Chapter 8
“Why should I have to come back and try to fix it? I’m not the one that set out to break it!”
“Holly.” My mother’s voice was soft but her disappointment was loud. And crystal clear.
“Mom.” I was disappointed in her, too.
I hadn’t called once during our road trip. But now that we were settled, I knew I owed it to my parents to check in.
“Why are you being so difficult?” she accused.
“Maybe you’re being difficult. I’m being logical.”
“No,” she said. “You’re not. You just left. You went halfway across the country with some boy! Do you know how scandalous this looks?”
“It’s not just some boy, it’s Max. But that’s not really the point. How can you say that what I did is scandalous?”
“It makes you look just as guilty as Collin,” she calmly told me.
Her words cut.
Deep.
“How can you even say that?” I cried. “Max and I are friends. What Collin did…Do I need to put all the details out there for you? Because I can.” She started to protest but I cut her off. “Not to mention that I didn’t leave with Max until after the wedding was obviously not going to happen. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I don’t think what you did was right, either,” she argued.
“Look,” I said with a sigh. “We can argue all day. Or we can just agree to disagree. But one thing I can tell you right now is that I’m not coming home. Not right now, anyway.”
“How long are you going to be gone?” she demanded.
“I really don’t know.” My original, vague thought had been a week. But travel time had taken several days. Now, I was just getting settled and I was in no hurry to leave.
“Just say the word and I’ll have your airline ticket waiting,” she said. “In fact, maybe I should get you one for this weekend?”
“I don’t know if I’ll be ready to come home yet,” I admitted. That would only give me a few more days here.
The sigh she emitted was heavy with displeasure. “What am I supposed to tell people? This situation is very delicate. The longer you are gone, the worse it is going to look.”
“Is that really what you’re concerned about?” I couldn’t help it. Her words finally broke me. I let out a small sob and reached for a box of Kleenex. Cheating fiancé, cancelled wedding, upset parents or not…I was tired of crying.
Her tone finally softened. “No, Holly of course not. I just think you should come home so we can discuss what happened. Collin’s family is extremely upset.”
“Are they blaming me?” I asked.
I was met with silence.
Wow…just wow. Talk about unfair. Yes, the truth came out in the most unpleasant way possible. I could only imagine Gwen’s horror at having her son’s indiscretion announced in front of an entire church full of people. Friends, family and business acquaintances; all of them witness to the unfolding scandal. And I truly felt bad for Dexter. He shouldn’t have had to find out that way. But was that really my fault? It wasn’t. I wasn’t going to be bullied into believing it was.
“Sweetheart, this really isn’t a conversation that should be had over the phone. Please just come home so we can work this out.” Her voice was soft and coaxing. Though I didn’t agree with a single word she said, I did believe in her own way, she truly only wanted what she thought was best for me.
Only, in this case, she was wrong. I mean, was she delusional? What exactly was there to work out?
Absolutely nothing.
I shook my head even though she couldn’t see me. “There’s nothing to talk about. Not at this point.” I took a deep breath and saw with complete clarity what Lanna had been trying to tell me. If I’d stayed, I would’ve undoubtedly been worn down and tossed back into the mess. I was more grateful by the second that Max had allowed me to escape with him. “I’ve got to go but I’ll be in touch. I love you.”
And that was the end of that conversation. I disconnected before she could argue. I turned the power off before she could call back. She could leave a message on my voicemail if she felt the need. I wasn’t going to wear myself out arguing over something that wasn’t going to change.
I whipped my phone, hard. But at least I tossed it on the bed. It landed wedged between the pillows.
“Didn’t go well?” Max asked from the doorway.
I pinched the bridge of my nose and shook my head.
“Do you know what you need?” he asked.
“A better grip on my sanity?”
He grinned at me. “I was thinking ice-cream. There’s this little place down the road. It has great burgers. But they also have a counter where you can build your own sundaes and stuff. Wanna go?”
I was about to shake my head to tell him no.
Then his stomach growled.
“Because I’m starving,” he said.
