My Best Friend's Brother (16 page)

He raised his silver eyebrows. “Unless you study up for the final and score at least a B plus, you’re not passing my class.” He picked up a copy of the syllabus and waved it in the air. “No make-up exams, no retakes. It just wouldn’t be fair for everyone else.” He looked past me. “Lilly, are you ready?”

In the other room, everyone who finished early read books or talked. I sat myself in the second seat from the back, by the wall, and looked at my watch. There was still an hour until fourth period—it obviously didn’t take very long to flunk that test.

I put my head down and cried discretely. I knew I wouldn’t graduate. And my parents would kill me.

For about thirty minutes, I’d dozed off. Then I felt the end of a pencil tap me on the back. I wiped my eyes with my sleeve and turned around.

“Hey,” Lilly breathed. “Are you okay?”

I nodded and turned away, intending to ignore her like she’d been ignoring me.

“I heard about your car from my neighbor. She was driving a few cars behind you. That must’ve sucked.”

I turned to face her. “Did you mail the teddy bear?”

Her eyes turned to the left. “Uh, no…”

Then there was silence.

“Look, I wanted to apologize for last Thursday.” She looked sad and tired. “I’m sorry I was a bitch. It wasn’t really any of my business to begin with, you and Lukasz. I guess it was just the shock speaking.”

“That’s all right,” I lied, my voice quivering. It really isn’t all right, though. Luke still isn’t talking to me. She ruined us.

Or did
I
ruin us, when I drove away?

“I talked to Lukasz about it. He thought this might happen, so he avoided me the whole time and didn’t tell you. So I should’ve just flipped out on
him
. But even then, I guess it’s still not my business.”

“He hates me now,” I told her. “It really doesn’t matter anymore.”

She didn’t say anything. She just combed through her hair with her fingers. “You really love him?”

I nodded, feeling odd admitting that to her. I guess in a way I understood why she was pissed—it’s awkward.

She put her hand to her cheek. “I guess I did miss a lot while I was gone.”

I shrugged, not sure what else to say. Actually, I wanted to get off the subject.

“I guess you didn’t do so hot on the test?” she asked a few minutes later. Small talk.

“I might not even graduate.”

“Well, I got a really low C, so if I do any worse on the final I might not graduate with you.” She reclined in her seat. “Anyway, do you want to hang out tonight?”

“I can’t drive for another six days,” I informed her.

She sucked her teeth. “Your mom must be pretty upset, then, huh?”

Should I mention that my mom cares so much she can’t even call and talk to me? I
was
in a car accident, after all! Dad said they only talked for three minutes before she had to go. That’s
pitiful
.

“I’ll drive, then. We’ll have dinner, maybe go to the rink after?”

“Maybe.” I
wanted
dinner. As for skating, I preferred skiing. With Luke. And only Luke. So I can beat him to the bottom, go back up and kiss him at the top.

“
Dinner
sounds great.”

~ ~ ~

“Hey, Dad,” I said in the kitchen at 3:30. I took the bus home and had to wait until four for Lilly to pick me up.

The whole time we were making arrangements, I fought the urge to beg, “Please bring your brother!” But she’d finally come around and started talking to me again—I couldn’t whine about Luke, or lack thereof. The last thing I wanted was to make her feel uncomfortable.

“How was the math midterm?” Dad asked, his nose glued to the computer screen.

I poured myself some grape juice and pretended not to hear. When he repeated himself, I cleared my throat. “It was okay.” Lilly was about to pick me up, and I didn’t feel like getting grounded right before she did.

“That’s good. Your algebra teacher called and left a message while I was at the store. Unfortunately, I haven’t had the chance to get back to him.”

I swallowed the juice down with a big gulp. I felt myself sweat. “Did he?” I asked casually, scared senseless. “What did he say?”

Dad finished typing a paragraph and glanced at me. “I don’t know, sweetie, he just asked me to call.” He looked at his screen and suddenly back at me. “It’s probably just to tell me you’re improving, then. I did tell him to keep in touch at that conference last month, remember?”

I was sweating a river.
Should I tell him the truth
? God, I couldn’t
handle
telling him the truth. Maybe Dad would forget to call him. Mr. Michaels isn’t the pushy type anyway. If Dad forgot, I doubt Mr. Michaels would call again.

