Last Chance Summer (4 page)

I smile. My mom has never gone to the gym before in her life.

“I’m sorry for not calling. We’re mini-golfing, and I forgot to call before I left.”

“I’m so glad you’re making friends,” he tells me.

Well, I don’t know if “friends” is the right word, but I’m not going to tell my dad that. “Me, too.”

“Have you talked to your Uncle Chris yet?” he asks me.

Shit. My dad has been on me for the past few days to call my uncle and thank him for buying my plane ticket and letting me stay with them. I keep putting it off.

“I was just about to,” I lie.

“Morgan,” my dad says, a warning tone in his voice, “make sure you do it now.”

“I will, Dad, I promise.”

“Okay, then. Have fun. I miss you, kiddo.”

“Miss you too, Dad.” And then I hang up.

I glance past the trees to see if anyone cares that I’m missing in action, but everything seems to be fine. They’ve moved on to the next hole, so I figure one more quick phone call won’t hurt. Arielle won’t even know.

I scroll through her contacts until I get to the one that says “Dad’s Cell” which is my Uncle Chris’s number. I hit call.

It rings a few times before a voice comes on the line.

“What?” it snaps in my ear. I’m too taken aback to reply, and before I can, the voice comes back over the line. “How many times do I have to tell you? If I want to talk, I’ll call you.” And then the line goes dead.

At first, I’m really confused. But then I realize my uncle must have seen Arielle’s number on the caller ID and thought it was her. But that doesn’t even make any sense.

Why would he talk to her like that? And why wouldn’t he be okay with her calling him?

I quickly hit the delete button so Arielle wont know I called her dad and then head back to the group.

I manage to get through the rest of mini-golf, but it isn’t the same. I’m distracted and confused. I keep replaying what my uncle said over and over again, trying to make some kind of sense of it. But I can’t.

I try to push it to the back of my mind but I’m in a weird mood for the rest of the night. And by the time we pull into the driveway and I head up to my room, I still don’t feel right.

***

An hour later I’m still stressed out. My make-up has been washed off, I’m wearing blue shorts and a white tank top, and my hair is up in a messy bun. I’m trying my best to sleep, but all I seem to be doing is tossing and turning.

I can’t sleep when I have this many thoughts running through my head. I’m just about to give up and go downstairs to get a snack when I hear scratching at my window.

At first I think it must be a bird or something so I decide to ignore it. But then it becomes almost like a knocking.

Oh, my God. Someone is at my window! A mass murderer, probably coming to chop me up into tiny pieces. But would a mass murderer really knock? I mean, isn’t that a little bit too polite for a crazy psycho?

I slowly reach over and switch on the light next to my bed. It’s definitely a person. I can make out their stomach and their shirt and if I squint I can just see their face. It’s…it’s… oh, my God. It’s Alex.

I start to panic. What is he doing here? At my window? In the middle of the night? While I look like this? Oh, my God. Oh, my God. OH, MY GOD.

He knocks again and I realize he knows I’ve seen him and that I’ve just been staring at him. I quickly get up and go over to unlatch the window.

“Have you lost your mind?” I ask him.

“Well, it’s nice to see you too,” he says, rolling his eyes.

“What do you want? You can’t be here!”

“Why not?” he asks, sliding his legs effortlessly through the window and slipping into my room.

“Because it’s late! At night! And this is my room!”

“Well, it’s not actually your room, per se…”

“Oh, shut up! You know what I mean!”

He laughs and throws himself down on my bed. “Oh relax, Morgan. I’m not here to take advantage of you or anything.”

“Oh, so now I’m ugly?”

He laughs. “You’re such a brat.”

I cross my arms over my chest. “Why not just use the front door then?”

“I didn’t want Arielle or your aunt knowing I came here to talk to you. Somehow I didn’t think you would talk to me as freely if they knew I was here.”

“Why
are
you here?”

He shrugs. “I was worried.”

“Worried?” I ask.

He nods. “When you came back from calling your parents, you seemed.... I don’t know, different. Like something wasn’t right.”

Oh. So he noticed.

