Lost Along the Way(46)
Jane hid behind the tree in her backyard while she changed out of her concert attire and put on her normal clothes. She left her jeans and tube top tied up nicely in a black garbage bag, where they’d stay until she retrieved them tomorrow, and slinked through the back door. “How was the concert?” her mother asked from the armchair in the corner of the living room.
“What are you talking about?” Jane said, even though she was completely busted.
“Jane, I swear to God I am not in the mood to play this game with you,” her mother said. There was a magazine on the small circular table next to the chair, but Jane was fairly certain her mother hadn’t even opened it. She’d seen this look on her mom’s face often. It never ended well for her. Jane stared at the floor. For some reason, holding her mother’s disappointed gaze was basically impossible.
“Why are you waiting up for me anyway?” Jane asked. Usually her parents went to bed at eleven o’clock—it was one of the things she’d been counting on when she decided that sneaking into the city was a good idea.
“Because Gavin fell off the kitchen counter in his footie pajamas trying to reach a box of sugar cones and broke his collarbone. We needed to take him to the emergency room, so I stopped by Cara’s house to pick you up while your father drove him to the ER. Imagine our surprise when her mother informed me that not only were you not there, but that Cara was supposed to be at our house. Now what on earth would make two teenage girls lie to their parents about where they were for the night?”
“We decided to go to Meg’s,” Jane lied without thinking. Dragging Meg into this was completely unfair and she knew it. Meg had wanted nothing to do with this from the very beginning. Still, it was a last-ditch effort.
“It scares me how easily you lie! We called Meg to find out where you were. Janet Jackson, huh? Didn’t I specifically tell you you couldn’t go to that concert? And you dragged Cara into this mess now with you! I hope you’re happy with yourself.”
“Meg told you?” Jane squealed. She was going to kill her. Unless they’d threatened to physically hurt her, she should’ve kept her mouth shut.
“Of course she told us. We have been worried sick! Do you have any idea how much trouble you’re in? Do you have any idea what can happen to young girls in Madison Square Garden? What were you thinking going into the city like that? Not to mention I specifically told you no Janet Jackson concert on a school night, no Janet Jackson concert without an adult, no Janet Jackson concert, period! I don’t understand why you have no respect for authority, Jane!”
“Where’s Gavin? Is he okay?” Jane asked, pausing for a minute to stop thinking about herself and start thinking about her poor little brother and his broken bone. Once it healed, she was going to torture him for choosing tonight to break something and ruin her fun.
“He’s sleeping, and you’re grounded for a month.”
“Mom! What about the freshman dance? It’s in two weeks and I already have a dress!” Missing this dance was not an option. Everyone was going and she would be the social misfit of the entire class if she wasn’t there.
“You should’ve thought about that before you did something so stupid. And while we’re talking about clothes, why don’t you go back outside and bring in the outfit you changed out of before you came back in here.”
“How did you know that?”
“Because you’re not as good a liar as you think you are.”
Damn.
“I’m sorry. Is Cara’s mom really angry?”
“I don’t think Cara will be at the dance, either. I have no doubt that this was all your idea. Now you can deal with the fact that you ruined the dance for the both of you.”
“I still feel bad that we got caught, but come on! Are you telling me that if we had to do it all over again you’d have made a different choice? That concert was awesome!” Jane looked over at Cara, who was trying to suppress a smile. “Yeah, I didn’t think so.”
They pulled into the driveway and Cara clenched the steering wheel before turning off the car. Jane knew Cara didn’t want to be here, but she also didn’t want to be home. Knowing that there is no place in the world that you fit in is a feeling that’s hard to explain. But Cara didn’t have to—Jane had felt the same way for most of the last year. If there was anyone anywhere who understood how all-consuming that sense of solitude could be, it was her. And that was exactly why they needed each other.
“Come on,” Jane said. “Let’s go inside.”
Meg’s home was as bright as a tanning bed, courtesy of enormous windows that would be a peeping Tom’s wet dream, the entire expanse of the first floor visible from the backyard. Candles covered every surface and the air was saturated with the smell of fresh bread. The sign over the small console table on the wall read LIVE A GOOD LIFE. Lincoln said that, if Jane’s memory served her correctly. She liked the sentiment, but Lincoln really should have been more specific. What the hell defined a “good life”? Damned if she knew, and if she had to guess, she’d bet that Meg didn’t know, either. But admittedly it read a lot better than “Fuck up your life,” which was exactly what it seemed like all of them had done. Hanging that sign on the wall probably wasn’t the welcoming that Meg wanted to give her guests, though, so Lincoln’s abstract statement would have to do.