The Libby Garrett Intervention (Science Squad #2) (17 page)

Libby’s jaw dropped again. “You’ve seen me freeboard?”

Casting a quick glance at her dad, I tried not to blush. “It’s sort of a known secret in Spanish Fork that some of the local pro snowboarders go out to the hill to freeboard in the off-season. I’ve been out a few times with my friends to watch, but I’ve never tried it. It looks awesome.”

I turned back to Libby and said, “You’ve always been one of my favorites. You’re amazing. You tear it up as much as any of the pros. It’s always made me wonder how good you are on a snowboard. I’m guessing the apple hasn’t fallen too far from the tree.”

Libby sat there gaping at me, as if I were some kind of animal species she’d never heard of before. Her stare made me feel self-conscious so I looked away, but I only met the surprised looks of her parents.

I tried to think back on what I said that could have stunned them all so much, but I didn’t think I’d sounded too stalkerish. I’d only meant to compliment Libby, and what I said was the truth. Libby was good enough on a freeboard that she had to know she was one of the best who rode the hill. “Anyway…” I grabbed my ice water and mumbled into the glass. “It seems like a good time.”

Sean smiled again, but there was something knowing about it that made me nervous. “That it is,” he said. “We’ll have to get you on a board sometime.”

Libby

Introducing Adam to my parents
was not the disaster of epic proportions I thought it would be. It started off slightly awkward, with my parents assuming we were dating, and Adam blurting out that passionate speech about being a high school dropout and not good enough to date me. He’d shocked us all with that beautiful rant, but it made me sad. He lectured me about having self-worth, but it was clear he could use a little of his own advice.

But, despite the rocky start, my parents obviously loved him. I wasn’t surprised. They were kindred spirits with that whole black sheep thing, and they shared a love of extreme sports. Adam was intense in a way that my dad could relate to. And considering Adam was focusing that intensity on helping me, well, I think my dad was man-crushing on him by the end of the night.

Mom was a goner, too. The woman was an EMT. She loved to take care of people, and Adam had this quality about him that was almost lost puppyish. He’d soaked up my parents’ attention as if he’d never had any before, and Mom was more than happy to dote on him. It had become embarrassing by the end of dinner.

The worst part about it was that I felt
jealous
. Adam seemed to like my parents a lot more than he liked me. With me it was all frowns and lectures, but with my parents it was all laughter and swapping wipeout stories. Adam and I had had a few surprisingly nice moments throughout the day, but I’d never seen him lighten up so much as he did with my parents. I wouldn’t have thought he was capable of it. It irked me that he would relax with them when he didn’t with me.

My mood soured slowly throughout the night and reached a boiling point when we all drove back to Spanish Fork together and the three of them broke down into hysterical laughter for the five-billionth time. “Geez. You guys are all driving me crazy. Why don’t you just adopt him since you love him so much? And what the heck, Adam? Who are you right now, and what have you done with Mr. Grumpy Pants? I didn’t realize you were capable of relaxing and having fun.”

I laughed as I said it, but I must have thrown too much sarcasm and bitterness into it, because the laughter stopped instantly. Dad was driving, so he could only shoot me fleeting glances in the rearview mirror, but Mom and Adam both gaped at me. Mom had to turn all the way around in the passenger seat to do it. “Hey,” she said with a mixture of bemusement and concern in her tone. “What’s that about? What’s the matter with you?”

I willed myself not to blush and turned to look out my window. “Nothing. I’m fine. Sorry.”

Adam’s gaze burned into me, but I was too embarrassed to acknowledge him. I couldn’t believe I’d lost my temper so ridiculously over something so stupid. What did it matter if he liked my parents? Yeah, he’d been surprisingly cool today, but that didn’t make us friends. He was only helping me because Avery had asked him to. I was just some pathetic, crazy girl that he felt sorry for.

“Libby?” Adam’s voice was calm, but I heard the underlying concern in it. It only made me feel even stupider.

When I continued to ignore everyone, Adam reached over and picked up my hand. “Libby, what’s wrong?” I pulled my hand out of his and folded my arms as I continued to stare out the window.

It was Adam’s soft “Are you mad at me?” that got me to break. “Did I do something to upset you?” he asked when I glanced his way.

I shrugged. “It’s just weird, you being all chummy with my parents, like you’re all friends or whatever, when you’ve never…”

My voice trailed off. What was I supposed to say?
When you’ve never acted like that with me?
“Never mind. I’m just being stupid. You can like whoever you want.”

I looked away again, and things were deafeningly silent for a long, awkward moment until Adam sighed. “I’m sorry I’ve been so hard on you. I like you too, you know. You’re every bit as cool as your parents. But you didn’t ask me to be your friend. You asked me to try and help you, and that’s different.”

Dear Lord, have mercy and take me now.
He was patronizing me because I was acting like an idiot. No. Like some pathetic psycho. I hated when he lectured me like this, because it only pointed out how much more together he was than me. Especially because he was right. He wasn’t here to be my friend. I shouldn’t have expected him to treat me like one.

I was dying, and it showed. Curse my adenylyl cyclase for doing its job so well! If my veins allowed my adrenaline to pump any more blood to my face, I was going to hemorrhage. I could see it now:
Libby Garrett, the first girl to literally die from blushing
.

When he stopped talking, I snuck a glance at him. I should have known he was watching me, waiting for me to break. No one was as patient as Adam when it came to confrontation. When our eyes met, he said, “If I’ve been mean or grumpy or whatever, it’s because this situation is…difficult for me. I’m sorry.”

