6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

ISABEL

The rest of our time at the beach house had been amazing, the rain completely clearing up and leading into a beautiful Monday for us to enjoy, perfect for senior ditch day. The parents had even called in to work to spend more time with us, and we’d barbecued and played games with our families. Annie and the guys had gone surfing while Harper and I sunbathed and gossiped, and Chuck had gone out and rented a boat for us after lunch, the next few hours of our day spent blissfully on the water.

I’d been smart, packing on the sunscreen and staying in the shade when I could. My Baste Academy audition was coming up quickly, and I couldn’t afford to be red and raw or peeling. I was in my last days of perfecting every move, spending nearly every free minute in the studio with Leo or in my garage.

Time was flying by, and rain had been pouring down every day this week since, like the sun had only come out for that last day at the beach house before hitting the coast in a torrential fury. A week ago, I might have thought it was an omen, doubts weaving in my head before my audition.

But I was better now.

Determined.

Ready. With Tucker by my side.

Jenna had tried bringing up wedding talk a few times, the sweet woman actually growing excited as she got used to the idea of the two of us getting married. But once our time at the beach house was done, I insisted we hold off all wedding talk until after graduation and my audition. There just wasn’t room in my head for anything else.

I did wish the excitement would carry over more to Mom, though. Yes, she’d given us her blessing, but I could see her frustration every time our engagement or the wedding was mentioned. That or I’d catch her frowning at the diamond on my hand.

But she wasn’t the only one acting weird about it now. Ever since Nic had stormed out during our announcement, things had been off. His whole demeanor was off.

Jet and I had been discussing it in the hall between class this morning, and he seemed just as confused. We’d thought Nic was beginning to adjust. He’d even decided to move here, for Christ’s sake, but Jet said when he’d catch him off guard, it was obvious Nic was brooding about something. I just wished I knew about what.

We both did.

“He’s just different around me now,” I worried aloud when I ran into Jet again after the bell for lunch. “I just don’t get it. I mean, obviously something is going on, but he’s outright pushing me away. Do you think he’s mad that I’m getting married? Or that he disapproves?”

It was driving me crazy. Nic barely even talked to me anymore. Not that he was an ass about it or anything, but that casual, easy friendship we’d built wasn’t quite the same. It was like he’d put up a wall between us.

And that’s just what I need. Another wall… I just got rid of the last one.

Jet exhaled through his nose, his mouth pressing together in a firm line as he considered. “I’m really not sure. He started acting off when he got that phone call, and that was before you told him you and Tucker are engaged.”

“But the way he left the table…” I still remembered the stone of his expression, the anger resting under the surface.

Jet popped a shoulder, shifting to block a group of guys that were about to bump into me. “I guess it’s possible. Or part of it. Or maybe he’s dwelling on the fact that he’s the only person left that’s in a serious depression.”

“He is depressed,” I agreed, hungrily taking in his explanation.

“Yep. And angry.”

“Definitely. I just wish I knew how to get him to open up.”

“Don’t stress about it right now, Izzy. You have enough on your plate. Focus on your audition for now. Worry about my cousin after you’ve blown the socks off those judges’ feet.” He grinned, and I couldn’t help but flush. The faith my friends had in me.

“I’ve got to check on my final project before heading to lunch.” Jet stopped at one of the side entrances that I knew led to his mechanics class. “Catch y’all later?”

“Sure.” I smiled. “I’ll let the other’s know.”

TUCKER

“Are you trying to find more trouble?” I hissed in a whisper as Mateo flipped around and straddled one of the chairs at the library table we’d snagged for lunch, our normal picnic table outside a no-go thanks to the rain. “Emma is going to be pissed if she sees you in here.”

“She’ll deal.”

I looked at Annie, and we shared a ‘this will not end well’ look while Mateo tore the wrapper off his turkey sandwich. He brought it to his lips, ready for a bite, when Annie said, “You know, for someone who cared enough to make a scene in front of a huge crowd and a racist dad and then got himself locked up by doing drugs, you sure don’t seem to care much anymore.”

Mateo froze as I threw Annie a look. She just shrugged, the look on her face telling me she really didn’t care. She was going to put him in his place and defend her friend. I sighed. Here we go.

Mateo lowered his lunch and glared at her. “I already told y’all I wasn’t doing drugs. There’s a drug test that proved that. Do you need to see it?”

