Taking Chances (12 page)

“He was engaged? Where is Claire now? Did they ever get married?” I looked up at him with curious eyes, and he continued.

“Claire moved in with Uncle Justin for a while, and then she simply lost interest I guess. I was only about ten, so I don’t know much. And I won’t dare try to ask Uncle Justin now.”

“So she just left?” I was astounded.

“Not exactly. They broke up, in a way. She moved off to Montana and was never heard from again.”

“Your Uncle Justin lives with you now, right?”

“Yeah, he took over my dad's job, in a way. He farms all of my dad's field and stuff.”

“What were Joey and your mom like?” I asked, still looking at his face. “I’m sorry. I just want to understand you better.”

“It’s alright. You deserve to know.” He smiled my smile. “Joey graduated about a year or two before he…well, you know. He had planned to go to USC to play basketball. That was his sport. He got a full scholarship to go, but decided to wait a year and take the scholarship the next year so that he could stay with me and Mom while Dad was away on business. The three of us lived together and Dad came back when he got an urgent call about Grandpa. He was working in Connecticut, I think. Somewhere in the east, and he flew home the next day. I really didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye…I was visiting my other grandparents in Phoenix…”

It was silent for a few moments, and then I whispered, “I’m sorry,”

Spencer shook his head, wiping away a small tear from his cheek. “I know you were just curious. Tell me more about your family,” he said, looking into my eyes.

How could I deny him his request? I didn’t have to go too into detail, did I?
 

“Well…um, my dad was a man named Andrew Baker, and he left my brother, Clayton, my sister, Violet, Maddie, and me right after I was born.”

“Maddie is your mom?” he asked.

“Yeah, sorry. I call her by her first name. Well, Maddie met my stepdad Michael Anderson, and they were married within a few years. They had two kids together, my half sisters, Lillian and Rebecca. We were living in a small house in Chicago until my grandma died, and then we moved down here. There’s not much of a story,” I lied. “Well, and then I met my first love, but that’s a different story.” I smiled as he looked up from our now connected hands and smiled.

“Are you feeling alright, Romeo?” I asked, messing with his hair again. He chuckled, which was a good sign.

“Yes. I’m stronger than I imagined. I thought I’d be so depressed right now, but it feels…
nice
to be able to get it all off my chest. Thank you for understanding.” He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. I closed my eyes.

It was about nine-thirty when Spencer said he had to leave. But before he left, he asked me, “When did we start dating?”

“Um…sometime in late August, I think. Why?” I asked.

“Well, what’s the date today?”

“Um…September twenty-eighth.” I was confused.

He reached over and picked up something off of the floor. It was the little shopping bag. He took something out of the bag and held it in his hand so I couldn’t see it.

“Happy one-month anniversary,” he said, handing me a small, black box. I opened the box, and lying there was a beautiful, shining ring. The ring was a silver band with five small diamonds inserted. I was speechless. It was so beautiful. 

“Do you like it?” he asked.

I found my voice. “Um…wow…is this real?”

“Well, they are not real diamonds. It’s sterling silver with gems inside.”

“It’s beautiful…thank you. I’m sorry I didn’t get you anything.” I had never expected to get a ring for my one-month anniversary.

I looked up at his face. His eyes were sparkling with excitement.

“Don’t worry about it.” He smiled his heartbreaking smile.

“Here,” he said, taking the ring from the box, and slipping it on the third finger of my right hand. “There, it’s a perfect fit.” He smiled again.

I couldn’t resist my next move. I threw my arms around him and brought my lips to his. He kissed me back, just as enthusiastically as I had. He wrapped his arms around my waist and I scooted onto his lap to bring us closer together. I couldn’t believe that he’d taken the time and money to buy this ring for me. I didn’t even want to think about how much it had cost him. I felt so selfish. I should have known enough about relationships by then…my thoughts traveled elsewhere as Spencer continued to kiss me. I couldn’t concentrate anymore. All I could think about was him; his amazing personality, his handsome appearance, and how he was
mine.

The back door creaked, and Spencer jumped to his feet, pulling me with him. His hand still held mine in a tight grip, as if he were afraid I might slip away.

“Sydney?” Maddie called from the entryway.

