Chapter Fourteen

I trudged inside the school Thursday morning, everything hanging above my head. I hadn't solved a single thing by going to see Evan on Wednesday like I'd hoped. No matter, I'd figure it out sooner or later - I had to or else I truly would wind up in a bed next to my mother.

Megan stood at my locker, glancing down the hall over her shoulder.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey," she said. "I wanted to talk to you about your birthday. Are you doing anything?"

Oh yeah - my birthday. That was coming up. I'd almost totally forgotten.

I lifted a shoulder as I worked the combination lock. I opened the door, shoving books inside and retrieving others. "Yeah, um, probably pizza at my place Saturday night. Do you want to come?"

"Of course," she said with a grin. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Great," I said. "I'll let you know what time after I talk to my grandmother."

"Okay," she said. "Are you inviting anyone else?"

Shutting my locker door, I leaned against it, watching the other students slowly meander past us. Nina Chambers was across the hall at her locker, the new girl, Abby, chatting with her.

"Probably not," I said. "You know how my family is. My grandma will go off talking about Mom. I don't want to subject anyone to that."

"I know," Megan grinned in wry agreement. "That's why I asked here instead of at lunch. But, are you sure you don't want to ask Jack?"

I hadn't really thought about it. Unfortunately, I was afraid that my grandparents were less than thrilled with my father and the entire birthday celebration was likely to be fraught with tension and anxiety. Megan - who I still hadn't told about the impending divorce - would think it was because of my mother's illness. But Jack - he wouldn't have a clue.

"Nah," I said. "I don't want to ask him."

"Well, maybe you and I can go out afterwards and meet up with him and Logan," Megan suggested.

"Yeah, that would be cool," I said although it didn't excite me much. Maybe it would once Saturday was closer. Maybe after I visited my mother and talked to Evan again I'd feel better about meeting Jack.

Then again, maybe I wouldn't.

"I have to meet Logan," Megan said. "I'll talk to you later."

I waved as I headed in the other direction, behind Nina and Abby. It was no surprise to me that the two girls would hit it off - they were both extremely pretty. Nina was very nice, too, making me wonder if Abby was the same way. I hadn't talked to the new girl yet.

At lunch, I was surprised when Abby and Nina joined our table, along with two other girls. Nina introduced Abby to everyone once Megan, Logan, and Jack sat down. Jack smiled in that cute way, explaining that he'd already met Abby earlier that week.

That was very interesting.

Everyone started talking at once - about the Spring Fling of course - and I was soon lost in the conversation. Nina was talking about Zac Nagy, another baseball player, who had asked her to attend the dance with him. The other girls gushed over their dates while Abby listened, suddenly forlorn.

I felt bad for her - truly I did. I knew only too well what it felt like to not be included. Of course, my exclusion was my fault as I've always been horribly shy. Abby couldn't help that she'd had to move here.

"You should still go to the dance, Abby," Nina said. "You can hang out with all of us."

"Yeah," the other girls agreed.

"It's more fun in a group, anyway," Nina said.

"Well, I do have a dress," Abby said. "I wore it to a formal last year, though."

"So what?" Nina said with a devious smile. "You've never worn it here so who will know?"

Abby laughed, her brown eyes sparkling. "Yeah, maybe I will go."

"We'll all be there," Jack added helpfully, pointing at me, Megan, and Logan. "We don't mind if you hang with us. Right, Talia?"

I wasn't sure if I was so agreeable but hey, why not? Abby might be a fun girl.

"Sure," I said, forcing a smile.

"Thanks," Abby said, returning my smile, but her eyes shot directly at Jack.

After lunch, Jack walked me to my locker.

"Megan said your birthday is this weekend," Jack said. "She said you guys might be out Saturday."

"Yeah, probably," I said as I opened my locker.

"Great. Maybe you guys can meet me and Logan at the lake?"

"Okay," I said. He smiled at me but it was strained around the edges. Maybe he was regretting his decision to take me to the dance. Maybe he'd rather take the new girl. Who could blame him?

"I'll talk to you later, Talia," he said. "I have to run."

"Bye," I said as I gathered an armful of books and headed to my class.

