Bending Under Pressure (19 page)

“Congrats?” I’m not sure what I’m supposed to say.

She loops her arm through mine once we walk inside the building. “It’s going to be amazing,” she dreamily sighs. “Ugh.” I follow her narrowed eyes to see her glaring at Finn. “Cam told me what happened. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I reply as we turn down another hallway for my first class. There, leaning against the wall, is Keelan. This time, I want to sigh all dreamily. He’s in jeans and his jersey, which is tucked in as per school rules, and he looks
good
. It’s easily to see he’s lean, defined, and like a high school God. Those full lips stretch upward when he sees me. “Well?” I ask as I stop before him, holding my breath.

“I got a warning and a promise that next time, the punishment will be severe.”

“Oh, good.”

He wraps an arm around my shoulders. “Worried you wouldn’t be able to see me whenever you wanted?”

I roll my eyes and laugh. “Nope, I was worried you would miss me too much if you were grounded.”

The warning bell rings.

“Oh, I would’ve missed you.” He surprises me when he quickly kisses me on the lips. “We need to get to class.”

School is boring as usual. Mostly. There seems to be a hushed conversation about what almost happened last night. For fewer people having been there, the news sure has traveled fast. At lunch, Keelan tells me Finn apologized. He’s still angry, and he shrugged off his apology. I can’t say I blame him. What we’re doing isn’t exactly safe to start with. The last thing anyone needs is for someone to be stupid about it.

Other than that, the day is uneventful. Keelan and the football players get to leave a few minutes early for their away game. Jess hurries home to prepare for tomorrow. I’m not sure what she is doing to prepare and honestly, I am afraid to ask, so I don’t.

No one else is home when I get there. Keelan will be hanging out with Natalie and Keira this weekend. He’s pushing forward even though he feels nervous and unsure about it. Mom thinks I should give Dad one more chance, if it’s what I want. I do. Desperately. Dad used to coach me in tennis. He would play with me. Every so often, he would bring home a gift for me. When I needed help with homework, he was there. When I wanted to talk about something, he would listen. I just want my dad back, and I’m terrified that it’ll be impossible after everything that’s happened.

With a deep breath, I call him. Time seems to slow with each long ring, each longer pause, and still no answer. I’m convinced I’ll have to leave a voicemail when he does pick up finally.

“Haley, hey. How are you? I’m so glad you called.”

“I’m well. I’ve been thinking about what you said, and I really want things to be back to normal.”

“Me too. I’m so sorry, Haley. I really truly am, and I’m so happy you’re going to let me fix it. You’ll love Tonya and Carly. They’re excited about meeting you and—”

“Dad,” I interrupt. “I don’t want to meet them.” When he doesn’t automatically tell me it’s okay, I begin to worry. He’s going to abandon me all over again. “I’m not ready for that yet,” I hurriedly add to salvage this.

“Okay,” he finally says. “I understand.” Somehow, I don’t think he does. “I’d really love to see you play a game. When is your next one? I’ll try to get off work to come watch.”

“Monday at four o’clock.”

“I think I can do that. I need to go, but I’ll see you soon, okay?”

“Okay.” I won’t be holding my breath because I don’t want to get my hopes up.

“Thank you for this, Haley. I love you.”

“Love you too, Dad.”

“T
here’s been a change of plans,” Mom says when I crawl out of bed and amble into the kitchen around ten Saturday morning.

I frown. “What are you talking about? We don’t have plans. I’m supposed to go with Natalie and Keira today.”

“They are coming here for dinner instead.”

“What are you talking about, Mom?” The plan was for Natalie and Keira to meet me in the next town over where there are more places to eat. Natalie wanted me to meet my aunt, but I told her I wasn’t ready for that.

“You’re still going to meet them, but you’ll come back here for dinner. She called me while you were sleeping to ask if it was okay. She wants to see how you live.” Mom places a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast in front of me.

“Then why am I meeting them? What if I don’t want her in my house?” I ask around the food I’m shoveling in my mouth. I’m starved. Last night’s game was tough, but we won. I was worn out by the time I got home, so I went straight to bed instead of eating the snack I planned on devouring.

“You’re going to the mall; and Keelan, it is
our
house and I told her she could come. She just wants to see you’re well taken care of. She might want to see what your room looks like. There’s nothing wrong or intrusive about that.” Mom takes a seat next to me.

Maybe not to
her
, but I would’ve thought I should have a say on who gets to see my room. “Why do you want her around me so much?” I blurt out without thinking. “Shouldn’t a part of you want to keep her away from me because I’m your kid? Shouldn’t you be more hesitant or
something
?”

Mom shakes her head. “No.”

“Why not?”

“Because you
are
my son. It’s because of her and her poor choices that I ended up with two sons instead of just one. If she’s living a better life and would like to know you, I think you both deserve the chance. Either way, you’re still
my
son. You need to stop forgetting that and worrying she will take you from us.”

“It’s not me who is forgetting,” I mumble, certain that Natalie is secretly planning a way to get me to come back to her, even though I have no reason to think so. My gut is sure of it, and that’s all I have to go on right now. Then what she says hits me. “Wait a minute. I’m going
shopping
with them?” I groan. Great. Just how I wanted to spend my Saturday.

Mom laughs. “I’m sorry, Keelan. Keira has a dance coming up at school apparently.”

“Speaking of siblings, where’s Cam? He wasn’t in his room.”

