Season of Change (9 page)

W
hen the text came, I was already in bed. I thought it might be Noah and grabbed my phone. But it was Stephanie.

What had happened? Wasn’t Stephanie with her mom?

She texted me an address. I recognized the neighborhood. Nice. In Charlotte. People from our school lived there.

I sat up in bed. My heart pounded and there was a buzzing in my head. What should I do? It would take forty-five minutes to get there from here. Grandpa and Grandma were asleep. I could wake them up, and ask Grandpa to drive. But I had no idea what might be going on with Stephanie. I didn’t want to get her in trouble. I’d just go get Stephanie and take her to her mom’s house. Grandpa and Grandma would never know.

Grandpa kept his car keys on a hook by the refrigerator. I’d sworn I’d never drive again after hitting that deer yesterday. But Stephanie needed my help.

I jumped into my jeans and a T-shirt, slid my feet into flip-flops, grabbed my phone and purse, and tiptoed down the stairs. Slowly, I took Grandpa’s keys off the hook, freezing each time they clinked. I was barely letting myself breathe.

I glanced onto the sun porch, where Star was curled asleep, but didn’t walk over. I didn’t want to wake her up. I’d be back in time for her next feeding in a few hours.

Very slowly, I unlocked the side door that led outside
to the driveway. It made a distinct “click” sound and I froze. I waited several seconds. No sounds from Grandpa and Grandma’s room. Blood roared in my head.

I turned the doorknob and eased the door open. It made a sucking sound and I froze again. Still silence. I slipped out, gently pulling the door shut. The cool night air enveloped me.

What had happened to Stephanie? Would she be all right until I could get there?

Crickets sang and the stars spread over me. They were always more brilliant up here at the lake. A summer breeze rustled through the pine trees near the house, and in the back yard, the lake seemed to hum. I took silent footsteps, muffled by pine needles, out to the driveway. The car lock made a “thunk” sound as I unlocked it.

As quietly as I could, I opened the door and climbed in. With shaking hands, I adjusted the seat and fit the keys into the ignition.

Would it wake Grandpa and Grandma when I started the engine?

I took a deep breath and turned the key.

The engine roared. It seemed horribly loud over the cricket sounds. I waited to see if the house lights came on. But they didn’t. Slowly, I backed out of the driveway and drove a short way down the road, glancing
back at the house. Still no lights. Maybe Grandpa and Grandma were a little deaf. I turned on the headlights. Now. Just keep driving.

What would Grandma and Grandpa do if they woke up and found me and their car gone? Maybe I should’ve left a note. Too late now.

When I passed the place where I had hit the deer, I broke into a cold sweat. My headlights swept past the groves of pine and oak, and shone on the heart-shaped leaves of the dogwoods. I took deep breaths and concentrated on staying in the lane.

My hands were gripping the steering wheel so tightly they ached. I pulled to the side of the road and counted to ten, taking deep breaths.

Then I programmed the address Stephanie had given me into my phone’s GPS.

Without seeing any other cars, I followed the narrow winding roads by the lake and soon I’d made it to the highway. I’d only driven on it a few times. I merged, the way Mom had shown me, and in seconds was headed down the interstate toward Charlotte.

It was past midnight, and the traffic was light. I stayed in the right lane, trying to keep my breathing steady as Dr. Shrink had taught me.

My senses seemed heightened. I felt hyperaware of everything. Everything, from car headlights to the lighted bridges to the gleaming stretches of water
beside the highway, seemed crystal clear and sharp tonight. The moon floated behind a wispy gray bank of clouds.

Grandpa never turned on the air conditioning and I didn’t want to try to figure out how to do it while driving so I felt around on the door until I found the button to crack the windows. Warm summer wind flowed in, making a loud flapping noise.

Suddenly my phone dinged. A text message. Maybe it was an update from Stephanie. I got off the next exit. Pulled onto an access road to check it.

I texted back:

I breathed in sharply. She expected me to tell Grandpa. Too late now.

I pulled onto the highway.

Not long afterward, a white car came up on my left side. I stayed steady in the right lane. As the car pulled alongside, I saw writing on the door. A cop!

