Page 76 of Stealing for Keeps
“It’s okay,” I tell him.
“But Mom says birthdays are days to tell people how much they mean to you.”
It’s hard to argue with that and makes me love him just that much more. As much as I enjoy Austin, his little brother is climbing up my favorite people list.
“Why don’t you make her a card?” I suggest, unzipping my backpack and pulling out a piece of paper.
“Okay.” With no hesitation, he jumps off the chair to me and swipes the paper.
Austin laughs, those light green eyes glinting with humor.
“It’s going to be the best birthday card ever,” Wyatt announces.
“All right.” I sit back down next to Austin, and he hands me the controller again. “But I have to leave in ten minutes.”
* * *
I get to the restaurant five minutes late. My mom and dad are sitting across from each other. Dad looks stiff and uncomfortable, and Mom is smiling in that big, fake way that I know is her way of trying to make us look like a happy, adoring family. Ruby perks up when she spots me.
“Hi,” I say as I slide in next to Dad.
“You’re late,” my mom announces, like I don’t already know.
“They haven’t even taken our drink order yet,” Ruby says with a hint of annoyance in her tone. She is only eleven, but she has teen angst down pat.
“Sorry, but I had to wait a few minutes so I could deliver this.” I set the birthday card in front of my sister. Her smile brightens as she takes in the hand-drawn card. “It’s from Wyatt.”
“Awww. This is so nice.” She opens it up and reads it.
“Who is Wyatt?” my dad asks.
“He’s my friend Austin’s little brother. He’s planning on marrying Ruby.”
“Oh good.” One side of Dad’s mouth lifts. “I was worried no one would want her.”
“Hey.” Ruby’s mouth drops in surprise, and Dad and I laugh. For the briefest of seconds, it feels like old times. Well, the good old times. There were plenty of bad old times too.
Mom and Dad spent most of the time fighting before they divorced, and when they weren’t, Dad would hide at his office, probably to avoid fighting. But he has always been the softer of the two. He’s fun and no schedule, and Mom is all schedule and zero fun.
“Hopefully I won’t find this one in my house at two o’clock in the morning.” Mom’s gaze is pinned on me. She hasn’t mentioned that night since it happened, but I should have known she was just waiting for the right moment.
My face heats, and my dad glances over at me. Somehow his disapproval always feels worse than Mom’s, because with her, I expect it.
“It isn’t what it sounds like,” I say quickly before he can assume the worst.
“She was in her bra and panties, drunk, and had a boy in her room.” Mom smiles at the server who has now approached our table.
I recognize the girl from school. I think she’s a junior, but I only know her name is Cameron because of her name tag. She takes our drink order and then leaves us to our super fun family dinner.
“Claire Bear?” Dad says my name like it’s a question, clearly still hung up on whether I’m sneaking boys in and having drunk sex.
“Okay, it’s what it sounds like, but nothing happened. I had a few drinks, and it hit me harder than I expected. So I did the responsible thing and got a ride home. We’re justfriends.”
“Friends do not hang out almost every night,” my mom says.
“We’re on a group project together.” Although most of our time isn’t spent on that anymore. I squirm in my seat, feeling uncomfortable under their scrutiny.
“You might not be thinking about him like that, but I guarantee he is.” My mom has all sorts of thoughts on the teenage boy, and none of them are good. I settle in to hear how horrible they are for the nine millionth time. They only want one thing, and when they get it, they’re done with you. I shouldn’t waste my time, blah blah blah. She didn’t even really like Vaughn, and he is every parent’s dream.
