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“I’ll sneak you in my room every night if I have to.” He looks me in the eye. “You will have a place to live. I promise you, I will find a way.”
A few weeks ago, I wouldn’t have believed him, but now I’m starting to, or I want to. I know he’d do anything to keep me off the streets.
“I still need a job,” I say.
“Maybe, but you don’t need to work full-time. If you need food, just come over here. You can take stuff from the pantry or my mom will feed you. Nova, we can do this. It’s just for a few months. We can make this work.”
“You really think I should go back to school?”
“I do, but it’s your decision. So what’s it gonna be?”
20
Easton
My dad was supposedto fly home tonight but his plane was cancelled because of weather. Now he won’t be home until tomorrow. My mom pretended to be disappointed when he called, but I think she was secretly relieved because it meant she could put off talking to him about Nova. I really think my mom wants Nova to stay, which I never would’ve thought was possible a few weeks ago, back when she didn’t even want me to see Nova. But now that my mom’s had a chance to get to know her, she’s starting to care about her and what happens to her. She doesn’t want Nova leaving here and having no place to go.
On Tuesday, my mom took Nova to get Ted’s car. As expected, it didn’t start. My mom took Nova to school and then later, Nova and I went back to the car and I jumpstarted it. It’s in our three-car garage now, in the spot where I normally park my Jeep. My mom didn’t want my dad getting home and seeing Nova’s car in the driveway before she had a chance to talk to him. I’m still not sure how my dad’s going to react when he finds out Nova’s been staying here. Yelling at my mom about it will just make them fight, which I think my dad will want to avoid. After a week-long business trip, he’ll be tired and not want to argue, or that’s what I’m hoping for.
Nova started back at school last Wednesday. My mom took her there Tuesday and explained to Nova’s advisor why she was absent. The guy didn’t even ask where Nova was staying. I guess he just assumed my mom was a relative and that Nova was living with her. The guy also didn’t care that Nova had missed two weeks of school. He acted like it was normal, which it probably is for the students who go there. My mom told me most of the kids there have a situation similar to Nova’s, with parents who aren’t around, or if they are, they don’t care if their kid goes to school.
It’s good Nova’s back in school, but I still haven’t figured out where she could live. My dad might be okay with letting her stay another week, but not the rest of the school year. I wish my mom hadn’t gotten Nova’s hope up by saying she’d get her an apartment. That’s never going to happen. My dad would never allow it.
“I’ll see you after the game.” I give Nova a kiss on the cheek. I almost kissed her on the lips, but then stopped myself. I’m sticking to my commitment. I’m not doing anything with her until she agrees to date me again. But damn, it’s been hard to control myself, especially when I’m living with her. She’s tried to tempt me, like coming out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel, but I somehow managed to resist her. That’s how determined I am to get her to date me again.
“Have a good game.” She smiles. “I’ll make sure not to talk to anyone.”
Nova’s going to the game with my mom. Jenna is going with one of her friends. I’m a little nervous about Nova being there, not nervous about how I’ll play, but what people will do. Paris will see Nova and tell everyone that’s the girl she told them about, and then people will be staring at Nova, talking about her, pointing at her.
“You can talk to them,” I say, “but if they ask you stuff, you don’t have to answer.”
“How would they even know who I am? They’ve never seen me.”
“Jace has, and Kevin, and both of their girlfriends. And Paris.” I roll my eyes. “When she sees you, she’ll tell everyone who you are and you’ll have the whole school watching you.”
“Why?”
“Because of what they’ve heard.”
“Which is what?”
“That you’re my girlfriend.”
“They still think we’re dating?”
“You told Jace we were. Jace told Liza, who told Bridget and Paris, and once Paris knows something, the whole school does. She’s worse than Jenna when it comes to spreading gossip.”
“If I didn’t want to see you play so bad, I wouldn’t even go. I don’t want to be stared at all night.”
“Just pretend they’re not there and focus on the game, specifically your future boyfriend.”
She smiles. “I think you’re being overly confident about the boyfriend thing.”
“It’s just a matter of time. You can’t hold out much longer.” I walk to the door. “See you at the game.”
Maybe she’ll agree to be my girlfriend after the game, after she sees all the other girls cheering for me. I really hope so because I don’t know how much longer I can stay committed to only being friends. After being with her as more than that, it’s hard to be around her without doing stuff.
“You’re late!” Coach yells as I go into the locker room.
