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I shut the locker door and snapped on the lock. “What time does it start?”
“Four-thirty. You’re coming, right?”
“Yeah, I’ll be there.”
“Okay, because that’s what you said last time, but then you didn’t show up.” His voice trailed off. I nearly missed his words.
“I’m sorry. My mom was helping me with my art project and we both lost track of time. It won’t happen again. I’ll set an alarm.”
He smiled and nudged me on my shoulder. “You better. I really want you there.”
I laughed. “I’ll be there. Don’t worry. This means a lot to you, huh?”
He looked straight ahead and nodded.
“I’ll be there,” I told him and he walked me to my next class.
I was excited to go to his game. I had every intention of going until I arrived home from school and found my mother lying on the kitchen floor. That night was the first time my mother had passed out. But it wouldn’t be the last. Shouting her name, I rushed over to her. As I scooped her head into my arms, I felt a faint pulse beating on her neck. Pulling out my cell phone from my bag, I dialed 911. Shortly after the ambulance rushed us to the emergency room, the doctors told me my mother’s kidneys weren’t functioning properly and they would have to run some more tests after she was stable. They told me to go home as there was nothing I could do for her right now.
I went home alone, crawled into bed, and cried. I switched my pillow when the cotton became too wet against my cheek. When I soaked that one too, I left it alone, too weak to grab a new one.
I knew my eyes were swollen when I went to school the next day, but I didn’t care. My mother was sick and I didn’t know if she would get better.
I glimpsed his navy blue and white varsity jacket turning the corner, and I exhaled. Tears brimmed my eyes but I held off the tears. I wasn’t sure if I would tell anyone about my mom, but seeing his face, I realized I could trust him with this.
As Luke walked toward me, he kept his gaze straight. I shut my locker and inhaled a deep breath, prepared to go into the awful details of last night. But as he approached, his eyes didn’t catch mine and he didn’t slow down his pace. He walked right past me as though he hadn’t stopped here every morning since we started high school three months ago. I called out his name, but he didn’t turn around. Instead, he joined a group of boys laughing and shoving each other. One of them nodded at Luke and they both turned to look at me. Luke’s cold stare shocked me. The other guy smiled and patted Luke on the shoulder, pulling him into the group.
Luke didn’t speak to me for the rest of the day. He sat next to someone else in the classes we shared and chose a new table for lunch. He didn’t even answer his phone when I called him. Finally, that night, I remembered. I had missed his baseball game. Again.
I felt bad for a second but anger quickly replaced that sentiment. How dare he be angry at me for such a small thing when my entire world had gone black last night? I thought he cared about me. I thought he was my friend. Well, I didn’t need friends like Luke Crawford. I would take care of my mother. I would take care of myself. I didn’t need anyone else. And I definitely didn’t need him.
*
“Grace? Are you all right?” James leaned over the boardroom table and waved his hand. “Earth to Grace.”
Shaking the memories from my head, I replied, “Yes. Fine.”
“You drifted off somewhere else for a while there,” he chuckled.
“Just thinking about this report, that’s all.” I blinked several times to regain my visual bearings.
Ah, there we are, last year’s expenditures report.
I sank into my chair and lost myself in my work.
The two of us worked for the next few hours, speaking only to answer one another’s questions. But when my stomach growled, James looked up and said, “Oh good. You’re hungry too?”
I tapped on my phone to check the time. It was 12:30 p.m. “Yeah. Now would be a good time to break for lunch.” I shut down my laptop and pushed back my chair. As I turned to unplug my device, the boardroom door opened.
“Looks like my timing is right. I came to offer to take the team out to Ruth’s Sports Bar for lunch. The baseball game starts soon.”
Of course, it did. Charming and fun, Luke would be the one wanting to take the credit for good timing and an opportune lunch invitation.
“Actually—” I began, but Luke cut me off.
He shrugged. “You can come, too, if you want.”
I could come, too? Was he kidding? Was he really just inviting me now, as though I weren’t part of the original offer? I didn’t appreciate him making me look bad in front of my colleague. I was going to decline his offer but not now. Besides, James’s face was giddy enough at the prospect of catching some of the game to make him leap onto Luke’s back and ride him to the restaurant.