“Whatever.” Annie rolled her eyes. “So you were mad and thought about doing them and then got busted because you still chose to hang out with the guy you knew had the supply. Yeah, that sounds much better. Genius, in fact. The perfect way to lose the scholarship you’ve been dying to get for years. Colleges don’t give a shit about the wrong place-wrong time bit. You were stupid that night. ”

“Fuck, Annie. Did you forget to take your anti-bitch pill today?”

I almost choked on my sports drink before throwing my arm out between my seething friends, warning them with a look. “Knock it off, Annie,” my tone demanded. Her eyes flashed, but I cut her off. “No, you’re pissed and just making things worse. Mateo, you know you’re going to if you don’t leave.”

He glanced at me and then huffed an irritated sigh. “Yeah, I know. Foot in the mouth thing. You’ve told me before.” He waved a sarcastic hand at Annie. “At least, for me, it’s involuntary. What crawled up her ass today?”

I threw a ‘don’t even think about it’ stare at my friend, and she bit her tongue, looking like it killed her to do it. She took a deep breath and ran her hand over the length of her ponytail before dropping her arm back to the table. “I’m just having a bad…week, Mateo. Okay?”

Mateo looked her over, and after a few tense seconds, they both nodded, coming to an understanding. “Same here.”

What the fuck do you know? They didn’t kill each other.

I went back to eating my lunch, and I’d just shoved the last bite of grilled chicken into my mouth with a large swig of my drink when Mateo muttered, “Damn, y’all almost made me forget why I even came in here.”

“So, it wasn’t to bug Emma?” Annie got in another dig.

“No.” Mateo rolled his eyes at her. “Coach Larson and my dad have been talking with the University coaches, trying to save my stupid butt from losing the only way I’m going off to school, and they finally worked it out.”

“So, you’re going to UT, after all? That’s great, man.” I clapped him on the back .

Mateo tilted his lips in a half-grin and ran his fingers through his hair. “Maybe. There are a lot of conditions I have to meet first.”

“Which is better than you losing your education,” Annie said. “What do you have to do?”

Mateo took a deep breath. “The list could go on forever, but to sum things up, what really saved my ass was that drug test. I’ll have to go to counseling, some anger management classes, and I’ll have both random and scheduled drug tests. That, and I’ve got to come up with a list of at least ten community members or teachers to write letters as character witnesses for me.”

He paused for effect, taking another gulp of air. “ If I can manage to stay on top of all that and get it done, then the coach said they’ll be able to redshirt me. Which means I can’t play but maybe a game or two for my first year. If I get to play at all. But I’ll still get my scholarship. Basically, a whole lot of crap because I let a girl distract me from a goal I’ve been dreaming about for years,” he finally finished, looking strangely depressed and hopeful at the same time.

I blew out a long breath. “And I thought I had restrictions for next year…”

“Tell me about it.”

“You’re still getting off easy,” I reminded him. “They could have easily tossed you aside the second you got locked up.”

“I know,” Mateo stressed. “I’m lucky as hell, but I’m also trying to get some friends to write character witness letters for me, too. Figure it couldn’t hurt, ya know?”

I grinned, feeling like giving him shit. “So, will I be a character witness for you? ”

Mateo groaned. “Fuck, what are you gonna make me do?”

I winked, already coming up with ways to fuck with him. “I’ll let you know.”

“I’m game, too.”

“Really?” Mateo’s brow shot up in surprise. “Thanks, Annie.”

“Thanks, Annie, what?” Emma’s voice came from behind me, and we all jumped. “Hi, Mateo.” She gave him a cold smile as she slid into the seat beside Annie, placing her lunch on the table.

“Hey,” he mumbled, looking down at his food.

“So, what’d I miss?” Emma asked again, ignoring the tension.

“Uh…” I looked her over, trying to see if she was okay. “Annie and I just agreed to write character witness letters for Mateo to help him not lose his scholarship.”

Emma’s expression hardened for a moment, and after several long, tension-filled seconds passed, she took a drink and masked her face again. “That’s nice. Count me in, too.”

We shared surprised looks as she studiously dressed her baked potato.

“Thanks, Emma,” Mateo finally hedged.

She stiffened. “Don’t mention it.”

Mateo frowned. “Okay, I’m gonna go.”

As soon as he was gone, Emma visibly relaxed, tension easing from her muscles and her face. She looked around, ignoring the confused looks we were still giving her. “So, where are Izzy and Jet?”