I walk slowly over to the bed and sit down next to him.

“It’s nothing. I’m fine.”

“Then why aren’t you asleep yet?”

I turn and look at him. “That’s what I was trying to do before someone interrupted me!”

His eyes meet mine. “If you were going to sleep you would have been there by now. Which means something is on your mind, which means you probably need someone to talk to. Hence the reason I’m here.”

I’m just about to tell him again that I’m fine when he moves a little closer to me on the bed. “Morgan, you can trust me. I’m not going to tell anyone.”

Maybe it’s the way he says it, or maybe it’s just that I’m so upset, but in that moment, I believe him. I believe I can trust him. And before I know it, I’m telling him everything -- how upset I am to be here, how I want to go home. About what my uncle said, and how it makes no sense to me. I tell Alex just about everything I’ve been feeling for the past few days. And by the time I’m finished, tears are falling out of my eyes.

“Hey, hey. None of that,” he says, sliding over on the bed so he’s right next to me. “It’s going to be okay,” he tells me, putting his arm around me and pulling me into his chest. “Arielle and her dad have always had a complicated relationship. From what I know, it sounds like he’s actually kind of a jerk. But Morgan, that’s not your fault and you can’t do anything about it. So beating yourself up isn’t going to help.”

I nod silently into his shirt.

“You know what you can do, though?”

“What?” I ask softly.

“You can give Arielle another chance. Just try to have an open mind, try to connect with her. I know she has this wall up, but if you push hard enough you can break it. And I promise you that what’s underneath is worth having in your life.” I don’t say anything and he keeps talking. “I know you don’t want to be here, but if you just give it a chance you might find out it’s not that bad. Can you do that for me? Just try?”

“Yeah,” I tell him, “I can do that.”

“Good.”

“Alex?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

And that’s how we stay for a few minutes longer, me with my head in his chest, him holding me close. And after he leaves, I feel a lot better.

Chapter Six

The next week flies by, and somehow I find that Alex’s advice really works.

When I have a more positive attitude, positive things start to happen around me.

Here are the things of importance that happen during that week: 1.) I call Paige and tell her about what happened with my uncle. She tries to get me to tell my parents. I refuse.

2.) I try extra hard to get through to Arielle. And very slowly, I feel like it’s starting to work. For example, yesterday she brought me a bagel and juice when she woke me up.

Our conversation:

Me: Thank you.

Arielle: It’s no big deal. Oh, and if you want me to straighten your hair today, I will. Even though it looks nice either way.

3.) Elizabeth and I start to become even closer, and surprisingly Arielle doesn’t seem to mind her at all. Also, whenever we all hang out Elizabeth and Mike are inseparable. It’s clear that he likes her. I mean, he even shared his Mountain Dew with her the other day. I tell her to ask him out. She refuses.

4.) The closer I become with Arielle, the worse it becomes with Lauren. She clearly doesn’t like me. And any chance she gets to take a jab at me, she does.

5.) Me and Alex are becoming really good friends. We talk everyday, either on the phone or through text, and we all hang out constantly. The problem is that I’m really starting to like him. And I have no idea if he feels the same way, I don’t want it to mean more to me then it does to him, but I can’t help it. We flirt. At least, I think we flirt. But I have no idea what it means.

All of these things, every single emotion I’m feeling in that week all come to a giant eruption nine days into my trip.

I’m sitting in the living room drinking some lemonade when Arielle walks in from the kitchen.

“My mom’s going on a golf retreat with her friends tonight. She won’t be home until tomorrow.”

I nod and flip on the T.V.

“And we’re having a party,” she declares. “I’ll take care of the alcohol.” Then she turns around and leaves the room like what she said is the most natural thing in the world.

If I’d known things would play out the way they did, I would have put up way more of a fight.

***

The party is in full swing by nine o’clock. Arielle went completely and totally overboard on the alcohol. Where she got the money for it I have no idea, but there’s two kegs, a bunch of margaritas, and at least a dozen bottles of hard alcohol.