Mom’s worried look appears on her face. Her eyes crinkle at the corners, her lips press together, and her brows pull inward. “He asked your father to go with him to Elsie’s for breakfast. Something’s going on with him. What is it?”

I grin because this is the perfect time to throw her words back at her. “If he hasn’t told you yet, then neither am I. He must not be ready to talk to you about it.” I even repeat it back in a higher pitched tone to mock hers.

Mom laughs, slapping me in the back of the head. “You’re not funny.” But she’s trying not to smile. It falls away as she thinks about Cam again. “He’s been in a mood all week. Is everything okay with him and Jess? At least tell me that much.”

“As far as I know,” I lie. Cameron is stressing about them having sex. He must be feeling desperate if he’s out to breakfast with Dad right now. He’s surprised me with how nervous he’s been about it. I get it because it is a big deal and it is a reason to be anxious. But Cameron seems to be going overboard, like there’s something more going on than just the fact that he’s supposed to have sex with the girl he’s been dating since freshman year and is in love with. “Thanks for breakfast, Mom.”

“You’re welcome.” she wraps an arm around my shoulders, causing me to lean into her. “You know I love you, right?”

“Yeah, and I love you too.” I kiss her cheek. “I’m going to take a shower.”

I
’m standing outside of some dress store in the mall, waiting for Natalie and Keira to show up, when my phone vibrates with a text.

Haley: Good luck today :)

Me: I’m shopping. -_-

Haley: Haha! What for? Buying yourself something special?

Me: Keira has a dance and needs a dress. Kill me now.

Haley: Oh, it’ll be fun. Haha

Me: We’ll see. I think they’re here. Ttyl.

I’ve just slipped my phone into my pocket when Keira gives me a rib crushing bear hug. Okay, so it’s kind of cool that she’s so excited about me.

“Keelan! I’m so glad you still came.”

“Yeah, no problem. Hey, Natalie,” I say, returning her hug next. “What kind of dance is it?” I ask Keira.

She loops her arm through mine, leading me into the store. “Just a dance. There’s no theme or anything like that.” Keira rolls her eyes. “My school sucks.”

“Do you have a date?”

She smiles and nods. “His name is Dom. I really like him.” Keira flips through a rack of dresses; Natalie is doing the same on the other side.

“Is he nice to you? Opens doors for you? Says ma’am and sir to adults?”

Keira and Natalie laugh.

“You’re already acting like her big brother,” Natalie says.

“He’s nice to me. Sometimes, he holds open the door for me. No, he doesn’t say ma’am or sir,” Keira answers, a smile on her face.

“Then he’s not worth your time. Mom told me that I must always be a gentleman, always have manners, and treat girls as such with respect. You deserve the same.”

Natalie seems to pause when I say
mom
, but Keira isn’t phased. Instead, she laughs. “He’s only taking me to a dance.”

“Doesn’t matter.” I’ve surprised myself by doing as Natalie suggested and turned into a big brother to her. I decide to change the subject to try to learn more about her. “Do you like school? Or have a favorite subject?”

She nods as she holds up a short red dress for Natalie to see. Thankfully, she tells her it’s too short. Answering my questions, she says, “I like school. English is my favorite because my teacher assigns books for us to read and I love reading. Sometimes, I don’t care for the books they make us read though.”

“Really? My, uh, girlfriend likes to read, too.” Haley is my girlfriend, right? “She has a ton of books in her room. Enough for three bookcases.”

Keira opens her mouth, her eyes dancing with excitement when she looks at me, but Natalie speaks first. “You’ve been in your girlfriend’s bedroom?” She raises an eyebrow. “Alone? Were her parents home? Did the Sandersons know you were there?” It bugs me how she can’t call them my parents.

“Mom and Dad knew I was there. Her parents came home shortly after we got there.”
Not that it’s any of your business
I think.

“What kind of books does she like to read? Your girlfriend is Haley, right? The girl we met at your football game?”

“Yeah, that’s her. I think that as long as it has romance in it, she will read it. That’s all I know.” We’re too busy with other things like racing and kissing and lying in a hammock for me to know exactly what she likes to read. I guess I should find out since it could give me something more to talk about with Keira.

“That’s so cool. I’m the same way.”

I nod and find myself holding two dresses she wants to try on. Now,
come on
. When did I become that guy? Sure, Mom would love that I’m doing this, but come on! It’s bad enough I have to come shopping with them, but now I have to hold their things? Withholding a sigh, I ask another question instead. “Do you play sports?”

Natalie throws her head back in a laugh. “You’re the only one with athletic skills in the family, Keelan. Keira couldn’t catch a ball if you tossed it to her and she’s more likely to trip over her feet when she runs.”

Keira frowns. “I’m not that bad, Mom.” She glances at me. “I played volleyball last year, but quit halfway through because the girls weren’t nice.”

“Sorry.” She shrugs and hands me another dress. I rack my brain for some of the questions she asked me so I can ask her. I almost wish I could get her away from Natalie and ask her what she really thinks about her, but considering she now lives with her, I guess she likes her okay. “What else do you like to do?”

“Watch TV, play card games, and cook. Aunt Frances taught me how and I love it.”

“Do you like cooking anything in particular?”

“Desserts.”

“So does my mom. She could probably give you some recipes to try tonight.”

Keira’s face lights up. “Oh! I’d love that. I’ve been searching online for new stuff to try, but nothing has appealed to me so far.” From the corner of my eye, Natalie frowns. “Okay, I think this is plenty. Let’s go try them on.”