Page 70 of Tutoring the Bad Boy
The food is bad, but I didn’t put anything in it to make me hallucinate. “What?”
“No.” He shakes his head. “Kaleb, you aren’t the only one who’s been doing some thinking. I wanted you in law because I was so afraid that if you ever left for good, you’d never come back. I thought if I forced you to stay close that maybe I could figure out how to fix us.”
All this time my dad just wanted…his kid? “Really?”
My dad holds my gaze. “I want you in whatever school will make you happy. It wasn’t hard for me to follow in my dad’s footsteps because I loved it. You would be miserable. You love drawing. You need to do what you love. If MIT is what you want, go get it, bud.”
This was not how I expected this conversation to go. “You’re serious.”
“As a heart attack.”
“But the deal we made,” I reply, still wondering if I’m hearing things.
Shaking his head, he says, “I know. I was wrong to insist on that. The fact that your grades have come up so much…I know this means a lot to you. I’m making a new deal. Just keep talking to me.”
There’s no way I’m telling my dad about that deal now, and I’m telling Ginny’s mom I’m backing out. If I get into MIT, it’ll be on my merit alone. I stick out my hand. “Deal.” I’m going to make my dad proud of me even if it kills me.
My phone chimes in my pocket, and I pull it out and see it’s a text from Ginny. There’s a picture attached of her and Chris that has me confused. “Uh, mind if I run upstairs really quick?”
“Yeah, go ahead. I’ll clean up the dishes.”
“Thanks.” I cross the room and take the steps two at a time, shutting the door before I check my phone again.
I pull up the text, and my lungs deflate. There’s no air in the room. Slowly, I lower myself into my desk chair, staring at my girlfriend and best friend locked in an embrace at school. In the next photo, her face is angled toward his…and then a third is them making kissy faces. The last two look like they’re taken in a grocery store.
What is happening?
There’s not an actual picture of a kiss, but I’m smart enough to put two and two together. My mom walking out broke my heart, but that is nothing compared to the shards ricocheting in my chest right now. The pain radiates outward, touching every atom I have.
Maybe I should ask Ginny to explain, but…I see the pictures. There’s no explanation needed. She’s with my best friend. How stupid am I? She even asked about him. Why didn’t I see this sooner?
It’s no different from my dad finding out about my mom. She sent him photos just like this. She tried to play it off with my dad, telling him it was nothing. For months he bought it until he couldn’t deny the evidence. Maybe he was holding on to hope that my mom would choose him, but I’m not my dad, and I’m not giving her a chance to do what my mom did to my dad.
Why did I think things would ever work for me? If this is even an ounce of what Dad felt when Mom left, then his pain had to be unspeakable.
Gripping the phone tighter, I chuck it across the room where it bounces off the wall and onto the wood floor.
Part of me says there’s no point in even trying anymore. What was the point of bringing up my grades? But if there’s one thing I’ve learned through all of this, it’s that my choices affect me. I’m not letting Ginny break my heart and take my life too.
For a brief second, the thought pops into my mind that this could all be a false flag. I mean, her mom is underhanded and I could see her doing this, but why? She has no idea Ginny and I have been pretending.
Nah. I’m not falling for it. If she thinks I’m going to slink away, she’s grossly underestimated me. I’m going to give her conniving mother exactly what she ordered,andI’m going to MIT. I might even twist the knife a little more until we graduate just to make sure this heartbreak sticks around for a while.
With the way I’m feeling, I know I won’t be over it any time soon, so why should I make it easy on Ginny? No, I’ve got plans for her and Chris.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Ginny
I cranemy neck to look for Kaleb just as the lunch bell rings. He was supposed to come over and hang out last night, but he never showed. I texted and called, but there wasn’t even a text when I woke up. It’s so unlike him.
Just then I see him stroll through the front door and head straight to the office. It’s a little odd, but maybe he didn’t see me. I weave through the hall as fast as I can, trying to catch up with him. By the time I reach the administration area, he’s slipping inside my mom’s office.
The copy machine is working overtime, so there’s no one behind the desk to catch me spying. It’s stupid. I should just walk in, but I’ve got this weird uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. I peek through the crack and strain to listen.
“I’m surprised, Mr. Quinn. When I asked you to come in early, I figured you’d be at least a few minutes late.” My mom smiles.
Shaking his head, Kaleb says, “I’m trying to be a better student.”