If Max was hungry and asking me to go to keep him company, that was the very least I could do after everything he’d done for me. I pushed a reluctant smile on my face. “Yeah, I’d love to go,” I lied.
“No you wouldn’t,” he said as he swung his arm around me. “But the food is so good I promise that you won’t regret it.”
***
“I thought you’d be gone a lot longer,” I told Max. We were settled into a booth at the Sapphire Bay Café. The place was so close we had walked. Max had left that morning to check in with his grandparents. I’d assumed he’d work the whole day. But it was barely after lunchtime and he’d come back already.
He shrugged. “Well, Grandpa knew that I had company for the week. He told me not to worry about working too much. He said I could take some time to show you around.”
“Are you sure they don’t mind that I’m staying at the beach house?”
He nodded. “Oh, yeah. They’re fine with you staying through the week.”
“About that,” I said as I fidgeted with my straw.
Max groaned and slumped in his seat. “What? Don’t tell me. Your mom talked you into coming right home.”
I shook my head. “No, actually, just the opposite. I realized today that Lanna was right. If I went back now, they would just expect things to go back to normal. They would think that’s why I went home.”
Max sat up a little straighter. “So what are you saying?”
I hesitated because I already felt like I was taking advantage of the situation. Finally, I just put it out there. “Do you think maybe it would be okay if I stayed longer? I don’t know how long exactly. Just…longer? I completely understand if it’s not.”
“Yes,” Max said immediately. “Hell, yes. You can stay as long as you want.”
“I can pay rent or something.”
He waved the suggestion away. “I don’t pay rent. I’m not even going to mention that to my grandma. She’d only be insulted. It really doesn’t matter since I’m there anyway. I’ll run it by them, just to be sure. But I know they won’t mind.”
I let out a pent up breath. “Good. Thank you. So much. I mean it.”
“Yeah,” he said with a nod. “No problem. Did you let your parents know?”
“Not yet. I’ll let them get used to the idea for a few days. Then toward the end of the week I’ll give them a call to let them know I plan on staying a little longer. Maybe an extra week or something.”
“Have you heard from Collin at all?” he asked.
I shook my head. “I mentioned it to Mom. She said he was probably trying to give me space.”
He bowed his head, blocking his face from my view.
“You don’t think so.” I wasn’t asking. I was stating.
His gaze flew back up to me and he gave me a smile. “What I think, is that we should probably change the subject.”
I wasn’t ready for that. I wanted to know what he had to say. I could see there was something on his mind. He just didn’t seem to want to share it. I gave him an imploring look and he gave in.
“Fine. Here’s the thing. He didn’t run after you. He hasn’t even called. I just…I thought he would. I mean, he should. If it were me, I’d be chasing you down. No matter where you went. I mean…” He raked his hand through his hair. “If I was in his situation I would’ve never let you walk away. Well, scratch that because I’d never do what he did to get himself in that situation in the first place. But the rest of it, I can’t believe he just let you go. Because I never would’ve. Hypothetically speaking.”
He stopped his ramble and blinked at me.
“Right.” I said. “So it’s obvious. He wants nothing to do with me. He’s probably glad I’m gone.”
“That’s what you got out of what I said?” Max asked. “What I was trying to say is that you deserve someone who treats you—”
“Max!”
We were both startled by the appearance of a perky girl at the side of our table. A quick glance alerted me to the fact that she was our waitress. She had a blue half-apron around her waist and a notepad in her hand.
“Hey!” Max said, looking surprised. “Tori! I didn’t know you were going to be around this summer.”
She shrugged. “I know. I wasn’t supposed to be back. But I lived in the dorms during the school year. They close them up for three months. I couldn’t find a place off campus that I could afford for the summer.” She looked embarrassed over her admission. “So, um yeah, I’m living with my mom until I go back in the fall. And they let me have my old job back. So, here I am, living at home.” She let out a little high-pitched laugh as color flooded her cheeks.
