So, grounded. A new concept for me, and one I didn’t want to get very familiar with.
After the night I let my aunt, my uncle, and clearly Quentin down, I thought I’d at least have one person in my corner. Not so much. Mom didn’t give me quite the earful Uncle Paul and Aunt Julie had, but I got the most serious “talking to” from her yet. When I rallied by reminding her that she was the one who told me to really put myself out there this summer and get into a little trouble, she cut me off and said a little trouble was swimming in my underwear in a girlfriend’s backyard pool. A lot of trouble was sneaking out of the house, swimming in the ocean in my underwear with some boy I’d met a month ago, and ignoring the panicked calls and texts from my aunt.
So yeah. At least I had a clear definition of what a little and a lot of trouble were. That would make things simpler for when the next century came and I was finally allowed a sliver of freedom.
Work was the only time I’d been allowed to leave the house this week, and it was all kinds of sad when I couldn’t wait to work a six-hour shift sweating and scooping.
Quentin and I’d been working different shifts this week, so I’d only seen him one time when I was leaving the pool on Lemon the kinda-bike and he was arriving in his truck. He didn’t see me when I gave a little wave. Or he pretended not to see me—I wasn’t sure.
I didn’t know what to make of that whole situation. He’d been cool about everything. He’d come storming into my aunt and uncle’s living room in his boxers to have my back, for crying out loud, but then he seemed to switch sides when he discovered I forgot about babysitting. I mean, I was disappointed in myself and felt like crap over it, but it wasn’t something I’d expected him to be all opinionated about. Maybe it was because he was used to babysitting for his siblings and couldn’t comprehend simply forgetting about a night. Maybe it was for any other reason, but I’d never know if he didn’t talk to me.
After the first and only text I sent him the next morning—to say sorry and check in—went unanswered, I took the hint and was trying to leave him alone. But I couldn’t bring myself to regret our swim and our second almost-first kiss. How did we get from that dip in the ocean to here?
“Oh, yay. My fan club’s here,” I muttered to Zoey. I tried to ignore the trio of girls making their entrance, but they weren’t doing the same. Their goal was to make me as uncomfortable as possible it seemed.
Zoey sighed, in the middle of ringing up a mom with five kids staging mayhem around her. “Ashlyn’s relentless. Whether it’s someone she wants or someone she wants to destroy.”
I fired a tight smile at her as I worked on the order. “Thanks for the pep talk. You always know exactly what to say to make me feel better.”
Zoey handed back change to the mom, who looked like she was already counting down the minutes to bedtime despite it only being eleven in the morning. I was right there with her.
I chose to ignore the glowers from Ashlyn’s crew. Luckily my shift was almost over. It was strange how my shifts seemed to fly by now that they were the only measure of freedom I had. It was really strange how much I found myself wishing Janet would break down and beg me to stay a few extra hours.
My shift had been over for five minutes, but I was lingering, wiping down counters I’d already cleaned twice. Zoey must have noticed I was stalling, because she removed the spray bottle from my hand.
“Dude. You’re off the clock. Why the manic-obsessive cleaning?”
My eyes darted to the clock hanging above the door. He was never late for work.
Realization dawned on her face. “He switched his shifts around. You know, in case you were wondering,” she added when I gave her a look.
“Why did he do that?” I asked, like she’d have a clue.
She bit her lip. “I kinda thought you’d know more about that than me.”
I leaned into the counter, feeling deflated and confused. “He’s avoiding me.”
“You think?” Zoey pretended to be really busy after that.
“Did he say anything to you?”
She shook her head. “No. It just seems like, you know, something’s up between you two. But I hope you work it out, whatever it is. You guys seemed good for each other.”
My world felt even more upside down than before, but I caught myself smiling. “Thanks, Zoey.” When I moved in to give her a hug, she laughed and hugged me back. I’d made friends all over the world, but this was different. Time made a difference in the depth of friendships, and I was starting to understand what I’d been missing by spending my life on the road—friendships that went beyond the realm of a laugh and a good time.
Before I left the pool, I checked the updated schedule and saw that Quentin had exchanged his two-to-six shift for Zach’s three-to-seven. I wondered if the switch had anything to do with mine ending at two. Or two-ten, by the time I actually forced myself to leave.
Aunt Julie knew my schedule and how long it took me to bike from work to home, which meant I’d have to haul if I didn’t want to get the Grand Inquisition for getting home five minutes late.
Ugh. Being grounded was the worst.
By the time I made it back to the house, I was actually dripping sweat. I could feel it rolling down my temples and everything. Time for a shower and a whole lot of nothing else for the rest of the day. I was really looking forward to it. Or not.
When I came in from the garage, Aunt Julie was sitting at the kitchen table kind of just frozen, staring at the wall across from her like she was having a conversation with it.
“Jade?” she said, coming out of her trance. She twisted in her chair. “How was work?”
“Great. Highlight of my day,” I said. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m off to my cell for the rest of the day. I mean my room.”
“Jade…”
“It’s okay, Aunt Julie. I messed up. I get it.”
“We’re both trying to figure this out, you know?” she said as I was leaving the kitchen. “We should talk about this….”