One can only hope.

“I’m going out with Lilly.”

“Be home by eight.”

“
Lilly
, not Luke.”

Dad stopped typing. “
Eight.
Not nine. Or ten, or eleven.” He looked stern. “Got it?”

“Sure, Dad.” I made my way up to my bedroom and changed into my jeans and a tight tee shirt. Then I redid my makeup, put on my favorite pair of earrings and reached for Luke’s necklace.

When she honked, I was polishing the pendant. I put it around my neck, walked out of my room, and was about to head down when I was diverted by Sullivan’s empty bedroom. “Where’s Sullivan?” I shouted to Dad as I made my way downstairs.

“At Megan’s!”

Translated that means Sullivan’s probably walking around in circles at the mall. Part of me wanted to ask Dad if he’d ever actually
seen
her, but I didn’t want to get in trouble for being a smart-ass.

I put on my coat and gloves and stepped outside, where the wind engulfed me. I hurried to her red Subaru Legacy sedan, hopped inside and shut the door, quick to warm my hands on the heater. It felt like they’d been flash-frozen.

She looked less than thrilled. “Look, we have a problem.”

I froze. “Like…?”

“Like, Burke wants us to have dinner at home
like a family
. He said you can join us, since he doesn’t give a crap that I have plans and a
life
!” She looked out the windshield, shaking her head. “I miss my
real
dad.”

A family dinner meant Luke would be there. And their mom, too, who knew that I’d slept with him. And their stepdad, who didn’t—
yet.

I winced. “Maybe I should just stay home,” I started, intending to persuade her to keep me out of it.

She looked surprised. “
Why
? Burke’s not gonna be a jerk to
you
!”

I gripped the cold door handle. “Really, I could just see you at school tomorrow.”

She shook her head. “You know what? Let’s just go! Let’s get it over with. The less time I spend stressing over this, the better.” She put the car in reverse and hit the gas.

We were silent until we reached her house a few minutes later.

When she got out of her car, I just stared at her front door. She walked halfway there, turned around, and ordered me over with her gloved finger like I’m her little sister.

It was warm and smelled of roast beef inside. I heard the clattering of silverware being set on the table.

We removed our shoes and hung up our coats. I followed her into the kitchen, nervous about seeing Luke. But he wasn’t there, to my relief and disappointment.

“Hi, Adonia,” Mrs. Jacobson said. “Have a seat, honey, it’s almost ready.” Then she screamed something in German. That woman is
always
screaming something in German. Does Luke even speak German?

Lilly and I sat together at the side of the table facing the door. Her mom sat between me and Burke. I always liked their dining area—well-lit, hexagon-shaped, with cream marble tiles. It was pretty much empty in there except for the large round mahogany table, a huge glass chandelier and a flower pot on a stand by the door.

The smell was delicious and I was dying to eat, though when
he
walked in, I couldn’t tell if it was hunger or nerves.

Luke wore a white tee shirt and baggy beige pants. He took a seat across from me—next to Burke—and looked me over with those god-like eyes. His hair was styled and sexy. I tried to look away, but it was hard not to stare; he was
so
hot,
so
seductive,
so
tempting.

And
sooo
not talking to me.

Lilly elbowed me.

I snapped out of it. Her mother had been passing the baby potatoes, and was holding the dish out for me for Luke-knows-how-long. “Sorry,” I breathed. I grabbed the dish and dumped a spoonful of potatoes on my plate.

I wished everyone would stop staring at me already. From Luke I felt a constant gaze, even as we ate.

When I finally got the courage to look at him again, he looked away and uttered, “Pass the salt.”

Burke flashed me a smile. “So, Adonia, tell me, how are your parents doing?” Burke speaks in a heavy accent, so all his Ws sound like Vs. He doesn’t utter a single word without some form of hand gesture. He’s a very tall, well-built man. In fact, it’s strange seeing him next to Lilly’s mother, who is so… opposite!

Burke looked like he just rolled out of bed, his dark mocha hair everywhere and plenty of stubble. But he always looks like that. He even goes to work like that. It’s his signature look.

“They’re okay,” I said dully. “My mom left for work again.”

He strained to remember. “Ah… what does she do again?”

