Blind Side Of Love (16 page)

I couldn’t control my laughter as I tried my best to teach Drew to use chopsticks while we ate our Chinese takeout. I didn’t bother telling him anything about my little visit from Ashton earlier in the day. We were having such a great time and I didn’t want any talk of that bringing us down. After thinking it over, I surmised that he was more than likely lying to drum up trouble anyway. The sun was just beginning to set as we sat out on the patio.

“Finally giving up?” I teased as he picked up his fork and began eating his rice.

“I surrender.” He laughed. “I will never master the art of using chopsticks.”

“Hey, what happened to your pep talk from earlier about never giving up on something you really want?”

“Yeah, well, eating with chopsticks isn’t exactly one of my life long goals,” he joked.

“I really had a great time this morning. Thank you so much for making me get back up on that horse again.”

“No problem.” His smile unleashed the butterflies, making it impossible for me to resist leaning over the table and planting a gentle kiss on his cheek.

“Hey, I got a little present for you.”

“Oh, yeah?” He smiled.

“Not that, silly….well, yeah, that too,” I corrected myself. “But that comes later,” I teased, getting up from the table and kissing him once again before heading inside to get the paintings. “Close your eyes,” I shouted as I walked back outside. “Okay you can open them.” I stood in front of him holding up both paintings of my version of a starry night.

His eyes widened in amazement. “Wow, Becca, did you do those?” I nodded and smiled. “They are awesome.”

“Thanks! I tried to replicate each of them to a tee, right down to the amount of stars. Do you notice the one difference?” I asked.

He examined them both closely. “The moon?”

I nodded. “Yup, one is a first quarter moon and the other is a third quarter.” He raised his eyebrows at me. “Yeah, I know I’m a bit of an Astrology geek. But I did one painting for you and one for me. That way when we go back to school we can each have our paintings and know that we’re looking up at the same star filled sky. I can be the first quarter and you can be the third quarter and together we can be the full moon.” My heart sank to my knees when the smile that was on his face instantly disappeared and he looked down at the ground.
Oh God I was so stupid! It was too soon to be getting into this deep psychological stuff with him. He clearly wasn’t ready for it.
The last thing I wanted was for him to think I was getting too needy and scare him away. “I’m – I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-”

“No, Becca, it’s okay.” He finally looked up at me again and I wasn’t quite sure if it was pain or surprise that I was seeing in his eyes. “Thank you. It’s really a great painting,” he whispered. He stood up and kissed me on the forehead before hugging me tightly, still seeming a little unsettled.

“I didn’t mean to seem like-” He placed his finger over my lips to stop me from talking, gently tilting my chin up to his and placing his lips on mine. I pulled him closer and moved my hands up and down his back as our tongues began to dance.

“Do you want to go for a swim?” I asked, pressing my forehead against his.

“I didn’t bring my bathing suit.”

“Who said anything about bathing suits?”

I bit my lip and stared up at him, lifting my shirt over my head. The wary look that was on his face just moments ago was now replaced with a sexy grin. I reached down and unbuttoned his shorts, blocking out any of the doubts that were racing through my mind. I didn’t want to think about what Ashton had said earlier. I didn’t want to think about the look on Drew’s face when I had given him that painting. All I wanted to think about was being in his arms while feeling him inside of me and creating another perfect moment.

Drew spent the night and was up and out early. I rushed around making sure that everything was spotless for when my parents came home. I had just gotten done vacuuming when I heard the front door open.

“Hey guys! How was the wedding?” I asked. My brother looked at me and went storming up the steps. I could tell right away that he had been fighting with my parents. “What’s his problem?”

“Becca, why didn’t you tell us that your brother was involved with drugs?” my father asked.

“What?”

“Don’t play dumb, Becca! He told us that you knew.”

“That I knew what?” I raised my voice in anger. Once again I was bearing the brunt of something my brother did.

“I found a baggie filled with Vicodin in his bag,” my father said.

“Okay, and how is that my fault?” I asked.

“He said that you knew that Ashton Barrett was giving them to him.”

“Oh my God! Are you kidding me? The only thing I knew was that Ashton had given him something to
sell
for him. I had a long talk with him about it and he promised-”

“He promised! Again with taking him at his word! You know better than that! You should have come right to me and your mother and told us this! Are you really that stupid to think that he wasn’t using as well? How could you have been so ignorant to this? Do you have any idea how addictive these drugs are?”

“Jeff, stop blaming Becca for Jordan’s mistakes,” my mother chimed in.

“She should know better, Gail!” he shouted. “She
used
to have a brain. She used to be able to think for herself. She used to tell the truth. Now she’s getting mixed in with this crowd and I don’t even know my own daughter!”

“Mixed in with what crowd? I am NOT friends with Ashton Barrett!”

