Chapter Four
Layla
“Hey babe. Sorry about bailing on you earlier. My dad has been on my case about helping him organize the garage,” Adam voicemail says. “Call me later.”
Um. No. I’m not going to just call him later. He could have texted me before bailing. He could have made an effort.
I shut my phone off, and hook it up to the charger. There’s a knock on my door. When I say, “Come in,” my sister enters my room dressed in a shirt that says, “Call someone who cares.”
I raise a brow. “What’s up with the shirt?” She glances down and then shrugs. “Well, that’s a good way to not make friends.”
“This doesn’t apply to real friends. Only fakes.” She takes a seat at my desk. Juliet looks like she’s about to hurl chunks all over my floor.
“Please tell me you’re not drunk and going to get sick all over my carpet.”
She glares at me. “I’m not sick. I’m just … I don’t know how to say this. I can’t ask Mom this either; you know how she is.”
“What do you need to ask?”
She chews on her lower lip then sighs. “How did you know Adam liked you?”
“What?”
“Never mind.” She starts to get up.
“Whoa. Don’t leave. What did you want to know? Are you into someone?”
She plops back down and shrugs. “I’m not sure. I mean he seems nice. But he also seems like he’s nice to everyone with a pulse. You know?”
I roll my eyes. “Um, yeah. Most of the guys there are like that. Who’s the guy?”
“Mark Whalan. I’m crazy, right? He wouldn’t like someone like me. He’s like a hot Greek god or something, and I’m, well … I’m a nerdy peasant.”
“Nerdy, yes. But so what? I hear that’s a totally awesome thing to be right now. And yes, Mark is very nice. He’s nice and he doesn’t have a rep for being a player. And he’d be stupid as hell if he wasn’t into you. Just … ” I grab the hem of her shirt and give her a look. “Maybe put on a nice shirt, and do your hair. I can braid it tonight and when you take it out in the morning your hair will look like soft beach waves.”
She frowns. “I don’t know. I mean, aren’t you supposed to be yourself to find the right guy for you? I don’t want to be one of those puppets at school. They’re all flipping their hair, caking on makeup, and dressing like future thots to get guys to notice them. But what are they really seeing? Just a girl showing off all her goods and not making the boys work for it.” She huffs and takes a seat on my bed. “I want a guy to work for my affection.”
“Boys don’t work for it though.” I say this like I’m some kind of expert.
“I know. Doesn’t really matter anyway. Addy says she fully believes Mark is the devil. I don’t know why. She also says he’s going to do nothing but break my heart into a million pieces. That’s his specialty.”
“No offense to your friend but she has a tendency to be a miserable biznach. Might be a reason why Mark doesn’t hang out with her.”
“I guess. He said he liked my shirt the other day. You know that one that says, ‘I’m too awesome for a #hashtag?’”
I laugh because I got her that shirt. “Yeah. It’s a great shirt.”
“He never talked to me before. His friend Jared always says hi to me. I just … I thought he was playing a joke on me or something.”
“I don’t think Mark is a jerk like that.” He better not be. I’ll kick his butt. Okay, I’ll get someone to beat him down because he’s at least twice my body weight.
Juliet sighs. “I just wish it was simple. Like grade school. People used to write notes to one another. Do you like me? Check yes or no. Not the most difficult thing in the world.”
“Yeah.” I slap her knee. “But that’s what makes it fun. Because there will come a moment when you’ll know if he’s into you or if it’s only you who’s into him.”
“And if that person feels nothing for you and you feel everything for him, you’re left with a broken heart and no glue.”
I shake my head. “Way to make it depressing. But yes. You’re right. It could happen. Then you need to remember what Mom always says: ‘Don’t regret trying. Regret never asking and wondering.’”
“That’s stupid.”
“Well, some of it sounds a little dumb.”
She smiles and then starts to make her way off my bed and out of my room. “Thanks for listening.”
“You know Adam does play football with Mark, and I am a cheerleader. We have the same practice schedule, and I can always magically bump into Mark. Put in a good word for you.”
She shakes her head. “That’s okay. If he really likes me, he’ll find a way to tell me.”
I give her a thumbs up. “Atta girl.”
As soon as she leaves my room I let her words repeat in my head. Jeez, even for a girl who’s never had a boyfriend before, she’s smarter in that department than I am. At least she gives better advice than my best friend did. I’m not going to just forgive Adam like usual. If he’s truly sorry, he’s going to have to do more than send me text messages. He’s going to have to really work for it.
Adam races up to me in the morning before first bell. “Babe. Babe. Babe. I’m so-so-so sorry. I’m the biggest asshole in the whole wide world.”
Instead of staying strong and making him really work for my forgiveness, I cave like a house of cards. I’m such a loser.
My own sister wrinkles her nose at Adam as he presses his lips to my cheek. She walks past us, and I feel slightly pathetic.
“Aw. I knew you’d make up,” Rachel coos from behind us.
Before she can gush anymore, Jared and Mark walk past. Rachel instantly turns her attention to Jared. “Hey Jared. There’s a party at Melanie’s tonight. You coming?”
“Probably not. Got curfew.”
“Oh, that’s too bad. You could have seen my new bikini. It’s red.”
He shrugs and keeps walking while Mark elbows him. I turn to Adam. “Are you going to Melanie’s?”
“Not sure. Hey, uh … you want to go out to dinner this Saturday?”
“Dinner? Really? You still want to do that?”
He nods. “Yeah. I was thinking dinner and a movie.”
I kiss him. “I’d love that.”
“Great. We’ll talk about what to see at lunch.”
“Okay.”
Maybe I had it all wrong. Adam really could be awesome when he wanted to.