just friends, right? I’m not trying to sound like a prick, but… there’s just too much shit going on right now.”
I know this…of course I know it, but his words still stake me in the chest. So much so, I can’t even smile at my own pun. “Yeah.” I try and wave him off but really, I just want to cry. It slams everything else back home again. “How about we forget everything I said in the last five minutes though? Actually, can we start over from lunch?”
Caleb gives me his half-smile. “Yeah, I think we can.”
Chapter Eight
We leave his house about ten minutes after school got out so I’d get home about the same time. Like he did the day before, Caleb walks me to the stop sign about a block away from my house. As if he knows I don’t want him to walk me any further, he stops. “Thanks for contributing to my delinquency today,” I try for a joke and either I suck at it, or Caleb is really freaked out about me becoming a delinquent, because he drops his head back and shakes it. “Yeah, still working on the whole joke thing.” I make a second attempt.
Now, he’s shaking his head, but somehow it’s a lighter shake. His lips aren’t tense and I think I might have made him happy. Go me! “You’re officially a juvenile delinquent. Welcome to the club.”
Caleb isn’t a delinquent. A week ago, I would have said he is, but not now. “Whatever.” I roll my eyes a little proud of myself that I’m actually pulling off this totally-comfortable-around-you-thing when my insides are really melting. As much as I hate it, I say, “I better get going. I don’t want to be late for work tonight.” If I’m still allowed to go, that is.
I start to walk away, but he reaches out and grabs my arm to stop me. Okay, I know I’m a little loony, but as he’s turning me, I see it all in my head, like it’s a movie. He spins me toward him, pulling me tightly against him. I melt into him and sigh as he looks at me with that tortured look of his and says, “I tried to stay away from you, but I just can’t.” And then he kisses me and we really do become one. Our tongues tangle together, Caleb’s hand running through my hair. My whole body feels as though it could explode and I fear I might. Caleb is kissing me!
“Did you hear me?”
His words snap me back into reality like an elastic band. He’s not kissing me. I’m not in his arms. And I’m officially a pervert. “Huh?” My voice sounds grainy.
Caleb scratches his head. “The woods.” He’s mumbling and I can tell he’s embarrassed by what he’s saying. “Can you just…not go out there by yourself? I’m having these weird…I’ve heard strange…”
I want to tell him to pick a sentence and go with it, because the longer I stay out here, I risk my vampire-loving mom seeing us, but I can tell this is important to him, so I don’t. He’s struggling to say whatever he’s trying to say. I know what that feels like. “Sure.”
“Huh?”
“Sure,” I shrug. I’m not going to lie and say I’m not curious about the why’s of it, but I know there’s things I feel funny talking about, so why would I make him do it? “It’s kind of freaky out there by myself anyway. If I were you, I’d never want to be home without my parents.”
Caleb touches my face. I swear I almost go into convulsions as his fingers brush my cheek. There’s nothing I want more than to lean into him, but it’s like I’m frozen.
“Thanks.” He jerks his hand back, almost like he just realized he touched me. Then he steps around me, hands shoved into his pockets he’s walking away.
Caleb Evans is going to be the death of me.
***
My day comes crashing down when I walk in the front door to Mom standing here waiting for me. Oh no! She knows. My first time skipping and I get caught. Totally like me. “Um, hi,” I say. Even though I’m mad at her, I smile, hoping it draws her attention from the tattoo on my forehead that says, ‘I skipped school’.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Sure.” Please don’t let me get in trouble. Please don’t let her make me quit my job.
“I want to apologize for last night. You have to understand this isn’t easy for me, Abbs, but I know you’re getting older, and I can’t keep you under my thumb forever.”
I’m shocked stupid by her words. She’s sorry? It feels like we’re saying that a lot lately and I hate it. “Mom.”
She holds up her hand. “This doesn’t mean it’s okay to speak to me the way you did last night. I won’t allow that, Abigail, but I am sorry and you’re taking the car to work tonight. I promise I won’t come down there. You’ve never let me down before, and I’m trying to make myself remember that.”
