Promising You (The Jade Series #4) (12 page)

“Hey, you. What’s up?”

“We just stopped for a late dinner and now we’re in the car again. I probably shouldn’t call you every hour for the rest of the night. You need to sleep.”

“I won’t sleep unless I know you’re okay. You have to call.”

“How about every couple hours? Then at least you’ll get a little sleep. Or I’ll text you instead of calling and you can check your phone whenever you wake up.”

“Fine. But I’ll be up until midnight so keep calling until then.”

We talk a few minutes more before hanging up.
 

“Does he really make you call him every hour?” Carson asks.

“We aren’t talking about him, remember?”

“I’m just saying it seems a little controlling, doesn’t it? You can’t go more than an hour without checking in?”

“We’re only doing the hour thing during the road trip. When I get home we’ll only talk once or twice a day.”

“He doesn’t trust my driving, or what?”

“You’re driving all night without a break, so yeah, he’s worried about it.”

“I’m a safe driver, Jade. I’ve never had an accident. I rarely speed. Never had a ticket.”

“He still worries. Let’s just leave it at that.”

I find a radio station and turn it way up so we can avoid talking for a while. Around midnight I turn it off and talk to Carson to keep him awake. I ask him about his hometown, his family, his friends, what sports he played in school, and other random questions. By the end of this trip I’ll probably know more about Carson than I know about Garret.
 

By five in the morning I’m really tired, so I know Carson’s even more tired than me since he’s had to pay attention to the road the whole time.
 

“You want another energy drink?” I ask him.

“No, I’m okay. You know, this lack of sleep is good practice for our residencies after med school. My dad had to do 35-hour shifts when he was a resident, but he said they changed the rules and now they only make you do 16-hour shifts.”

“I haven’t decided for sure if I want to be a doctor.”

“Really? Why? You’re getting A’s in chem and physics. It’s not like you can’t handle the classwork.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I should be a doctor.”

“You’d be good at it. You’d have a good bedside manner. You have a lot of empathy for people. You’re a good listener. You’re easy to talk to.”

This conversation is getting way too personal so I try to change the subject. “The weather seems a lot colder here than in Connecticut, don’t you think?”

He ignores the question. “So why are you changing your mind about med school?”

“I’m not changing my mind. I was never set on going in the first place. It was just an idea. I’m good at math and science so it seemed like I should at least consider it. But it would mean a lot more school and I don’t have the money.”

“You can get scholarships and financial aid.”

“Yeah, I still need to think about it.”

He arches his back to stretch. “I could use a break. Do you mind if we stop and get some coffee?”

“No, not at all. Honestly I don’t know how you’re holding up so well. I’m exhausted.”

He smiles and puts his hand on my arm, gently squeezing it. “It helps to have a good travel companion.”

I’m not great at figuring out when someone is flirting but Carson’s gesture just now seemed very flirtatious. I can’t even describe exactly how or why. It was more of a feeling. Maybe I’m reading too much into it.
 

After our short break, we’re back on the road with two giants cups of coffee wedged in the cup holders. It’s 6 but the sun still isn’t up.
 

My phone rings just as I’m sipping my coffee. It’s Garret.

“You’re up early,” I say when I answer.

“I barely slept. I told you I can’t sleep unless you’re next to me.”

“Well, that’s a problem since we have to live in separate rooms until we get our own place.”

“We don’t have to
sleep
in separate rooms.”

“I don’t think Jasmine will allow that. She doesn’t mind if you stay over a few times a week, but every night might get us in trouble.”

“She doesn’t care. So you must be almost there, huh?”

“Just a couple more hours. Ryan called me last night and said he’d pick me up around 11.” I notice another call coming in. “That’s him now. He’s probably getting ready to leave. I should talk to him quick and make sure his plans haven’t changed. I’ll call you later.”

I switch over to Ryan’s call. “Hey, Jade. I just got up but I’ll head out at 7 and should be there by 11 like we planned. You guys still doing okay? No car problems?”

“Nope, everything’s good. See ya soon.”

