Have you escaped?
I laugh, stuff the last bite of the taco in my mouth, and quickly text back.
Yes. Thank you.
Who would’ve thoughtJayof all people would be the one to make tonight not so terrible, whether through his stupid texts or his phone call. He saved the night for me, and as much as I hate to admit it, since I still don’t like him, I do owe him an ice cream. Even if he doesn’t eat it, it’s the least I can do.
A text comes in from Kalani, and I switch from Jay’s chat to hers.
How’s the date going? Are you and Arthur a perfect match or what?
I laugh out loud and drop my phone in the cupholder to put my car in drive and finally get the hell out of here. If Kalani thinks Arthur is my perfect match, I need to seriously reconsider how my friends view me and who they see as my dream date. We’re clearly not on the same page, the same book, or even the same genre.
Nine
By the time I get home, I’m so exhausted by everything that happened that I fall asleep right away; I don’t even tell Emi or Kalani how it went. Saturday morning, I message them in our group chat and tell them it was terrible, then I invite them to come over or visit Boscoe’s pop-up art exhibit with me tonight and I’ll give them details when I see them. It’s definitely an in-person kind of conversation, and I’d really love to go to Boscoe’s exhibit.
Kalani replies instantly and says that Ralph, Daphne’s friend we met at the cliff, is throwing a party tonight, so we’re all going there instead. I don’t really want to go, but my friends are excited, and I don’t want to be left out, even if Kalani tells me I’m fifth wheeling them. Besides, I’ve dragged Kalani to tons of art exhibits over the years, and I know she’d much rather go to a party to take her mind off everything that’s happening at home versus an art show she doesn’t care about and would only be attending for me.
At work, every time the door opens, a small part of me hopes the pink team will walk in. This both confuses and annoys me since Jay and I are not friends and last night changed nothing between us. I only get to talk to Kalani for a minute when she pops into the bakery after her sister’s soccer game—the entirety of which I use to rant about how she has horrible taste in men for me—but Jay never shows. A few members of the pink team come in with their parents before the end of my shift, but I don’t dare ask them where Jay is. Besides, I don’t care about Jay’s whereabouts, I only want to repay my debt to him in ice cream. Yes, that’s all I want.
On the way to the party, sitting in the back of Emmett’s white electric Volvo squished between Daphne and Emi, I tell them all about the date. Every horrible detail.
“You were not going to climb out the window!” Kalani says, twisting from the passenger seat to look at me.
I pull out my phone and show her the video I sent to Jay of me standing on the counter and the open window.
Emi, Daphne, and Kalani all erupt into laughter.
“You reallyweregoing to jump out the window!” Emi gasps between fits. “I’m so proud of you; that’s the type of behavior I encourage.”
“It was really that terrible?” Kalani asks, trying to hold in her laughter.
I send her an incredulous look. “He brought his mom, Kalani. Hismom! On a first date! And she called me a slut!”
Kalani can’t hold in her laughter anymore, but when I glare at her, she stops herself by slapping a palm over her mouth. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be laughing, but . . . seriously? Hismom?”
“Her name was Barbara, and she wanted to know my five-year plan.”
From the driver’s seat, Emmett hums. “That’s actually a really interesting question. Whatisyour five-year plan—ow!” He sends an accusatory look at Kalani for swatting his arm. When she only widens her eyes at him in warning, the message sinks in, and he clears his throat. “Ahem. I mean . . . that sounds horrible.”
“So awful she almost jumped out the bathroom window!” Daphne giggles. “What about the heights thing?”
I would’ve been willing to jump off that damn cliff if it meant getting away from Arthur and Barbara. Maybe. “It was the first floor of the building, it wasn’t bad.”
“Why didn’t you leave through the front door?” Emmett asks. I catch his eye in the rearview mirror and get distracted by their color.
“Carina?” Kalani prompts.
“Oh.” I shake my head. I need to get over this. “Just reliving the awfulness. And because I would’ve had to walk right by the table to leave. They would’ve seen.”
Emmett frowns but keeps his eyes on the dark road. The highway is busy for ten o’clock on a Saturday night, but it’s not unusual.
“Why didn’t you tell him it wasn’t going to work and leave?” Emmett asks. I can hear the disapproval in his tone. “It would’ve been mean if you’d left out the window, and you tricked him by making him think something was wrong with your mom with a fake phone call. You should’ve just been honest about the situation.”
His disappointment is obvious, and my heart sinks. He’s right. That probablywasinconsiderate of me. It seemed like a good idea at the time—agreatidea, actually—and my accomplice didn’t think the fake phone call was a bad idea. But then again, my accomplice wasJay, and that should’ve been my first hint that I wasn’t acting fairly. I was feeling good about my actions, even amused by them and proud of my acting skills, until this moment, with Emmett looking at me like I’ve failed him.
I study my hands in my lap. “You’re right. When I see him in school, I’ll set the record straight.”