Gravity (Free Falling) (34 page)

          “
How did they find out?”  I asked with a hint of nervousness in my voice. 

         
He began to smile.  “I think it tipped them off when I told them,” he replied sarcastically.  My expression was blank.  I’d had enough drama and didn’t think that I could handle anything else. 
What if they reacted the same way daddy had?  What if they really hated me and convinced AJ that I was no good for him?

          “
What’d they say?  Are they upset?” I asked frantically. 

          “
No, I told them that you needed someplace to go and that I wanted you to stay here.  They were fine with it, didn’t even ask any questions.” 

         
I didn’t understand.  “What made you tell them?”

         
He smiled and cocked his head to the side.  “I’m not hiding you.  I was wrong for not being more open with them before.  You don’t have to go meet them or anything; telling them just felt like the right thing to do.”  He stared at me thoughtfully for a moment.  “You’ve been through a lot for me.”  His eyes shifted to my bruise momentarily before looking down at the floor. 

         
AJ gave me new reasons to love him more every day.  He’d stepped outside of his comfort zone and let his parents in on the part of his life that included me.  It made me feel like I was important to him, not just another girl.  He was definitely
much
more than just another boy to me.  In that instant I believe that I fell deeper in love with him if that were at all possible. 

         
He kissed my hand and walked to the living room where everyone else was seated.  I wanted to join him, but I’d left my cell phone upstairs on the nightstand and I wanted to call my mom.  When I got to it, the red light was flashing on the top and I found that she’d beat me to the punch.  After taking a few deep breaths I sat on the edge of the bed and returned the call. She answered the phone in a panic.

          “Samantha?  Where are you?  Is everything alright?”

          I sighed.  “Yes mom.  I’m fine.”  I wanted to tell her everything, but I didn’t want her to be upset that I was with AJ, so I had to lie again.  “I’m staying with Deanna for a while until things settle down.  Try not to worry about me.”  I knew that was impossible and she would worry until I was back at home.

          “I think you should come home today.  You and your father need to talk this thi
ng out because it’s not gonna go away on its own.”

         
The thought of talking to him made my head hurt.  “He
hit
me!  I don’t
want
to talk to him!”  I tried not to be upset with her for making light of the situation.  It was obvious that she just wanted to make things better and for me to return.  “I’m just trying to wrap my head around this and I can’t do that there……with him.  Try to see my side of it.”

She didn’t speak right away.  “
I understand that you’re hurt.  There was no excuse for your father to do what he did.”  She was silent for another moment.  “If you need your space, then there’s nothing I can do to change that, but you’re welcome here whenever you’re ready……no matter what your father said.  He was just angry when he told you not to come back.  You know he didn’t mean that.”  She hesitated for another moment and when she spoke again her voice was quieter.  “I put some extra money in your account this morning……just in case.  Samantha, promise me that you won’t be gone too long
and
that you’ll call me every day to let me know that you’re alright.”

          “I promise.”  I hated that she was caught in the middle of this rift between my father and I, but going home right now was not an option.

          “And thank Deanna and her mother for me for letting you stay for a while,” she requested just before we ended our call.

         
There was a soft knock at the door and then Angel peeked inside.  “Come in,” I called out.

         
“Everything ok?” She asked.

          “Yeah, I just got done talking to my mom.”  I explained.

          Her eyes widened.  “How’d
that
go?”  She asked

          “Of course she wanted to know where I was and she wants me to come home
, but I need time.”

         “Who wouldn’t understand
that
?  Your dad went all Ike Turner on you last night.  That was crazy!”  Angel exclaimed.  I knew that she didn’t mean any harm, but Angel wasn’t exactly making me feel any better about the situation. 

          “Have you talked to
your
parents yet?”  I asked in an attempt to get the spotlight off of me for a while. 

          “Yeah, I called to check in this morning.  I told you they’d be cool with me leaving.  My mom didn’t ev
en sound like she was concerned.”  She was thoughtful for a moment.  “Hey.  Let me use your car.  I forgot my cell phone at your house and I wanna get it.”

         
I reached into my purse and dropped the keys in her hand.  “You remember how to get back?  I asked.

          “I think so, but write it down for me anyway.”

           I grabbed a scrap envelope and ink pen from my purse, wrote the directions back to my house and handed them to her as I issued her a warning.  “Oh, if it comes up, my mom thinks we’re staying at Deanna’s.  And Be careful with my car.  It’s a classic,” I joked.

        
She laughed to herself as she was walking out of the room.  “Classically raggedy,” she retorted.  I tossed a pillow at her, but she was out of the room before it made contact. 

         
By the time I got back downstairs everyone except for AJ was preparing to leave.  Deanna came to meet me and wrapped her arms around my neck.  “We’re going home to change.  Be back at six, k?”

      
I was definitely glad that they were coming back, but I was a little puzzled.    “Ok, but what’s happening at six?”  I asked.

          “
You have to open your presents, duh.  We’re gonna have a blast tonight!  We’re redoing the whole party thing for you. I’m bringing back a cake with me and everything,” she replied.  I smiled at her warmly.  My mind was still far from celebrating my birthday, but I appreciated the gesture all the same.  Once everyone left I continued into the living room and sat beside AJ on the couch. 