There are three tables of beer pong going, and as I look around I can’t help but feel like this is going to take forever to clean up. I’m standing in the middle of the living room sipping a beer and feeling kind of nervous when Elizabeth and Arielle find me.

We’re all wearing the same dress. We went out earlier and bought them together.

The only difference is the color. Elizabeth’s is a light purple, mine’s a dark gray, and Arielle’s wearing bright pink.

Arielle is already drunk. I can tell by the way she’s swaying back and forth with the music and waving her hands in the air.

“Would you relax?” Arielle says to me. “It’s all going to be fine.”

“Yeah,” Lauren says, coming up behind us, “what could go wrong?” She’s wearing a leopard print dress that’s so tight it must be glued on and white high heels.

I’m just about to tell her that, actually, a lot of things could go wrong. Like, oh, I don’t know, the police showing up, when Mike runs up to us and throws his hands in the air.

“I have an announcement!” he declares, waiting for everyone’s attention.

All four of us turn and look at him.

“Elizabeth,” he declares, “I want you to be my girl.”

“You do?” she asks, clearly startled.

Instead of answering, he walks over to her, grabs her in his arms, and kisses her right on the lips.

“Oh, give me a break,” Lauren says, rolling her eyes and walking away.

Me and Arielle smile to each other and slowly back away into the corner.

“It’s about time,” she tells me.

I nod. “They are so cute.”

“Speaking of cute,” she says, and I follow her eyes to where Alex is walking toward us. “Go get him.” She squeezes my shoulder and then turns and walks toward the kitchen.

“Ah,” Alex says when he gets to me. He glances at my cup. “Getting trashed?”

“Oh, yeah.” I roll my eyes. “Totally.”

He smiles. “I see Mike and Elizabeth are getting along well.”

I look over to the center of the room where they’re still making out. “You could say that.”

“He’s had a thing for her forever, you know.”

I meet his eyes. “Shut up! She’s had a thing for him forever. She never knew he felt the same.”

His eyes are on mine. “I’ve been telling him to go for it. I mean, you never know how someone feels unless you put yourself out there, right?”

I don’t say anything, but I don’t break eye contact either. His eyes are searching mine now, for any type of reaction.

He slowly leans in and brushes his lips against mine. The kiss is soft and sweet.

He leans back to study me, as if asking if this is okay. I smile and he leans in and kisses me again, this time more intensely. He tastes like mint and I can feel myself melting into him. I start to get short of breath and weak in my knees, so I pull back.

The moment is perfect and everything I had imagined it would be. I’m just about to lean into him again but something makes me stop. Something awful.

There, standing at the entrance to the living room, is my Uncle Chris. And he does not look happy.

Chapter Seven

“Out of all the irresponsible things you’ve done, Arielle, this is on a whole new level! And Morgan! Just wait until your parents hear about this, young lady.”

After Arielle’s dad threw everyone out of the party he made us start cleaning up the house. The whole time, he’s been lecturing us about how irresponsible we are.

“I come down here to make sure your mother is keeping a watchful eye on you, and this is what I get. It’s a good thing I came, too. That woman can’t keep anyone under control. I should have known better than to leave you here alone with her.”

Apparently he called my aunt, and she’s on her way back here right now.

I pick up a beer bottle and throw it into the garbage bag I’m holding.

“I’ll tell you something else,” Arielle’s dad says. “This vacation is over. You’re both on a plane back home tomorrow. TOMORROW! So after you’re done with this you can go pack your bags.”

Arielle and I don’t say anything as we continue to clean up.

“Nothing to say, Arielle? God, you disgust me. You really do.”

The words make me stop in my tracks. I look over and meet Arielle’s eyes.

They’re glossy with tears, and I wish I could help her. I
want
to help her, but I don’t know how.

Arielle drops the bag she’s holding and looks at her father. “I do have something to say. From now on, I don’t want to talk to you. Every day it’s something else, and I’m beginning to think it has nothing to do with me, and more to do with you. When I get home, I’ll go stay with Grandma if I have to. I think it’s about time she knows what goes on around here.”

“Don’t you threaten me!”

