Chapter Eighteen
Cherry
“Brian!” I shout his name as I run into the back of the diner. Things are finally going a little my way for once. Life doesn’t seem as lonely anymore since Brian and I became friends.
“He’s out front,” his father shouts back from the grill where he’s cooking. I bolt out the double swinging doors to the front of the diner. I see him sitting in a booth working on his laptop. He looks up at me. A look of concern immediately comes over his face.
“What?” He’s on his feet. “Everything okay?” His eyes drop to my stomach.
“It’s fine.” I rush over to him, shoving the papers into his chest. He reads them. I can see the moment when what they say registers with him.
“You got the scholarship!” He grabs me, pulling me in for a tight hug. I hug him back, and it feels nice to celebrate this moment with someone in person. I haven’t even told Linc yet. Guilt threatens to ruin the moment for me, but I push it to the back of my mind. I worked hard for this and I deserve to celebrate it. I know he’s at practice right now and I had to tell someone I knew would be happy with me.
“It’s not a fancy school or anything, but it’s free. Books and everything. I actually might have a little extra money.” My eyes sting. The feelings I’m having are overwhelming. Freaking pregnancy hormones have me all over the place these days.
“Don’t downplay this. I told you that admission letter you sent in was killer. I still say you should say fuck nursing and do something with writing. You’d make an amazing journalist.” He snaps his fingers like he’s figured out what I must do in life now. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted by that path in life, but I know that I have to stick to my plans.
“I have to pursue nursing.” Brian rolls his eyes. “Why are you rolling your eyes at me? You want to be a nurse too,” I remind him.
“Yes, because it’s truly what I want to do.”
“It’s safe.” I let out a long sigh, knowing that nursing will eventually provide me with the financial security I’ll need. That no matter where I wind up in the world or how successful Linc is, I can always fall back on my nursing career. There is always a shortage in the field, so it’s a smart decision on my part. Not only for me but my child too. I have to think about that now.
“Help me finish my fries.” He points to the other side of the booth. I drop down, stealing one off his plate.
“I’ll have to take my basics anyway. I can pick a major later.” I shrug.
“So I’ve got time to change your mind.” He smirks. This time it’s me that rolls my eyes but still I smile. I’m not sure what I would have done without Brian. He’s really been here for me. We’ve become close. It’s nice to have someone my own age to talk to and hang out with. It's even nicer that he doesn't have a crush on my boyfriend.
“What’s all the excitement about?” Minnie sets a strawberry shake down in front of me with extra whipped cream.
“I love you. You know this, right?” I take a long sip of the milkshake. Grateful that I had found all of them. They treat me as though I’m part of their family.
“I do.” She snags the paper out of her son Brian's hand.
“Cherry.” She leans down kissing me on top of my head. I once again want to cry. Stupid hormones. “So you’re going to move into the trailer now?” She asks the same question she asks me every day. The more she gets out of me about my parents, the harder she pushes for me to leave their house. She keeps telling me that I don’t need to be in that environment, especially the further along I get in my pregnancy.
“I don’t know.” I should do it. I think what’s stopping me is that I always pictured my first place to be with Linc. This feels like another step in the direction of us drifting apart instead of closer together. It’s been tough not having him here. My love for him never wavers, but I’d be a lair if I said this entire situation isn’t hard.
“I’ll talk her into it.” Brian winks at his mom.
“Good.” Minnie gives me another one of her kisses on top of my head before going to take someone’s order.
“Just do it already. I know you want to.”
I lick the whip cream off my lips. “Things could change. Linc keeps talking about me moving out there with him.”
“I don’t care about his words. I want action by him.” So far Brian isn't Linc’s biggest fan. I know it’s hard for him to see me sad.
“Brian. It’s me that is resisting.”
“Yeah, because you should tell him.” He doesn't say out loud what I should tell him. I’ve still been keeping my mouth shut about the baby. It’s only a matter of time before people will notice. I need to tell him. I know this. I don’t want him to find out from someone else. But now I am feeling shitty about not telling him sooner. I kept digging myself a bigger ditch. I don’t know what the right thing to do is anymore.
“I know. It’s not that easy.” I swear I feel the stupid tears come rushing to the surface. Everything is a mess. Brian must see me getting upset because he grabs my hand.
“I know it's not. Don’t get upset. We’ll figure it out. Let’s conquer one thing at a time. We can start with you moving into the trailer.” I know I’m fighting a losing battle when it comes to Minnie and Brian on this subject. I should give in already. Plus it would be nice to have something I could call my own. Somewhere I can call home for now. It will be temporary until Linc gets settled, but it would be mine.
“Okay. I’ll move in,” I agree. I don’t know if it’s a step in the right direction for me, but I know it’s one for my baby.
Chapter Nineteen
Linc
After the last note dies off, I wait for Treat’s response. And wait. And wait some more. Nick, Benjy and I exchange nervous glances. After the beach, we came back and worked for ten days straight. We wrote tracks, topline melodies, lyrics, sang, played, recorded until our fingers bled, our throats were sore and I ran out of words in the dictionary, but we are fucking pleased with the end result. It was still us, but it was more current than the stuff we had been creating.
Between the three of us, I don’t think we had more than five hours of sleep a night. It was better than dwelling on the photos from back home that show Cherry hugging some asshole in a diner. She texted me that she was moving into a trailer, which I thought was great because she’s wanted to get away from her parents.
What wasn’t great was that I spotted the same asshole carrying boxes into that trailer. I didn’t say anything, though, because I’m not there. Someone needs to help her and I’m not going to be one of those guys who is going to make his girl carry her own shit. The sooner the album is done, the sooner Cherry will be able to be with me and the only person who will be touching any of her stuff will be me. That was my driving motivation and it worked.
The studio was rank, too, filled with pizza boxes, Chinese takeout, and cans of beer, Red Bull, and soda. We made a marginal effort of cleaning it up before Treat arrived. Nick sprayed an entire bottle of air freshener and I used a thousand bleach wipes on every surface. It’s definitely better, but it still has a faint lingering odor of sweat and anxiety, which is only getting stronger the longer the silence stretches out.