Life in the Lucky Zone (The Zone #2) (2 page)

No. I was
not
like Lindsey.

Claire and Gray moved over to wait with Sam and Rose. I paid and then followed everybody outside. The cold air sent a snap of energy thrumming through my veins, driving out the irritation of the last hour. Maybe I’d take a walk when I got home instead of playing video games. I needed to figure out how to keep Lindsey from getting under my skin so easily. Especially if I was going to keep hanging out with this group of people. And be a part of theater.

Everybody was zipping or buttoning their coats, shrugging their shoulders against the cold. We said our goodbyes, and I headed to the car, my hands in my pockets, but my hoodie wide open so the cold air could seep into my flannel shirt.

I could probably just keep ignoring Lindsey—or trying to ignore her.
Right, man. That’s worked great so far.
I really didn’t understand why Claire and Rose were friends with her. She was so demanding of their time and attention. Everybody’s attention, really.

Maybe that was the key. If she wanted attention, I’d give it to her. Interact. Interrupt her stories. Basically go on the attack. Or not.

I smiled even though the freezing air made my face stiff. Going up against Lindsey. What would that look like? Probably a nightmare. I shook my head. Nah, I should probably just stick to ignoring her. I could practice eavesdropping on other conversations while she talked. Or I could stick in a pair of earbuds and listen to music. Too rude? Yeah, probably. But nothing bothered her, right?

Two

Lindsey

I practically raced along the walkway from the parking lot to the airport. Traffic had been as horrible as usual, and I was a few minutes behind schedule. My whole body vibrated like a live wire. I was finally going to see Adam. After the tension between us before school let out for the holidays, I knew we needed to talk. And this was probably not the best time, but I needed him to know I was serious about clearing the air. He’d insisted nothing was wrong. Maybe that was true and his week away had helped relax him, but I doubted it.

When I got to the street, a car had just passed and no one was coming, so I didn’t even slow down. Once on the other side, my heart felt like it was trying to crawl out of my throat, so I paused and breathed deeply. I needed to be calm. To show Adam I could stay calm while we talked. I didn’t want him to accuse me of being overly emotional.

Okay. My pulse seemed to be slower. I could do this.

I headed forward, but ten feet from the entrance, the automatic door opened to a young woman pushing a stroller while also tugging a Chihuahua on a leash and pulling a small carry-on bag. How did people manage all that?

Apparently not very well, because a toy or something came flying out of the stroller and a baby started howling. I shivered. I was
so
not good with kids. The woman stopped, said something to the kid, and then let go of her suitcase. Unfortunately, she also let go of the dog. It took off down the sidewalk.

“No!” the woman yelled. “Bartholomew!”

Bartholomew? The name was bigger than the dog. She glanced at me, then at her baby, then in the direction the dog ran, then around the stroller wheels for whatever the child had lobbed.
Dang it.
I was only five feet from the door, which had closed again. For a moment, I’d been able to hear people talking from inside. I needed to get in there—to catch Adam before he took off. I could just ignore everything and keep walking, but … dang it. I bit back a sigh.

“I’ll get him,” I said to the woman and swung around. The stupid little dog had almost reached the next entrance. I jogged toward him, my huge bag banging against my side. Note to self: buy smaller purses.

“Bartholomew!” I called. The dog didn’t even twitch an ear my way. Up ahead, a family came out of the airport. “Stop the dog!” I yelled. That was probably the first time I’d uttered those words in my entire life.

A little boy looked toward me, then ran forward, and stepped on the dog’s leash. Hallelujah! I ran up, breathing hard—I seriously needed to exercise more—and stopped before the boy. Should I pat him on the head? Uh, probably not. “Thank you so much,” I gushed. “You’re a hero.”

He gave me a shy smile and held the leash out to me. I took it, smiled at the adults, and headed the other way. “C’mon, Barty, let’s go.” Tooling along on his tiny legs, the dog looked truly disgusted with me for foiling his escape.
Heh. I feel the same way about you, buddy.

“Oh, Bartholomew,” the woman said as we approached. “You’re such a bad boy.”

