Here With You (20 page)

Her therapist might have been right.

Which meant Rachel was crazy, because no one in their right mind would want to deal
with a parent who looked like he was about to explode. She swallowed thickly, wanting
to run.

But Nicole would tell her she was stronger than that. Besides, it was all her fault
anyway. So she took a deep breath and said, "Before you yell at me, can I just say
something?"

He just stared at her.

"I'm sorry." She hunched, feeling the weight of everything on her shoulders, wanting
to cry suddenly. But she sucked it up so she could finish. "I know I've been a brat
and that you're totally justified in sending me to boarding school, but—"

"How do you know about the boarding school?" he asked, his brow furrowing.

"I accidentally saw it on your tablet." She looked at him imploringly. "The thing
is, I know I deserve being sent away, but maybe we could think out of the box and,
um, negotiate a settlement or something."

She thought she saw a flare of humor make his lips twitch, but she must have been
wrong because he just gave her that angry stare. "The settlement is going to have
to be big. You've really screwed up, Rachel. I can't just let this go."

Sighing, she nodded mournfully. "I know."

"But I'm willing to accept some responsibility, too," he said, taking a seat at the
table. "You were right. I haven't really been available, and I should have told you
when I started dating Jennifer."

She sat across from him, mirroring his steepled hands, figuring this was how people
posed when they conducted business. "You know the idea of you dating makes me want
to puke, right?"

A ghost of a smile crossed his face. "You really have a way with words, Rach."

He hadn't called her Rach in longer than she could remember. Hearing it gave her hope.
"Mom used to say that."

"Your mom thought you were a gifted writer."

"I miss her," she said, lowering her head to hide the sudden tears in her eyes. When
her dad's hand covered hers, a drop escaped.

"I miss her, too, sweetheart," he said softly. "I'll always miss her. But she wouldn't
have liked it if we lived in a bubble, sad for all eternity. She'd have kicked our
butts."

Rachel smiled a little. "I guess."

"No, she definitely would have." He exhaled. "Like she would have if she found out
I was even thinking of sending you away, which wasn't a serious consideration, but
you've been on a self-destructive path and I didn't know how else to keep you from
messing up the rest of your life."

"You weren't sending me away so you could be with Jennifer?" She managed to say the
name without gagging.

He shook his head. "In fact, when I told Jennifer what I was thinking, she yelled
at me."

"You talked to her about me?" Rachel asked, not sure if she should be happy or angry.

"You're my world, Rach. Of course I talked about you." He cleared his throat. "I'd
like you to meet her. I like her. I don't know where it'll go, but I don't want you
to be excluded from my life."

She sighed. "Fine, I'll meet her. But I'm going to tell you if she's a loser."

"Fair enough." Her dad stuck out his hand and they shook on it. Then he got all parental
again. "About this boy you snuck out with."

She shook her head. "It's not like that."

He raised his brow.

"Okay, I like him, but that's not what was going on that night." She took a deep breath
and went for it. "I wrote a poem for Mom and wanted to give it to Griffin Chase."

"Griffin Chase, the singer?" Her dad frowned.

"Remember how Mom loved his music? I thought it'd be so great if he'd put the poem
to music and sang it for Mom, and I found out he was going to be at that club. Aaron
just helped me get in."

"You were kissing when I saw you, Rachel."

She nodded, mortified that she was discussing this with her dad. "That was it. The
only time. I swear."

"You like him."

She sank further down into her chair. Maybe if she wished hard enough, an earthquake
would happen and the floor would collapse and she'd fall through.

Her dad stared at her a long time, in complete silence. Then he shook his head. "I'm
not sure I can deal with my daughter dating."

"Try having your dad date," she said under her breath.

He chuckled. Then he began to laugh, rich and deep from his belly.

Rachel hadn't heard him laugh like that since her mom had been alive. It made her
smile.

"Okay, let's lay out the bullet points of our truce," he said when he stopped laughing.
"One, you can't skip school any more. Two, you're grounded for the next two weeks.
Sorry, but I have to lay down the law there."