        
Angel returned eventually and she was smiling from ear to ear as she came toward me with an envelope in her hand. “Guess what I have?” She said excitedly.  My heart stopped as she placed it in my hands.  There in big bold blue letters were the words
‘
Charleston Universit
y
’.  It was the letter I’d been waiting for; the one that would greatly influence my future.  My hands were visibly shaking as I fumbled with it.  I wasn’t sure what I’d do if it was a rejection, but I did my best to think positively.  I had no other plan and I’d dreamed of going to Charleston most of my life.  I stood up from the couch and she and AJ stood by anxiously as I read. 

          “
I got…...”  I paused while it set in.  “I got in!”  I screamed.  Angel grabbed my arms and we jumped up and down excitedly. 

          “I
told you that there was nothing to worry about,” AJ said while smiling.  I broke free from Angel and threw my arms around his neck.  I looked at him one last time before returning to Angel to celebrate with her. After all this time worrying about whether or not they’d accept me, I was finally able to breathe.  AJ had already turned in his application weeks ago, and there was no doubt that he’d get in.  His straight A’s made that inevitable.  It was now official; we’d be going away to college together.  The next task was to break the news to our parents, but we’d have a while before that was necessary.  With the way things were going, I wasn’t sure if I’d tell mine at all.  I shook the thought from my mind and allowed myself to enjoy the moment.

         
Deanna and Karl got back at around 6:15 with a small cake.  She set it on the counter next to a small silver bag and the card she’d been carrying last night. She grabbed a stack of plates from the cabinet and set them out on the table while Angel cut a piece for everyone.  As soon as we were seated at the table, I had to tell Deanna my good news.  I blurted, “I got into Charleston!”

          “Oh
my gosh!  We’re gonna be roomies!”  She screamed, coming around the table to hug me.  “It’s gonna be great!”

          “I know!”

          “Now all we have to do is talk A.J into making the switch,” Karl added.

         
AJ smiled a little.  “Actually, I sent my app in a few weeks ago; I just figured I’d announce it after Sam got her letter.”

          “Dude, that’s awesome!  Now I can be honest with you;
Westwood sucks!”  Karl burst out laughing and I got excited thinking about the four of us being together beyond high school. 

      
“We are gonna have
so
much fun.  We’ll hit all the parties together; schedule some of our classes together.  I can’t wait!”

          I smiled at her and imagined what it’d be like.  She and I get along so well that I couldn’t foresee us ever having a disagreement.  We’d be perfect together.  And
AJ and I would be able to spend all of our free time together without anyone telling us otherwise. 
Could it all really work out so perfectly?

          “
Ok, time for presents,” Deanna blurted.  “Aren’t you excited?  I can’t wait to see what AJ got you!”  The excitement in her eyes was like that of a child on Christmas morning.

       
“Now that you mention it, maybe I
am
a little curious.  ”

          “
Come on, I’ll carry them to the couch.  The suspense is killing me!”  Deanna exclaimed.  She passed me the card she’d picked out for me first.  I slid my finger under an opening in the envelope and ripped it open.  A tiny slip of paper slid out onto my lap when I opened it, but I decided to read the card first before examining it.

Sam,

Yo
u’
ve quickly become one of my closest friends and I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you that
I’
m glad to have someone like you to depend on.  You were a great addition to our group.  (Good job AJ!) And remember that
I’
m
always
here for you, through
whatever
. 

Happy Birthday!!!!!!

Love ya!  

Deanna

          I closed the card and turned the tiny piece of paper over.  Deanna had actually taken the time to type up a voucher for her and me to do dinner and a movie, her treat.  I leaned over and hugged her.  She didn’t know it, but she was beginning to fill the void that Leslie left behind.  “Thanks Deanna,” I whispered trying to control my emotions.

         
When I sat back, Angel was holding out AJ’s gift – the tiny silver bag.  I looked up to find him smiling as I reached inside.  My fingers grazed a smooth tiny box.  When I removed it from the bag I felt my heart stop.  Angel and Deanna both gasped aloud and seemed to have had the same reaction I did.  The tiny box was light turquoise and tied with a white ribbon.  The bold black lettering on top rea
d
Tiffany & Co
.
  I couldn’t even move my hands to open it right away.  I fumbled with the ribbon and shoved it in the bag when I was finally able to remove it.  I gently pulled the lid off and all three of us girls gasped again.  Inside, on a white cushion rested a silver chain with a heart pendent attached. 

         
I couldn’t even speak to thank AJ.  Words escaped me at that moment.  With my forefinger I traced the heart as I admired it.  The room was silent while everyone watched, anticipating my response.  “It’s so beautiful,” I whispered, still staring at the necklace. 

          “
I had to go all out to get you to retire that one,” AJ said, pointing at the necklace Antonio bought me. “There’s just one more thing though.”  He stood briefly to pass me another small envelope.  My hands were trembling as I reached out for it.  All eyes were still on me as I pulled two small pieces of paper from inside.  He was watching for my reaction to the two plane tickets dated for this August.  The expression on my face must’ve reflected my confusion.  I heard him laugh under his breath as he explained.  “I wanted to take you to see the Italian Renaissance exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York when it comes next summer. I don’t know much about that kind of stuff, but I hoped you wouldn’t mind being my tour guide.” 

          I was flooded with emotion when
I realized what he’d done.  Everything fell to the floor as I leapt from my seat to hug him.  I squeezed him as tightly as I possibly could.  “I can’t believe you did this.” 

*****

          By twelve a.m. I felt myself getting tired, but I tried to fight it.  We were having so much fun that I hated for it to come to an end.  When Karl got up to take Deanna home, I finally gave in and decided to go upstairs to lie down. “Goodnight.  I can barely keep my eyes open,” I said as I leaned in to kiss AJ