Second period started. I chewed on the corner of my lip, glancing at the clock. There was an ache in my chest. Why hadn’t my sweetie come to check on me? I glanced over at the nurse, who was keeping herself busy refilling the canister of cotton balls.
Aiden. My eyes began to sting, and I lay back down on the cot.
“Are you feeling sick again, Ms. Crimson?” The nurse looked concerned. I was glad someone was.
“Yeah,” I said. “Can you call my mom? I think I need to go home.”
“Oh, honey,” my mother said as she drove. “You look so pale.”
I nodded, unable to shake the dread as I rested my head against the cool glass of the passenger window. My life felt so off balance. It was like I was on the top of a human pyramid with an unstable base.
My mother swallowed hard, and I could sense she wanted to talk to me. It was rare that she wasn’t humming or talking. This awkward pause was disconcerting.
“Tess?” she asked. “Is everything… okay?”
I turned to her, slowly, lifelessly. “Why?” But I could tell by the way she looked at me that I didn’t seem well.
She blinked and then turned back to the road as she slowed down for a red light. “I don’t know,” she said, looking sideways at me. “You seem to be tired all the time, and I haven’t really seen Aiden around.”
I glanced at my lap, staring at my jeans and wishing I were wearing my uniform. The sight of the gray and maroon colors sometimes cheered me up. “We’ve been getting together a lot at night,” I said quietly. “When you and Daddy are at the club.”
My mother gasped. “Oh, no. Is that what this is, Tess? Is it because we’ve been gone too much?”
I shook my head. She sounded so guilty, poor thing. How could I tell her it was my own fault that I was down? It was the sneaking and the lying and the boy who was after me. How could I tell her that I was losing Aiden?
“That’s not it, Mom,” I said. “You guys are strawberry smoothie. It’s… it’s nothing.” I was lying again. To my own mother.
“Tessa,” she said softly. I turned to her, desperately lonely. “You don’t have to be perfect, honey. Everyone gets sad sometimes.”
“Not me.” And I tried to smile. Because the worry lines on my mother’s face were almost too much for me to handle. She had her own life. She shouldn’t be concerned over mine. She needed me like this. She needed me to be a Smitten Kitten.
“Really, Mom,” I said, straightening my posture. “I’m liquid gold right now. I just felt a little sick. I haven’t been eating well.” Everything inside me ached, but as I forced the perk, I started to feel it. Soon, I was myself again. Grinning, chatting.
When we got home, I helped my mother reorganize the cabinets after she made me chicken soup. It was nice to stay busy, something to keep my mind off the fact that my phone didn’t ring once. Well, the SOS phone vibrated four times, but my phone didn’t. Maybe Aiden didn’t know. He’d call me after lunch, though. He’d surely find out then.
But lunch came and went. It was really hard to beat my mother at chess when I kept picking up my phone, checking to make sure I hadn’t missed a call or accidentally left it on silent mode.
At three my mom had to go pick up my father from the airport. He’d flown down to San Francisco a few days ago, trying to book them a huge gig. I was glad he’d be back. I’d missed our talks.
Three thirty. School had let out close to forty minutes ago. No Aiden. I made myself a cup of hot tea and debated whether or not to put on my uniform, just for morale.
I had curled my legs under me on the couch and reached out to grab the remote off the coffee table when the phone rang. I nearly dropped my tea as I quickly set it down and snatched up the phone, pressing it to my ear. “Sweetie,” I whined. “Where have you been?”
There was a chuckle, and my belly took a swift turn. “Shoot, Tessa,” Christian said. “I just saw you a few hours ago.”
I closed my eyes. Not again. “You really shouldn’t call me,” I said, unable to hide the disappointment in my voice. Where the heck was my boyfriend?
“You’re right,” Christian replied. “Would it be better if I just came by?”
“What?” My heart rate sped up. He’d become so aggressive in his hunt. It was really throwing me off. “No. You can’t—”
“I’m kidding.” He was laughing. “You need to lighten up.”
“Oh, I’m light,” I mumbled. “Like a feather.” I put my forearm over my eyes and leaned my head back into the couch cushions. I just wanted Christian out of my life.
“Listen,” he said, still sounding amused. “Kira caught up with me after school, said you guys were going on assignment tonight. I wanted to check and see if you were still up for it.”
Dang it. I wanted to get my two nights with another man over with, but could I really do this? Especially when I seemed to throw up at the drop of a pom-pom these days.
“Fine,” I said, surprising myself. Wait. Really?
“Really?” he asked.
“Yeah. Meet me in front of my house at eleven. We’re… going to the movies.” I hung up and dropped the phone on the couch next to me.
Napa Valley! I’d just made a date with another boy. I groaned and collapsed into the cushions, covering my head with my arms. My phone rang again.
Okay, now he was going to get an earful. I sat up, my pulse racing, and brought the receiver to my ear. “What now?” I said, much ruder than I had been in years.
“Tess?” Aiden asked. “Is that you?” He sounded confused. I was horrified.
“Hey,” I said. “Sorry, yeah. I …” I couldn’t tell him I’d thought he was someone else, because who else could it really be other than a Smitten Kitten? And I’d never be rude to them.
I walked to the kitchen table and sat down on a hard wooden chair. I was talking to my sweetie; I should feel relieved. Instead, I felt anxious. Unsure.
“Heard you got sick,” Aiden said casually.
“Did you?” A bit of anger prickled down my back. “Were you worried?” I rested my elbow on the linen tablecloth as I put my palm over my forehead.
“Of course, baby.” He laughed. I clenched my jaw.
“I could tell,” I snapped. Holy crow! I was being sort of mean. Who was I?
“What?” Aiden asked. I heard the phone shift on his ear. “What’s wrong with you? Are you pissed at me or something?”