"But we stay in San Francisco, and after I'm not grounded any longer, I can go out
with Aaron sometimes."

Her dad sighed. "You being a teenager is going to kill me."

"He's nice, Dad," she said softly.

"Okay. Okay"—he held his hands out—"I'll deal if you promise not to be a brat to Jennifer."

"Fine." She leaned forward, hands braced on the table. "And I get to work part-time
in the lingerie store on Sacramento Street. That's not negotiable either."

"Your grades have to come back up," her dad said, warning in his tone. "And we have
to have dinner together, just you and me, once a week."

"Okay.”

They shook on it, and then he got up and hugged her. She squeezed him tight, burying
her face in his chest.

He kissed her temple. "I love you, Rachel."

"I love you, too, Dad."

"Dinner tonight?" he asked as he let go of her.

"Lobster mac and cheese?"

"You got it." He grinned. "I've got some work to go over. How about seven?"

"Okay." She had a few things to do, too. She ran up to her room and opened her laptop
to Facebook. Opening a chat window, she hoped he was online.

He was.

Aaron Hawke: I thought you'd been sent to a work prison in Siberia.

Rachel Rosenbaum: Close. Dad was pissed.

Aaron Hawke: I'm sorry you got in trouble.

Rachel Rosenbaum: It was my fault, but except for my two-week jail sentence it's all
good.

Aaron Hawke: We didn't get your poem to Griffin Chase.

Rachel Rosenbaum: I'm working on that, but that's not why I messaged you.

Aaron Hawke: You need help with chem homework?

Rachel Rosenbaum: Yes, but only if I can help you with English.

Aaron Hawke: I'll be a gentleman and not point out that was our original deal.

Rachel Rosenbaum: I'm rolling my eyes at you.

Aaron Hawke: I know.

Rachel Rosenbaum: I'm kind of hoping you'll go to a movie or something with me, too.

She waited, watching the screen for his reply. But when he didn't answer, she prodded
him.

Rachel Rosenbaum: Well?

Aaron Hawke: I'm checking movie times.

Chapter Twenty-four

For the first time since she'd come to Laurel Heights, Rachel walked into school with
her head high. For the first time since her mom died she felt...

Hopeful, she decided, smiling to herself. She hitched her bag on her shoulder and
headed to her locker.

"Hey Rach!"

She turned as Lydia skidded to a stop in front of her. Lydia looked the way she always
did: full of life with the tiniest bit of mischief on the side. Rachel smiled at her,
realizing that she'd actually missed her chem-mate. "What's going on?"

"With me?" Lydia's eyes widened. "I was afraid Madison had abducted you and stuffed
you in a Dumpster at the
back of the school.
"

Rachel laughed. "It's not out of the realm."

"She's been on a warpath lately." Lydia shook her head. "Whatever you've done to her,
bravo."

"Ladies." Aaron stopped next to them. He flashed Lydia a smile and then looked at
Rachel. His smile changed, becoming more private, and he touched her arm. "How are
you?"

She may have been grounded, but her dad let her use Facebook still, so she'd been
chatting with Aaron pretty much as often as she could. They had a date as soon as
her sentence was served. "I'm great," she said softly.

He slid his hand down her arm and took hers. "Good."

The warning bell rang. "I need to stop at my locker," Rachel said. She needed her
textbook.

"I have to stop at my locker, too, but I'll walk you guys part way." Aaron engaged
Lydia in conversation as they walked through the hall.

Rachel had no idea what they were talking about. All she could think about was his
hand and the way he held hers. She'd never held a boy's hand before. It was nice—really
nice.

She hoped her palm wouldn't get sweaty.

Aaron stopped at the juncture of the two halls. "I'll leave you here. See you in chem,
Lydia." He turned to Rachel, leaned down, and kissed her cheek.

She felt her face burn, conscious of the curious gazes the other students were giving
them. But she smiled shyly. "See you in chem," she promised softly.

His smile lifted her heart. He squeezed her hand and strode off.

"Now I know what you did to piss Madison off." Lydia gave her a high-five. "Way to
go."