My heart lurched. I kept my foot steady on the accelerator and my hands at ten and two on the steering
wheel. Looked straight ahead. What if he pulled me over? But what could he pull me over for? Stealing a car? Had Grandpa woken up, seen the car gone, and called the police?

I took deep painful breaths. My knuckles were white on the steering wheel. My underarms were wet. Finally, after gliding along beside me for a few agonizing seconds, he passed on by. My heart thudded with relief.

What was happening with Stephanie by now? What kind of trouble was she in? Had she been drinking? Tried some kind of drug? Had a guy attacked her? All of those things seemed crazy, like stuff that would never happen to Stephanie. But normally Stephanie wouldn’t even go to a party without parents. It might be something I’d do, without thinking, but not Stephanie. Why had she?

At last I got off the highway onto the major road near our house. Now I was in familiar territory and relaxed my hands on the wheel. I’d driven around here with Mom a lot. I drove past the school, and the neighborhood where Noah lived. The GPS showed that I should turn in at the stone and brick entrance to a nice neighborhood of mostly brick colonials that I’d been in a couple of times before.

I turned in. Pulled over to send Stephanie a text.

She answered right away.

I wove my way down to a cul-de-sac lined with parked cars. At the end, Stephanie sat on the curb beside the mailbox, wearing a tank and jean shorts that I hadn’t seen before. A rosebush bloomed just behind her, and loud music floated out from the house. Some dark figures stood on the front porch. She jumped to her feet and ran over to the car. She yanked the door open. Collapsed into the seat.

“Oh, thank God you’re here!” She slammed the door, and then leaned over and hugged me, her long dark hair enveloping me. I could smell her perfume. “Oh, Diana, thank you, thank you! You were the only person I could call!”

A warm feeling spread through me. I was the only person!

She waved at me to drive. “Go, go, let’s get out of here!”

I pulled quickly out of the cul-de-sac. Headed back through the neighborhood.

Stephanie struggled to put on her seatbelt, leaning back against the seat with a loud sigh. I glanced over and a streetlight caught shiny tracks of tears on her cheeks.

“Everything’s gonna be okay.”

“O-okay.” She sniffled.

I turned back onto the main road. “So, how did you end up at this party anyway?”

“Hunter invited me this afternoon at the mall. I didn’t know when he invited me that his parents weren’t going to be back until later.”

“Who’s Hunter?”

“Hunter Wendell, in my Biology class. He’s a sophomore.” Her voice sounded small and so dejected. “I had a crush on him. And he said he could give me a ride home. So I stayed.”

“So, what happened? Did he attack you or something?”

Stephanie took a breath. I pulled into a church parking lot. Looked at her closely. My headlights shone on a stained glass window. “What? What happened, Stephanie?”

“No-nothing, really. I’m just really glad to be out of there. I’m so glad you came and got me.”

“You’ve got to tell me! What happened?”

“I don’t know, we were downstairs playing pool, and these friends of his came and he started taking Jell-O shots. And I knew he couldn’t drive me home. I mean, he’s a nice guy. He makes good grades, and everything. It was just, he said he’d bring me home, and then he started drinking the Jell-O shots. I feel terrible. I was so stupid.”

“Hey, it’s not your fault! Did anything else happen?”

She shook her head vehemently. “No, no.”

“Do you swear?”

She nodded, sniffling. “I just went outside and called you, that’s all. He’s still back there with his friends. He probably hates me now for leaving.”

“Who cares how he feels about you, Stephanie? He’s a jerk for doing that.” I leaned over and hugged her again. I smoothed her hair and patted her back the way I liked for Mom to do for me. Stephanie had comforted me before. Was I actually comforting her?

She drew a ragged breath and wiped her palms across her face. “I shouldn’t care, you’re right.”

She looked limp and defeated in the seat next to me.

“Easier said than done,” I said, and sighed heavily and put the car in gear. “Okay, we better get going. I should take you back to your Mom’s house, right?”

Stephanie’s eyes went wide. “No! Mama’s not there; it’s only Matt. I don’t want to go back there.”

“But if I take you back to Grandma and Grandpa’s, they’ll find out I took the car.”

