Infinite (Strange and Beautiful, Book 1) (71 page)

I
hadn’t spoken her to since the day she and her family left for Florida. I’d
tried calling a couple of times, but there’d been no answer. I figured either
she wasn’t getting good reception or she’d been too busy to bother with her
phone. I couldn’t fault her on either account. Today, though, I really needed
to speak to her, so I crossed my fingers and tried to channel a mental message
her way.

Luck
was, apparently, on my side for once. She picked up on the third ring, and I
blurted out the only coherent thing I could think to say. “My mom’s pregnant!”

There
was a pause before Tegan, tentatively, said, “Silly, is that you?”

I
sighed. “Yes.”

“Your
mom’s pregnant?” She didn’t sound like she was asking for clarification;
instead, she sounded as if she was trying to work out a cryptic message.

“Yes.”
I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. Then I reiterated the words, hoping
she would see that this wasn’t a joke. “My mom is having a baby.”

“Wow.”
The scope of Tegan’s shock and surprise seemed to ooze from the singular word.
She was quiet for a moment before she finally said, with a nervous laugh,
“Congratulations.”

It
sounded more like a question, and I cracked a smile. “I guess. I really don’t
know what to think or say about it right now. It’s just too weird.”

“I
bet,” Tegan agreed. “But it’s not necessarily a bad thing, is it?”

“No,
of course not,” I decided quickly. “I just wasn’t expecting this, so I guess
I’m just a little stunned right now.”

“But
haven’t you always wanted to be a big sister?”

Tegan
was right, of course. I’d been envious of her when we were younger when she
told me Trista was pregnant, first, with Tanner and then, a couple years later,
with Tatum.

“It’s
just weird. I’m going to be almost sixteen years older than the baby. Luke and
Sky even older than that. People their—well, heck, even my—age have babies
every day. Granted, they
shouldn’t
, but they do, you know? I guess I’m
just freaking out a bit.”

“I
get that,” Tegan soothed. “But it’s not so unusual. Lots of older couples have
babies these days. Besides, at least now you won’t be the only one at home once
Luke and Skylar go away to college.”

I
hadn’t even thought about that. In truth, I’d been looking forward to being the
only one at home. At least until Jackson and I started seeing each other. In
recent months, I’d realized that it would probably only get worse with Dad when
Skylar and Luke were no longer around as a buffer. Without them around to get
in trouble, the focus would likely fall to me. At least with the new baby there
would be someone else to distract Mom and Dad.

I
nodded to myself, thankful to Tegan for pointing this out. I was still floored
by the news, but that would likely fade in time. I sighed, deciding not to fret
over it and enjoy the opportunity to speak to Tegan for the first time in four
days.

“So,”
I asked, “how’s the vacation going?”

“Great.”
I could hear the smile in her voice. “The beach is so nice. A bit crowded, but
still enjoyable. We spent the whole day down on the beach the first couple of
days we were here. Yesterday we went sight seeing. It’s been fun.”

“Sounds
like it.”

“I
wish you were here,” she said, and I felt guilty all over again for not taking
up her family’s generous offer to include me. “Vacation isn’t the same without
you.”

“I
know,” I sighed. “If only it were possible to be in two places at once.”

“Two
of you?” Tegan laughed. “That sounds scary.”

“Hey!”
I objected with righteous indignation.

“I’m
joking, of course.” She didn’t bother to mask the mirth in her tone. “So, have
you been spending some quality time with Jackson?”

“That
depends on your interpretation of quality time. He’s been over to the house a
couple of times, but the band has been practicing. That’s pretty much all you
can hear throughout the house. Earlier today, though, we went out for lunch;
then he taught me how to drive.”

“Really?
That sounds like so much fun,” she exclaimed. “Well,” she amended, “not
listening to Oxide since Luke thinks he’s commander and chief or whatever, but
driving sounds fun. How’d it go?”

“It
was good. I felt a little nervous,” I admitted, “but Jackson was so calm and
cool about it, which helped a lot.”

“Lucky.
Tierney was nervous and tense when she let me drive her car. She kept shouting
out incoherent commands that just made me feel jittery.”

