Breathe (10 page)

Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. “Yes, Mom. You’re clear.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. She was probably visualizing snatching me baldheaded.

“If I allow this, there will be rules. If you do not follow these rules, it will be over. Do you understand?”

I was trying to control the big grin that was so ready to be all over my face. I threw myself at her, and we flew back on the bed.

“Yes, yes, yes! I will follow every rule! You’re the best mom in the whole world!” My mom just laughed and hugged me back. For one shining moment, all was right with my world.

The next day, I was so preoccupied with my mom meeting Easton that I couldn’t concentrate. I had lunch with the girls and took a calculus test. School dragged on, and I couldn’t pay attention to anything for very long. Who cared about school? What if she hated him on sight? Or she thought he was weird? Good grief, this could go bad on so many levels.

I was working myself into a frenzy. By the time I got home, I was sick to my stomach. I had seen him in the hallway during one of my passing periods today. I had really wanted to ask him why he had called my mom. Was this some weird Southern tradition? He had been across and down the hall a ways. While I was making up my mind whether or not to approach and ask him, I saw Lisa lurking and staring. I decided I would just have to wait until tonight. I had enough drama to be getting on with.

My mom, Caedan, and Lily were all home when I got there. Mom was cleaning the tile floor in the kitchen when I walked in.

“Hey,” I mumbled.

“Hi, sweetheart. How was your day?”

I didn’t want her to know how nervous I was about her meeting Easton, but I was pretty sure she already knew. “Long and boring. What did you do today?”

She looked up from the mop. “Cleaned, mostly. Ran some errands.”

I nodded. “I’m going to go change.”

She was back to concentrating on the mop. “Okay, sweetie.”

I ran upstairs, opened my closet, and sighed. I had no idea what to wear. Before, if I couldn’t find anything cute in my closet, I would go look in Daisy’s. We didn’t keep her clothes, of course, because that would just be too weird. It seemed like whenever life would start to appear normal, all of a sudden something would happen to bring Daisy’s murder back into the front of my mind. It didn’t seem like the pain got any better. I could forget for brief moments, and then the pain was back, as bad as before. Was my life ever going to go back to normal? I had a feeling the answer to that was a resounding no.

So, what to wear when you are down to your own pathetic closet? It was too late to ask Julia, Raquel, or Mandy to come over for a consultation. I am sure they would help, but there wasn’t even enough time to do that kind of girl event. Maybe I could call though? Julia was the most laid back of the three. I could see her helping me make a rational decision with the least amount of drama. I called before I freaked out any more.

She helped me go over what my options were and didn’t add to my agitation, which was good. We decided on my cutest jean shorts and a flowing white top with my silver sandals. We decided I definitely needed to paint my toenails, and she stayed on the phone with me while I did that, so I didn’t have time to get too nervous. I chose a bright pink, and we discussed jewelry choices. I put on my silver bangles and rings and I was good to go. Besides the butterflies that had taken up residence in my belly, I was ready. At four thirty, my mother called me downstairs.

“Jas, I need a couple of things at the store for dinner, and the twins need some stuff at the office supply store for projects they have due this week. Will you run out and get them for me?” She was wiping down the counter and didn’t look up.

“Umm… Mom, I…” I fumbled around for an argument. I didn’t want to leave her alone with Easton, but I could tell she had arranged it so I would not be present for the “interview.” I guess Caedan and I came by our sneaky ways naturally.

“I made a list of the groceries. Oh, and take Caedan with you. He knows what they need.” She smiled at me. Great. She wasn’t even going to risk leaving me backup. Lily was not good at covert operations. She couldn’t be trusted not to cave in under pressure. She was the people pleaser of the family. Well, I guess I could give her the “third degree” later.