“I don’t want to go back to Mama’s.”

We stared at each other. I felt out of breath. “Well, back to the lake then. We’ll just have to explain to Grandma and Grandpa. They’ll have to understand that I had to come get you.” I pulled out of the parking lot and headed for the interstate. I hadn’t had a chance to ask her about what had happened to her mom. After
only a mile or so, though, the car started acting funny. It started choking and cutting off.

“Oh, my gosh, what’s wrong with the car?”

“I don’t know!” The car was slowing down and wouldn’t speed up even when I pressed harder on the accelerator. Panicked, I pulled over to the side of the road. It drifted to a stop.

“What’s wrong?”

“I told you, I don’t know!” I looked at the dashboard to see if there were any red warning lights on. And then I saw it. The gas gauge was pointing to “E.”

“Stephanie! We’re out of gas!”

“You’re kidding!” She stared at me, her mascara still smeared from crying.

“I didn’t even look at the gas when I got in the car. What should we do?” I racked my brain. We were surrounded by neighborhoods, probably miles from a gas station.

Stephanie started chewing on the ends of her hair. “We are going to get in so much trouble!”

“They don’t have to find out!” My Moronic Mood-o-meter was starting to soar. I tried taking deep breaths. “Do you have any money?”

Stephanie checked her wallet. “Six dollars.”

I ransacked my purse. “I’ve got eight. That would buy a few gallons of gas.” I threw down my wallet. “How dumb was that, to get in the car and not check the gas!”

I checked my phone. Past midnight. What were we going to do? I could run to a gas station, I guess. Flip flops weren’t the greatest running shoes. Leave Stephanie in the car. But I didn’t have a gas can. Could I buy one? Was there anyone I could call?

Suddenly it came to me.

“Noah! I’ll call Noah!” He was the obvious person.

Stephanie’s face brightened. “Great idea, Diana! His mom’s house isn’t too far away.”

“Something happened this afternoon and I was avoiding calling him but … here goes.” My heart started beating more quickly as I tapped in Noah’s number.

He picked up. “Hey. I was going to call you.” His voice sounded hesitant.

“Yeah, I know. Me too. Right now, listen, it’s a really long story but can you bring us some gas?”

He didn’t miss a beat. “Where are you?”

Stephanie and I sat in the car, waiting for Noah. A few cars passed, briefly lighting up our faces.

“So … anyway, what happened to your mom? I thought you were staying with her.”

“She left to go to Asheville to meet Barry. She left me at the house with Matt.”

“That’s crazy. I can’t believe she did that.”

“Me neither. After coming to get me last night!” Stephanie played with the fringe on her purse. “I was mad at Mama and going behind her back. But, I mean, I didn’t know there were no parents at Hunter’s party. I didn’t know it would be like that.”

“Are you okay now?” I searched Stephanie’s face as car headlights swept over it.

“When I think about it I want to cry. I feel so stupid. I don’t know, I was sitting down there thinking that we might kiss or something.”

I couldn’t keep it from her any longer. “I kissed Noah today. On the island.”

Stephanie’s mouth dropped open.

“I know. We both decided it was a mistake. That we’re just friends. But I don’t know, I’m confused.”

“What was it like?”

How to put it into words? When I thought about it a whole vortex of feelings rushed up and whirled around. Made me feel like I was slightly dizzy with a fever. But I probably shouldn’t have even brought it up. “I wish I hadn’t kissed him,” was all I could say.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, it’s just so complicated now. I’m nervous about seeing him. Everything was great between us and now there’s all this tension.”

“Maybe you guys should be more than friends.” She smiled for the first time since I’d picked her up.

Noah pulled up behind us in his Jeep. He climbed out lugging a big red gasoline can. He wore a faded Wake Forest T-shirt, and khaki shorts. I jumped out of the car.

“Hey! Oh, thanks for coming!” I glanced at his lips. A wave of nerves hit me. All because of that kiss! I was so mad.

“No problem. Mom’s working the night shift tonight and my stepdad was asleep. My stepdad had this can already full for the lawn mower. I’ll just have to fill it back up again.” Noah shifted the can from one hand to another.