I put the phone down and sip my coffee again.
 

“I didn’t mean to listen in, but it sounded like you might be moving out of the dorms,” Carson says.

“Yeah, Garret and I are getting a place together next fall. Oops, I didn’t mean to say his name. Let’s change the subject.”

“You sure you want to commit to something like that so soon?”

“Soon? By next fall, it’ll be a year since we started dating. That’s not soon.”

“I mean soon as in young. You’re only 19. Do you really want to move in with a guy at 19?”

“I’ll be 20 in the fall and yes, I do want to move in with him. Age doesn’t matter.”

“It
does
matter. You’re still figuring out your life at 19. Or 20. Like you said, you’re not even sure what you want to do after college.”

“Yes, but I’m sure about Garret and me. When you know it’s right, why wait? Waiting’s not going to change how I feel about him.”

“It might. A lot happens in college. You change. You make big decisions that affect the rest of your life. And you don’t want to make a decision based on what someone else wants instead of what you want. When you do that, you end up making sacrifices and then you resent the person.”

“It’s normal to make sacrifices in a relationship.”

“Yeah, when you’re older and have the big stuff figured out.”

“And what makes you an expert on this?”

“Madison broke up with me because she didn’t want me sacrificing my future to be with her. She didn’t want me staying in Illinois, going to a college I didn’t want to go to, just so we could still date. And she was right. I’m way happier going to Moorhurst, living in Connecticut.”

“But you said she wants to get back together with you.”

“Yeah, because she’s not as worried about the long distance thing anymore. Now that we’re both doing what we want to do, she feels better about the relationship.”

“Won’t it be hard to only see her a few times a year?”

“We’re both busy, so even if we were in the same town we wouldn’t see each other much. Besides, it’s not healthy to spend all your time with one person.”

There he goes again. Trying to send me a message about Garret. Putting down our relationship. I turn to look out the side window, hoping Carson will get the hint that I’m not happy with his comment.
 

The car gets quiet and I watch the sun rise over the open fields that line the interstate. I’m more awake now thanks to large amounts of coffee and the emerging daylight.

Carson messes with the radio and finds a station that sort of comes in but not really. It’s almost impossible to get a station in these rural areas. He gives up and turns the radio off just as his phone starts ringing.
 

“Hey, Mom,” he says when he answers it. “We have about an hour left.” He’s quiet as he listens. “I don’t know. Do you want to ask her?” I feel Carson nudging me. “My mom wants to talk to you.”

I turn to see him holding the phone out in front me. I stare at it, confused why Carson’s mom wants to talk to a total stranger. I mouth “why” at him but he just smiles and pushes the phone at me.

I take it from him. “Hello.”

“Hi, Jade. This is Carson’s mom, Judy. I can’t wait to meet you. Carson’s told us a lot about you.”

“It’ll be nice to meet you, too.” I have no idea what to say to her.
 

“We can talk at the house, but I just wanted to ask what you’d like for breakfast. I’m making pancakes, eggs, bacon, and some other things but if you want something else, my husband can run to the store quick.”

“No, don’t worry about it. Whatever you have is fine. That all sounds good.”
 

“Are you sure? Because it’s really no trouble. We want you to feel welcome, so don’t be shy. If you want something, just ask.”

“Really, I don’t need anything, but thank you for offering.”

“If you think of something, just call. We’ll see you soon.”

I hand the phone back to Carson who listens as his mom continues to talk. “Yeah, she is nice.” He smiles at me as he says it. “Okay. Love you, too.”

That’s odd. Carson tells his mom he loves her? After a phone call? Does he always do that? I’m not at all used to that type of family interaction. I don’t even understand it. I never had anything close to a loving relationship with my mom. And I’ve never heard anyone in Garret’s family say that they loved each other.
 

“My mom already likes you.” Carson picks up his coffee and takes a drink.
 

“She doesn’t even know me. We talked for like two seconds.”

He puts his coffee down. “Well you won her over in those two seconds.”

“You seem to really get along with your mom.”

He shrugs. “I get along with both my parents.”

