Rival(120)

She’d rolled with it, though. I guess she figured that I needed her more than she needed me to say I was sorry.

All in all, I was positive of two things. She loved me. But she didn’t trust me.

She was chewing something as she spoke, and I heard a refrigerator shut in the background. “I just wanted to make sure you got settled in okay and that you’re comfortable.”

I pulled my white cami back down over my stomach as I walked to the French doors. “Tate, thank you so much to you and your dad for letting me crash here. I feel like a burden.”

“Are you kidding?” she burst out, her voice high-pitched in surprise. “You’re always welcome, and you’ll stay for as long as you need.”

After I’d gotten in to Shelburne Falls last night—by plane and then by cab—I’d made quick work of unpacking all of my clothes in Tate’s room, showering, and inventorying the cabinets for any food I might need. Turns out, I needed nothing. The cabinets and the refrigerator were crammed full of fresh food, which was weird, considering Tate’s dad had been in Japan since May and would be there until fall.

“Thanks,” I offered, dropping my head. I felt guilty at her generosity. “My mom may warm up as the summer progresses,” I appeased.

“What’s her problem?” Her honest question threw me.

Oh, where to start?

I let out a bitter laugh as I opened up her white French doors to let the fragrant summer breeze in. “My police record doesn’t match her lily-white living room. That’s her problem, Tate.”

My mother lived only a few blocks away, so it was funny that she actually thought she’d escape gossip by not letting me stay at home while I completed my community service. Those Rotary Club bitches were going to be on her case either way.

That wasn’t funny. I shouldn’t laugh.

“Your ‘police record’,” Tate mimicked. “I never thought I’d see the day.”

“Don’t tease me, please.”

“I’m not,” she assured me. “I’m proud of you.”

Huh?

“Not for breaking the law,” she was quick to add. “But for standing up for yourself. Everyone knows I’d probably have a police record if not for Jared and Madoc tossing their weight around. You make mistakes like everyone else. Deal with it.”

I stayed quiet, knowing she was trying to make me feel better. But then I shook my head as I inhaled the clean morning air. Everyone may make mistakes, but not everyone gets arrested.

I could do better. A lot better. And I would.

Straightening my back, I held the phone with one hand and inspected the fingernails of the other.

“So when will you be home?” I asked.

“Not for a few weeks. Madoc and Fallon left for a vacation yesterday to Mexico, and Jared’s at Commando Camp until July first. I’m going to visit my father next week, but for now, I’m taking the opportunity while Jared is away to pretty up the apartment.”

“Ah,” I mused, staring absently through the trees to the house next door. “Here come the scented candles and throw pillows,” I teased.

“Don’t forget the frilly toilet seat covers and accent lamps.”

We laughed, but I was forcing mine. I didn’t like hearing about their lives, which I hadn’t been a part of. Jared and Tate were going to college and living together in Chicago. He was in ROTC or something and was off on a monthlong training session in Florida. His best friend, Madoc—a fellow classmate of mine from high school—was married already and going to college in Chicago with Jared, Tate, and his wife, Fallon, whom I’d met once.

They were all some sort of little gang that I wasn’t a part of anymore, and suddenly a weight settled on my heart. I missed my friends.

“Anyway,” she continued, “everyone will be home before the Fourth of July. We’re thinking of a camping trip, so do yourself a favor. Get ready. Be wild. Don’t shower today. Wear a mismatched bra and panty set. Go get a hot bikini. Be. Wild. Got it?”

Hot bikini. Camping. Tate, Fallon, Jared, and Madoc and their wild ways. Two couples and me the fifth wheel.

Riiiiight.

I looked across at the darkened house next door, where Tate’s boyfriend had once lived. His brother, Jax, used to live there, too, and I resisted the urge the ask Tate about him.

Wild.

I shook my head, tears pooling in my eyes and teeth cementing together.