Part 13 (1/2)
”Oh, thank G.o.d.” She whispers this a few more times and my chest aches with the thought of what I've put her through.
She doesn't hate me.
”Claire, honey, please tell me you're coming home for your birthday.”
”Not tonight. I have plans. But I'm staying the night in Raleigh and I want to come see you in the morning. Is that okay?”
”Is that okay? Honey, you don't have to ask if you can come here. This is your home. You are always welcome here.”
For a moment, I can't breathe. I'm reminded of how much I loved living with Chris and Jackie. Even the boyfriends Jackie dated were always sweet and respectful. She never settled down after divorcing Chris's father when he was six. She always insisted she was too picky, but the truth is she's too strong-minded and independent. She won't take s.h.i.+t from anybody, which is why I fully expected her to be p.i.s.sed at me. This tearful acceptance is possibly worse.
”I'll be there in the morning,” I say as the front door opens and Adam walks in wearing jeans and a black Rip Curl T-s.h.i.+rt that hugs his ripped chest.
”Claire?”
”Yeah?”
”I can't wait to see you.”
”Me, too,” I whisper before I hang up.
Adam waits for me by the door wearing a crooked smile that melts my heart. I tuck my phone into my back pocket and stuff my two expired IDs into my other back pocket. I go to him and wrap my arms around his waist as I rest my cheek against his chest.
”Thank you for taking me today.”
”I haven't even taken you yet. How do you know this isn't an elaborate ruse to get my hands on your trust fund?”
I lean my head back and look into his eyes, ready to b.u.t.ter him up. ”You have the most gorgeous light-green eyes I have ever seen on a human being.”
”That's because they're full of dollar signs.”
”If I give you all my money, can you take me to see my foster mother tomorrow morning?”
”Tell you what, I'll let you keep the money if you let me have an extra slice of birthday cake tonight.”
”Deal.”
”And you know what I mean when I say birthday cake.”
”Of course I do. That stuff with the frosting.”
He leans down to kiss me, stopping right before our lips touch. ”The frosting's the best part.”
After checking in on Cora, we hop into the truck with no suitcase this time. Adam insists we can sleep naked in the hotel room and I really have no problem with this suggestion.
All the local radio stations seem to be obsessed with playing Chris Knight songs this morning so I'm extremely grateful when Adam lets me put my music on again. I need to listen to something that will calm my nerves. I find an old cla.s.sical music playlist I made for meditating and hit play.
”Really?” he asks, c.o.c.king an eyebrow as he casts me a sideways glance.
”I haven't meditated today. I need something to help me relax.”
”Only because it's your birthday.” We sit in silence for a few minutes before he sighs. ”Claire, I need to ask you something.”
”Sounds serious.”
”This foster mother we're going to see tomorrow... does she know why you dropped out of UNC?”
”She doesn't even know I dropped out.”
”Oh.”
He's silent for a moment and I take the opportunity to gaze at all the highway signage displaying all the names of streets I haven't seen since before Senia moved in. It's been more than two months since I've been to Raleigh. Every mile we drive brings me closer to knowing the truth about the trust fund my mother left me, and closer to the lies I've been running from for the past year.
”Can I ask you something else?” he says, and something about the way his voice goes a little too high on the last word makes me think he's nervous about this question.
”Go ahead.”
”This guy that you were with before me, what was his name again?”
”I never told you his name.”
”Right. Well, does he live in Raleigh?”
I pause as I try to figure out where this is going. Does he want to know if there's a chance we may run into Chris or does he want to track him down and try to find out my secret from him? Or, maybe, he thinks Chris is the one who broke my heart and he wants to beat the s.h.i.+t out of him. I'm going to a.s.sume it's the first one. That's the safest conclusion to jump to.
”We're not going to run into him. He left Raleigh right after we broke up last year.”
”Did you break up with him?”
He's fis.h.i.+ng. He's asked similar, but more vague, questions over the past few weeks, but they've been ambiguous enough for me to dodge them or answer them without giving too much away. For instance, last week he asked if I had ever been cheated on. A few days before that he asked how many guys I've had s.e.x with. When I told him I've only had s.e.x with one other guy, he got a glimmer of hope in his eye. He seemed to be pleased to know that I'm practically virginal and to have me just a little more figured out.
”Yes, I broke up with him.”
”This is the same guy who was your first?”
”Why are you asking these questions all of a sudden?”
”I just feel like I should know these things before we get to your hood. I'm not a Raleigh guy. I grew up in and around Carolina Beach before my parents moved to Wilmington five years ago when I went to Duke. I don't have a lot of friends in Raleigh. I just want to make sure I'm not caught by surprise.”
He thinks we're going to run into someone, not just Chris, who may give him a hard time about being with me. Maybe he even thinks Jackie's going to give him a hard time. He may be right about that. When Chris and I broke the news about our relations.h.i.+p to Jackie shortly after my eighteenth birthday, she wasn't surprised-she was ecstatic. Something tells me she won't be so ecstatic to see me with Adam.
”Look. When we go to my foster mother's house tomorrow, you're going to have to stay in the truck. I really wish I could introduce you to her, but I just don't think it's the right time.”
”Really?”
”Really. She doesn't know I dropped out. She doesn't know what happened after I dropped out. And she doesn't know about you. She's very protective and opinionated. I have a lot to talk about with her tomorrow. I want to ease her into everything that's happened. I don't want her to dislike you just because she's p.i.s.sed at me.”