“She’s an anthropologist,” I said, prepared to explain what an anthropologist is. It’s been a while since we talked about her. It’s like she’s not around often enough to even mention.

“Anthropology!” His eyes twinkled. “Ah, yes! Very interesting subject! Very research-intensive. She must be very, very… very busy when she’s at work, yes?” He had a habit of repeating a word until he could figure out what word he wanted next.

“Yeah,” I said, “she is.”

I wanted to add that she’s so busy she couldn’t even call after I
wrecked a car
, but I kept that to myself. The last thing I needed was Mrs. Jacobson scolding me about not respecting my hard-working parents. Plus, she could’ve scolded me for other things, too.

“So how come you’re from Germany,” I asked, “and you have an American last name?” I’d known them forever, and they never explained it.

Then again, I never asked.

He laughed, again doing the hand gesture thing. “As you know, I teach at the university. The ah… students… could not say my last name, so I changed it shortly after I arrived in this country.” He smiled. “Problem solved. Ah… but, nobody told you I am from
Switzerland
?”

I bit my lip, hoping the Swiss are okay with the Germans. “Sorry,” I uttered.

Lilly’s mom placed her hand on his back and smiled. “I was sure I told her!” she said cheerfully. He smiled. They gazed at each other.

Lilly rolled her eyes.

“So,” I asked, “Do you speak German, too?”

“I speak German,” Burke said after he swallowed a forkful of beef. “I speak ah… Italian, English, French… ah, and Spanish also.”

“Oh,” I said, noticing Luke’s stare. He immediately looked at Burke.

“But, anyway, ah… ah… my cousin, he just got his master’s in Anthropology,” he continued. “He is working on the… the… the…” he looked toward the ceiling and moved a finger clockwise in a circle. “Ah, the Trobriand Islands!” he said, snapping his fingers. “Do you know where that is?”

“I’ve heard of it,” I said.

“Never heard of it,” Luke blurted, startling me.

“That’s because there are no ski resorts there,” Lilly noted.

I slouched in my seat a bit, wondering if she was always so cold to him, or if
I
caused that.

Luke laughed and shook his head. “You never cease to amuse me, Lil!”

She put her fork down and reached over the table to slap him, but he pulled his head away. “You haven’t seen me in years,
Lukasz
, you wouldn’t even
remember
the last time I amused you!”

He laughed. “Sure I do! You amused me the other day, when you started checking out
my friend
Gino!
” He ignored his mother’s disapproving glare, raised his eyebrows and gaped at Lilly.

Lilly shook her head. “Are you
ever
going to mature?”

He impaled his meat. “I
am
mature.”

Her eyebrows pinched. “
Really
? Could’ve fooled me, clowning around, dating my friends and stuff.”

“
Friend
.”

“What?”

“Friend.” He made air quotes. “‘
Friends
’ is plural!”

“I know English, Lukasz.”

“Oh. I couldn’t tell. And you can’t pretend you don’t have the hots for
my
FRIEND
, hypocrite.”

Lilly’s eyes narrowed. “Gino’s not your
best
friend…”

“But he
is
my friend!”

“Well
this
is different!”

His fist hit the table. “No, it’s not!”

She looked at me. A long, irritated sigh escaped her. At least she smiled right afterwards.

Did even
twins
not get along? I always thought they had some magical bond that made them not poke fun at each other and fight like they were me and Sullivan or something.

“Enough, now!” their mother demanded, stabbing her salad. “I’m sick of your quarrels!”

Luke looked at me again, chewing his roast beef. He wiped his hands on a napkin, threw it on his plate, pushed out his chair and hurried out of the room. Burke followed.

I finished my food quickly.

Silence.

Mrs. Jacobson was just finishing her meal when Burke came back in, sat down and finished his. He seemed upset.

“Is everything all right?” she asked, rubbing his back.

“Yes, it is fine.”

Lilly and I dumped our plates in the dishwasher. Before I could compliment her mom’s cooking, she grabbed my arm and dragged me up to her bedroom.

Her room is plastered in pink—even her canopy and laptop are pink. The wall-size poster of Johnny Depp sticks out like a sore thumb, because it’s the
only
thing that isn’t pink. I think she’s the real-life Barbie. Heck, she looks like her, too.