“That’s unusual.”

“Not really. A lot of people get along with their parents. Doesn’t Gar—” He stops. “Never mind.”

“Good catch,” I say, laughing. “Anyway, your mom is way too concerned about breakfast.”

“She loves having company. She’ll have a big buffet set up when we get there. She always makes too much.”

An hour later we arrive in a neighborhood in Carson’s hometown. The street is lined with short, stick-like trees that look like they were just planted last fall. The houses look nearly identical—large, two-story homes with three and four car garages. The exteriors are either gray or beige stucco combined with stacked stone. Each house is set far back from the road with large lawns which are currently covered in snow. The driveways are neatly plowed with sharp edges that could only come from a snowblower. I would know. I used to shovel the sidewalk growing up and it never looked that neat and clean.

It’s definitely an expensive neighborhood. Carson’s mom is a trauma nurse and his dad is a doctor so I know they’re rich. Not Kensington rich but richer than most people.

“These houses all look new,” I say. “When did you move here?”
 

“In January. My parents couldn’t take being in the old house after my sister died. Too many memories.” Carson turns into the driveway of a two-story house with a dark gray exterior and pulls into the three-car garage.
 

As soon as we’re parked, a woman comes into the garage from the house. She has straight, dark-brown hair that hits just above her shoulders. She’s taller than me, maybe 5’8, and thin. She has a pretty face and doesn’t wear much makeup; just a little blush and some mascara.
 

“You must be Jade.” She smiles and comes over to hug me. I just got used to people I know hugging me, so having a stranger hug me is a little much. But she doesn’t linger. She moves on to Carson and gives him a hug.

“Hi, honey. I’m glad you’re home. We’ve missed you.”

“Where’s dad?”

“He went down to the bakery to grab some donuts.” She comes over to me again. “This bakery down the street has the best pastries. Let’s go inside. I’ve got some coffee brewing.”

“Um, I was going to help Carson get his stuff from the car.”

She holds the door open. “He’s a big boy. He can handle it. Let me show you around.”

We go inside and Judy gives me a quick tour of the house. It’s big, but feels homey. The walls are all painted in warm, rich colors. The kitchen walls are red, the dining room is dark beige, and the living room is a light chocolate brown. The furniture all looks soft and comfy. An oversized couch covered in a navy blue fabric sits in the living room across from a flat-screen TV and a stone fireplace.
 

As she leads me back to the kitchen I glance around, noticing all the family photos everywhere. In the hallway there are photos of Carson at different ages, along with a girl who I assume is his now deceased sister.
 

This house is such a stark contrast to Garret’s house, which is all white.
 
Cold, white tile floors. Stiff, white furniture. Empty white walls. There is only one family photo at the Kensington house and it’s a professionally taken photo where the four of them are all dressed in—you guessed it—white. I’d never want to live in Garret’s house but I’d love to live in this house. I’ve only been here a few minutes and I already feel comfortable.
 

10

“Have a seat.” Judy points to the tall chairs that line the kitchen island. “Cream and sugar or just black?” She hands me a big ceramic mug filled with coffee.
 

“Cream, please.”
 

She reaches in the stainless steel fridge and pulls out the pint of half and half. “We’ll eat in a few minutes, as soon as my husband gets back. Everything’s ready. I’m just keeping it warm in the oven.”

Carson walks in loaded up with luggage. “Did she give you the tour?”
 

“Not all of it,” Judy answers. “I didn’t show her the basement.”

“Come on, Jade. Let’s go downstairs. You’ve gotta see this.”

I’m not sure what’s so great about a basement, but I follow him anyway, taking my coffee with me.
 

I see why he likes it. The basement looks like a sports bar. On one end there’s a small kitchen with a tall counter and six barstools. Red glass pendant lights hang above the counter and there are two TVs hung on the wall, I’m guessing so you can watch multiple sporting events at once.
 

In the middle of the room is a pool table and next to that is a big, wraparound couch in a bright red fabric that faces a massive flat-screen TV. Carson turns it on and sound booms from speakers mounted in the ceiling.