night. When she did visit, she spoke to the doctor regularly and updated Luke and me. Mama had sick leave benefits, and CeCe brought Mama’s paycheck for her to sign each week so we’d continue to have money for food and bills. Luke and I went about our lives like usual, and forced ourselves to call Mama once a day. I can’t speak for Luke, but it felt awkward talking to her while she was there. What could I talk about? I certainly didn’t want to share what was going on in my life, and I feared what might be going on in hers.
On the way back from one of her visits, CeCe came home wearing Mama’s white rabbit jacket with the hood and an armful of groceries. Her long brown hair shining with eggplant highlights fell to one side. Her eyelashes were thick and longer than ever. She looked alive again - not pale and drained as she had been. Maybe she had a secret boyfriend, I thought.
“Luke, go get the rest of the bags out of my trunk,” she ordered. “We need to brighten this place up. Fill it with some holiday cheer.”
She placed the bag on the kitchen table and started unpacking. “I’ve got cookie mix and eggnog.” She handed me the eggnog and pointed toward the refrigerator. “Olivia, I’ll need your help too.”
I smirked. “Help with what?”
“Decorations!” she said. “It won’t feel like Christmas without decorations.” She pointed to the back door. “Go in the shed and get out the box.”
It didn’t feel like Christmas at all. I couldn’t imagine how it would, regardless of any decorations, but I complied with CeCe’s request anyway. Rummaging through the mess in the shed, I pulled out the box CeCe was talking about, brought it inside, and helped put out a few items on the end tables and kitchen countertops. We didn’t have a tree, so there really wasn’t much more we could do. Maybe decorating took CeCe’s mind off Mama, but it did nothing for me. I didn’t take pleasure in any of that stuff like CeCe and Mama did. Instead, I preferred to find the holiday spirit while spending it with my friends.
And that reminded me. I hadn’t spoken to Matt in over a week. Neither of us had said it, but in my mind we’d broken up. Although I still had feelings for him, I couldn’t forgive him for cheating on me and acting like he did nothing wrong. Instead, I set my sights on Tuck Peterson.
CHAPTER 14
T uck was as different from Matt as Georgia was from New York City. Matt was dark-haired with a wiry build with biceps that made him appear larger than his physical stature. Six feet tall with blonde hair and blue eyes, Tuck’s muscular body was created for football and females. It made up for the depth his personality lacked. Not my usual type, but his other attributes helped me overlook that.
Matt hated football players, and they hated him. Most southern girls liked the Yankee boys in our school, but southern boys did not. When Matt moved in, he found his place in school with other guys with similar backgrounds; however, his dark complexion and musical talent made him especially unpopular with Tuck.
Even worse, everyone assumed Matt lacked intelligence because of his New York City accent and nonchalant attitude. In truth, he was smarter than Tuck and most of the football team. The previous year, our English teacher made that known in front of the entire class. Tuck became so angry, he and his buddies made it their mission to make Matt wish he was back in New York, but Matt always prevailed because of his NYC wit.
Tuck’s parents had planned a party for his seventeenth birthday on December 20th. They invited all of his friends, including me. Most of his friends weren’t mine, and I wasn’t looking forward to going. Especially having to fraternize with Monica Bradshaw, whom I knew would be there. On top of that, I only had twenty dollars from the money CeCe gave me from Mama’s check.
According to Dr. Foster and Mr. Shimmering, Mama would be coming home on December 22. I
On the way back from one of her visits, CeCe came home wearing Mama’s white rabbit jacket with the hood and an armful of groceries. Her long brown hair shining with eggplant highlights fell to one side. Her eyelashes were thick and longer than ever. She looked alive again - not pale and drained as she had been. Maybe she had a secret boyfriend, I thought.
“Luke, go get the rest of the bags out of my trunk,” she ordered. “We need to brighten this place up. Fill it with some holiday cheer.”
She placed the bag on the kitchen table and started unpacking. “I’ve got cookie mix and eggnog.” She handed me the eggnog and pointed toward the refrigerator. “Olivia, I’ll need your help too.”
I smirked. “Help with what?”
“Decorations!” she said. “It won’t feel like Christmas without decorations.” She pointed to the back door. “Go in the shed and get out the box.”
It didn’t feel like Christmas at all. I couldn’t imagine how it would, regardless of any decorations, but I complied with CeCe’s request anyway. Rummaging through the mess in the shed, I pulled out the box CeCe was talking about, brought it inside, and helped put out a few items on the end tables and kitchen countertops. We didn’t have a tree, so there really wasn’t much more we could do. Maybe decorating took CeCe’s mind off Mama, but it did nothing for me. I didn’t take pleasure in any of that stuff like CeCe and Mama did. Instead, I preferred to find the holiday spirit while spending it with my friends.
And that reminded me. I hadn’t spoken to Matt in over a week. Neither of us had said it, but in my mind we’d broken up. Although I still had feelings for him, I couldn’t forgive him for cheating on me and acting like he did nothing wrong. Instead, I set my sights on Tuck Peterson.
CHAPTER 14
T uck was as different from Matt as Georgia was from New York City. Matt was dark-haired with a wiry build with biceps that made him appear larger than his physical stature. Six feet tall with blonde hair and blue eyes, Tuck’s muscular body was created for football and females. It made up for the depth his personality lacked. Not my usual type, but his other attributes helped me overlook that.
Matt hated football players, and they hated him. Most southern girls liked the Yankee boys in our school, but southern boys did not. When Matt moved in, he found his place in school with other guys with similar backgrounds; however, his dark complexion and musical talent made him especially unpopular with Tuck.
Even worse, everyone assumed Matt lacked intelligence because of his New York City accent and nonchalant attitude. In truth, he was smarter than Tuck and most of the football team. The previous year, our English teacher made that known in front of the entire class. Tuck became so angry, he and his buddies made it their mission to make Matt wish he was back in New York, but Matt always prevailed because of his NYC wit.
Tuck’s parents had planned a party for his seventeenth birthday on December 20th. They invited all of his friends, including me. Most of his friends weren’t mine, and I wasn’t looking forward to going. Especially having to fraternize with Monica Bradshaw, whom I knew would be there. On top of that, I only had twenty dollars from the money CeCe gave me from Mama’s check.
According to Dr. Foster and Mr. Shimmering, Mama would be coming home on December 22. I
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