“Well, I can’t go home just yet.”
“What the hell? I thought that was why I was picking you up. So I could take you home?”
“Yeah.” She sniffed and then she burped, and I realized immediately what was wrong.
“You’re drunk. Jesus, Jade. Seriously?”
“It was a party,” she said, like I was dumb.
“And that’s why you slashed this dude’s tires like you’re the heroine in some country song.”
“Just one tire,” she blubbered. “And he deserved it.” She made a sound like she was crying, and I flexed my body more toward my door. I wasn’t familiar with sixteen-year-old heartbreak. This was a tricky path to navigate without a guidebook.
“Fine,” I said after a moment. “I’ll take you to Debbie’s. You’ll eat a few slices, sober up. And then I’ll take you home and you’ll tell Navy all the ways you fucked up. And you’ll figure out a way to make it up to her. And pay me back,” I added. It wasn’t about the money, but the responsibility of her actions. I was reminded of the conversation Navy had with her, about paying to fix hair after it’d been ruined by Rose. Jade needed to learn a lesson and since she’d just been rescued from a bad situation, making up for the mistakes she made would be a good first step.
“Okay,” she said after a minute. Tears dripped down her oversized shirt as we wordlessly made our way back to Amber Lake.
I had half a mind to text Navy, to let her know what was going on. But I wanted to give Jade the opportunity to act like an adult, admit what she’d done without my prompting.
So, I drove us to Debbie’s pizza and bought us both slices.
Jade hiccupped and stared down at her pizza like she didn’t know what to do with it. She’d sobered up a bit on the drive, so I knew she wasn’t as drunk as she’d been when I picked her up.
My mind flashed to weeks before, when I’d sat at this very spot with Jade’s sister and cheered her up after what had apparently been a rough night.
I’d give anything to be sitting across from Navy right now. Our little argument at the store made me feel regret like it was a palpable thing; something I had to carry in my shirt pocket. I hadn’t meant to lose it that bad. “Eat up, Jade. We gotta get home before your sister has a heart attack”
“I don’t even want to go home. Don’t you have that cabin? Let me stay there until she cools off. School’s out for summer,” she added, as if my only protest would be that she had school to go to.
“Uh, no. That’s not happening.”
“Why not?” Jade tipped her hair to the side, looking very much like her biggest sister when she did that.
“It’s not done yet,” I said, turning my attention to my half-eaten slice.
“So, the only objection is that your cabin isn’t done being renovated?”
What was with the line of questioning? I looked at her closely. “Eat up,” I repeated. “No talking until you’re at least halfway done.”
“Is Violet there?”
I was mid-sip when she asked that and nearly swallowed my straw along with the soda.
“I take it that’s a yes.”
How the fuck did she know about that? I racked my brain, trying to think of all the times I might’ve slipped up on accident.
“I fucking knew it.” Jade’s eyes came back to life as anger poured through her. “Navy preaches being honest, but Violet is back in town and she hasn’t said a damn word.”
Fuck, fuck, motherfucking fuuuuck. How was I supposed to handle this? I didn’t know, so I shoveled more pizza in my mouth. Fuck it, I wouldn’t wait for Jade to sober up. With as angry as she was, who knew when she’d start to blather on. So, as gently as I could with pizza shoved into my cheek, I said, “I’m sure there’s probably a good reason why she didn’t tell you.”
“Bullshit.” Jade shoved her pizza slice away. “Tell me the truth, Keane.”
24
NAVY
I was on my way to the bank after my shift was over when Rose called me.
“Hey, I’ll be home in a few.”
“I can’t find Jade.”
Panic swept through me instantly. “What do you mean? I thought you guys were just going to hang out at home today.”
“Yeah, that was the plan. But she’s not here. I’ve checked everywhere.”
I parked my car in front of the night drop at the bank. “Did you call her?”
“Yes. And texted. She didn’t answer.”
I pulled up the app on my phone that allowed me to see the locations of all three sisters. After Jade’s attempted sneak-out, I’d insisted on it.
Okay, Jade was still in Amber Lake, at least. Her location was only a couple miles away. I zoomed in on the map until I figured out where she was.
“I’ll get her,” I said. “Just stay home.”
“I’m not sure how I’d go anywhere, anyway,” she said drily before hanging up.
Jade was at Debbie’s Pizza, which surprised me. Maybe she’d gotten a ride from a friend. That’s what my hope was, at least. If she was with her boyfriend, I would need to drag her home. But the fact that she was ignoring Rose’s calls and texts was worrying.
I dropped the deposit in the night drop and made my way through traffic. I heaved a sigh, feeling like this night just couldn’t get any worse. This day, really. Between Delilah quitting and then Keane’s argument with me at the store, and the fact that I hadn’t had a day off in weeks, I was feeling run-down. But the Keane argument hurt the most.
He had never talked to me like that. He’d never looked so upset, and I knew that I was the cause of that frustration. I’d skirted the conversation about us for weeks and it was starting to affect Keane negatively. Yeah, he’d very nearly kissed me the week before in the back of his truck—and part of me wished he had. But I didn’t feel like we could go there, do that again, without talking first. So my options were to delay to inevitable or face my fears. Keane may have made jokes about kissing me, but I didn’t know how serious he was. And I couldn’t play dodgeball with my heart.
I wanted to call Keane. Who knew what awaited me with Jade. What I really wanted was to make amends with Keane. But after dialing him, the call went to voicemail within two rings. Had he purposefully sent my call to voicemail?
I’d been so happy seeing him at the store, even at my very worst. And when he’d temporarily left to get me a coffee, I’d felt joy for the first time today. Keane was the source of much of my happiness these days. That little crush I’d had on him in high school was nothing like the full-blown heartache I now felt. Just looking at me made my insides go all crazy. I finally understood all those Pinterest love quotes, about how love could make you sick and scared and excited and full and happy and restless and sometimes all of those at once. It didn’t make sense, but the way I felt didn’t need to make sense. It just needed to feel good. And it did. So, so good.
I pulled down the street to Debbie’s Pizza, remembering that the last time I’d been there had been with Keane. He’d made me laugh, had given me a much-needed mental reprieve. It’d been a turning point in our friendship, that was for sure.