The Pact (16 page)

Marcus

It
was hard explaining to Mom that I had high-jacked her credit card but that I had done it with good intentions. Once she stopped yelling and calmed down, I was able to explain my side of the story. She was still upset, but at least she wasn’t yelling anymore.

“I received a phone call from Rena’s father,” Mom finally said. “He says that you’re not the father of the baby.”

“I told you that, Mom.”

“Why did you lie about it in the first place, Marcus?”

“Because Rena asked me to play along. Her father hates the guy who is the real father.”

“So you decided to take the fall for someone else?” she asked.

“I was protecting Rena,” I explained.

“I’m sorry for not believing you, son. It’s just that…”

“It’s okay.”

“Your father has done a wonderful job with you. He’s helped you to become quite a man. I’m not sure if I can do such a good job.” The tone in her voice was much softer now. “Are you planning to go back to Atlanta?”

“Yes, ma’am. I think that’s where I belong,” I said softly. “Are your feelings hurt about that?”

“Well, I will miss you,” she said, “but I want you to be happy, Marcus.”

“I’m glad that you found Leon. He seems pretty cool. I always hoped that you and Pop would get back together, but since that never happened, I’m glad you found someone you love.”

“Thank you, Marcus. It means a lot that you approve of him,” she said, “and I want you to visit again next summer.”

“Oh, most def. I’ll have to come back and check on Michelle and Andre, see what they’re up to.”

“Then it’s a deal! You’ll spend the summers with me.” She was happy, and that made me happy. “And every Fourth of July, we’ll continue our tradition.”

“That sounds good, Ma.”

I thought about our day in the park, when Mom was shaking it up and having a good time. Shooting M-80s was the highlight of the evening, and I looked forward to doing that again.

“How are you planning to get back to Atlanta? Do I need to purchase you a ticket?”

“No, ma’am. Indigo’s father is picking us up and taking us home. He’ll be here soon.”

“Is she the girl that you’re
not
getting serious about? The one who caused you to steal your mother’s credit card, book a flight to Chicago, just to rescue her?”

“That’s her.”

“She must really be special.”

“She is.” I found myself smiling as I stole a glance at Indigo, who was across the room yapping with Nana. If I had to, I would rescue her again…and again…and again. She was special, and I was glad the summer was coming to an end so that we could get back to the way we were. No more pact, no more Rena. Just me and Indi. I couldn’t wait to throw Skittles at her bedroom window and wake her up on a Saturday morning when she was trying to sleep in. I couldn’t wait for her to prop her feet up on the dashboard of my Jeep on the way home from school. I couldn’t wait to take her to the old airport, watch the planes land and count the stars. I couldn’t wait to meet her at the creek behind her house and plant kisses all over her face.

My summer in Houston hadn’t been half-bad, but I was eager to get back to the ATL.

Indigo

I
didn’t know what Marcus had done during his summer vacation in Houston, and I really didn’t want to know. All I wanted to know was that our stupid pact had ended and that we could go back to where we left off. As we sat in Daddy’s pickup truck, our fingers intertwined, I knew we both were in for trouble when we got home. Marcus’s mother had been worried sick about him, and she was upset about him leaving in the middle of the night and using her credit card to book a flight to Chicago. Mr. Carter wasn’t happy, either. In fact, when Marcus spoke with him on the phone, I could hear him yelling on the other end of the phone and threatening that Marcus would be grounded until he was twenty-one. After all the yelling, he was happy to learn that Marcus had changed his mind about living in Houston with his mother. Marcus told his father that his home was in Atlanta, with him and Gloria. And even though he didn’t like Gloria that much, he had gotten used to her, and that was much better than breaking in a new stepparent.

Marcus discovered that Mrs. Carter’s fiancé, Leon, had had plans to send him to an all-boys’ school in some rural part of Texas, where he would have shared a dorm with hundreds of other boys and would only come home on the weekends and during holidays. Marcus had thought that his mother genuinely wanted him to live with her, particularly since she’d missed so much of his life a child, but the truth was she wasn’t ready to be a full-time mother. She didn’t know how. Marcus didn’t hold it against her; he simply made a vow to visit her during his next summer vacation. She was cool with that.

We both had learned so much over the summer—about life and about ourselves. As we blew kisses at Nana, who was standing on the front porch in her robe and slippers, I thought about the night I’d found her unconscious on the back lawn. She was doing much better, but I still worried about her. Uncle Keith slipped his arm around her shoulder and they both waved to us. I made him promise to take good care of her. Even though Nana wanted him to move out and get his own place, I was grateful that he didn’t. Without me around, she needed somebody to keep an eye on her.

As we approached the stop sign at the end of the block, I glanced up at Jordan Fisher’s house. He was outside throwing a Frisbee back and forth with his little brother. Our eyes locked for a long moment, and I wondered how things might have been if we’d bumped into each other earlier in the summer. I wondered if he would’ve been my summer boyfriend again.

I gave Marcus’s hand a tight squeeze. Who needed a summer boyfriend when I had Marcus Carter?