That night, as I sat at my desk doing homework, my cell phone rang. I frowned at the number - the one that Evan usually called from - and realized that it was Thursday night.

"Hello," I said.

"Hey," Evan said. "How's things?"

"All right. How about with you?" I asked.

"Good. Could be better," he said.

"How could it be better?" I asked.

"It'd be a lot better if you weren't still mad at me."

"I'm not mad," I said.

"Well, confused then," he said. "Ah, hell. I guess I should have told you everything when we first started talking. I should have laid everything on the line. Maybe then you wouldn't be so disappointed in me."

"Evan, I'm sorry. I guess I shouldn't…I don't know," I sighed.

"Don't worry about it," he said. "Listen, I'm so sorry but I can't talk long tonight. I have to call the guys - they're working on something for me and it's going to take a little time."

"Okay."

"I'll see you Saturday, right?"

"Yeah," I said. "I'll be there."

"I'll talk to you then," he said, disheartened. "Good night."

"Goodnight."

"Talia?"

"What?"

He sighed heavily. "Nothing. I'll see you Saturday." And then he hung up.

XxX

My dreary mood lifted when I woke Saturday morning. I smiled as I stretched in my bed. It was birthday. I was finally seventeen.

After a quick shower, I hurried downstairs, not in the least surprised to see my father whipping up pancakes.

"Happy birthday, Talia," he said.

I hadn't spoken to him much since he'd announced that he wanted to divorce my mother but I decided, in the spirit of my birthday, that I'd cut him a break.

"Thanks, Dad," I said as I kissed his cheek. "And thanks for the pancakes."

"There's something on the table for you, too," he said, turning back to the stove.

Next to my plate was a long, narrow box. "Dad, you already bought me a car. This is too much."

"Just open it, Talia," he ordered.

Plopping in my chair, I ripped off the ugly pink paper. I lifted the lid of the box and found a silver bracelet with several charms dangling from the links. "It's beautiful, thanks."

"It was your mother's," he said, back still to me. "I bought it for her when we were dating. She used to wear it all the time. She loved it. I think she'd like for you to have it now that you're a mature young lady."

I wasn't sure that I liked that he was giving away her things like she was dead, but I so very much wanted something of hers - something that had been special to her. Besides, when (if) she got better, I could always give it back.

"Thanks," I said as I fingered the little charms. There was a heart, a music note, a graduation cap, what looked like a wedding ring, and something else that resembled a stork. "Thanks."

"Sure," he said as he piled a stack of pancakes on my plate. "I spoke to your grandmother last night and she thought they'd come by with pizzas around seven tonight. Is that okay?"

"Yes, that's fine. Megan's going to come over and then we might go out," I said.

"Okay. Are you going to see your mother today?" he asked, not lifting his eyes.

"Yes," I said as an anxious squiggle went through my heart. I was going to see Evan, too.

The day seemed to drag - even though it was my birthday - until it was finally time to leave for Stalward. I bide my dad goodbye and hopped into my car.

The bracelet jangled on my wrist as I drove, making me wonder what my grandparents would say about me having it. Maybe they didn't even know about it. I certainly couldn't remember my mother ever wearing it but then, I didn't have a whole lot of fond memories of her.

After checking in, I went straight to my mother's room where my grandparents greeted me with birthday hugs. I hurried past them to kiss my mother's cheek before taking a seat next to the bed.

"Hi, Mom."

Nothing. Of course.

My grandma chatted with me about our plans later that evening until she spotted the bracelet.

"Where did you get that?" she asked.

"Dad gave it to me," I said. I became instantly defensive. Yeah, I wasn't overly happy with the man but I wasn't going to let my grandmother rip him apart. "He said it's Mom's but he thought she'd like for me to have it."

Grandma nodded, her eyes misting, and came over to gently touch one of the charms. "She loved it. I remember she was about your age when your father gave it to her. She hardly ever took it off. And he kept adding charms for special occasions."

"When she gets better, I'm going to give it back to her," I whispered.

"Nonsense," Grandma said. "Your father is right - your mother would want you to have it."

The subject was then dropped as Grandma started talking about when my mother was my age. It was fascinating, yes, imagining one of my parents as a teenager - but I'd heard it plenty of times before. Still, not wanting to be rude, I listened to her.