“I’ll be in my room if you need me.”
“You want to go to the grocery store with the girls and me after I pick them up from their violin lesson?” she asked.
I felt a pang of guilt. She’d trusted me, and I’d thought I was a trustworthy person, but now I wasn’t sure. “I’m okay, but thanks.” I hurried up the stairs before she could ask me if I wanted to peel carrots with her at the sink later. She was trying to connect, trying to make amends after our blowup in the living room, but I wasn’t sure if I was ready to be forgiven.
Following a shower, I read for a bit, and wrote for a while after dinner. Mom had tried calling me a few times, but I let it go to voicemail. After the third unanswered call, she gave up and sent a text.
Love you no matter what was all it said. And I bawled like a baby. I’d been mad at Mom for siding with my aunt and uncle. She was my mom, she was supposed to be on my side always, and she’d been the one practically ordering me to make the most of this summer and not spend it shut up in some room reading and writing the way I was now. It was her big idea for me to get into trouble, and then she’d acted like I’d broken every law in the book because of it.
Not answering her calls was my pitiful way of letting her know I was upset. Her still calling and texting to say she loved me was her way of letting me know she didn’t care how angry I was with her.
It was after nine when my hand finally gave out on me and no more words could be penned without risking it falling off. It was a nice night, so I opened the window to let in some fresh air. As I looked around, I couldn’t help glancing down the block.
The Fords’ house seemed unusually quiet. Especially for a Friday night. The yard didn’t look like a toy store had thrown up all over it, and there was only one light on in the house, instead of one in every room.
Quentin’s truck was in the drivewa
y, but Mrs. Ford’s SUV wasn’t. Maybe the family was out doing something. Maybe they were going to move, since they couldn’t stand the idea of living so close to someone as irresponsible as me.
I was so busy wallowing in self-pity, I almost didn’t notice the familiar form moving outside, wrestling with what looked like a car seat. I stretched farther from the window. Quentin was on the phone. I could just make out a few words, and they were anxious-sounding. Something about Lily and the ER before he rushed back inside the house.
I made an impulsive decision. One of those where there’s not a lot of thought given to it, just a lot of action. The panic in his voice scared me. I’d never seen him anything less than calm—not even when he was rescuing that boy from the pool.
I didn’t realize I’d forgotten to put on shoes until I’d already reached the rain gutters, and by that point there was no way I was climbing back up to my window. And it wasn’t until I managed to scale my way down to the yard that I realized I was also in my pajamas. Without a coat or a sweatshirt or a bathrobe to cover up the cotton shorts and tank I’d slipped on after my shower.
Without my phone.
Fantastic. And how was I supposed to get into my bedroom when I was done? Aunt Julie and Uncle Paul had moved the handy key they used to leave outside for emergencies…and hadn’t told me where.
Worst Idea Ever? Nice to meet you. Jade Abbott. I’m sure we’ll be best friends forever.
Uncle Paul and Aunt Julie’s bedroom lights weren’t on, Aunt Julie probably having crawled into bed and Uncle Paul probably still at work. If I got caught…I didn’t want to think about it.
When I was in front of his house, I waited on the sidewalk for a minute, to make sure no one else was at home or awake. I wasn’t sure if Quentin had told his parents what happened that night at the bonfire, but either way, me showing up in my jammies and barefoot, looking for their son at night, wouldn’t have been the best way to convince them of my innocent intentions.
But no one else floated by the living room window, and no other lights turned on. No one else was here. Hopefully.
Padding up the porch steps, I tried to swallow my heart as I knocked on the front door.
In the background, I could hear something, but I couldn’t tell exactly what it was. When I was still standing there a minute later, I knocked again, louder this time.
Footsteps echoed closer, sounding like they were rushing. When the door burst open, I didn’t know who looked more surprised—Quentin or me.
“Jade?” he said, his eyes narrowing like he was trying to make sure it was really me. “What are you doing here?”
My teeth sank into my lip. I thought that would have been obvious, but clearly not. I was working up how to respond to that when a harsh, barking noise rattled from his chest. Or at least from who he was holding against his chest.
“What’s the matter with Lily?” I asked, immediately understanding the semi-panicked look on his face.
“I don’t know. She’s sick. It was only a cough and runny nose this afternoon, but now it’s turned into this.” Quentin had his phone propped up to his ear; he groaned when voicemail picked up.
“Where are your parents?” I stepped inside when he started to walk Lily around the living room as she broke into another coughing fit. He was patting her back, bouncing her, soothing her with a shushing noise; if Lily hadn’t been so sick, it would have been the sweetest thing I’d ever seen.
“They left with my brothers on an overnight sailing trip. We were going, too, but when Lily started getting sick, I thought it would be better to stay home. So they left. And now I can’t get ahold of anyone.” Quentin exhaled, pitching his phone at the sofa when another call only ended in another voicemail greeting.
“Okay, okay. Just calm down. It will be all right.” I closed the door behind me and started brainstorming. “Babies get sick all the time. It’s the way they build up their immune system. She’s probably fighting some nasty bug.”
