Page 4 of I Would Stay Forever
Tiffany, who had practically been standing on my toes, recoiled. “Sick?”
“Yeah.” To further the point, I pretend to cough. Her lip curled and she immediately moved further away. “I mean, probably just a cold but can’t be too careful, right? I’m pretty sure I already gave it to Sebastian, so...”
I guess Tiffany is a total germaphobe, because she was off the porch in seconds. She turned back to face me on the path, holding her purse between us like a shield.
“Tell Sebastian I came by then,” she said, walking backwards. “And I’ll see him once he’s better.”
“What, you’re not going to bring him chicken soup?” I asked innocently, mostly so I could see the conflicting emotions on her face. Sure it was mean, especially since Sebastian wasn’t actually sick, but I was curious to see just how far her love (or obsession) for him went.
Indecision warred on her face as she hit the curb and nearly tripped onto the street. She let out a startled scream—a little dramatic, since she barely even lost her footing—then said, “Tell him to call me.”
I most certainly wouldn’t be doing that, but it didn’t matter anyway. She was already running down the street, as if she thought my supposed germs were chasing her.
I rolled my eyes and opened the front door. Before I even set foot in the house, I could tell Sebastian wouldn’t have been able to hear her knocking—music was playing from his room in the basement, so loud that it was almost making the house shake. Upstairs, Ainsley and Imogen were screaming at each other. Not like an argument, but more likely because they were each lying in their own rooms and trying to have a conversation. As I closed the door behind me and kicked off my shoes, I caught the wordsInstagramandcan’t believe her,so I didn’t think the conversation was all that riveting.
I crossed straight through the house to the backyard, pausing only long enough to grab the bikini I’d left drying on the back porch, and slipped into the pool shed to change. It wasn’t the nicest place to get changed, but it was private and easier than going upstairs, especially when that meant getting in the middle of Ainsley and Imogen’s conversations.
I thought I’d have the backyard to myself, but when I stepped back out, I found Sebastian sitting on the edge of the hot tub I’d been planning to use. I rolled my eyes at his timing. He was only working mornings this week, coaching a soccer camp for young kids, so he could’ve come out here at any time, yet he chose the moment I got home from work. Typical.
“Your girlfriend was looking for you,” I told him as I walked up. He had his back to me and jumped at the sound of my voice but relaxed as I came around into his line of vision. He was only sitting on the edge with his feet in the water. I sat down on the bench, the water floating up to my chest.
“I don’t have a girlfriend,” Sebastian responded, his voice almost teasing.
I rolled my eyes. “Tell that to the girl trying to break down our door.”
His brows furrowed and he leaned to the side like he was just trying to see around the house to the front door. I rolled my eyes again and hit his leg lightly.
“Relax, I got rid of her. I told her you were sick.”
“Well it all worked out then, didn’t it?”
“How long has it been?” I asked. “Three days?”
“Four,” he said without looking at me. He started moving his legs in circles, making the water ripple away from him. “She went out with some college guy. I saw the texts with him on her phone.”
He always talked about his relationship problems so casually, like finding out your girlfriend was talking to another guy was no big deal. I guess by this point, it wasn’t anything new to him. Nothing remarkable. I still didn’t understand why he kept getting back together with her but I’d stopped prying after the fourth time. Maybe part of me was scared to know the answer.
I sighed and sank deeper into the hot tub, letting the water come up to my chin. It had been a long day at work, especially after Dean showed up. Zoey managed not to say anything about him for all of five minutes, then went on and on for the rest of my shift about how cute he was and that she couldn’t believe I wasn’t going out with him yet. She didn’t understand that the relationship between Dean and me—acquaintanceship, almost friendship, or however else it could be categorized—was nowhere near romantic and never would be. Regardless of whether he saw me as a neighbour, as Sebastian’s sister, or as a random girl from school, he never saw me as girlfriend material. And I didn’t want him to, anyway. The last thing I needed was to get caught up with one of Sebastian’s friends.
“I’m thinking of going to the gym tonight if you want a ride,” Sebastian said. He mimicked doing bicep curls and I laughed.
“Maybe,” I said. “But Zoey wanted to go see a movie, so I’m not sure.”
I’d love to get back into the usual workout routine I had during the school year, but being on my feet all day at work made going to the gym feel like the last thing I wanted to do. The beginning of summer is always fun, when your new schedule feels new and exciting. But after a few weeks, I always start to miss my normal routine—mainly volleyball practice and seeing my friends every day.
I knew it was a “the grass is always greener” situation and I would regret not enjoying my summer for what it was once school started back up, but really, what was there to enjoy? Sure, having Zoey hang out at work with me every day was fun, but she was leaving town for all of August, so that wasn’t going to last long. Most of my other friends were working at overnight camps and wouldn’t be back until the week before school started too.
The patio door slid open and Mum stuck her head out. Her brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she was still wearing her scrubs like she’d just gotten home from work, but there was a happy gleam in her eye.
“Lavender,” she said. “I have a surprise for you.”
I glanced at Sebastian, but he just shrugged helplessly, apparently having no idea what it was either. My birthday wasn’t for another five months and I couldn’t think of any other special event that would prompt her to get me something today.
I pushed myself out of the hot tub and wrapped my towel around my torso as I walked up to her, water dripping down my legs. She didn’t make any comment about me getting water on the floor, which was a little bit unusual, but I just went with it and followed her to the front door. I just wished that I’d put on clothes before I stepped outside and realized why exactly she had brought me out here.
Dad was standing next to a white car, keys dangling from his fingers and a wild smile on his face. My eyes widened as I looked between him and the car, and I realized why today was a specialday. It had been one week since I’d passed my driving test—and when Sebastian got his last year, they’d bought him his car.
“No,” I said in disbelief. There was no way this wasmycar. No way, no way, no?—