Guilt socks me in the stomach. Mom is finally giving me the respect I crave and it has to be the first time in my life I did something wrong. Karma really does hate me. “Thanks, Mom. I’ll be home by nine-thirty every night. I know the dangers and the rules. I promise I’ll be careful.”
Mom gives me a weak smile, so I walk forward and hug her tightly. “I’ll be okay. Thanks for trusting me.” My grip loosens, before I pull away completely. There’s no way I can hold back the huge smile on my face as I race to my room to get changed for work.
I think about Caleb the whole time I bus tables. Yeah, I know I did the same thing my first night, but this feels different. Now, I remember the feel of his hand on me. How he looked when he asked me not to go into the woods alone. That has to mean he cares, right? But why doesn’t he want me out there? It doesn’t make any sense. But…he cares, right?
And I obviously need a life since I haven’t stopped thinking about him. Over and over the same thoughts run through my head. The only reprieve is when I thought I saw Gabe outside, but he never came in, so I assume it wasn’t him after all.
As I look at the clock to see it’s seven, Liz comes up beside me. “Things are a little slower than usual, Abby, so I’m going to let you off at eight instead of nine for the next few weeks.”
“Okay.” I’m a little bummed. My second day of work and my hours are already getting cut? Why did she hire me then?
“Things will pick up again. They always do,” she tells me. “Why don’t you spend the last hour getting caught up on dishes?”
I start the dish water and wonder what I’m going to do with my free hour. Well… not a lot to wonder, really. It’s just another hour to spend at home. I turn on the sprayer and start the mountain of dishes in front of me when I hear a soft rapping on the door. Gabe. When he didn’t come in earlier, I didn’t think he’d show. I know it’s only a matter of time before he starts meeting people around Karma and our little get-togethers will stop. Which is a bummer, because I like him.
The rapping starts again, so I peek around the corner toward the front of the restaurant to be sure no one is there. After confirming I’m alone, I open the backdoor a sliver.
Just because I don’t believe in vampires doesn’t mean I’m just opening this door all the way without know who is on the other side.
“Abigail?”
I recognize the smooth tone of Gabe’s voice. “Yeah.” I pull the door open further. “Hey. I didn’t think you were coming tonight.”
“Sorry, I had a few things I needed to take care of. Is it okay if I come in and talk again?”
With one more glance over my shoulder, I motion for him to come in. I’m becoming a regular rebel! Sneaking people in the restaurant and skipping school. Who would have thought?! “I’m blaming you if I get in trouble.”
Gabe steps inside, leaving the door slightly propped open again. “I would never do anything to get you in trouble. I promise you, nothing will happen.
I start on the dishes again half in awe by his confidence, but the other half a realist. “You shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep.” So he knows I’m kidding, I wink at him.
“I’m not.”
Cue eye roll. Men. They think they know everything. Of course, I hope he’s right, but I know there’s no way he can make that statement. “Oh, guess what? I get off at 8:00 for the next few weeks. I guess it’s kind of cool, but really, just means I’ll be bored earlier.”
“And washing dishes is fun?”
“No, but being home is worse.”
“You shouldn’t go home, then. At least you know people around here. I’m bored all day long with nowhere to go. Now, you’ll see how I feel.”
His words lit a light bulb inside me. Mom thinks I’m getting off at 9:00 every night, but I’m getting off at 8:00! I can do whatever I want! It’s not as if I have anything to really do, but I have that freedom.
It would kill her if she finds out. I’m finally getting some kind of freedom, but something in my belly just doesn’t feel right about lying to her though.
What will it hurt to take one teeny, tiny hour and run with it? I won’t cause any trouble. Maybe hang-out with Caleb or Gabe. What could go wrong?
“You’re awfully quiet over there. I obviously did something wrong again, but I can’t figure out what it is this time. You remind me how rusty I am with people. Hard to have friends when you’re home schooled.”
I suck in a deep breath. It’s like he said the perfect thing because I feel the same way. I’m always screwing up with people and I don’t have home schooling as an excuse like he does. We’re more alike than I realize as he stands there, staring at me. “You, um, you never really had many friends?”