“Good.” A look of relief passed over his face, and he finally came to a still. “Think we could talk outside for a minute?”
“Sure. Grams, I’ll be right back, I’m just going out front with Nash,” I yelled into the kitchen.
“All right, sweetie,” she yelled back. “Invite him for supper if you would like.”
I closed the front door behind me, taking a seat next to Nash on the porch swing where he was all ready sitting, his lean arm stretched out across the back. I hesitantly sat next to him, trying to make as little body contact as possible. Nash would really be just the kind of guy I needed right now, but he was taken, and I didn’t want to step over that friends line. “So what’s up?”
“Well,” he dragged out, scratching at the scruffiness on his head, “I was just wondering what was going on with you and that Justin guy, from the other night, you two seemed pretty…into each other.”
“And why would that matter to you?” I arched a brow at him, and his eyes shifted away from my face quickly. It almost seemed as if he was…jealous.
“It doesn’t. It’s just I know the guys reputation and he’s not someone you should be getting yourself involved with. You deserve way better than him, Della, someone who will appreciate you.”
“Don’t worry, Nash.” I patted his leg, swinging my legs back and forth. “I know his kind, and I’m most definitely staying away. Thanks for your concern though.”
“Not a problem. I was also wondering if you wanted to hang out sometime this week. I could introduce you to the guys and show you the house I’m living in. It’s basically a bachelor pad, but we do have a pool table. I think you still owe me a game,” he gave me a crooked smirk, tapping me lightly on the nose.
“I don’t know. How would your girlfriend feel about that?”
“Don’t worry about, Mariah.” He stood up, reaching out a hand to help me up. “You were always one of my best friends; just because I have a girlfriend now doesn’t change that. Tuesday night sound good?”
“That sounds awesome.”
Chapter 9
I rolled to the side of my bed, banging at my alarm clock, but that didn’t seem to stop the persistent chirping that was interrupting my sleep. After throwing it across the room and still no silence, I finally realized that my phone was the cause of waking me up.
I crawled across the floor, searching through piles of clothes before I finally found it buried under a stack of books. I had been keeping true to my word about studying, and last night had been a late one at the library with Zoey. So far, this was a lot more challenging than MCCC.
“Hello,” I muttered into the phone, scrubbing at my eyes that just didn’t want to open.
“Adelaide, are you still sleeping? It doesn’t seem as if you are making too many changes.” My mother’s frigid voice was like a splash of cold water, and I sat up abruptly, suddenly wide-awake.
“Well, apparently I’m awake or I wouldn’t have answered. And besides, it’s one of my late days, I think I can sleep past,” I glanced at the clock, groaning when I saw the time, “seven a.m.”
“Yes, well I’m on my way out, so I just wanted to check in and make sure you made it. I don’t expect any sort of updates from your grandparents, so I guess I’ll just have to rely on your word.” She let out a very unlady-like snort.
“Oh, how nice of you to check in on me after almost two weeks of me being here. I’m doing just fine by the way. Behaving myself and everything. Don’t worry I’ll call to inform you the minute I get into trouble.”
“I’ve missed your sarcasm so much,” she replied. “Well, anyway, just wanted to check in. Have you talked to any of those so-called friends of yours since you left?”
“No, why would I? Most of them are off at school and forgot about me anyway.”
“I wish,” she mumbled. “Apparently your leaving without a word sparked a massive debate on the reasoning behind that. It is truly embarrassing, and I’ve had to work hard to cover up for you. I believe you owe me a thank you.”
“Right, I totally do.” My silence following must have clued her in that a thank you wasn’t coming anytime soon. If she was covering up for anyone, it was herself. I was tired of having to lie about everything.
“Well, then. I guess we have nothing else to discuss. It seems as if you haven’t had any kind of magic transformation that I was hoping for. Call me with any updates.” Before I could even say goodbye, the line went dead.