“Our dorms don’t stay open, either. I moved back in with my parents, too,” I told her, thinking she had nothing to be embarrassed about. It wasn’t a lie. I had moved back into my old room for a week. It was undoubtedly where I’d be staying as soon as I went back to Chamberlain, now that I wouldn’t be living with Collin. Also, I realized with a pang of regret, I hadn’t had a reason to put in a dorm request. Now, it was probably too late. It looked like I would be staying with my parents for the entire school year.
I realized Tori’s gaze had settled on me. Her expression was questioning.
“Oh, sorry, hi,” I said. “I’m Holly, a friend of Max’s. I’m just visiting.”
“Oh, well, nice to meet you. I know Max from way back. We went to school together.” Her questioning look turned to one of practiced politeness. When she turned to Max, it slid into something else entirely. “Are you here for the summer again?”
“Uh, actually, I’m here to stay,” he admitted.
I leaned back in the booth to watch the interaction. Her expression had turned to one of pure delight.
“Really?” she asked and he nodded. Without looking at me she said, “Maybe we can get together? I mean, after your friend goes home?”
His gaze flickered to mine. I knew I was wearing a bemused smile. For some reason, he scowled at me. By the time he returned his gaze to Tori, she’d scribbled her number onto a page of her little notepad. She tore it off and slid it in front of Max.
He blinked at her. Instead of acknowledging her phone number he told her we needed a few more minutes. She left, smiling.
“That actually happens?” I asked. I pointed at the number written down for him.
“I guess,” he said with a shrug. He stared at it, not moving to tuck it away or program it into his phone.
“Don’t let me stop you.”
Max snorted a laugh. “What? You want me to chase after her?”
“I’m just saying I wouldn’t mind. I mean just because I’m still wallowing, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be out having fun.”
“You really wouldn’t care?”
I shrugged. “I really wouldn’t.”
Max’s gaze cut across the tables. We were hitting the post lunch shift and the place wasn’t very crowded. For once I couldn’t decipher the look on Max’s face. The way he was looking at Tori confused me. It was almost a look of…resignation.
“Don’t look so glum,” I teased. “You could do a lot worse.”
“No. I know. She’s nice enough. I just,” he shrugged, “I don’t know if I want to start anything. I mean, as long as you’re here, I just want to spend the time with you. You know? Before you leave.”
“Max,” I said with a laugh. “I might be here for awhile. You’ve got plenty of time to squeeze in a few dates now. You know, catch her before someone else steals her away. Then later, after I leave…”
I cut myself off because I didn’t like the way he was looking at me. As if I’d offended him somehow.
“What? Is she just not your type? You already said she was nice enough.” I realized that wasn’t exactly a glowing evaluation. But I didn’t understand why he looked so irritated over my suggestion.
The girl was cute, adorable really. She was petite, probably barely over five feet tall, putting her at nearly a foot shorter than Max. She had creamy skin, deep, midnight blue eyes, and a light smattering of freckles. She had shoulder length, raven-colored hair. Curly—corkscrew-curl—curly hair.
“Ohhh,” I said, a grin spreading across my face.
“No. Not ‘ohhh.’ Stop it,” Max ordered.
“Is that…?” I raised my eyebrows and let the question hang in the air. No wonder he was suddenly so aloof. This was the girl he’d told me about. I was sure of it. He was probably embarrassed.
He ignored me.
“Max, she’s really cute,” I finally whispered as I watched her walk across the floor. I mentally cringed because ‘cute’ wasn’t exactly what a girl our age aspired to be. I knew this because I couldn’t recall how many times I had been referred to as cute. Not a knock-out. Not gorgeous. Not beautiful, stunning or even pretty. Just…cute.
“Max. I think you’re blushing,” I teased.
He made a sound, deep back in his throat. I couldn’t help but giggle. Max was so worked up, he was actually growling at me.
“I could flag her over again,” I said as I reached for my napkin. “She’s obviously interested. I really think you need to date more.”
Max was a sweetheart, the big teddy bear-ish type. The kind of guy most girls thought of as a friend. Here was a girl that was clearly interested. His hesitation didn’t make sense to me.
I eyed her up again. She had an ice-cream sundae in each hand and her eyes kept drifting to Max. I could see the light, tell-tale blush that colored her cheeks from across the room. He didn’t notice her blush because he was busy glowering at me.
