Promising You (The Jade Series #4) (14 page)

“You’ll get financial aid, just like I’ll be doing.” Ryan turns the heater up. “I’m glad you didn’t consider asking your billionaire boyfriend to pay for it because that would not be a good idea.”

It’s true. Garret’s family has already given me way too much, and I would never ask them to pay for med school.

“I just got this heater fixed and it’s still not very warm, is it?” Ryan’s fiddling with the dials and adjusting the vents.

Now that he knows about the med school thing I figure I might as well tell him the other things I’ve been keeping from him and Frank.
 

11

“I have some other news to tell you,” I say to Ryan.

He stops messing with the vents. His eyes get big and he grabs my arm. “You’re not pregnant, are you?”

“No!” I yank my arm back. “Geez, Ryan, what the hell?”

“What? It’s not like it couldn’t happen.” He hesitates, then cautiously asks, “You’re still on the pill, right?”

“Ryan! I am NOT talking to you about that.”
 

“Just make sure you take it at the same time every day. Otherwise it’s less effective. And you should really be using other protection as well.”

“Oh my God, Ryan. Please stop.” I turn away. I’m so embarrassed I can’t even look at him.
 

He laughs. “Fine. I won’t say anything more about it. Now tell me your news.”

I turn back to him. “Garret and I are getting an apartment together next fall.”

I’m expecting a lecture followed by a fight, but instead he says, “Yeah, I figured you would.”

“You did?”

“Sure. I know you don’t like living in the dorm and you two are living together this summer, so Dad and I assumed you guys would be getting a place together next year.”

“And you’re not mad? Frank’s okay with it?”

“He’d rather have you stay in the dorm and do stuff with other girls instead of always hanging out with your boyfriend, but there’s not much he can do about it. But how does that work with your scholarship?”

“We’re going to ask Garret’s dad to put my room and board money toward the apartment rent.”

“How will you get to campus?”

“Mr. Kensington got me a car.” I wasn’t going to tell Ryan that yet, but he took the moving-in-with-Garret news well so maybe he’ll be okay with this, too.

“He got you a car?” From his tone I can tell Ryan’s not okay with it. Crap! I should’ve waited.

“Yeah. A few weeks ago. I’m not supposed to drive yet, so it’s still parked at their house.”

“So this isn’t a car he’s just letting you borrow. He actually bought you your own car?”

“Yes.” I really wish I’d waited until later to tell Ryan this.
 

“Why did he give you a car?”

“I’ve been babysitting Lilly a lot so he wanted to thank me.” That’s the lie I’d planned to tell Frank and Ryan when I shared my news about the car, but now that I’ve said it out loud it sounds ridiculous.

“He gave you a car for babysitting his kid? That doesn’t make sense, Jade.”

“To you and me it doesn’t, but to a billionaire it makes perfect sense. He knew I needed a car and he felt he owed me for all that babysitting so he got me one.”

“What kind of car is it?”

I hesitate as I consider lying again, but he’ll find out eventually so I tell him. “A BMW convertible. Garret and I are taking it to California this summer.”

Ryan coughs like he’s choking. “A BMW? He got you a BMW? What kind?”

“I told you. A convertible.”

“I mean what series? Like a three series?”

“Oh, um, I think Garret said something about it being a six series. What does that mean?”

Ryan practically chokes again and I offer him the bottle of water sitting next to him on the seat.
 

“A six series? Are you kidding me? That’s like an $90,000 car.”

“It is? Damn, that’s a lot of money.”

Ryan swigs his water and hands it back to me to put the cap on. “Yeah, that’s a shitload of money. That’s more than our house cost. You can’t tell me he bought you a car like that just for babysitting.”

I should’ve made up a better lie. This one sucks. But what was I going to say? I can’t tell Ryan the car was a gift for finding Lilly in the woods after her family thought she’d been kidnapped by bad guys wanting revenge for Garret’s dad killing a presidential candidate. Yeah, that would go over well.

I try to find another way to explain this. “The guy is super rich. To him, $90,000 is like $90 to you and me.”
 

Ninety thousand dollars? Is that really what the car costs? Ryan knows a lot about cars, so I’m sure he’s right. I knew the car cost a lot, but not that much. I purposely avoided looking up the price online because I didn’t want to know.
 