Okay, that piqued my curiosity enough for me to forget about my humiliation. “Why?”

Adam considered answering me, and then looked away. What the heck? That was a first. Color me intrigued. What was Coffee Man hiding?

I glanced up at my parents, wondering if they’d noticed that too. Dad was watching Adam in the rearview mirror with a knowing look on his face. Whatever was up with Adam, my dad thought he had it figured out. Before I could ask either of them what was up, Adam took a breath and met my gaze again. “I’ll try to lighten up more. I can play Good Cop too, if that’s what you need.”

Then he flashed me his brilliant smile, the one that had first made me notice him—the one that could stop a girl’s heart.

I couldn’t breathe. There were a million emotions running through my head, pounding in my chest, sinking in my stomach—basically taking over my whole body. Adam had just completely disarmed me. Thankfully, Mom snapped me out of it. She cleared her throat and directed a question at Adam, but she was looking at me with a hint of a suppressed smile. “So, Adam, tell me more about this get-Libby-over-Owen campaign you’re attempting. What do you guys plan to do?”

That was actually a great question. I’d been so distracted with just the idea of spending time with Adam and having him know about my Owen woes that I hadn’t actually asked him what we would be doing on this journey of ours.

Adam sat up a little straighter in his seat. “The twelve-step program is a little different for everyone,” he said. “It’s very personal—but it always has a few of the same elements. First, we’re going to have to remove Owen from Libby’s life. No more seeing him. No more phone calls…”

Oh yeah, there was total accusation in his voice. I rolled my eyes, and he gave me his best I-mean-business look before turning his attention back toward the front of the car, where my parents were sitting. Lame. But at least things seemed to be getting back to normal.

“After we cut her off from Owen, she’ll need to do an inventory of herself. That’s not always fun. A lot of times people are only going through a twelve-step program because they’re not in a good place. No one likes to take an honest look at themselves, but it’s necessary if they want to accomplish real change and conquer their addiction permanently.”

Ick. He was right. That part was not going to be fun. No doubt Coffee Man already had a nice, long list of my faults ready to throw in my face. Hopefully he was serious about playing Good Cop sometimes.

“Addiction is usually a way of self-medicating. Most addicts are only trying to escape deeper-rooted problems. Relationships can often be used for the same purpose—as seems to be Libby’s case.”

Okay, well, that one was true. I’m not an idiot. I’ve always known that my codependent relationship with Owen was merely a symptom of a much deeper-rooted lack of self-worth. Of course, I still didn’t see how ending the relationship was going to fix that. If anything it would make it worse, because then I wouldn’t have anyone telling me I’m sexy anymore.

“Once we remove the source of the addiction,” Adam droned on like some kind of psychology professor, “we’ll have to figure out what that deeper-rooted problem is, and find a healthy way to treat it. She’ll also need to make amends with those she hurt while she was under the influence. I know Libby’s relationship with Owen wasn’t quite the same as being hooked on an addictive substance, but she was still under his influence and has had some destructive behavior that she needs to claim ownership to.”

I cringed. I hadn’t told my parents about missing the science fair or the intervention, or losing all my friends and being kicked out of the science club. Avery had threatened to tell them, but I didn’t think she’d have the guts, and I was really hoping they’d never find out. Somehow, I doubted Mr. Grumpy Pants Sponsor was going to let me get away with that. Adam saw whatever look was on my face and sighed. “It has to be done, Libby. I know it’s probably going to suck, but you won’t be on your own. I’ll help you figure it out. That’s what I’m here for.”

If he weren’t referring to a humiliating parade of repentance that was going to require a lot of groveling, I’d have thought his offer was really sweet.

My mom turned in her chair so that she could see Adam, and gave him a sad smile. “You really seem to know a lot about this. Have you been through your own twelve-step program before?”

Adam’s responding sigh was so quiet that I was the only person who heard it.

Oh my heck, I almost died. She was trying to be sympathetic and understanding, but she was still asking Adam if he used to be a junkie. “Mom!”

Mom threw her hands up gently and gave Adam a pleading look. “I’m not judging. Overcoming something like that is admirable. I’m just curious. It would explain a lot.”

Adam shook his head. “It wasn’t me,” he said calmly. “My mother is a severe alcoholic. I know about the program because I’ve had a lifetime of dealing with this type of behavior. But I’ve never done drugs. I don’t drink or smoke, either. I’ve never even tried any of it. I don’t even drink coffee.”

I was so surprised by his confession that I blurted the first thing that came to my mind—however inappropriate it may have been at the time. “But you work in a coffee shop.”

Adam chuckled. “I took a job where one was available. I
serve
coffee. I don’t drink it. I stay away from all addictive substances, which includes caffeine. It’s never been hard to do, considering how my mom is.”

“I’m sorry,” Mom whispered. “That must be very difficult.”

Adam shrugged as if it were no big deal, but he turned his head toward his window, and the conversation died. A deafening silence settled on the car so heavily I wondered if the emotional conversation that just occurred had left behind a black hole that was getting ready to suck us all into oblivion.

I wanted to end the silence, but what was there to say? Avery hadn’t breathed a word about Adam to me other than her promise that he was a good guy. I’d never questioned how he knew this stuff, or why. He’d agreed to do this huge thing for me that was apparently difficult for him, and I’d been rude and joked around about it all day. I’d been so caught up in my own problems that I hadn’t bothered to thank him for what he was doing or tried to get to know him at all. I never even called him by his name.