After we got back, I told Coop I’d see him the next day, and even though he glanced at my mouth, I didn’t kiss him. I thought about it. At the same time, I was exhausted. I just wanted to go hide in my room. The apartment was as quiet as it had been when I left. Turning up the music, I finished straightening up my room, including getting the now clean comforter back on the bed and putting up my clothes.
Next, I got the roses watered and rearranged. I was almost sad the single lavender rose wouldn’t make it the whole week, but I wasn’t quite ready to toss it out yet. The last thing I did was run the vacuum around and make sure the litter box was clean before I grabbed a soda and headed back to my room to get ahead on my homework.
The busier I kept, the more I could keep my mind off of stuff. Breakfast at Archie’s had verged on a nightmare. I felt bad for his mom. I felt bad for all of us really, but I didn’t want to focus on any of the bad meatloaf.
Pulling out the journal I’d started for lit, I flipped open to the first blank page and wrote down the date. Ms. Fajardo said she didn’t plan on reading the entries, here was hoping she meant it.
Titling itRules and Roses, I tried to sum up the last two weeks and what it all meant. Fifteen pages and a hand cramp later, I still wasn’t sure if I’d managed to capture all of it, but that was definitely enough pages to cover two weeks of journaling. I’d just pulled out my Calculus when my phone buzzed.
Mom:On my way home, in the mood for takeout. You home? What do you want?
I sighed.I wanted her to not be wherever she was. It was almost three though, and I hadn’t really looked at my phone since I got in.
Me:Not really hungry. Whatever you want is fine.
Mom:You still going out tonight?
Was I?
Ugh.
I looked out the window. I didn’t have a great view, but I could see some of the flower shrubs that lined the walk and a sliver of the pass between the buildings. The only upside was my window didn’t face any other window directly, so I didn’t have to worry about people staring in at me.
Me:Maybe. Homework first.
Mom:Let me know.
Yeah,I’d get right on that. Closing out of her message, I glanced at the messages with the guys. There were still a few I hadn’t read. I’d talked to Archie and Coop today, and I’d talked to Ian the night before, but I hadn’t really talked to Jake.
Not to do more than shut him down.
Tabbing to his, I stared at the last message he sent.
Jake:Talk to me? Pls?
The message yanked at me.Leaning back in the chair, I stared out at the other apartment building. Archie and Coop had both encouraged me to go out with Jake tonight, which besides being kind of weird, was also sweet. I don’t think I’d have made it through breakfast without Coop and Archie there for help.
The hugs. The kiss. I was still mad. But…
Me:Hey
Setting the phone down,I flipped to the page with the calculus problems and pulled out clean notebook paper. I’d work them out first, then login to do the homework online. We had options, but numbers worked better for me if I was writing them. It wasn’t until I finished the last problem and I heard the backdoor open that I glanced at my phone again.
No new messages.
It was still mid-afternoon. Jake could be busy.
“Frankie,” Mom called, and I took a deep breath. Leaving my homework, I headed out to the living room.
“I’m here,” I called. The scent of fried chicken hit like a hammer. Oh boy. Fried chicken buckets were usually reserved for the holidays. Unless we ended up getting invited somewhere, Mom and I made an annual KFC run and stocked up on all the goodies from the sides to the biscuits to all the fried chicken we could eat.
But it was for special occasions.
Mom was standing in the middle of the kitchen—alone. Oh. Thank God. Arms folded, I paused at the entrance and studied her. She was smiling. Genuinely smiling, and her eyes were shiny. Mom had dark hair where mine was blonde, but our eyes were the same.
“There’s my girl.”
“Yep. Here I am.”