“Don’t do that,” he ordered. “Don’t be checking out my ex. It’s just…it’s wrong. And weird. And just…Stop.”
“So did you finally get to kiss the girl?” I teased. Judging by the way she was gazing at him, she didn’t hold a grudge over losing a hunk of hair years ago.
He nodded but was making a point of looking at the menu.
“So you actually dated?” I pressed.
“Last summer for awhile when I was here,” he paused. “Okay, maybe it was the whole time I was here. But we ended it when I left. Like she said, she wasn’t supposed to be back this summer.”
“But now she is,” I said as I pointed out the obvious.
“Guess so,” Max agreed.
I narrowed my eyes at him and crossed my arms over my chest. “You had a summer fling! And you didn’t even tell me about it! What else are you holding out on me?”
His eyes flew to mine, pleading with me to let it drop.
“Okay,” I relented. “But are you at least going to take her number?”
His cheeks reddened a few shades deeper. “I already have it. I mean, I never deleted it after last summer. I just didn’t think of it.”
“Ohhh,” I said again. My lips were twitching in a smile. It was fun to watch Max squirm.
He rolled his eyes at me but made no move to take the napkin.
I waited until Tori was facing the opposite direction, wrapped up in taking an order. Then I slid the napkin to my side of the table, folded it up and put it in my purse.
“Why would you do that?” Max demanded.
I shrugged. “Because you weren’t taking it. Like I said, it’ll hurt her feelings if you just leave it sitting there. Unless you want to simply tell her you still have her number?”
He waved the menu in front of my face. “You should try the bacon cheeseburger.”
“I think I’m just getting ice-cream.” I hadn’t had much of an appetite the past few days. After the conversation with my mother earlier, what little appetite I’d had faded again.
“Okay,” he said as he finally looked in Tori’s direction. “We should order so we can get out of here.”
“Max,” I grumbled.
“Hey,” he said, “there’s just a lot I want to show you.”
“Max!” a voice boomed from behind me. I looked over my shoulder.
“Hey, Darren!” Max said. “Are you working here now, too?”
Darren nodded. “Yeah, I am. What are you doing here? Visiting your grandparents?”
Max explained to him that he’d moved back. He filled him in on his plans for the fall.
“Cool,” Darren said. “Maybe we’ll end up in some classes together.” His gaze, which had been flickering from Max to me, now found me again and lingered. He grinned, eyeing me up and making me shift around uncomfortably. “And you are…?”
“Not available,” Max said. His tone was teasing but firm.
“Hi, Darren, I’m Holly,” I said.
“Are you two…?” He pointed a finger, swinging it from Max to me.
Tori had returned with her notepad. A small frown had appeared.
“Uh, no,” Max said. I shook my head to confirm.
“Holly’s only here for a little while,” Tori supplied. “She’s just visiting Max.”
“Oh, okay.” Someone bellowed his name from behind the counter. “See you around, Max. Holly,” he said with a little nod.
“Yeah, sure,” Max agreed.
“Are you ready to order yet?” Tori asked. Her eyes flicked to where the napkin had been. She smiled slightly, most likely assuming Max had stuffed it into his pocket. He nodded and Tori said, “Bacon cheeseburger, no pickles, no onions, hold the mustard? Waffles fries? Oh, and a glass of root beer?”
“Yes,” Max said. “And Holly wants—”
“A banana split, please.”
“Got it!” she said with a perky little smile. She sashayed away. I noticed that Darren was craning his neck, watching her go.
“So, I’m not available?” I asked. It hit me then, that for the first time in nearly three years, I was.
Max looked startled. “Oh…yeah, that. Trust me. You don’t want to be available when it comes to him.”
I didn’t argue. I’d seen the lecherous way he’d been checking out Tori while he was supposed to be working. I wasn’t impressed. She came back from the kitchen, sneaking surreptitious glances at Max as she scooted out to check on another table.
Max flicked a glance at me.
I smiled reassuringly. I knew Max could be adorably shy. I didn’t want to embarrass him. “I won’t say another word.”