The One That I Want(34)
Author: Jennifer Echols

Now I was exasperated. “Yes! Sure. I’m totally monitoring your love life, Max. The two of you have such great chemistry. I know this relationship is going to last forever.”

He pulled into my driveway. As soon as the car stopped, I got out, slammed the door, and stomped across the yard to my house without once looking back. This time I didn’t care whether my mom had heard the front door slam. She wasn’t paying attention anyway.

12

The following Thursday, I received lots of presents for my birthday:

1. An actual birthday card from Robert, not a sympathy card or a Grandparents Day card.

2. A vintage bracelet from the store I’d visited with Delilah. She’d seen me admiring it. I hugged her hard because she was so sweet to notice what I liked—and because she was careful not to give it to me when Addison was around. We hadn’t talked about my rocky relationship with Addison, but Delilah must have known things were difficult between us, and she didn’t want to make matters worse.

3. A cool beaded necklace from Addison. She seemed genuinely happy when she gave it to me. I could almost ignore the fact that she waited to hand it to me until we were in a crowd, so they could see her being nice to me. Good public relations for her head majorette–elect campaign.

4. A funky patterned baton bag from the majorettes, embroidered with my name. So sweet! And just my style.

5. A text from Carter saying that Max and Addison would not be joining us for our date that night. Carter would meet me at the mall for an early movie, since it was a school night.

It was my sixteenth birthday. It was supposed to be my special day. Something so horrible could not be happening! At first I did not want to believe it, and I grasped for alternate explanations. Just because the text said it was from Carter didn’t mean it was. After seeing him three times, I still didn’t have his number in my phone.

But when I caught Addison on the football field, she verified the message. Max had texted her to say he couldn’t go after all. She fumed because she’d gotten a manicure just for this. It burned me up inside to think that she was worried about her nails, but she never once wondered if something was wrong with Max.

Maybe I had read him right last Friday. He really had gotten up close and personal with Addison because he was jealous of Carter and me. He was so into me that he couldn’t stand for us to go out as a group anymore. He couldn’t take another night of watching me with Carter.

If so, what should I do about it now?

I would get the chance soon enough to probe Carter about why Max was missing.

In the meantime, right after school, my mom took me to get another birthday gift:

6. My license.

I hadn’t been nervous. I’d practically memorized the study guide for the written test. I’d driven enough that I knew I could pass the road test—and after all, who would dare to flunk the chick driving the Aston Martin?

It wasn’t until I drove home that it hit me: I could drop off my mom and keep driving by myself!

But I couldn’t do that just yet, because I had to get ready for my date with Carter! Bleh.

At home, I opened the first of the four garage doors and very carefully drove the Aston Martin inside. The powerful engine roared even louder in the enclosed space, and I nearly hit the accelerator instead of the brake. In the adjoining garage space, which was usually empty, sat:

7. A brand-new, bright-red Mercedes.

“Is that for me?” I breathed.

My mom nodded, grinning at me. Tears glistened in the corners of her eyes.

“Oh, Mom, thank you!” I threw my arms around her and gave her a big hug.

“Don’t thank me,” she said. “Your father had it delivered while we were gone.”

I tried to maintain my smile as I crossed the space between the cars. Finally I resorted to the majorette grin. The car was gorgeous and I should be grateful. I was grateful, but it was hard to be happy when my dad’s gift-giving followed such a predictable pattern. He bought expensive cars for women he didn’t care about, to keep them off his back.

I opened the heavy door and slid behind the wheel. The interior was white leather. Addison was going to get pink bubblegum on it, and the residue would not come off. I could see it now.

The key was in the ignition. Attached to it was a red ribbon with a handwritten note:

Come see me in Hilton Head.

I was glad my mom had gone inside the house to give me a moment alone with my car. My face probably looked like I was changing into a werewolf as I stared at the note and experienced every emotion I’d ever felt about my dad cheating on my mom and leaving us both.

The idea of driving over to Hilton Head by myself excited me. I was nearly floored by a wave of wanting to hug my dad again and spend a Sunday watching pro football with him. But his girlfriend would be there, and that meant a lot of awkward conversations and strained silences. Kind of like going on a date with Carter.

Well, I owed my dad at least a thank-you for the car. I called him. Holding the phone to my ear, I leaned forward until my head rested on the steering wheel. I listened to the rings and then a recording of his voice, and I left a message.

It was almost time for my date, so I ran inside to grab a sandwich and change. I’d planned to wear my new-to-me bowling shirt, knowing Max would love it. And now he wasn’t coming.

I slipped it on anyway and tied a chiffon scarf around my neck for good measure. I knew Carter would hate it, but I was not going to change for him.

I popped my head into my mom’s office to say good-bye, ran downstairs, and backed out of the garage in my car. I stopped at the mailbox just to check it for cards from my grandmas.

8. Score! Two sweet cards, both with birthday bucks. But there was also:

9. A small, flat package from Max.

Heart going wild, I ripped it open. Inside was a CD. Awww, he had made me a mix CD! I glanced over the song titles, which he’d carefully lettered onto the cover in small, sharp handwriting that seemed so him. Most were birthday rock songs. A few were apology songs. One was a Dolly Paranoids song. I sang through it in my mind, listening for some hidden meaning in the lyrics, like Max was sorry he had chosen the wrong girl to ask out. But I was pretty sure the whole song was about cow tipping.

I opened the case to slip the CD into my player. Inside was a note: See you tonight! So, at least when Max had mailed the package, he’d still been planning to come. I wondered again why he had backed out. I hoped he wasn’t sick. But I was about to find out.

I drove to the mall and parked in the lot. The evening sun shone too bright. The asphalt had half melted in the late summer heat. I felt queasy, but what was I going to do? I had told Addison I liked Carter. I had told Max I liked Carter. It made no sense for me to cancel a date with Carter just because the guy I actually liked was not showing up.