I wait for him to tell me why he called but he doesn't.
"Did you need something?" I ask.
"Yeah. I was calling to ask if you could tutor me again. I tried to do my English homework yesterday and got stuck. I need help."
"Oh, um, yeah, I can help. I didn't know we were still doing that."
"Why wouldn't we?"
"Your brother hasn't asked me to come back. I assumed that meant we were done."
"We just started. Do you not want to come back?"
"I do. But I'm not sure Dean wants me there."
"Why? Did something happen between you two?"
"Not that I know of. That night I was there we got along great, but the next day he acted like he was mad at me. I don't know what happened. He's been avoiding me since that night."
"He's probably just in one of his moods. He's been acting shitty to me too. I don't think he's been sleeping. He gets cranky when he's tired. So will you do it or not?"
"Sure. When do you want me to come over?"
"Is tomorrow okay? Maybe around one?"
"That works, but make sure you get Dean's okay before I show up. If he doesn't want me there, just send me a text and I won't come over."
"Yeah, got it. See you tomorrow."
I set the phone down. I guess I'm working tomorrow. It'll give me something to do but I'm worried about seeing Dean. I want to see him, but not if he's going to treat me like he has the past few days.
Going to my closet, I try to figure out what to wear tomorrow, then realize I'm doing it again. I'm trying to use my looks to get Dean's attention, but why? It's not like I want to date him. Besides, he doesn't date. He has sex. And if my goal is to be friends with him, it shouldn't matter what I have on. I tell myself that and yet I'm searching my closet for the right thing to wear. I settle on jean shorts and a white, v-neck t-shirt. It's casual and looks like something I just threw on. It's also a little sexy, not that I'm going for sexy. Dean might not even be there. He'll probably be out with his friends or working out at the gym. A guy with muscles that big must have to work out constantly.
My phone dings from my dresser and I go over to check it, assuming it's Chad because I haven't heard from him all day. I called him this morning but he didn't pick up.
The text is from my mom.Be home around five. How about pizza for dinner?
Sounds great,I text back.
Turning on the TV, I search for something to watch but can’t find anything. We couldn't afford cable so we only get whatever comes through the antenna. My options are football, golf, or an informercial for copper cookware. The golf reminds me of Chad. I shut off the TV and call Jane.
"Hey, Brook," she says in her usual upbeat tone. Even when she's upset, she uses that tone. All my friends do, and I never thought it was odd until Eve said that stuff about how friends should be honest, not just tell you what you want to hear. My friends back home always tell me what I want to hear. I thought they did it to be nice. To support me. I thought that's what made us friends. Now I'm starting to doubt that. Sometimes you need to be told the truth, even if you don't want to hear it, and your friends should be the people you can count on to tell you the truth.
"Hi, Jane. How was your weekend?"
"Awesome. Bella and I went to this fabulous French restaurant last night." She laughs. "We met the cutest little French boys there. They were exchange students, here for the semester. We invited them to sit at our table. Then we dragged them along to this charity fashion show Bella's mom organized. It was so much fun! I wish you'd been there."
French restaurants and fashion shows. It's still hard to believe that used to be my life.
"Oh, and today, Daddy and I went shopping for a new car," she says.
"You're picking out your dad's car?"
"No, silly, it's for me. Mine's two years old and Daddy wants me to have a new one. He says a new one will be safer."
Her dad's getting her a car and my dad won't pay for anything. At the very least, he could've paid for one more year of tuition at my prep school so I could finish my senior year there. But stupid Madison convinced him not to, because then my mom and I would have to live around there which would be more than we could afford and my dad would have to help. There's no way Madison would let that happen. She doesn't even want him talking to my mom.
"Have you been to the club today?" I ask.