“Who’s that?” Spencer asked me.

“My mom,” I replied, making it seem like no big deal.

“Should she know I’m here?” he asked, releasing his hold on my hand. “I’d like to meet her,” he added, smiling.

I sighed, praying Michael wasn’t there with her. “Sure,” I took his hand back in mine, and we headed into the kitchen.

Thankfully, Maddie was the only one standing there. I didn’t even want to think about what would have happened if Michael had caught Spencer there…

“Hello.” Spencer smiled to my mom. “You must be Mrs. Anderson,” Obviously he’d paid attention to my story.

“Yes.” Maddie smiled, in a good mood. “And who might you be?”

“Um…mom,” I started. “This is Spencer Stevenson. He’s my boyfriend.... “

Her eyes widened in surprise. “Boyfriend? Huh?”

I nodded as she saw our entwined hands.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Spencer.”

“Nice to meet you, too,” he replied. “Well, I’d better get going.” I walked Spencer outside to his car, making sure Maddie couldn’t see us as we kissed goodbye.

“Your mom seems really nice,” he noted. I nodded, not wanting to say anything. “Well, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” He leaned down and kissed me softly before getting into his car and driving away.

“Bye,” I whispered a second too late. When I got back into the house, Maddie was ready to interrogate.

“So what’s with the boyfriend?” she asked. “Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“Where’s Michael?” I tried to change the subject.

“Oh…he went to a bar with some friends.”

“Since when does he have any friends?” I murmured.

“Some people from Chicago came to visit him, isn’t that nice?” Maddie said.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Where are your sisters?”

“Upstairs. They’re sleeping. We’ve got school tomorrow, if you didn’t know.”

“Oh, don’t get snappy with me, Sydney.” Maddie warned.

“Are you planning on getting rid of Michael any time soon?” I crossed my arms.

Maddie sighed. “You know I’m trying. I just can’t seem to get away from him.”

I shook my head. “You’re unbelievable. If I had a husband who was abusing my children, I’d be gone by now.”

A small tear slid from Maddie’s eyes. “He’s not that bad.”

“Are you serious? Are we talking about the same man?” My eyes widened. “Did you forget that he once hurt you too? Do I need to show you the marks I have from him, Maddie?”

“Don’t you dare, Sydney! I am your mother and you will speak to me with respect.”

“Well, how about this?” My hand went to the front of Spencer’s sweatshirt, and I pulled it off angrily, pointing to the red marks on my arms.

“Those are birthmarks,” Maddie said in her defense. My eyes widened.

“What about this, Mom? Do you know what that is?” I lifted my T-shirt and showed her the burn scars from Michael’s cigarette. Angry tears came to my eyes, and Maddie’s bottom lip began to tremble. She quickly walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of vodka from the fridge. She drank it slowly. I didn’t want to watch. She was drinking herself into believing that this wasn’t happening, and I couldn’t take it anymore.

“I’ll leave you alone to get drunk, I guess… So much for a good conversation.” I stormed up to my room.

I fell down on my bed, burying my face in my pillow, and letting myself cry. It was a bad trait, to cry when you’re angry, but it had always been that way for me.

I cried for a while, and then as I wiped away my last tear, I sat up and looked down at the beautiful ring on my right hand. I let a soft smile form on my lips. That is where the ring would stay. It was a symbol of our love, and of my commitment to Spencer.

Chapter 10

LAKEVIEW BOOKS, MOVIES AND MATT JOHNSON

The next day at school, Jacquie and Annie asked about my ring, so did a lot of other girls I didn’t even know. I told them about how Spencer had given it to me for our one-month anniversary. Jacquie told me that Jeremy gave her a ring for their one year, and that I was pretty lucky to have a boyfriend as amazing as Spencer. I was lucky.

I had only been at Indian Creek for about a month or two, and I already had the most
amazing
boyfriend, and the best friends a girl could ever ask for. My parents were gone most of the time, either out gambling, at bars, or clubs, so I wasn’t getting hurt as much. Lillian and Rebecca were either at Aunt Megan’s or with friends, so I didn’t have to worry about them getting hurt either. My life was starting to turn for the better.

When I got to school the next day, Spencer was at my locker waiting for me.