I yelled for Caedan and grabbed the list. We took off for the store, and after grilling him about what they really needed, I realized I could probably get everything in one place: Wal-Mart. I was not a huge fan of the store, especially in light of my embarrassing moment in the parking lot. But in this case, getting everything all at one place was a great idea. I was trying to rush Caedan through the store, and once he realized we were hurrying to get home to see if we could catch Mom grilling Easton, he was on board.

Lily’s new friend—the one who had broken her phone—had gotten in trouble and had to pay for a new one, so Caedan was giving Lily instructions by text on how to listen in on the conversation.

“I don’t know why she is so bad at sneaking around. It’s embarrassing!” he grumbled, when he got her latest text.

“Well, it really isn’t her thing. Like being nice isn’t your thing.” I smirked at him.

He grinned back at me. “That’s true.”

“She says he just got there, and he and mom are sitting out on the porch talking. I told her to listen at the window, but she’s scared she’ll get caught.” He rolled his eyes.

“Tell her she can wear my All Saints bracelet for a week if she listens in,” I offered in desperation as we raced around the store trying to get everything in the cart without looking like criminals.

“She says she’ll try. I don’t know how we are related. If she wasn’t my twin, I’d disown her.” He had such a disgusted look on his face, I had to laugh.

“Well, mom could have made all three of us go, so I guess it’s better than nothing.” I had such a cramp in the pit of my stomach. What was she saying to Easton?

“Lily says he’s saying that he’s sorry for not calling sooner and he should have introduced himself before he took you to the diner.” His eyes narrowed at me. “He took you out already? And you don’t even know him? What’s the matter with you, Jas? Is this guy some creep? Is that why you didn’t tell Mom?”

I was shocked. Caedan never expressed concern about anything. Huh. “No, he’s not. I already spoke to Mom about it. He asked me to the diner after the pep rally, and I didn’t have time to ask Mom. He’s really great, Caedan. You’ll like him.”

He looked away for a minute. “Well, if he turns out to be a freako, I’m gonna go all Jackie Chan on his ass.”

I tried really hard not to laugh. I mean, I know he means well. I imagine he feels kind of powerless being the only boy in the family and being so young. It was such a cute side of him. I had a hard time holding back my smile, but I knew he would hate it if he saw.

“All right.” I said back. “I’ll let you, if that happens.” He nodded once, I rubbed his shoulder, and we pushed on.

“Now she says he told Mom how much he likes you”—insert Caedan’s gagging noises here—“and that he wants to take you out, but only if it’s okay with Mom. Ewww, what a sap! Why’s he being such a wuss? That’s just wrong!”

All my warm and fuzzy Caedan feelings vanished. That didn’t take long, but little brothers were like that.

“He’s Southern. It’s what they do. He opens my door for me and stuff. You could take lessons. Girls like that.” I glared at him.

“Why would I care what girls like? They’re weird, and they want to hug you and stuff. Yuck. Anyway, now she says Mom is asking him about his family, and he just handed her a folder. That’s weird. What would be in the folder?” Caedan asked, but we were both stumped.

We finally had everything we needed. Mom had a lot on her list. We headed to the checkout. Once we were done, we moved fast. Caedan pushed and rode the cart at unsafe speeds in the parking lot, while I ran beside it. I threw all the stuff into the trunk. We jumped in and were on our way.

Now, I normally obey all traffic laws, but this particular incident required some speed. I pushed the limit a little. When we got off the highway, we hadn’t heard anything more from Lily. I slowed down in case they were still out front, and I also did not want to run over any little kids. Pushing it a little on the highway was one thing. Residential district, not okay.

We pulled up to the house, and Easton and my mom were on the porch smiling and laughing like they had known each other for years. What? Who is this guy? What was I getting myself into? Rose Rourke was not easily impressed. She was a good-looking lady. My dad used to say, “Your mother could stop traffic.” I have seen many men try to win her over: doctors, patients, salesmen. No deal. She was polite, but I had never seen her swayed in the slightest. Easton must have some serious game. Caedan and I looked at each other sideways.

“What’s up with that?” Caedan mumbled.