“Becca, what the hell has happened to you? Are you really that naïve? You are dating a very good friend of his. Do you think that he’s not doing this stuff, too? I don’t want you seeing him anymore.”

My jaw dropped. How could he even lump Drew into this? I may not have been very familiar with drugs, but I wasn’t stupid enough to not know when people were using, and I knew Drew
was not
. I shook my head and narrowed my eyes at him.

“Drew does not do drugs, Dad!”

“How do you know that, Becca? Huh? You’ve known him for a little over a month. You know nothing at all about this guy!”

“Yes I do!”

“What the hell do you know about him? Tell me!” he shouted.

The tears streamed down my face. Why couldn’t he see how important Drew was to me and just accept it? “I know that he is the most giving and caring person I know. He allows me to be myself and not what everyone expects me to be. And I know that when I am with him, there is nowhere else that I want to be.” My mother’s eyes filled with tears as she looked away. “I am not going to stop seeing him. I won’t allow you to punish me over something that Jordan did.”

I grabbed my car keys and headed out the door, just feeling the need to get away. I couldn’t believe that my father was going to use this as a tactic to get me to stop seeing Drew. I would never allow that to happen. I didn’t care if it meant damaging my relationship with my dad. He was not going to take away my happiness like he always did when he didn’t approve of something. I drove for some time before I found myself pulling into Krista’s parents’ driveway, not knowing what led me there, except for the fact that I needed my best friend now more than ever. I took a deep breath as I rang the doorbell.

“Becca! It’s so nice to see you, Honey,” Krista’s mom greeted me with a huge hug.

“You too, Mrs. Hudson. I know I’m probably the last person Krista wants to see, but is she around?”

She gave me a sympathetic smile. “Yes, Honey, she’s up in her room. We um- We’ve been having quite a time with her.”

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Well, apparently she’s been doing drugs for a few months. I didn’t know… she was away at school and –” She began to break down in tears.

“Oh Mrs. Hudson, don’t blame yourself. I’m her best friend and I was clueless.”

“Her last semester, she was battling with bouts of depression. She tried to keep it from us but then one night she called me and she just sounded so desperate. My husband drove down to her school that night and got her. She never finished up the semester.”

I shook my head and ran my hand through my hair. “She never told me.”

“She didn’t want anyone to know. We took her to the doctor and got her on some antidepressants. Then you came home and she was going out and doing things like her old self again. A few nights ago she came home and she was a mess. I knew it was more than just alcohol and she finally admitted to me and my husband that she was using.”

“Using what?” I asked.

Her mother closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Pain Killers.”

I was speechless. I knew Krista and Ashton were doing something that night in the bathroom and again I chose to ignore it the same way I had with my brother. A good friend would have told her parents right away. A good friend would have been there for her instead of shaming her into leaving. A good friend wouldn’t have waited until well over two weeks to see if she was okay. Maybe I was selfish. Maybe I was so fixated with my own world that I stopped being concerned with what was going on with the ones I cared about most. My dad was right; I was ignorant, and unfortunately, that ignorance claimed two of the most important people in my life—Krista and my brother. I sat down on the step and shook my head at a total loss for words. “I am so sorry, Mrs. Hudson.”

“This is not your fault, Becca. You had nothing to do with this. She’s leaving for a recovery center out in California tomorrow. We were finally able to talk her into going.” I nodded, still in shock, first my brother and now Krista. Maybe my dad was right; maybe I was naïve.

“Can I go up and see her?”

She smiled and nodded. My heart was racing as I walked up the stairs, finally reaching Krista’s bedroom. I knocked lightly.

“Come in,” she shouted. She looked up from her laptop in surprise. “Becca,” she whispered. She didn’t even look like my best friend. Dark circles encompassed her beautiful blue eyes. And her blonde hair that was always perfectly styled hung around her face like she hadn’t washed it in days. I tried my best to stop my tears. I knew I had to stay strong for her.

“Hey chickie,” I said, taking a seat next to her on her bed.

“I guess you heard. I’m a complete mess.” She shook her head and gave a nervous smile.

“You’re not a mess, Krista.” She grabbed a tissue from her nightstand and wiped the tears that were flowing down her face. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t there for you.”

She shook her head. “It’s not your fault, Becca. It’s me. I’m so fucked up.”

“Don’t say that, Krista. You are not fucked up! You just need help. You’re going to get it and everything is going to be fine. You are going to beat this! I know you will.”

She looked at me and did her best to form a smile. “I wish I could be like you, Becca. You’re able to handle any situation life throws at you. You have a killer course load at school and are able to maintain an awesome GPA, find time to volunteer, and you’re an amazing friend. I couldn’t even manage one of those things.”

“You are a great friend, Krista!”

“Did you forget how we left things when we last saw each other?”

“Yeah, well, I don’t want to think about that. Let’s forget it ever happened and just concentrate on the future and all of the fun stuff we’re going to do when you get back.”