Page 37 of In Too Deep

“Cat arrived before I left. Since they haven’t shown up yet, I’m not sure they are going to come.”

Panic balloons in my chest, making it hard to breathe. “Why? Did Caroline say something you’re not telling me?”

Robbie’s jaw works back and forth as he glares at me. Cat is still a sensitive subject between the two of us. Obviously, he knows Cat and I have become very close over the past year, but it isn’t something we openly talk about. Usually, I respect that boundary with him. My line of questioning is crossing it right now, but I need to figure out what happened to Cat.

“Caroline said she didn’t think Cat really wanted to come tonight.”

My heart sinks. “She did? Did she say why she thought that? Did Cat say that?”

Robbie’s nostrils flare as he takes a big breath. He’s aware I asked Cat to be my date tonight. “I don’t know,” he grits out. “Maybe she isn’t as willing to screw over her friend as you are. Or maybe she just isn’t as into you as you thought.”

My mouth drops open, and I remain speechless, unsure how to even respond to his harsh comments. He just took two swings at me, and they hit me square in the gut.

When I don’t respond to his jabs, he lets out a relenting sigh. “Look…I don’t know what the deal is between you and Cat. I’m trying not to let it come between our friendship, but I still love her. So, if you’re going to continue to pursue her, can you at least leave me the hell out of it? Please.”

He stalks away as I nod, feeling downright sick to my stomach. I make my way to my bedroom. All I want is to be alone. But as soon as I lie on my bed, my mother comes bursting through my closed door.

“What the heck are you doing in here, son? You have thirty guests out there and they’re here to celebrate you. You’re being rude, and that’s not how I raised you.”

“I’m not feeling well,” I reply, turning away from her.

“Is this about that girl again?”

“This isn’t about Cat,” I lie. “I told you I’m feeling sick.”

“Boy, don’t lie to me. I heard your conversation with Robbie. This is getting ridiculous, Lawrence. You are far too young to be this hung up over some girl. She is not good for you. She’s already caused problems between you and Robbie, and I never thought I’d see the day the two of you would be at odds like this. It seems like you’re always moping around these days. Just look at you, missing your own birthday party because she hurt your feelings. This needs to stop. I don’t think you need to hang around that girl anymore.”

“What?” I shout, sitting up in a panic. “You can’t do that.”

“I most certainly can. I’m your mother. Now, get back out there and enjoy your birthday party. Before I ground you and make sure you two can’t see each other.”

Cutting my eyes at her, I get out of bed and head back to the party. There’s no point in trying to argue with my mother. She’s right, I can’t skip out on my own birthday party. Besides, there is no way I am going to risk her following through with her threat.

Catelyn

A group of people step out on the front lawn, but I don’t recognize any of the laughing teens, and there’s still no sign of Lawrence. I’m supposed to be at the party with him right now, by his side as his date. Instead, I’m sitting across the street at the park with Caroline, spying on the party like a crazy stalker.

I was thrilled when he told me he wanted me to come to his birthday party as his date. It meant I hadn’t imagined him asking me on a date before, and he was still interested. But it didn’t take long for the anxiety to set in. Showing up as his date meant telling the world how I felt about him, and that was something I wasn’t sure I was ready for. I still hadn’t told Caroline about my feelings for Lawrence, and I had no clue how she or Robbie would handle the news. Then I thought about meeting all his friends from school I’ve never met before, and my insecurities had a field day. Lawrence is a popular guy at his school, while I’m nothing more than a heavyset, shy, book nerd. There’s no way his friends will think I was good enough for him.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go inside?”

My attention turns to Caroline on the swing next to mine, and I shake my head with a sigh. “It’s too late. I can’t go in there now.”

Her head tilts as she studies me. “Do you want to tell me why you didn’t want to go?”

My eyes fall to the dirt under my feet, and I kick at it with my shoe. “I guess I was just nervous about being around all those people I didn’t know.” It’s not a complete lie.

“Why didn’t you tell Lawrence that? I’m sure he would’ve understood. You guys could have made plans together for another time.”

“No.” I shake my head. “He really wanted me to come to the party.”

“Is there something you’re not telling me?”

Before I have the chance to lie—again—commotion across the street pulls our attention. I spot Lawrence right away, and he’s with a girl. Not just any girl, his ex-girlfriend, Stephanie. She’s the only one of his girlfriends I ever met, and she’s meaner than a snake. She took every opportunity to put me down. It was always in that sly, mean girl way, so Lawrence never noticed.

“Who’s that girl he’s hugging?” Caroline asks.

“Stephanie.”

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