Lucky Number Four (39 page)

“You need to call him. Don’t leave him
hanging like this,” he continues, giving me advice until we pull
into the parking lot of the student apartments on campus.

About an hour later, sitting on the plush
blue couch in his apartment, he hands me my cell and tells me to
call Drew or he’ll call my mom and tell her I’ve had a breakdown. I
glare at him and his devious blackmail attempt.

I look at my phone and see twenty missed
calls—all from Drew. Shit, my ringer has been off. I hit the call
button and hear it ring. The butterflies are back and they’re going
crazy. I know my blood sugar is out of whack because the last time
I had anything to eat was, like, twelve hours ago. I’m starting to
shake and feel drained of all emotion.

“Hello,” a familiar female voice answers.

“Um, yes, can I speak to Drew?” The shaking
is getting worse. What is Angela doing answering his cell?

“He’s in the shower. Can I take a message?”
she purrs. I swear she is.

“Tell him Dora called.” I should’ve just hung
up, but I don’t.

“Does he have your number?”

“Yes,” I reply, thinking how dumb she must be
since my number will be saved in Drew’s call log.

“Okay, I’ll tell him, but we’ll be out until
late tonight, so he probably won’t call you until tomorrow
sometime.” And before I can say anything, she hangs up. More tears
stream down my face, and Jeff holds me as I sob my heart out
again.

“Dora you’re going to be late for class.”
Jeff’s voice seems so far away, but when I open my eyes, he’s right
in front of me.

“Go away,” I say, pulling a pillow over my
swollen eyes.

“Nope, not doing it. It’s okay to miss the
first day of class, and maybe the second, but not the third. So,
get your lazy butt out of bed and hit the shower.” He pulls the
pillow away from my face, and I stick out my tongue. “Really
mature. Clean that body while I make breakfast. You’re so lucky to
have a friend like me.”

“I know,” I mumble, and I hear his laugh as I
enter the bathroom.

“You look better. Except for the dark circles
and puffy eyes.” Jeff puts a plate of eggs, bacon and toast in
front of me.

I resist a snappy comeback because I don’t
have one. It’s been more than a week since I left Drew in Florida.
After I talked to Angela, I decided to block all of Drew’s calls. I
didn’t want to hear any of his lame excuses. Of course, that didn’t
stop him from harassing Julie, Kevin, and Jeff. Thank God he didn’t
contact my parents. It’s been about three weeks since I’ve seen
them, and I’m running out of reasons for why I can’t make the trip.
I know as soon as my mom sees my face, she’ll be trying to find out
what’s wrong. She can’t use her psychic powers on me, but her
motherly instincts work just fine in that department.

“Eat up before it gets cold.”

“Yes, Mom. Okay, Mom. Anything you say, Mom,”
I say sarcastically, but it just rolls off Jeff’s back.

“Speaking of Mom, I said we’ll be there on
Sunday for dinner.” Jeff smirks at me, and yeah, my tongue
automatically sticks out. Great. Only five days to get my eyes back
to normal.

“Such a good friend you are.”

“I know,” he replies, seeming proud of
himself.

Classes move at a snail’s pace all week. My
nerves are stretched thin, as I’m constantly on the lookout for
Drew to surprise me and show up at school. Of course, Jeff waits
until Friday afternoon to let me know Drew is halfway around the
world on another shoot. I have to punch him, since he also said
Liam had told him Monday morning. I resist the urge to ask when
Drew’s coming back, as I don’t want to hear Jeff lecturing me
again.

Sunday, I wake up to a beautiful sunny
morning, and if it wasn’t for the foot of snow covering the ground,
you’d think it was spring or summer and not frigid winter. All
bundled up in layers of clothing, I wait on the couch for Jeff to
finish getting ready. I’m proud of myself for being up and ready
before him. Maybe it means my heart is beginning to mend. Oh, who
in the heck am I kidding?

“Boy, aren’t we anxious for dinner with the
fam?”

“Yeah, right. Don’t mention anything about
the whole Drew thing, okay?” I ask. Yes, I’m anxious. I’d give
anything to avoid them finding out about my wild week of
pre-marital sexual activity followed by a sudden breakup. They’re
from a different generation and wouldn’t understand.

“Of course I won’t. I think Julie, Kevin, and
I are doing a great job of telling you that you screwed up, so we
don’t need any help.”

“Oh hush, and let’s just get this over
with.”

An hour and a half later, we arrive at my
parents’ house. The roads were a little busy for a Sunday, and
several people decided they needed more excitement in their lives
and got themselves into a few car accidents. Everyone is at the
house, and luckily, there’s no time for small talk, as dinner is on
the table and Mom tells us to take our seats as soon as we walk
through the door.

“So, Dora, I tried to call you yesterday, it
went straight to your voice mail, and you didn’t return my
calls.

Great. Trust Grandma to bring this up the
moment dinner starts.

“I was getting weird calls, so I turned it
off during the day.”

“Weird calls? Did you call the police?”

Awesome. Now everyone at the table, even
Bridget, who likes to eat and then excuse herself because she’s too
cool for us, is staring at me.

“Not police-calling weird, just wrong
numbers, telemarketers, and such. No big deal, but it wastes my
minutes when I answer them.” They don’t need to know I have an
unlimited minute plan, do they?

My dad, the sweet man that he is, changes the
subject. “So, how does it feel to be graduating in less than five
months?”

I let Jeff answer first, and then I say
something appropriate. To my relief, everyone seems to be
concentrating on their plates.

Right after dinner, Jeff, Granddad, and my
dad disappear into the den. Bridget and Taylor sneak away as usual,
and I’m on kitchen duty with the women.

“Dora, how are your queer—I mean—
gay
roommates doing?”

Oh, Grandma. You just have to love her.

“They’re fine. In fact, they’re all out of
the country right now. I hardly see them between work and school.”
My back is to them, thank goodness, because even though they’re out
of the country, Jeff’s my roomie now, so that would be a lie.

“They’re nice young men. I just don’t
understand why they wouldn’t want to settle down with a woman and
have a family.” Now Grandmother has to put in her two cents.

“Maybe because they haven’t found the right
women, and I told you, two of them aren’t gay.”

There, I said it. Now they either deal or
decide to live in their “our granddaughter is living with gays, so
she’s safe” world.

Total silence. Not a creature is stirring,
not even a mouse. Don’t ask me why that popped into my head.

“Well, let’s get these dishes washed. They
won’t clean themselves,” my mom says briskly, and we do as she says
without another word.

Just before we’re about to escape, my mom
asks to speak with me alone. I follow her with a sense of dread
building up in my stomach. Maybe Henry has told her something about
me, which he isn’t supposed to, as it breaks the family code.

“Have a seat. This won’t take long.” She
points to the kitchen chair opposite the one she takes for herself.
“Henry told me this morning that Drew still needs your help. Dora,
part of who we are is to help others, and I’m tired of Henry’s
bitching—yes, I said bitching—about you not holding up your
part.”

“Tell Henry to help Drew himself then, if he
thinks I’m not doing a good enough job.”

“I told him to shut up and let you be, and I
haven’t heard from him since. He will not let me forget this. I
swear, sometimes I just want to be normal.” My mom looks tired, and
I feel guilty that I’m adding to her problems.