Forever Red by Carina Adams Page B

guess she was wicked pissed. But she wanted my mom to know that even though he was gonna be grounded, she’d make sure he was still at practices and games. I didn’t want you to spend the whole night alone.”
    “Oh.” I didn’t know what else to say. A flash of lights moved over the wall as a car pulled into my driveway. The door slamming a few seconds later let me know that my mom was finally home.
    Mike stood up then, pushing himself to his feet awkwardly, and was sliding on his shoes when she stepped into the room.
    She came to a dead stop, the door half open behind her. “Mikey?” The disbelief in her voice almost made me laugh. She glanced at me and then back to him before pulling him into an awkward hug.
    “Hi, Ms. Merrill.” Mike laughed as he backed away quickly. “How are you?”
    Mom reached out and patted his cheek, the way she’d done a thousand times when he was little. Winking in my direction, she faked a yawn. “Exhausted. Absolutely exhausted. So tired, in fact, that I’m gonna hit the hay. Night, kids.”
    And, just like that, she was gone. “Well, I guess she was tired.” It was lame, but nothing else came to mind. It was crystal clear to both of us that she was giving us unnecessary privacy.
    Mike laughed, though. “Guess so.” He reached for the door and then paused halfway, meeting my eyes. “What time does Kelly usually pick you up?”
    “I can take the bus, Mike.”
    He shook his head. “No, you can’t. He’d kick my ass if I let his girl ride that thing. What time?”
    I told him and then promised I’d wait in case he was late.
    After he left, I locked the door and went straight to my mom’s room. I’d missed her and wanted to tell her all about my weekend, and most importantly, last night with Neil. But when I got to her door, she was lying on her bed, talking on the phone and laughing at whatever the other person said. Sometimes, I wondered which of us was actually the teenager. 
    I never did get to tell my mom. I’d waited for what seemed like hours for her to finish her conversation, and when she didn’t, I gave up and went to bed. By the time I got up in the morning, she was already gone. Sighing, I got ready to go meet Mike.
    Mike wasn’t late, which shocked me. He was late to everything. When I stepped up into the front seat of his Jeep Wrangler, he took my bag and tossed it into the back before pointing at a coffee. “Cream only, right?”
    I nodded, thankful he’d paid attention. I hadn’t slept the best and needed the caffeine to make it through the day. We didn’t talk much on the way to the school, but that was okay with me; Neil was the one that usually facilitated conversations between the two of us because, other than Neil and a few classes, we had nothing in common anymore. When we pulled into the parking lot, I immediately saw the lone boy waiting outside in the frigid temps. He had his knee bent and a foot propped back against the building, his hands were shoved in his pockets and his head was down to combat the cold. But he looked up when we drove by and then headed straight for us, a smile on his face.
    Mike had barely shifted into park before my door was pulled open and Neil was reaching over me to unhook my seatbelt, pulling me into his arms. He’d obviously missed me as much as I had him. My giggle was muffled as his lips covered mine.
    “Jesus, get a room, you two!” Mike yelled behind us.
    Neil laughed, threading his fingers through mine, and then pulled me across the parking lot into the school. The bell hadn’t rung yet so there were students everywhere – standing in the cafeteria, sitting in the gym, and leaning against lockers in the halls. A few people stopped us, football players that wanted to talk to Mike or Neil, but they didn’t do more than glance at our joined hands as if it wasn’t something new. By the time we were headed to first period, I breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe no one would make a big deal out of it.
    My relief