She looked like she was about to launch into a long round of thanks, so I passed off the leash and pointed toward the door as if I was in a hurry. Which I was. “No problem,” I said and dashed inside.

People filled the baggage claim area, grabbing their items from the carousel, their conversations muffled by all the noise. I stepped out of the way of a man heading for the exit and scanned people’s faces. Where was Adam? Were his parents already here to take him home? That might make things awkward.

I edged through the crowd and finally saw him. Relief ran through me, but immediately drained away at the sight of the people with him. Dressed in a T-shirt and hoodie, Adam was placing a huge duffle bag on the floor beside an elderly couple and a teenage girl. A gorgeous teenage girl with dark hair. I didn’t know who she was, but I hated everything about her. From her long, curling hair to the tight shirt that showed off all her curves. Even the tiny belly curve.

Should I go over there? I kind of had to if I wanted to talk to him. But something held me back. Some sense that prickled up my neck. I shouldn’t meet those people. At least, not right now. Then the problem took care of itself. Adam straightened and looked across the room. Our gazes met. Locked. But I couldn’t read what might be in his. It was too far away.

He tilted his head down toward the others, said something, and then started working his way through the crowd. I knew the people he was with must be watching, but I only had eyes for Adam. He did not look happy.

Crap
. I hadn’t planned on a fight. Surely that wasn’t what he had in mind. My pulse sped up, and I squeezed my fingers around the strap of my shoulder bag. And then he was standing in front of me, his hands hanging loosely at his sides, a vertical line between his eyebrows.

“Hey,” he said, with no kiss or hug. “What’re you doing here? I told you I had a ride.”

I made myself smile. “I wanted to surprise you.”

He ran a hand through his hair. It had gotten long; a couple of strands curled toward the snake tat on his neck. “How’re you doing?” he asked, sounding like he really didn’t care.

I could barely choke out the word. “Fine.”
Touch me. Tell me everything’s okay.

Someone jostled him, and he stepped closer. “Look, you know things have been weird between us. I should’ve talked to you about this before I left, but I didn’t know how. Stuff has … changed.”

I stared at the people he’d left behind. The old man was watching the bags go around on the carousel. The old lady was saying something to the girl, who was looking straight at me. Like she was waiting for something to happen. I wanted to ask who she was. I didn’t dare. I’d have to keep it general. “Who are those people, Adam?”

“Uh, my grandparents. And Brisa.”

Everything inside me started rattling around like it was about to break loose. “Brisa. Your ex.”

“Yeah.”

“They here for Christmas?”

He looked toward the exit. “That and … longer.”

I knew the answer before I even asked. “All of them?”

“No. Just Brisa.”

“She’s moving here?”

“More or less.” Adam chewed on the cuticle on his index finger.

He only did that when he was really nervous. Good. Glad I wasn’t the only one. I had to shrug off my nerves. It was like my dad always said:
There’s only one way to get through trouble. Just walk straight ahead.
So I did. “Adam, what’s going on?”

He glanced over his shoulder and then lowered his voice. “She needed to be someplace different for a while. My parents invited her to stay with us.”

His ex was going to live in his house. With him. Invisible hands squeezed my throat. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t talk. This wasn’t happening. I coughed, trying to clear an airway. Finally, when I thought my voice could take it, I spoke. “You know that’s not gonna work for you and me.” My words came out raspy.

Adam looked me right in the eye. “I know.”

“So we’re done?”

He dropped his gaze. “I’m sorry.”

Really.
Really?
He was sorry? A wave of hot anger swept through me. My hands shook as I loosened my scarf. All I could think was how much I wanted to hurt him. I let out a snarky laugh. “What? Is she pregnant?”

Adam’s face went slack. “How’d you know?”

My knees suddenly felt like jelly. I flung my arm backward, blindly reaching for something to grab on to. Adam swore and grabbed my upper arms, holding me steady. He looked around. “There’s no place to sit in here. You want to go outside?”

“Is it yours?”

Redness darkened the brown skin of his cheekbones. “She says it’s not.”

