Page 75 of Told You So
“And she’s more than just another woman,” he says more quietly. “I care about Carrie, even if that’s difficult for you to hear.”
I glance at my mom. She’s staring into her wine glass like she wishes she could crawl inside and lose herself to a sea of oblivion. I don’t care what she says, she’s not completely over what he’s done to her. Maybe my dad’s not either and this is how they’re handling it—pretending or wishing things were different.
“Fine. You guys do whatever you want. It’s your lives and if you want me to accept it, I won’t bring it up again, even though this feels beyond wrong.” I try to formulate my final words, but all I can think about is anger. I glance at my dad. “But, let’s be really clear about something. If you still want a relationship with me, I’m not going to make it easy for you, like Mom has.” I stare into his eyes and tell him as fervently as I can. “You don’t get to just show up and pretend. I’m not a kid anymore. If you want my respect, you actually have to earn it this time.”
His eyes shift over my face and he looks away.
“Remember that the next time you blow me off or drum up some lie about why you can only act like my father when it’s convenient for you.”
My mom’s eyes are wet with tears when I look at her again, but as much as it hurts to see her upset, I’m upset too. “Sorry, but I’m not really hungry anymore.” I stand up from the table as my phone vibrates in my pocket. When I pull it out, I expect to find Brady’s name on the screen, but it’s Savannah’s. “Enjoy your dinner,” I say and head for the door. “See you next week.”
I accept the call, thankful for a distraction. “Hey, Red.”
Thirty-Eight
Bethany
I glance at my phone. The hour-long drive to the beach has been quiet. Nick and I don’t say much, but then, I didn’t sleep last night, and Nick is in a strange mood today. I try not to let the fact that I’ll be spending the day with the entire crew get to me, but it’s daunting, no matter how I look at it.
“Your destination, my lady,” Nick says as he pulls into the parking lot. I see Reilly’s big red truck and Mac’s Jeep and know they’ve likely been here for a while. Nick isn’t an early riser, I’ve determined, which, given his job, is understandable.
“Do me a favor, would you?”
I blink at him.
“Shut your phone off. I don’t want anything ruining your day. This is supposed to be fun.”
I roll my eyes but do as he asks, because he’s right. Today is supposed to be fun.
We unpack our things from the Explorer, and steadying myself for what will probably be a trying but hopefully fun day, I hang my beach bag over my shoulder and grab the other end of Nick’s ice chest.
I blow an errant strand of hair from my face as we lug it through the parking lot and over the grassy dune, to the path leading down to the beach. “What did you put in here, exactly? Bricks?”
“No, ice,” Nick says with a smirk.
“You’re so funny.”
“And our sandwiches and snacks...and some waters and a few beers. And a jar of pickles, of course—the usual.”
“You can’t forget the pickles.”
“Nope. Never.”
My steps are uneven in the sand, but it’s warm and soft as it falls around my sandals and between my toes. The air is fresh and intermittently cool against the heated rays of the sun.
Mac brushes the sand from the back of her legs as she stands up and heads for their ice chest next to the barbecue pit, her dark hair piled messily atop her head. I watch the rest of the gang milling around on the beach, oblivious to us as we make our way toward them. This is the first time I’ve been more than just an outlier, looking in.
Back in high school, hordes of us would come down here for volleyball games and bonfires. I brought Mike out here one day after meeting him at a dinner party with my family. His dad was a bigwig friend of my dad’s, and I’d offered to show Mike around since he was new in town. We flirted and laughed, and the way he looked at me, like I was some precious, intriguing creature worth knowing, had me eating out of the palm of his hand.
To my seventeen-year-old self, Mike was like no other guy I’d ever met; he was older, someone outside of school and Saratoga Falls with worldly experience, and no ties to anyone other than me. I could be myself with him.
But bringing him out here proved to be my first mistake of many. That’s the day he’d met Sam. The day Nick planted my first kernel of doubt about Mike, only for me to ignore it so it could bite me in the ass a year later.
I don’t know how soon after that day Mike started sneaking around with Sam, but when I found out, I hated her for it. Even if logic told me she likely didn’t know he and I were together. He was older and we did our own thing, always away from crowds, which was my second mistake. Part of me knew Sam was probably duped, like me, but it didn’t make the truth less painful. It all seems like yesterday and yet a lifetime ago, too.
Sam shouts at Mac to bring her a drink as she sits up on her woven blanket and tucks a loose wave of blonde hair behind her ear, the rest pulled back in a braid. I imagine her eyes are fixed on the beach festivities, on Bobby, Reilly, and Colton, playing barefooted volleyball in their shorts.
“Fear not, ladies, the party has arrived!” Nick calls down to them.
