Meant to Crash | ✓

Chapter Five

Tapping my fingers against the steering wheel to the beat of the song on the radio, I drove onto the main street connected to mom's place. Moving into Layla's apartment in downtown had kept raking in my head throughout most of the day. I knew there would be no love lost between me and my mom if I left. I highly doubted she would notice me gone with all the work she drowned herself in, day in and day out.

My black Sudan cruised by Wesley's co-owned office, and for a heartbeat, I let myself pretend I had enough courage to pull into the parking lot and walk into the building. Right when my imagination took flight, I took note of his absent car. It was nowhere in sight in the parking lot. Most of the lights were turned off inside the office.

I slumped back in my seat and drove down the road, lowering the music and cruised into the residential portion, pulling up beside mom's house. It was two-stories tall and that alone seemed fancy enough to me. I'd lived in one-story homes painted in frumpy colors for most of my life, wishing for a set of stairs while growing up so I could slid down it on mattresses. And if I wasn't living in a small cramped up house with my dad, I was dragged along with him and his jazz band on the road. He played the trumpet for nearly thirty years, but in all that time, he had never hit the big times. But he sure as hell had fun trying, playing for crowds both big and small.

After getting out the car, I made my way to the house. All I wanted right now was a quick shower and nice bed waiting for me. The moment I unlocked the front door, laughter and conversation poured out into the hallway connected to the living room. Who did Mom have over? She didn't mention to me this morning that she would be having guests.

Glancing into the living room, I spotted Wesley's dad, Ben, on the long couch. Moving in further out of the hallway, I noticed my mom siting to the right of him, giggling at whatever story he was sharing with her. Was Wesley here? If he was, that meant I'd definitely have to go into my room around back and crawl through my bedroom window. There was no way in hell I'd let him see me in my work uniform that smelled like onions and sweat.

Desperate times called for desperate measures, and if I needed to, I would stay in my car until they left.

Like I had suspected, Wesley appeared at the top of the stairs, walking down slowly. I began to retract from my spot in the hallway for the door, but the sound of my name stopped me.

"When is it you said Maddie would be home?" Wesley asked.

My stomach twisted and turned. Why did he ask about me of all people? We didn't really know each other. Correction, I knew quite enough about him from asking my mom a million and one times. He just didn't know a lick about me. We talked maybe only once or twice, but not enough to call each other acquaintances. Enough, though, to be on a first name bases with one another. I had been an admirer from afar for the most part.

"Oh, not for another hour or so," Mom answered.

Wrong. So very, very wrong. Dad had known my schedule at my job back home forwards and backwards. I was truly surprised that she could still remember the time I was born. That woman was never good with remembering things that didn't involve her business.

Reaching for the front door, I wiggled the door knob and closed it shut behind me. I needed to make myself known. Thoughts of escaping had left my mind. The faster I got through with this, the better. All I needed to do was make a short appearance and then scurry off to my room.

I stepped over into view, catching everyone's attention as I walked in.

"Here she is," Mom smiled. "Well, aren't you home early?"

"No, this is when I usually come home," I laughed airily and began to glide along the wall toward the hallway that led to my room. "I'm just going to head off to bed now."