“Jade, you can’t accept that.”

“He registered the car to me. It’s mine. I already accepted it.”

“We can’t afford the insurance on a car like that. Or the registration. Or the maintenance. It’ll cost over $100 just to get the oil changed.”

“Mr. Kensington is taking care of all that.”

“That makes even
less
sense.”

“No, it doesn’t. He gave me the car and he knows I can’t afford to keep it if he doesn’t pay for that stuff.”

“And what happens when you’re no longer dating his son?”

“Oh, thanks a lot, Ryan. That’s real nice. You just assume this isn’t going to last?”
 

It’s already a fear that lingers in the back of my mind, so hearing Ryan say it really pisses me off.
 

“I’m being realistic. You two are 19. You’re probably not going to stay together forever.”

“Really? So then I guess you and Chloe won’t either.”

“That’s different. I’m 22 and she’s 23. You’re only 19. People mature a lot between 19 and 22.”

He should NOT have said that. You know how there are certain topics that set you off? Push your buttons? Make you so pissed off you can’t think straight? For me, this maturity thing is one of those topics.

“So now you’re saying I’m not mature? Fuck you, Ryan.”

“Jade, stop it. Don’t talk like that.”

“Don’t swear? Like you never swear? Or can only 22-year-olds swear? And by the way, your birthday was a couple weeks ago. You’re barely 22.”

“I didn’t mean you’re not mature. I’m just saying that—”

I’m now beyond angry and I start yelling at him. “For as long as I can remember I had to take care of myself! I was doing my own laundry when I was five, Ryan. Five! Maybe even before then. I can’t remember. I was also making my own meals at that age. Peanut butter sandwiches every day until I learned how to use the microwave. And I took care of my mom for all those years. Did the cooking. Paid the bills. Did the grocery shopping. I was a child taking care of a grown woman! So don’t you ever fucking tell me I’m not mature!”

I face the side window, taking a deep breath to calm down. My phone rings and I pick it up and see that it’s Garret.
 

“Hi, Garret.”

“Hey, are you on the road again?” He’s in a good mood, which isn’t unusual. He almost always is, which is good, but I can’t be around it right now. I’m too pissed off, and as crazy as it sounds his happy mood is making me more pissed off.

“It’s not a good time. Can I call you back later?”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. I’m just tired and I can’t talk right now.”

“Okay. Call me later then. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” I keep the phone in my hand as I gaze out the side window at the snowy farm fields. As I start to calm down I feel guilty for yelling at Ryan like that. He doesn’t have any idea how close Garret and I have become. He doesn’t know what we’ve been through together, so it’s not surprising he thinks we’ll break up.
 

Ryan doesn’t talk for the next three and a half hours and I don’t either. He plays some of the cassette tapes I got him for Christmas until we’re just outside Des Moines and can get a radio station to come in again.
 

“Are we going to end this before we get to the house?” Ryan asks, shutting the radio off.

“We don’t need to. It’s over. We’re good.” I face forward again. “Sorry I yelled at you. It’s the lack of sleep. I’m not in the best mood right now.”

“Jade, what’s going on with you? You used to talk to me all the time about stuff and now you never tell me anything.”

“There’s nothing to tell.”

“A few hours ago you told me three major news events in your life that you’ve been keeping a secret from me. Why are you keeping secrets? We’ve never been like that with each other. Even if you don’t tell my dad stuff, you at least tell me.”

“That was back in high school when I lived with you. Things have changed. Now I’m on my own and you’re busy with work and Chloe. We don’t talk that much anymore.”

“Yeah, and it shouldn’t be that way. I want us to talk, Jade. I want things to be like they were before. Us telling each other stuff. Yeah, I’m busy, but I’m never too busy to talk to you. I haven’t called you as much lately because when I do you don’t return my calls, so I thought you needed some space.”

“It’s not that. It’s just that we’re both moving on with our lives. We’re not going to be as close as we were before.”

“Why not?”

“Because you have Chloe now.”

“I still want to talk to you. Chloe has nothing to do with it. And she’s not the type of person who would tell me I can’t talk to you or spend time with you.”

