Every Other Weekend(77)
Gabe smothered a laugh and started the van.
Cherry glared at him before giving me a somewhat less hostile look. “I’m still a prisoner, but since it’s your birthday and we made these plans months ago, not to mention the fact that I have a babysitter, they let me out.”
“Oh,” I said. It wasn’t exactly happy-birthday hugs and I’m-so-glad-we’re-not-fighting, but it was more than I was expecting given how our last conversation had ended. She clearly wasn’t thrilled with the grounding reprieve she was getting, which kept my voice quiet and soft. “Well, free is free, right? Sucks you have to spend part of it at the DMV.”
“Yeah.” Her face smoothed and she sighed when Gabe made a show of clearing his throat. She rolled her eyes at him. “She barely got in the car. Chill.” Then she bit her lip and glanced at me. “I got you a present. I had to order it online since I couldn’t go out but...” She handed me a tiny holographic gift bag stuffed with purple tissue paper. “It’s fine if you don’t want it.”
“I do,” I said, taking the present. “Um, thanks.” A few months ago, I’d have climbed into the back seat to tackle her in a hug before we tore into my gift together. Now I bit my own lip and I wasn’t sure which of us looked away first.
“You get that this is my gift, right?” Gabe pointed at the steering wheel and breaking the tension. “Taking you to get your license at 7:00 a.m. when I could be sleeping?”
Cherry flopped back against her seat. “He’s lying. He and the guys chipped in to get you a new lens for your camera. Gabe did a ton of research picking it out. They’re planning to give it to you at the house later.”
“Um, we did not,” Gabe said in a bad acting voice while shooting daggers at Cherry in the rearview mirror. “None of us even like you, Jo. It’s super embarrassing how you come over all the time and make us free music videos.”
Nothing in the world could have stopped me from grinning. A new lens was awesome, but knowing that the whole band had planned a gift for me... My heart felt too big for my chest. I leaned over and brushed a kiss on Gabe’s cheek. “Thank you. Also, it’s sweet that you think I’m not going to bill you.”
“Hey now,” he said, side-eyeing me and smiling. “Don’t think that gets you out of a thank-you card. And you have to act surprised with Grady and Dexter.”
“Deal.” Then I looked down at Cherry’s gift in my lap. I almost didn’t want to open it, as though good or bad, thoughtful or not, it represented the future of our friendship. We hadn’t been good for a long time, and I didn’t know how we were going to get back there or if we even could at this point. Cherry nodded when I told her I’d open it later.
Gabe tried to ask me a few questions about how my film program application was going after that, but I was too focused on the life-changing test I was about to take, so he gave up and said I could tell them later.
At the DMV, I flew out of the vehicle almost before Gabe stopped. I’d expected getting through the lines to take a disgustingly long time, but I was wrong. It took longer.
I hit neither cone nor small child during my test. I stopped when I was supposed to, and my parallel parking was a thing of beauty. I mentally declared myself an excellent, excellent driver. And my instructor agreed. I rocked a full-on nerd dance, knees bent and arms flailing, when we got back to the DMV. Gabe wasted no time joining me in the parking lot. Cherry was too cool for us, but she did hug me. I was momentarily distracted by that hug, our first since Meneik had come back into the picture, and it was bittersweet since we both pulled away quickly.
I ended up looking somewhat crazed in my photo, lots of teeth and neck tendons on display, but I strutted out of that place like I was John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever.
It was sweet.
Having to ride shotgun when the state of Pennsylvania had just declared me fit to drive was less sweet, but at least Gabe played good music.
I half turned in the passenger seat to talk with Cherry and ask the question I both wanted and didn’t want to ask. “How’s Meneik dealing with the forced separation?”
Her lips pressed together. “Look, maybe we shouldn’t talk about him, okay?”
Which meant she was still with him. I could only imagine the guilt trip he was laying on her over being grounded. No doubt he’d found a way to blame her for that, too. I seriously hated that guy.
I felt somewhat stymied by her request though. Without soccer or her sucky boyfriend, what did we used to talk about? I was still trying to come up with something when Cherry’s shoulders slumped.
“He’s frustrated that we can’t see each other right now. And Gabe—” she lowered her voice to a whisper, forcing me to lean farther in to the back seat “—won’t pass on any more messages between us.”
I made a mental note to hug Gabe more often.
“That’s something I was hoping to ask you about.”
The hairs on my neck lifted and I knew I wasn’t going to like what she said next.
“Could you maybe give me your phone, but—” there was so little volume to her voice as she slid her hand around the far side of my seat that I had to read her lips “—don’t let Gabe see.”
“I can’t do that,” I whispered back.
“Tell your mom or dad you lost it and ask for a new one.”