"I didn't do it on purpose."

"No, but the result is just as satisfying."

"You're cold-hearted," Rachel began, "and therefore I believe we should be best friends.
Want to come over to my house sometime?"

"Yes, please." Lydia grinned at her. "I've got to get to class. We'll plot later."

Happy, Rachel hurried to her locker.

The
–sons
were still there, closing up their lockers. They stiffened when they saw Rachel.

Whatever. She shrugged and went directly to get her things. Maybe if she ignored them,
they'd go away.

But they didn't.

Addison spoke first, for a change. "Look, it's Griffin Chase's BFF."

Madison snorted. "It's mean to taunt the mentally challenged, Adds."

Rachel rolled her eyes. She pulled out the book she needed from her locker and shut
it before facing them. "It's not going to work, guys. You're wasting your time."

"Why?" Madison got in her face. "Because you lied? Because you're a loser who's not
worth our time?"

She had no idea if Griffin Chase would ever see her poem. Nicole had promised he would,
but Rachel understood that the chances of him doing anything with it were nonexistent.

It should have bothered her, but it was hard to be upset. Everything was working out,
and regardless of whether Griffin Chase used her poem, it was still a great tribute
to her mom. She'd shown it to her dad the other night and he'd actually teared up
before he'd caught her in a tight hug and apologized for being a douche these past
months. (Her word, not his.)

So she shrugged at the
–sons
and smiled. "If you have nothing better to do than harass me, I feel sorry for you."

While they sputtered with indignation, she turned and rushed to class. Walking through
the door as the final bell rang, she eased into her seat.

Rachel pulled out
her textbook from her bag. She paused and then also withdrew
the blank red notebook.

She ran her hand along the outside. It was the last notebook her mom would ever give
her.

Her teacher spent the first ten minutes of class taking attendance and reading announcements.
So, t
aking a deep breath,
Rachel
opened it and picked up a pen.

Mom, I screwed up. Big time.

But I think I'm done now. I thought that life ended the day you died, and when it
kept going on I got pissed. But Dad and Nicole (and everyone really) are right: you'd
hate it for us to be unhappy for the rest of our lives.

So when I thought life ended that day, I was wrong. My life began—new and different.

I'm sorry I haven't been writing, but I will. I'll going to start a new story right
here, maybe about a girl who has the best mother in the world. Write what you know,
right?

Love—always,

Me



Chapter Twenty-five

"You left town and didn't tell me!" KT exclaimed. "What the hell?"

"Come on, you're happy I'm gone." Grif grabbed a bottled water from the refrigerator
and walked through his apartment, down the hall to his office. "Admit it. It's better
that I'm here moping. Unless you'd rather have me moping in your home."

"I really wouldn't."

"I didn't think so." He smiled faintly, sitting in his desk chair. Since he'd been
back, he alternated between self-pity and bouts of non-stop work. Roddy was happy,
at least. His manager had loved
Here with You
.

Grif had had a word or two with Roddy about his high-handed publicity tactics. Roddy
had acted superior, saying that maybe if Grif had answered his phone, he wouldn't
have had to resort to extreme measures. The PR had pleased the studio execs, and Roddy
figured Grif should be grateful.

Grateful for coming between him and Nicole? Not that he could really blame his manager.
The situation was his doing—his and Nicole's.

"So she kicked you to the curb, huh?" KT said with her usual tact. "I knew it'd happen."

"Tell me why we're friends again?" he asked as he twisted open the water.

"You love me. Be honest, you miss me."

He did, amazingly enough. He missed San Francisco, too. He whirled his chair around
and stared out of the floor-to-ceiling windows of his condo. His apartment was spacious
and looked out onto L.A., which really wasn't saying much. The skyline was gray from
smog, and the apartment itself was amazingly sterile.

Mostly though, he missed Nicole. Everything about her, from the abandoned way she
kissed him to the feel of her body snug against his. He even missed how she left her
shoes around for him to trip on.

"Hello?" KT boomed into the receiver. "Are you back to moping?"

Sighing, he turned around and opened his laptop. "I miss her, KT."