Chapter 45: Car.

Chapter 45: Car.

I stare at my reflection in the full-length mirror in my closet. The lemon-colored dress I have on clings to my body, giving the illusion that I have hips.

I wish.

I put on my crystal necklace and in the corner of my eye, I see the ring that Zachary gave me in Mexico when he asked me to be his girlfriend again. I grab the ring and twirl it around my finger. In the end, I wear the ring on my middle finger before I head downstairs.

"Here she comes." I hear my mother shout.

"Surprise!!!" They all yell.

I don't know why my mother still makes the guests yell surprise when I spent an hour and a half getting ready for this.

I move through the crowd, as I pass by people who mutter the word congratulations to me. I see a banner in the middle of the living room that reads "Congratulations on Bradford." I smile at the sight. I head to the kitchen where I see Adam and Hannah talking amongst themselves. I creep up behind them and I scare them.

"Jesus Christ!!!" Hannah says, startled.

"What the fuck, Val?" Adam says, smacking my arm.

"No need to get aggressive." I tell him as I shove him.

He shoves me back and I glare at him.

"Break it up you two." Hannah says, standing in between us.

"My mother swears she invited all my friends, but I only see the two of you." I tell them.

"That's because we're your only friends, the rest are just 'guests'." Adam says, air quoting the word guests.

"I'm starting to feel like this party is for my parents and not me." I say, scratching my elbow.

"Duh, but at least there's cake. So, it's not that bad." Adam says, shrugging.

I feel someone tap my shoulder and I turn around. I am utterly surprised when I see Spencer standing in front of me, in his melanin glory and all.

This boy is fine.

"Hey." He says smiling at me as he bites his lower lip.

I gulp.

"Um...Spencer...you....uh...You came." I manage to say.

"Yeah. Your mother called me two days ago and insisted that I should be here." He informs me.

"Oh really. So, you're here on my mother's command." I say, folding my arms as I stare him down.

His biceps are definitely bigger.

"And I had to see you." He says, rubbing the back of his head.

"Before you head to Bradford...with Zachary." He adds and I chuckle.

"Zachary has a girlfriend now. And it's not me, so I think I'm going to be on my own when I get there." I tell him.

"You can always come to Brown." He tells me.

"Hard pass." I say, chuckling. "And isn't Alicia going there too?" I ask him.

"Yes. We actually applied together." He tells me.

"Oh really? Was it before or after the two of you slept together?" I ask him, folding my arms.

"Oou, you know about that." He says, looking down.

"Oou, I do." I say with a smile on my face. "But it's cool, do you." I tell him.

"Thanks. Wanna go grab a drink with me?" He asks me.

"You go. I'll catch up." I tell him, he nods before he walks away.

"Looks like someone's slipping back into old habits." Zachary comments as he pins me against the wall.

"If I wanted to go back to my old ways, I'd just date you again." I tell him.

"Okay, I see how it is." He says, smiling.

"Your girlfriend wouldn't appreciate the position we're in." I tell him.

"We broke up." He tells me and I laugh in his face.

Crash and burn.

I told you.

"What happened?" I ask him, trying to hold back my laughter.

"She just started getting jealous all of a sudden." He tells me, staring at me.

"Of who?" I ask him.

"Of you." He tells me.

"That doesn't mean anything. We're not getting back together." I tell him, meaning it.

"But we're on our way there." He quips.

"What makes you so sure, Mr smart mouth?" I ask him.

"You're wearing the ring I gave you." He says, with a coy smile.

"It's just jewelry. It means nothing to me now." I tell him and he looks hurt.

"Okay, guess I should just let you be then." He says, pulling away. He walks out of the kitchen and I let out a sigh of defeat.

What was that?

Does he like me again?

I can't deal with this right now.

"What was that about?" Hannah asks me with a piece of cake in her hand.

"It was nothing." I tell her.

"You like him, don't you?" She asks me.

"I never stopped." I say, collecting the cake from her hand.

"Hey!!! That was mine." She says, following me into the living room.

"There she is." My dad says, and everyone cheers.

I walk towards my parents who are standing in the middle of the living room.

"Hey Dad." I say, hugging him.

"Your mother and I are so proud of you." He says, kissing my forehead.

"We have a present for you." My mother adds.

A present?

The only present my parents have ever given me was a Barbie doll when I was seven. They killed my goldfish and felt sorry about it, so they gave that to me.

"What could that be?" I ask them.

"Right this way." My father says as he walks towards the door.

We walk out of the house and I see a white Porsche sitting on the driveway. It's wrapped with a red ribbon.

"NO WAY!!!" I shriek.

"It's your car, Val." Adam says beside me.

"You guys knew?" I ask them and Hannah nods.

"Here." My father says, handing me a set of car keys.

"We figured that since you were going off to college, you'd need a mode of transportation." My mother tells me.

"I love you guys." I say as I hug my parents. I pull away and I open the car and get in.

The new car smell drives me over the edge. I can't believe it's mine.

"Get in here." I yell at Hannah and Adam.

They rush over to the car and they get in. Adam rides shotgun and Hannah sits in the back seat.

"Let's take this thing for a joyride, shall we." I say, backing out of the driveway.

As soon as the tires hit the road I press the accelerator and I speed down the street.

"Wooooooooo." I yell as I keep pressing the accelerator. The wind blows my hair in different directions and I smile. I've never felt more alive.

"Slow down." Adam says beside me.

"I wish my first car was a Porsche." Hannah says.

"I know right. My first car was my aunt Jenny's minivan." Adam says and I laugh.

Minutes later, I pull over as I reach Galloway Hills. I park my car beside the cliff and I get down.

"Why do we always come here?" Adam nags.

"Shut up." Hannah tells him.

"And besides this is our last time here, before we leave that is." I say as I walk to the edge of the cliff.

"Be careful, Vee." Hannah tells me and I look down.

"That's a long fall." I say, letting a breath out. "It's amazing how I have my life in my hands right now." I add.

"Get out of there." Hannah says as she pulls me towards her body.

I sit on the ground and Hannah and Adam do the same.

"It's so beautiful." I say, referring to the sunset as I hug my knees.

"Ahhh, this is the life." Adam says, stretching beside me.

"This time next week, we'll be strutting our beautiful behinds down some new halls." I tell them.

"Saying hello to new people." Hannah adds.

"Introducing myself to people with the 'Hi, I'm Adam but you can call me anytime' line." Adam adds and I giggle.

"I'm so proud of you guys." I tell them as I put my arm around the two of them.

"We're proud of you too, Spaghetti Stacey." Adam mutters as he rests his head on my shoulder.