“But it could be.” We stared at each other, and the truth was all over his face. Brisa didn’t look very pregnant, but four months ago I’d suspected something. And I’d stupidly ignored it. “You cheated on me. Last summer when you went down there. Didn’t you?”

“We were drunk. It just happened. It didn’t mean anything.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “Come on, Linds, you know I’ll always love you.”

Love. What a load of crap. “Let go of me.”

He did, and I took a step back. He dug his hands into his hoodie pockets and stared down at the floor. Through the windows of the baggage area, I could see travelers rushing to get to their gates. I wanted to be with them. To be going somewhere. To be anywhere but here.

“I’m sorry,” Adam said to the ground. “I don’t know how else to say it.” He looked up. “I guess we just ran out of luck.”

“We ran out of luck,” I said, my voice hard and flat. “After eight months together, that’s all you can say?”

“Adam?” his grandfather called out, just able to be heard over the thinning crowd.

Adam nodded to him and then turned back to me. “I’m going to stand by her in this, Lindsey. She needs me.”

Tears burned my eyes, and I hated myself for it. What about whoever else Brisa had been sleeping with? Shouldn’t that person help her? “And apparently I don’t.”

His shoulders dropped. “Babe—”

“Don’t.”

“Listen to me.” He leaned in close, overwhelming me with his scent—that unique blend of spicy soap and just … Adam. “You’re gonna be fine. You’re stronger than anybody I know.”

Cuss words beat against the back of my front teeth, trying to get out. But if there was one thing all my years in theater had taught me, it was how to make an exit. I took a deep breath and straightened. Pasted a bright smile on my face. “Have a nice life, Adam. Merry Christmas.”

I edged past him and walked out the door. Tears streamed down my face as the cold air hit me. I strode on, not trying to wipe them away. They were the only tears I could afford right now. I had to get home. And to do that I had to drive through Dallas highway traffic without sobbing over the steering wheel.

There was absolutely no freaking way I could let myself sit in my car in the parking lot and cry it all out. Not when there was the chance that Adam and his new entourage might walk by and see me.

He thought I was strong? I’d show him strong. I unzipped my coat so the freezing air could penetrate my sweater. Being frozen sounded like a really good idea.

Three

Berger

A sharp knock sounded on the game room door. I twisted away from the live game feed I was watching. “Yeah?”

My older sister, Ashley, stuck her head in, her long, dark hair swinging with the movement. “Drag yourself out of the underworld. Family meeting in ten minutes.”

“Who says?”

“Mom and Dad, of course. You think I’d have a family meeting with just you?”

“Ha, ha. Be there in a s—”

The door thudded shut on my words. Well, okay then. I stretched my arms overhead. What could the parents want this time? They were always having these meetings to discuss things they’d already made decisions about. It didn’t really make a lot of sense, but it seemed to make them happy, so Ashley and I went along with it.

After watching another minute of the game, I closed the browser and put my computer to sleep. If I was heading into a meeting, I needed fortification. In other words, snacks.

In the kitchen, Ashley was cutting some cheese to add to her plate of crackers and apple slices. “What? We’re serving
hors d’oeuvres
now?”

She snorted. “These are mine, Doodles. Find your own food.”

“You’re so selfish,” I said, opening the freezer. I grabbed the box of Bagel Bites and headed for the oven.

“Oh, sweetie, it’s too close to dinner for those,” Mom said, coming into the kitchen.

I pointed at Ashley. “
She’s
eating.”

“She’s having a snack. You’re planning to eat a whole package of those things, aren’t you?” Mom asked.

“Maybe … It’s too soon to divulge that information.”

Dad walked in. “Just grab a cookie and sit down. This won’t take long.”

I didn’t want a cookie. I wanted something cheesy and tomatoey. “Tyrants,” I muttered, then shoved the Bagel Bites back in the freezer and joined them at the round kitchen table. This meeting was going to be agony without something to eat. I’d have to poach from Ashley.

Dad ran a hand through his brown hair and let out a long breath. Both he and Mom had purplish circles under their eyes. Not unusual since they worked super long hours at the coffee shop they ran. “Your mom and I were called at work this morning. Nana wandered off again.”

Uh-oh.
Our grandmother was getting worse.