Narrow Paths

Chapter Seventeen

For the next few days, I felt lost. I'd alienated Katie by what I'd said, and word had gotten around that I'd been less than nice with her. People I didn't even know gave me dirty looks when I passed by.

Before I knew it, it was the day before Dary's dad's wedding. I had no idea when I was supposed to show up at her house, but I didn't really care all that much. If she really wanted me there, she'd take care of it.

Of course, she showed up that night at my house. It was just a bit before midnight when her headlights woke me up. I pulled my window up and then jumped out of it.

She pulled out of the driveway as soon as I was in the passenger seat. Of course, she headed down the road toward town. I was excited to head to the cabin. I felt like nobody was watching there.

"Dad's going crazy," she told me, "I think he's about to cancel the wedding."

"We can only hope."

"He's poured too much money into both the wedding and Victoria to cancel it now."

"He's rich."

"So? We don't spend money like water just because we have it."

"Sorry."

She shook her head and glared at me. "I heard you were a jerk to Katie Eamon."

"I just tried to explain the paths to her."

"I heard that theory, and you're so close. Damn it, you're too close. I wish you'd hurry up and figure out the missing piece."

"Give me a hint?"

"It has to do with you and nobody else."

"All right, that shouldn't be too hard. I'm pretty awesome."

She laughed and shook her head. I closed my eyes and relaxed into the seat. I wish that I could feel this at ease with Katie. She was pretty relaxed overall, but if I were to try and talk to her about anything that wasn't what the rest of the town thought, she'd freak out.

It wasn't long before we were in the cabin. Darcy lit three candles this time instead of just one. She sat on the counter top and pulled out a bottle of nail polish.

As she polish her nails I sat on the bed. She focused completely on her task, disregarding me.

"Where do you think we'll be in ten years?"

"Not here," she replied.

"Maybe. I don't know."

"There's your problem, Carter," she said as she looked up at me.

"What? That I don't know?"

"You keep saying that you have no idea who or what you want to be. Just sit down and think about it seriously for a few days."

"You act like I haven't given my future any thought."

"You really haven't. You gave it tons of thought with the town's mindset, but now you have your own opinions and you're not afraid to embrace them."

"You sound... almost proud of me."

"I'm damn proud of you," she said with a smile.

"Thanks, it almost means something to me."

We laughed. I was so glad that Darcy had made me realize that it was okay to have a different opinion. In a way, I was also glad that she was proud of me. It was about time that someone was proud of me for being me.

"Don't you feel like we were almost... raised to suppress who we are?"

"Not suppress, really. Parents around here use a generic formula to raise their kids. Alcohol, football, cheerleading, and decent grades are all that matters."