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Chapter 7
Taylor
Inoticed the frontyard as soon as I parked my car in the driveway. The burst of color was like a ray of sunshine, and I stopped to admire the array of flowers and shrubs that now lined the planter boxes. After the strangeness of the day, I needed something to give me a boost.
I couldn’t identify all the blooms, but I bent to smell the bush of purple lavender. My throat tightened as I plucked a flower from its stalk, the gentle fragrance clinging to my fingers. Lavender had been one of Mom’s favorites, and even though it was nearing the end of summer, the purple heads stood tall and pretty.
“You did a good job,” I said to Dad as I dropped my tennis bag and backpack down at the doorway to the living room.
“Huh?” Dad looked up from couch, the remote in his hand, watching the tennis channel on screen. It was thoughtful that he changed it just for me.
“The front yard, the flowers. They’re perfect. This was Mom’s favorite,” I said, twirling the lavender spike in my hand.
Dad’s brow furrowed. “I thought you did it.”
I stared at him like he’d gone mad. “I just got home. How could I have done it?”
“I dunno,” he said. “I thought you must have come home already, then gone out again.”
I was as bewildered as him. “If you didn’t, who then?”
Dad threw out a few suggestions. “The landlord? Lawn maintenance?”
“The grass hasn’t been cut,” I said.
“Mmmm.” Dad patted the seat next to him. “So, how was your day? The team bonding?” He chuckled, knowing I hadn’t exactly been enthusiastic about it.
“It was actually okay,” I said, taking off my cap as I joined him on the couch. “We kayaked on the river.”
“And the bonding?” He arched an eyebrow. “That Bianca girl?”
I shrugged. “She was okay, I guess. At least, she didn’t throw me in the river.”
“Progress then.” Dad smirked as he pulled me in for a hug. I let my head drop onto his chest, tickling his nose with the lavender. For a few minutes I laid there listening to his heart beat, succumbing to exhaustion. The paddling, the scavenger hunt and the training from this morning had made me quite weary. Dad stroked my hair and I happily snuggled in close.
I wasn’t sure how to process the day. There had been a few things I’d learnt that my mind wouldn’t let go of. Firstly, Bianca asking Max if he was playing tennis this year, and his extremely vague answer when I’d queried him directly. Okay, I admit I’d gone online to do some research—Covington’s boys team had finished in the Top 5 in their division. Max had played Number 3 and his results had been good, well, better than good. Yet, he hadn’t played any tournaments over summer and was doubtful about joining the team this year. The boys who had played Number 1 and 2, Phoenix and Will must have been seniors, because there was no mention of them.
The other thing that I had difficulty in coming to terms with was Bianca’s Two Truths and A Lie. Yep. I couldn’t get past her saying that she and Max had kissed under the mistletoe. Why did it bother me? Had they dated?
I hadn’t gotten a vibe that there was anything between them. If anything, hostility maybe. Max had seemed annoyed when Bianca barged in between us on the van ride, and he was downright fuming when she mentioned the kiss. But later, when I was driving out of the school parking lot, I had seen them talking together, standing close. Very close.