When she paused for a breath, I stood up and pointed at the door. "I'm going to get something to drink and then go see my friend. I'll be back."

"Your friend?" Grandma asked.

Swallowing, I nodded. "I have a friend here. Dad knows about it. It's fine." I hurried out of the room before she could question me more or insist that I invite him over for cake and ice cream.

I stood in the lounge doorway, a little shaky, wondering what this visit would entail.

"It's rude to lurk in doorways, you know," Evan said from the sofa, glancing over his shoulder. "Come on in."

I did, walking slowly, and sat next to him, leaving space.

"Happy birthday," he said, his eyes on the television screen.

"Thanks."

He set the remote down on the table and turned to me. "What are you going to do today?"

I described my plans for that evening, leaving out the part about meeting Logan and Jack later.

"Sounds fun."

I hated the tension. I hated the short, polite sentences. I missed the joking and the talking. I missed him.

"Evan," I sighed. "Maybe I'm being too judgmental."

He shook his head. "Talia, I screwed up really bad - I know that. It's not an easy thing for people to forgive - most of all me. I still haven't forgiven myself."

"But you only came here because you had to," I blurted. "You weren't trying to fix yourself."

He took my hand in both of his. "That's true. But believe me when I say that I would have gotten here eventually. That accident woke me up - especially when I watched them load that little girl into the ambulance." A shudder racked his body. "I dream about that almost every night."

He was suffering, still - haunted by the things he'd done in the past. He needed to get past it but that wasn't going to happen until other people moved past it, too. Including me.

"Talia, I'm not addicted to drugs - I was more of an alcohol sort of guy," he said, squeezing my hand. "Not that it matters - I messed up no matter what I was on. But I did do some drugs. I promise you that I'm through with that. I've worked hard at dealing with the issues that pushed me to do it. I've been clean since the accident - not that I had a choice - but I plan on remaining that way."

I wanted to believe him - wanted to know deep in my heart that he was being sincere.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked. It was all I could think of to say.

"Because," he said, falling back into the sofa, running his fingers through his hair. "Because you're a great person and I don't want to lose you as a friend."

"You haven't lost me as a friend," I whispered. My heart loosened. "I won't abandon you."

He stared at me for a minute as relief slowly leaked onto his face. He smiled.

"That means a lot," he said, leaning forward to take my hands again. "I won't let you down, either."

In that moment, I did believe him. I released his hands to throw my arms around his neck. "I'm sorry."

He chuckled in my hair. "Don't be sorry. You have nothing to be sorry about." With a final squeeze, he let go to smile at me. "It's your birthday - you shouldn't be so sad."

"I'm not sad," I said.

"Good because I have something for you," he said, lifting a throw pillow to retrieve a square box.

"Evan," I said, sucking in a breath. "I don't want you to do this."

"It's not much," he said, his cheeks a little red. "And my mom had to pick it out for me. You might hate it."

"I doubt it," I said, my cheeks getting red, too. I carefully opened the package and withdrew a leather bound book with my name stenciled artfully on the bottom, right hand corner. "It's beautiful."

"It's a journal," he explained, taking the book from me to open it to the first page. "I, um, have one here. My counselor suggested that I keep one. He said I could write whatever I wanted in it to help me keep my thoughts in order."

I looked at him but the embarrassment was gone.

"It seemed to help me," he continued. "I thought, maybe, you know, it might help you, too."

It was such a sweet, thoughtful gesture that all I wanted to do was fall into his arms again.

"Thank you so much," I said, taking the book back. It was thick, the paper an elegant ivory color. I stroked the cover, wondering if I would have the guts to write anything in it. Maybe I would.

"I wanted to have a cake or something for you but I didn't think of it in time to ask the kitchen," he said with a tiny smirk. "Sorry."

"That's okay," I said, still eyeing the book. "This is plenty."

My heart fluttered in my chest at his nearness - the way I used to feel when Jack smiled at me in the halls. Only, it was more intense.

"So, tell me," he said as he situated himself so that he was facing the television. He remained close, which was comforting. "What's going on with your dance?"

My heart fell to my feet. Did I want to tell him? Yes, I was going to be honest. "I'm supposed to go with a guy from school."