“I’m not. I just don’t want you in my life anymore because honestly, it causes me more pain than happiness. And how sad is it to have to say that about your own father?”

She doesn’t wait for an answer. Instead, she gets up and walks outside onto the deck.

Without looking at my uncle, I drop my garbage bag and silently follow her.

She’s sitting on the edge of the deck, her arms wrapped around herself. She’s crying. I sit next to her and pull her small body toward me.

“I don’t know how to make him proud of me,” she says in between her tears. “I just want him to be proud of me.”

I brush my hands through her hair and let her cry. “There are some people out there that you can never make happy, no matter how hard you try. And that’s because they aren’t happy with themselves. It’s not your fault.”

And that’s how my Aunt Jenna finds us when she arrives home half an hour later.

Me with my arms around Arielle, and her crying silently as I repeat the words over and over.
It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault.

***

The next morning we all pack silently. My Aunt Jenna agreed it’s best for us to go home early. She called my mom and explained the situation. I guess my Aunt Jenna and Arielle are going to come stay with us for a while until they sort everything out.

It’s funny how you can think you really know someone, but in the end they could be going through things you never imagined possible. Sure, I never really liked my Uncle Chris, but I always thought it was only me who had the problem.

Apparently, my uncle lost his job a few months ago. Since then, Arielle said his emotional abuse has gotten worse than ever. She said it’s always been bad, that she’s always had the feeling she was never good enough for him. But in the last few months, it’s spiraled out of control.

My Aunt Jenna takes us to lunch at her country club before our flight so she can say goodbye to all her friends. Elizabeth and Mike meet us to say goodbye, and so does Lauren. I haven’t talked to Alex since our kiss last night so, when he walks in with Lauren, I’m surprised.

We’re all kind of standing around, unsure of what to say or how to say it. When Alex sees a guy his dad works with and excuses himself to go and say hi, Lauren takes the opportunity to speak.

“So you must feel, like, so weird about last night, Morgan.”

I look at her, puzzled.

“I mean, the fact that Alex drunk kissed you? That is so awkward. He had no idea what he was doing.”

I don’t want the words to hurt, but they do. Was Alex drunk? He didn’t seem drunk. I don’t
think
he was drunk, but how can I really know? I glance over to where he’s talking to his dad’s friend, and suddenly I feel sick.

“Shut up Lauren,” Arielle says. “Honestly, just shut up.”

Lauren shrugs. “What? I’m just saying!”

But I barely hear her, because I’m already walking away and over toward where Alex is standing.

When I reach him I don’t speak. I just stand there, waiting, until he notices me.

“Oh,” he says. “Hi.”

“Why didn’t you call me last night?” I ask.

I know I’m acting a little crazy, but I can’t help it. I’m about to be thousands of miles away from him and I think I deserve some answers before I go.

Alex looks uncomfortable. “Um, it was late. And I -- ”

“Well, I should be going,” the man Alex was talking to says.

“No, no you stay,” I tell him, “this won’t take long.” I turn back to Alex. “Were you drunk? ‘Cause if that’s the only reason you kissed me, it’s okay. It’s not a big deal. I mean, you probably were because everyone was drinking and all those people were around and so – ”

I’m rambling and he grabs my arms and presses his lips against mine hard, and he doesn’t let go for what feels like forever.

When he finally does, he meets my eyes and pushes my hair behind my ear. “I don’t care if there’s one person watching or a million people watching. If I want to kiss you, I’m going to kiss you. I don’t care about them. I care about you.”

The words are everything I’ve wanted to hear for the past week and I feel like I could float away.

“But I have to go,” I tell him. “I have to leave today.”

He nods. “And that sucks. But I’m starting at Syracuse in six weeks. Six weeks is nothing. And then I’ll only be a few hours away.”

I smile and he pulls me toward him and hugs me for a long time.

“Morgan!” my Aunt Jenna calls. “Come on. We have to eat, and then it’s time to go home.”

Home. I’m excited to get back to the things I know, to things that are the same.

But somehow deep down, I know things aren’t the same anymore. They’re much better.