“But...but home should be more than that,” I told him. “Life...it should be more than that.”
He brushed his lips across my cheek. “It should be, but it’s not for everyone. You know that.”
Chapter 27
Rosa and Carl sat at the dinner table Wednesday evening in stunned silence as they stared at me. The broccoli I’d forced down my throat started to sprout roots and dig into my stomach.
I tensed as Carl looked at Rosa. Their eyes met, and once again I marveled at how they had the whole silent communication thing down to a science.
Clearing his throat, Carl placed his fork onto the table. “You were invited to a party?”
I nodded slowly. “I’ve...told you about Keira. She invited me.”
“And this party is at a boy’s house?” he asked.
Perhaps I should’ve kept that part to myself. “He’s a...friend.” That part wasn’t necessarily true and it wasn’t a lie. In reality, we were acquaintances.
“A friend?” Rosa’s normally level voice pitched. “Who isn’t Rider?”
“I do have...guy friends,” I replied drily, thinking of Hector and Jayden, and she blinked. “Ainsley will go with us.” Which was true. Ainsley was going. I’d even told Keira at lunch today that I’d invited her, and she was excited to meet my friend. “I really...would like to go.”
Silence.
The two resumed their mental telepathy.
I started to squirm in my chair as I stared at my half-eaten pork chop. If Rosa and Carl gave me the go-ahead for Saturday, I’d pick up Ainsley first and then Rider. The three of us would go to the party together.
A real, actual party.
My stomach twisted tighter.
Carl took a sip of his water and then said, “Are this guy’s parents going to be there?”
I had no idea. Probably not, but that wasn’t what I was going to say. “I think so.”
More looks were exchanged. Maybe I should’ve sounded more certain.
“We would like to talk to his parents,” Carl said.
My eyes widened. “What? That would be...embarrassing.”
“Mallory—”
“No one’s parents do that,” I insisted, horrified by the prospect of them setting up a parental powwow just the way they had with my teachers behind my back. “If you have to...talk to them, then I shouldn’t go. I just wanted—”
“I think it will be fine,” Rosa injected, earning Carl’s sharp look. “I do,” she said, meeting his gaze. “And I think it’s wonderful that you were invited and want to go. I also don’t think we need to speak to anyone.”
I about fell out of my chair.
Carl raised his brows.
She looked at me, long and hard. “I think you’re ready for this.”
I jumped out of my chair and hugged her.
“And I think this is good,” she continued, her gaze never wavering, but she smiled, and I could tell that she really meant it. “You have a curfew, Mallory. It’s eleven o’clock. We expect you home at that time and not five minutes past it.”
Pressing my lips together, I nodded.
“There are probably going to be...things there I need you to handle with maturity,” she said, and Carl squeezed his eyes tight. “Be responsible with Rider.”
I blushed as I thought about all the ways I could be irresponsible with him.
“No drinking. No drugs,” she added.
“Of course,” I immediately responded, and that was also true. I had no plan to partake in illegal substances at my first party. Goodness, I was already a dork most of the times. I didn’t need to be a drunk or high dork.
Carl opened his eyes, but he still looked like he was about to stroke out.
“We’re going to trust you with this, Mallory.” Rosa smiled, and I wanted to smile, too. “And trust is a big deal. Don’t let us down.”
“I won’t,” I promised, and then I did smile, glancing at Carl. He appeared to have aged about twenty years. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me,” he replied. “This is all on Rosa.”
“Hush it,” she replied with a grin and then winked at me.
My smile grew and I could not wait to tell Ainsley and Rider the party was a go, but...but a little nugget of worry formed deep in my belly. Part of me hadn’t expected them to agree, and now that they had, there was still a little part of me that wished they’d change their minds.
* * *
I was smiling as I zipped up my bag before lunch on Friday. Rider had taken a different route between classes just so he could catch me outside my locker to give me a kiss.
My lips still tingled minutes after he’d sauntered off to get to class. I might’ve still been a little embarrassed at the PDA, but it occurred to me as I swapped out my morning books that the things that stressed me out at the beginning of the school year—things like the prospect of being late to class, having nowhere to sit during lunch or not having anyone to talk to—weren’t things I actually worried about anymore.
Now I worried about the exam in calculus next week and what I was going to wear Saturday night. I slung my now much-lighter bag over my shoulder and turned around. My step faltered as I saw Paige coming down the hall with another girl. Paige’s smile slipped off her face when she spotted me.
Crap.
I started walking, pretending as if she wasn’t there. Her steps slowed as she neared me. Then she stopped right in front of me.
Tension poured into my shoulders.
“I’ll meet up with you later,” she said to her friend while she stared at me. “You and I need to talk.”