9
Iwasn't surprised when, true to his word, the next Saturday Nathan texted me with a briefon my waymessage.
I panicked and hurriedly wrote back.
Don't pull into the driveway! Park around the corner.
All I got was confused silence, until the next message read,can Becca come out and play?which I assumed was his way of saying he'd arrived and was waiting for me.
"I'm heading out," I told my mom as she stood at the kitchen counter, making a sandwich.
"Where are you going?" she asked, her gaze flicking to mine curiously.
Oh, just about to go careening down a hill in a giant bouncy ball, no big deal.
"Tracey and I are going shopping for that New Year's in July party," I said.
I should have felt bad lying, but at this point, what was one more?
"You're not going to eat?" she asked.
"I had breakfast earlier."
"Becca…" her eyes turned concerned. "You know you need to eat something every few hours."
"I'll grab a granola bar," I interrupted.
"Grace, are you fussing over her again?" my dad said as he entered the kitchen, a frown on his face.
"I'm not fussing, Michael," my mom snapped. "I'm looking out for her. She needs to eat."
"Hounding her over every little thing is only going to stress her out—"
"I said I'm fine," I interrupted them before they could really get going. "I'm going out now. I'll be back later."
The frowns didn't leave my parent's faces as I made my way down to my apartment to grab my sneakers and bag.
I hated worrying them, but then again, they worried about everything anyway, no matter what I said or did. Sometimes I thought that was the only way my parents knew how to live — in a perpetual state of anxiety and fear. I understood it, but I couldn't live that way. Not anymore. I couldn't deal with the heavy cloud of dread lingering over my family. I'd finally learned to forget about all my problems and just have fun.
And by fun, I apparently meant sleeping with rock stars and hurling myself off cliffs.
I caught a glimpse of a sleek, shiny black car two blocks away. With a furtive glance over my shoulder, making sure my mom wasn't watching through the window, I opened the passenger side door and slid in.
"Go," I said urgently.
With a quick look out of the corner of his eyes, Nathan revved the engine and took off. I gripped my seatbelt with both hands.
"Oh my god, you're one of those adrenaline junkies, aren't you?" I bemoaned. "And here I thought you were all laid back and cool."
"Nothing compares to the rush of being on stage," Nathan said with a glance in his rearview mirror. "But speeding down a highway comes close."
"If I die in a car crash, I'll come back as a ghost and haunt your dreams forever."
"You're already in my dreams, gorgeous." He winked, but eased off the pedal and we slowed to a more moderate pace. "So why did I have to park down the street, again?"
"I didn't want my mom seeing you. She'd ask too many questions."
"About zorbing?"