His eyes shot to me and something flickered in them - regret maybe? Or was I just looking for that?

"See?" he said with a small smile. "I told you some guy would ask you."

"Yes, you did," I said, my eyes drifting to the TV.

"What's wrong? Don't you like this guy?"

I shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose."

Laughing, he laced his fingers through mine. "Go and have a good time. You're only seventeen - you should be enjoying this part of your life."

"I will," I said, chancing a glance at him. "Promise."

"Good," he said, shaking our linked hands.

"Ugh," I groaned as I looked at the clock above the TV. "I have to go back to my mom's room. I have to leave soon."

"Okay," he said, getting up and helping me to my feet. He didn't let me go - instead, he pulled me into his arms. He kissed the top of my head. "Have a good time tonight."

"I will," I said, closing my eyes, trying to inhale him.

"Happy birthday," he whispered, kissing the side of my head. "I hope to see you Wednesday."

"You will," I said as I stepped out of his arms and offered a smile. "I'll be here."

"Good," he said as he walked me to the door. "Drive safe, huh?"

I told him I would as I walked toward my mom's room to let my grandparents know I was leaving.

XxX

"Everything okay with your mom?" Megan whispered as I opened the door for her later that evening.

"Fine," I said. "The same."

"Well, that's sort of good," she said as she shoved a package into my hands. "Open that now."

I tore the paper away to reveal a jeweler's box. My brows furrowed as I lifted the lid to reveal a necklace with a round charm that had been split in half.

Megan took it out of the box, lifting it to my eyes. "It's a best friends necklace. I have the other one. I thought, you know, things have been a little weird lately between us since I've been hanging out with Logan so much that I wanted to let you know that I still love you and I'll always be there for you."

Tears, once again, burned my eyes as I hugged her. "Thank you. You know I love you, too."

"I know," she said. We pulled apart. "Let me put it on you."

She fastened it behind my head then stepped back to admire it. "Now, let's eat - I'm starved."

Dinner was actually fun - especially since I felt better about Evan. My grandparents didn't show any sort of open hostility toward my father and vice versa. We ate pizza and then had cake and ice cream. It wasn't until eight-thirty that Megan and I were able to escape.

"Jack and Logan are at the lake," Megan announced as we climbed into her car. "Do you want to go?"

"Sure," I said, my mood flying high.

Once we got to the lake, we quickly located Jack and Logan with a small group of people, mostly baseball players.

"Happy birthday, Talia," Jack said, handing me a card. It was cute - two puppies frolicking on the front - and thoughtful.

Two of the guys had brought coolers full of soft drinks and they passed them out - all of them toasting my birthday. It was kind of neat.

We sat in the park, near the lake, talking and laughing, until eleven-thirty when Megan announced that we needed to leave. Logan took her hand, leading her off in the dark, probably to say goodbye.

Embarrassed, I gave Jack a grim smile.

"I'll walk you to the car," Jack said, offering an arm. My heart fluttered at his chivalry and I wished the stupid organ would figure out what (or who) it wanted.

"I hope you had a good birthday," Jack said once we reached Megan's car. "I wanted to get you something but I didn't know if … you know… it would be appropriate."

"It's fine, really," I said as I leaned against the passenger side. "Thanks for the card."

"So, do you have a dress yet?" he asked.

"Yeah. It's green." I wanted to disappear. What an idiot.

"Like your eyes," Jack said as he moved closer. "I have to get going. My curfew is midnight and my dad will flip if I'm late."

"Okay," I said, holding my breath.

"Happy birthday," he whispered as he brushed his lips over mine in a sweet kiss. "See you later."

I nodded as I couldn't speak. He no sooner left when Megan appeared, stars in her eyes.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said. "Ready."

As she drove me home I couldn't help thinking that this was the best birthday ever.

A/N: Yay, another chapter already.

Somehow, I managed to lose the outline for this story. I don't know how that's possible since I had it saved on my flashdrive. But no worries - I did a basic outline for the rest of the story (plus wrote out a scene that will take place toward the end). There will only be three or four chapters more plus an epi. I've tossed around the idea of a sequel but I don't know if that will happen.

So, thanks for the reviews and stuff. You guys are awesome!