“Are you going to marry her?”

He laughs. “So I guess you decided we’re confiding in each other again?”

I shrug. “You’re the one who suggested it.”

“Okay, then yes. I’m planning to marry her, but not anytime soon. We’ve talked about it and she wants to wait until she’s done with med school.”

“That’s a long time.”

“She’s almost done with the first year, so three more years.”

“When are you going to propose?”
 

“Probably next fall sometime. Or maybe at Christmas.”

“That’s big news, Ryan. See? You’ve been hiding stuff, too.”

“It’s not exactly a surprise. You know I’ve never dated a girl for this long.”

“Yeah, I figured you’d marry her. I just didn’t know when.”

“So how about you and Garret? Does the marriage topic ever come up?”

 
He looks at me and I look back at him like he’s crazy. “Marriage? A few hours ago you said I was immature and had no future with the guy.”

He sighs. “I didn’t mean that. I only said it because it’s what
I
want.”

“I don’t get it.”

“You’re my little sister and I don’t want you to grow up. I still picture you coming over to my house when you were 12 with your hair up in a ponytail, wearing one of your mom’s dresses that was way too big on you, trying to look older so I’d notice you.”

“Yeah, well, I was a stupid kid. I didn’t know what I was doing. My mom didn’t talk to me about boys.”

“It was cute. You were trying so hard. And as a 15-year-old boy, I had no idea what to do with this annoying girl who kept following me around. But then I kind of liked having you around. I liked pretending to be your big brother and now I’m not ready to lose my little sister.”
 

I look down as he reaches over for my hand. “I know you’re growing up and moving on, but I don’t want us to grow apart. I’m sorry for what I said. You’re not immature, Jade. In fact you’re more mature than most people twice your age. And I really hope it works out with you and Garret.” He laughs as he takes his hand away and picks up his bottle of water. “But if you two get married, his family’s not going to make you live with them in their mansion, are they?”
 

“No. I’m never living in that place. You should see it. It’s all white like an insane asylum.”
 

The mood in the car has changed. I can already feel the two of us getting closer again. The tension is gone and I feel like my friend is back. Ryan was my first best friend and I’ve missed the talks we used to have. I hope he’s serious when he says we’ll still be friends when he gets married.
 

“Ryan, I should’ve told you and Frank about the car, but I was afraid you guys would tell me I couldn’t have it. I know I probably shouldn’t have accepted it, but when I saw it in the driveway and Mr. Kensington said it was mine, I really wanted it. I’ve never had anything that nice.”

“I know. I would’ve taken it, too.” He kiddingly punches me. “I’m just jealous that you get to drive around in a Beemer while I’m stuck in this old thing. If that’s how rich people pay their babysitters I might have to spend a few months babysitting for some wealthy family. Does Lilly need a sitter over the summer? Because I’m available.”

“I don’t think so, Ryan. You’ll be taking classes all summer trying to catch up from your year off from school.”

We’re at the house now and Ryan gets out to open the garage. He has to open it by hand because Frank doesn’t have a garage door opener. It’s only a one-car garage and it’s really small but from the outside it looks almost the same size as the house.
 

Frank’s house and this neighborhood are such a huge contrast from the mansions and wealth that surround me back in Connecticut. That’s why it’s good to come home. I need to get back to reality.

Ryan gets back in the car. “Do you want to go inside? I’ll bring your stuff in.”

The front door opens and Frank appears, wearing his high-waisted, old-man jeans and a plaid flannel shirt. I get out of the car and meet him on the porch.
 

“Hi, Frank. You look really good.” I hug him which I’m sure still shocks him since hugging was never my thing until Garret came along.

“You do, too, honey. Come inside. You must be tired.”

“I was earlier, but I feel more awake now.”
 

We go in the living room which is right when you walk in. There’s no big, fancy foyer in Frank’s tiny house. He sits in his recliner and I take the couch.

“You’re not using your wheelchair?” I look around and see it folded up, leaned against the back wall.

“I’ve been feeling stronger and haven’t had any dizzy spells so the doctor said I could try going without it. He said it’s good for me to get around on my own. How about you? How’s your knee?”