I
laughed because the mental image seemed to clash so greatly with the Tierney I
knew, but at the same time I knew she was a bit of a perfectionist. Standing—or
sitting—idly by while Tegan tried to get her bearings behind the wheel probably
wasn’t at all an act within her comfort zone. “Maybe you could get Mark to
teach you,” I suggested.

“He
might,” Tegan chuckled. “I’m not sure I’d want to drive like him, though.”

“True,”
I agreed. A car ride with Mark was always lively. He wasn’t afraid to put the
pedal to the metal. He also had some choice words for those on the road who he
perceived to have slighted him in some way. I mostly closed my eyes and tried
to tune everything out until the car ride was over.

 “Have
you talked to Mark any since you’ve been gone?” I wondered. He hadn’t mentioned
anything about it, but I hadn’t asked either.

“No,”
Tegan sighed. “I’ve been so busy, and my phone’s been iffy at best. How’s he
doing? Practicing hard?”

“Oh,
yeah, Luke’s been a real slave driver,” I laughed. “I’m so glad he didn’t let
me into the band because I’d have already quit.”

Tegan
and I talked for a few more minutes until the line started to break up. We
quickly said goodbye before hanging up. It had been a long, bizarre day. Most
of the week I’d stayed up until late in the night. Usually I’d read for a
while, or sometimes wait up for Jackson to call or message me online, but I was
tired. I crawled into bed, curling up beneath the covers, and quickly fell
asleep.

I
woke the next day feeling refreshed, but that didn’t last long. When I made it
downstairs, after showering and dressing, I found Skylar in the kitchen with
Mom.

Skylar
was speaking too fast for me to catch any of what she was saying while grinning
like a Cheshire cat. Mom seemed to understand what she was saying, though, and
smiled right back.

When
Skylar paused to catch her breath, I asked, “What’s going on?”

“I
got accepted at the Art Institute of Chicago!” Skylar exclaimed, jumping off of
the counter and running over to me. She grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled
me into a hug. “Isn’t it great?”

I
was somewhat taken aback by her sudden affection. Apparently she’d overcome her
discomfort with hugging. I wasn’t sure which was weirder: the hug or the
genuine smile on her face. Skylar usually kept her emotions close to the vest.
Most of the time, she exuded the persona of a brooding artist. For her to be so
light and open about her feelings was a sure sign that this was a very big deal
for her. 

“That’s
great news, Sky,” I assured her, snapping out of my shock and hugging her back.

“I
just hope Dad thinks so,” Skylar commented, pulling away but leaving an arm
draped around me. She turned back to Mom, her face uncertain but hopeful. “What
do you think he’s going to say?”

“I
think he’ll be very proud of you,” she smiled. “I know I am.”

As
happy as I was for Skylar, her college acceptance was also a reminder that she
would soon be gone. At the beginning of the year, I couldn’t wait for Skylar to
go away to college. Things had changed so much since then. I wouldn’t say
Skylar and I were particularly close, but there had been a shift in our
relationship. We were no longer constantly at odds.

These
days it felt more like we were on equal footing. The same could be said for
Luke and I as well. Instead of being overlooked or ignored, my opinion seemed
to have some value. I didn’t feel like the outcast like I had in the past.
Sure, my siblings still thought I was weird. Since I’d gotten to know them
better over the past few months, though, I didn’t see that belief as an insult
any longer. I already knew I was different from them, but, in truth, I
sometimes thought they were a bit odd as well, so the feeling was mutual.

Still,
we were finally beginning to act more like a team, so the news of yet another
college acceptance felt bittersweet. A year ago, a discussion like we had about
the mysterious pregnancy test never would have happened. It hadn’t necessarily
been a pretty conversation, but it was more than we ever had in the past. Back
then we barely spoke. Now we no longer felt like strangers sharing a house, so
for Skylar to leave just as we were all starting to come together as a family
clouded some of my happiness for her.

When
Dad arrived home from work, Skylar and Mom double tagged him with the news. He
took it better than expected. He gave her an awkward hug—maybe Skylar had taken
after him in that area—and congratulated her. I was sure he was still holding
out hope that she would choose the University of Illinois, but he didn’t voice
his disrespect for her choice in career paths. I suspected he’d learned his
lesson after his argument with Luke. Things were still chilly between them.