“Got me,” I mumbled back as we got out of the car.

Easton was already making his way to the car by the time I got out.

“Good evening, Jasmine. How was your trip to the store?” He grinned at me as if he knew exactly what was going on. What they say is true. Just because Southern folks talk slow, doesn’t mean they’re stupid.

“Uhhh, good,” I stammered and made my way to the trunk to get the bags.

“I don’t think you’ll be doin’ that now. Let me take those for you.” He smiled at me again as he jostled me out of the way and picked up all my bags in one hand. Swoon.

Caedan stood by the passenger door with his mouth literally hanging open. I guess Easton impressed most people upon first meeting. As we walked by Caedan, I reached up and closed his mouth for him.

Easton stopped and held out his hand that didn’t have all the bags hanging on it. “You must be Caedan. Nice to meet you. Must be tough being the only guy in the family and so outnumbered.”

Caedan shook his hand. “You have no idea,” he replied.

Easton chuckled. “Oh, you’d be surprised. If I have to get in a car with my momma and her three sisters…” He shuddered. “Good thing for me it only happens once in a while.”

That was it. He had made a friend for life. Caedan had an ally. What was next? Could he win Lily over? She didn’t like strange men. I guess we would see.

We walked up to the porch, and my mom was still there waiting for us.

“Jasmine, I’ve asked Easton to join us for dinner.”

I was dumbfounded. What?

“Will you ask Lily to set another place? I believe you will find her right inside.” She smiled at me.

I felt like I had walked into an alternate universe. What was going on?

We walked into the house, through the hall, and into the kitchen. Lily was standing by the counter. She looked terrified. Easton set the bags down on the counter. He smiled at Lily and she frowned.

“Lily, this is my friend Easton. He’s staying for dinner.” I widened my eyes at her, hoping she would pull it together.

“Hi.” She was still frowning. Easton was pretty big, and Lily wasn’t used to being around big men.

“Hello, Miss Lily. It is nice to meet you.” Easton stood back and didn’t try to get close. “Do you go to Myrtle Place Elementary?”

Lily’s eyes widened. “Yes.” She looked officially freaked out.

“I went there too. What grade are you in? Sixth?” Lily just nodded. “Do you have Mrs. Mitchell?” She nodded again. “She’s the coolest. Do you know Abby Hardwick?” he asked.

“You know Abby?” Lily looked skeptical.

Easton smiled that swoon-worthy smile of his. “Well, yeah, since she’s my cousin. She’s one of my favorite people.”

Lily gaped at him. “She’s, like, my best friend at school. You’re really her cousin?”

He nodded. “Yup. And I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say I’m
her
favorite. The competition is pretty fierce. We have a lot of cousins, but I take her and her friends out for ice cream, so—”

Lily was staring. “You’re
that
cousin? I’m gonna go text her!” She was grinning as she ran out of the room.

“How did you do that?” I was stumped. “I mean,
really
? My family is not a bunch of pushovers, and you just came in like a wrecking ball and took them all down.” He shrugged and started helping me put the groceries away.

“And what’s in that folder?” I narrowed my eyes at him. He chuckled.

“Well, uh, yeah, that.” He looked a little sheepish. “I kinda wanted to prove that I’m not a psycho, so I put some stuff together for your mom.”

I stared at him. “What kind of stuff?”

He was rubbing the back of his neck and looking at the floor. “Oh, you know… resume, official transcripts, SAT scores, driving record, and a couple of recommendation letters. The usual.” He looked up at me through his fringe again.

“Are you joking? Recommendation letters? From who?”

He looked even more uncomfortable. “Um… my youth pastor and my football coach.”

What do you say to that?

“I figure if I want to spend any time with you, Jasmine, I better be on your family’s good side. Besides, they have reason for their concern. I get that. I don’t want to be a part of that worry.” He looked serious. I was speechless.

I continued to put everything away, when Lily came running in waving her new phone.