Quentin nodded, but his face didn’t relax any.
I scanned the room. Everything from a thermometer to stuffed animals to pacifiers were scattered around. From the looks of it, he’d tried everything to soothe her, but obviously nothing had worked. In between the coughing fits, she was crying, giant tears rolling down her cheeks.
“What’s her temperature?” I moved closer and ran the back of my hand across her forehead. She felt warm but not scalding.
“Um, let’s see.” Quentin backed up toward the sofa table, where a piece of paper and a pen were resting. “It was a hundred and one point eight half an hour ago. And I gave her some infant Tylenol an hour ago to help with the fever.” When he tried resting Lily in his arms, she really started coughing and crying, so he lifted her upright against his chest again. “I don’t know what to do, Jade. I was about to take her to the ER, but I didn’t want to go unless it was absolutely necessary, because God only knows how much crud and germs are in a place like that.” He backed into the wall behind him, looking totally exhausted. And totally freaked. “I don’t know what to do. I should know what to do.”
Okay, think, Jade. Think.
“High fever. Hard, strange-sounding cough. Wheezing breaths,” I listed off, feeling the word on the tip of my tongue. “Croup.” I got it out at last. “I think Lily’s got croup.”
Quentin’s forehead creased. “Croup?”
“It’s a pretty common virus for young kids and babies to catch. Always comes with that terrible coughing. I think it has something to do with their vocal cords narrowing or something.” When Lily started her next coughing fit, it sounded like she was about to bark out her lungs.
Quentin rushed for his phone, but I interrupted him. “Where’s the closest bathroom with a shower?”
“What?” he said, still patting Lily’s back like he was simultaneously trying to soothe her and knock some of that gunk loose.
“A shower. The hot steam helps relax the vocal cords, making it easier to breathe.”
For a moment, he stared at me, like I was speaking a different language.
“Quentin,” I said. “Listen to me. Bathroom. Now.”
He swallowed, holding my stare while he clung to a screaming, coughing Lily. I’d never seen a person look so vulnerable in my whole life. I wasn’t sure I ever would. “Up the stairs. First door on the left.”
I jogged up the stairs, hearing him follow behind me. As soon as I stepped into the bathroom, I cranked on the hot water as far as it would go. When Quentin came in, I closed the door behind him and made sure the bathroom window was shut. “She’s going to cough a little worse at first, but then it will get better. You have to trust me.”
Quentin just nodded, standing there in the middle of the bathroom, watching as the steam started to billow from the shower. When Lily’s cough became worse, he had to close his eyes and grit his jaw as he gently bounced her in his arms. It was like someone was driving nails through his toes, one at a time.
“Shh, it’s okay, sweetie.” I rubbed her little arm flailing all around as she wheezed for air.
It was only a couple of minutes later that Lily’s cough started to ease; it felt like hours.
“That’s better, isn’t it?” I smiled at Lily, who had finally stopped crying and was now looking around the bathroom, not quite sure what she thought of the steam.
Quentin stared at Lily, almost as if he was holding his breath to see if her cough would come back. A look of relief washed over him when she gave a tiny smile and started grabbing at the steam floating above his shoulder.
“Thank God,” he breathed, his whole body going kind of limp. Then he turned his head toward me. The skin between his brows was creased and his green eyes didn’t sparkle the way I was used to, but still, I felt that look he was giving me in every nerve ending in my body. “Thank you.”
I shrugged. “Glad I could help.”
“How did you know what to do?” he asked. “How did you even know what it was she had?”
I scooted onto the counter beside him. “I told you, official Shrinking Violets babysitter. I’ve seen pretty much every virus, bacteria, and germ a kid could catch. Croup is especially memorable because of that terrible cough. Sounds like a seal with laryngitis or something.”
Half a smile formed on his face. “Sounds exactly like that.”
Quentin chuckled softly, watching Lily yawn. “I’m with ya, kid,” he said, yawning right after.
“You should get some rest. That cough will probably come back the next few nights. So I’ll go, and let you sleep while you can.”
“Would you mind staying?” A flash of panic rolled across his face when I started for the door. “I’m sorry, unless you have other plans tonight.”
I waved at my pajamas. “Does it look like I do?”
A quiet chuckle rumbled in his chest. “I’ve taught you nothing.”
I smiled, debating. I’d snuck out of the house again, technically while I was grounded and had been expressly told not to even think about it. I was with Quentin, alone, the boy Uncle Paul seemed to be under the impression couldn’t wait to impregnate me and run.
If I cared about getting into trouble, I should leave, before I got caught. And I did care about getting into trouble and listening to my aunt, but I cared more about doing what was right. And for whatever reason, I knew staying with Quentin was right.
“You got it,” I said, getting comfortable.
Quentin started to nod off when the shower ran out of hot water, but when I turned off the showerhead, he jerked awake, like I’d just blown a trumpet an inch away from his ear.
“What’s the matter?” He blinked a few times, instantly awake. Impressive. It was almost like he had lots of experience jerking awake in the middle of the night.
“Nothing. Hot water’s out.”
His forehead creased as he checked Lily in his arms.