“Hi,” he said as I walked up to him.

“Hola,” I replied, kissing him. He chuckled.

“I didn’t know you spoke Spanish,” he said.

“Only sometimes, I don’t know much of it. I took the class, but I didn’t pay attention much.” I giggled, opened my locker and said,
“Como estas?”

“Hey, I thought you didn’t know much,” he accused, coming over to the other side of my locker to face me.

“It means ‘how are you?’” I laughed. “It’s pretty basic.”

“I’m fine, thank you.” He smiled. “How about you?”

“I’m fine, just a little tired. I didn’t get much sleep last night.” 

“Me either,” he said. “My house is so quiet. Uncle Justin left me a alone for the rest of the week. He had to go to this conference.It’s a little too quiet.”

“I’ve never been inside your house.” I realized suddenly. I’d dropped him off at his house before, but had never been inside.

“What are you doing tonight?” he asked, slowly coming closer toward me.

“I have work,” I said sadly.

“Oh.” His face fell. “You don’t work tomorrow, do you?”

“Nope. I’m all yours.” I smiled.

“All right. Tomorrow night, you can come to my house.”

“Sounds good to me.” It did sound good to me. No Michael getting mad at me, no Lillian and Rebecca to look after, just him and me alone again.

“You know, it seems that by how strong our relationship is that we’ve been dating for years more than just a month or two,” I said as Spencer walked me to Biology.

“I know. I realized that, too. But, I’m sure we’ll be together for a while. Seeing as I can’t seem to get away from you.” Spencer laughed.

“That’s a good thing.” I giggled.

“I love you.” He looked down at me and smiled.

“I love you, more.” I laughed.

The classes that day were okay. In Creative Writing, I started a new poem.

Take a Chance by Sydney Baker

Have you ever felt like you’ve done all you can do?

And you are trapped inside with no way out.

When this happens, you just give up, but you are wrong.

There’s a way through, you just have to take a chance.

Show your face and show the world what you are made of.

Stand up and shout because happiness is just a step away.

So take a chance.

That’s all I could think of to write. I wasn’t sure where that poem would lead me, but I hoped that I would finish it and find out.

That night at work, Matt invited me to go see a movie with him the next day, but I told him truthfully that I already had plans.

Wednesday at school I was wondering what would happen that night. I would be at Spencer’s house for the first time.

After school, I drove to my house, and picked up an extra set of clothes in case I spent the night with Spencer. When I got to his house, Spencer was sitting on the porch waiting for me. The big house was a creamy white with a white wraparound porch that went around the whole building. There were many windows on the outside of the first floor, and dark green shutters framed them. There was also a balcony on the second floor with a big, glass door that led into the house.

I got out of my car and headed toward Spencer.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

“Si,”
I answered.

He laughed. “There you go with the Spanish again...”

I smiled, and he took my hand as we walked into the house. He opened the door, and I was astounded. The inside of the house was white, like mine, and there was a staircase with white carpet that led upstairs. Off to the right was a dining room with a big, wooden table, and beautiful chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

“What do you think?” Spencer asked.

“It’s so pretty,” I whispered.

“I’m glad you like the entry way.” He chuckled. “Do you want to see the rest of the house?”

I nodded. He led me over to the dining room, and showed me that the room led into a small office with a wooden desk and a computer. The office led into a huge, light green kitchen with gleaming white appliances. There was an island in the center of the kitchen. On top a book lay open. I went over and took a closer look. It read,
Stevenson Family Recipes.

“That was my dad’s cookbook,” Spencer said from behind me. “I use it every once in a while.”

“You cook?” I asked.

“Well, I used to cook with my dad all the time,” he said softly.

Next, we walked into a large living room.

“My parents had just repainted this when they passed away,” Spencer said. I looked up at him. He smiled slightly. The living room was painted a dark red and there was a big stone fireplace on the opposite wall from where we were standing. Above the fireplace was a big chandelier. There was another staircase with white carpet next to the fireplace that led upstairs. Above the fireplace was a family portrait that looked like it was taken recently. Spencer, his dad and his brother were dressed in jeans, white button-up shirts, and cowboy boots, and Spencer’s mom was in a blue dress. A beautiful, happy family.