Dad
even went so far as to say it was cause for celebration, being accepted into
two of her colleges of choice, and suggested we all go out for dinner. Skylar
was allowed to decide where we’d eat, and we found ourselves seated at
Applebee’s an hour later.

While
we waited for our dinner, Luke announced, “Oxide has decided to take part in
the talent show.”

He
seemed a bit nervous, and I couldn’t say whether it was because he knew how
much Dad disliked the band or because he still felt unsure about performing in
front of a crowd.

“That’s
great,” Mom enthused and Skylar rolled her eyes.

“You’ll
be great,” I encouraged.

Dad’s
only comment was, “It’s about time you got out of the garage and made use of
all that practicing you’ve been doing.”

It
was hard to tell if that was a complaint or a compliment. Luke, apparently,
couldn’t tell either, so he just shrugged and took a sip of his drink.

With
everyone else making some sort of an announcement, I felt like I should share
something as well, but I had nothing. Despite my boringness, it was actually a
nice evening. Things weren’t perfect, of course, with Dad and Luke barely
speaking. Mom and Dad seemed to be getting along okay, though, and I wondered
how much of that had to do with the unexpected pregnancy.

I
spent the last few days of spring break either hanging out with Jackson—he also
gave me another driving lesson—and listening to Oxide practice with renewed
vigor as they prepared for the upcoming talent show. Jackson and Skylar spent
Friday afternoon during band practice putting together a logo for Oxide.
Everyone seemed to like what they came up with, so Jackson took it home that
evening, scanned the sketch into his computer and added color.

Mom
took Luke and I to Wal-Mart to buy t-shirts for everyone to wear to the talent
show. She also bought iron-on transfers, so we could add the band’s new logo to
the shirts. I thought she would have gone to a print or embroidery shop and
made something more professional if there had been more time. It was really
cool of Mom to be so supportive of the band; also, it was very generous of her
to foot the bill for all of the t-shirts, of which we wound up with
fourteen—six for the members of the band, and the remaining eight for Mom, Dad,
Skylar, Tegan, Jackson, Robby’s girlfriend, Nick’s girlfriend and myself.

Jackson
came over when we got home from the store. He had the digitized copy of the
logo stored on his flash drive. We printed them out in my room—with the door
open and Mom and Luke coming by every five minutes to check on us—and then Mom
and I ironed them on the t-shirts while Jackson and Luke watched. In all, it
was a very productive afternoon.

Tegan
called Sunday afternoon. She only stayed on the phone long enough to tell me
that they’d drove all night, she was home and she was going to bed. I would
have liked to talk to her longer, but I knew we’d catch up the next day at
school. That was really the only part about school I was even remotely looking
forward to. I’d enjoyed sleeping in and lazing around the house far too much. I
suspected getting up early the next morning would be a complete nightmare.

The
next morning my assumption was realized. I hit the snooze bar three times
before Mom came up to check on me. When she found me still in bed, she stole
all of my covers and shooed me out of bed. I stumbled to the bathroom and was
fully awake after a cold shower and feeling very much like a wet dog. I
probably looked like one too.

The
bright spot in my icky morning was the Eggo Waffles Mom had waiting for me on
the table when I got downstairs. My stomach growled the second the scent hit my
nose. In my haste to eat, I managed to get butter on the sleeve of my shirt and
syrup on my hands and pants. By that point, I kind of wanted to be put out of
my misery. I considered drowning myself in syrup but hated the idea of leaving
Mom with such an awful mess to clean up.

I
managed to eat the last half of my waffle without any further destruction. Then
I went back upstairs, washed my hands and changed clothes. It was pretty clear
that my first day back to school wasn’t going my way.

As
I was changing, there was a knock at the door. I figured it was Luke or Skylar
coming to tell me to hurry up before they left without me. “I’m just about
done,” I called.

The
doorknob turned and Mom stuck her head in. “It’s just me,” she smiled. “Can I
come in?”