The New Kid

Chapter 30

The next morning I wake up to the smell of pancakes and bacon. I head toward Sylvia's kitchen and see her there, flipping pancakes. "Hey girl," I say groggily. "You're up kinda early." She smiles at me, "Yeah, I wanted to make it up to you for being a jerk last night. Plus it was really cool to go to my first high school party thanks to you." I look around, "Are your parents home?" I ask. I've never asked her much about her family. "Ah, no, I live with my older sister and her boyfriend. They went out for coffee like half an hour ago." I guess I didn't know that. 

"Wow, okay." She half-smiles, "Yeah, I've been working at Bea's since I moved in with them to help cover rent. I haven't spoken to my mom in . . . quite awhile now," she says.

We talk over fresh pancakes, bacon, and French-pressed coffee for awhile. And I'm relieved that no drinking last night means no hangover, so I feel perfectly fine. 

....................

I pull into our driveway, now at home, at about 11am. Christian is sitting on the steps, apparently waiting for me. I get out of the car and slam the door shut, per usual. "Hey Christian, what are you doing here?" I ask, surprised and also concerned. 

"Just wanted to see if you were free for that date yet," he says, yet he sounds disappointed. I look pretty disheveled because I didn't even bother showering this morning, so I'm glad Christian doesn't say anything, until he does. "What's with the dressy outfit?" he asks. "Oh, this?" I ask back. "Ah, I fell asleep in it after our girl's night with Sylvia, so." 

Christian raises an eyebrow. He stands up and puts both hands in his pockets. He stares at me intently, trying to read my expression. I try to hide any guilt. 

"Were you . . . at a  party with Sylvia last night?" he asks straightforwardly. How does he know?!

I look down at the sidewalk and immediately feel the burden of my fib, "Yes, I was." 

Christian comes up to me, places his hands on my shoulders and says, "Avalon, I know you are new here and want to get to know the scene, but those parties can be trouble," he says seriously. "I wish you would have told me about it," he adds. I wish people would stop grabbing my shoulders, I think. I try not to wince at Christian's grasp on my bad shoulder, but inevitably I do. 

"What?" he asks, "Your shoulder's still giving you problems?" I slowly slide my dress off my shoulder and show it to him. "I may have had an issue with a guy last night, he knocked me over when I stood up for myself and I landed right on this guy again," I point at my bruised shoulder. 

Christian sighs deeply, "Avalon, I thought I had a good idea of who you were, but now I'm not so sure. I don't know what to think." 

I remain silent.

Christian gets into his hummer and buckles up.

I feel awful. But I just watch him leave without another word. 

...................................

I hop into the shower, letting the water run down my body for what feels like hours. I just want to wash away all the tension and angst. Christian and I had just had our first couple fight, I had been lying about the party, and things could have taken a really bad turn with Brock last night. I shudder at the thought. 

Then it hits me. Crap! 

I had a shift today. I was supposed to be in at 9AM. It was almost noon.

What was I going to tell Cody? I had a lot of explaining to do.