“Carter, we were going to tell you,” Macey said.
“When? When you are getting married?”
“Car—” Luke started to say but I interrupted him.
“I can’t believe you two! My best friend and my brother hiding that they are seeing each other. You’ve been sneaking around for God knows how long. No wonder I haven’t seen you much lately, Macey.”
“Carter, we are sorry. We wanted to tell you, but we thought we should see where it was going before we did that.” Macey said taking a step toward me.
“We thought you would freak out like you are right now.” Luke finished her sentence. I stared between both of them, my anger only slightly fading. Yes, I agreed that I would have freaked out, but give me a few minutes and I would have been fine.
“Yeah, well, I should freak out! It is quite a shock seeing two people you never knew liked each other making out!” The longer I stood there, the worse I felt. The anger was slowly going away, but all that was left was hurt. Hurt that no one told me anything and no one trusted me to understand.
I had nothing left to say to them at the moment, and to be honest, I needed a few minutes to myself to process this whole thing. Being here in front of them was not helping me at all.
“I need to go. I can’t be around you two right now.” I took a step back.
“Carter, we are so sorry! We didn’t mean to hurt you,” Macey pleaded as she reached for me, but my brother placed a hand on her arm. He knew I needed some space and for that I was grateful.
“I…you should have just told me, I would have understood,” I said softly. Not even glancing at them, I headed toward our apartment building, not once looking back. As much as I wanted to go run back to Gage’s, I knew I needed to think this through myself. Maybe later I would call him, but right now I needed to be alone with my thoughts. All I hoped was that Macey wouldn’t come after me.
***
Two hours passed, and I was locked inside my room. I was sitting at my desk trying to sketch, but all I was able to draw in the last hour was a circle. Yes, a circle. My thoughts were all jumbled, so I couldn’t really think straight.
I hadn’t heard Macey come home, and a part of me was sad she hadn’t come to talk to me yet, but another part was glad she hadn’t come home. As much as I wanted her to come and make up with me, I didn’t think I could do that right now. Maybe I was acting like a child, but I couldn’t help it.
After staring at my sketch pad for another ten minutes, I threw it on to my desk with a loud sigh. I was getting nowhere with it. I almost regretted not going to Gage’s after my little spat with Luke and Macey. At least I would have had someone to talk to.
My eyes were drawn to a picture on my desk that was of me, Macey, Luke, and Ethan, standing by the beach. I was of course standing next to Ethan because that was my only opportunity to touch his bare upper body. Next to me was Macey and Luke, both smiling widely. Of course, right after the photo was taken they started arguing that Luke had pinched Macey and whatnot. I just couldn’t see how they got together. One moment they are like brother and sister, and the next they were at each other’s throats. Sure, looking at them, they looked like a perfect couple, but never in a million years did I think they would actually date.
Sitting there, I needed to talk to someone. Not really wanting to annoy Gage with my problems, I decided to call the one person I knew would listen to me. I picked up my phone and headed to my bed. While I hit dial, I gently lay back on my bed, making sure I didn’t hurt my back in the process.
“Hello?”
“Hey Mom.” Just at the sound of her voice I could feel myself relax a little.
“Sweetie!” my mom practically yelled through the phone. I smiled up at my ceiling.
“What are you guys doing? Still in London?” I asked.
“Yeah, we are. You know your father, doesn’t leave until everything is perfect.” I could practically see her rolling her eyes right now. I knew what she meant; my father was such a perfectionist that if it wasn’t done the way he wanted, he would stay until it was. That always led to longer trips or longer nights at the office.
“Enough about us, though. How are you? How are your classes going?”
For the next few minutes I just talked to my mom about random, small things. It was nice just to talk to her. It felt like it has been forever since I last saw her, so I was making do with just her voice today. It wasn’t until a few minutes in that my mother finally said something.
“So why did you really call me today?” she asked.
“Can’t I just call my mom and talk to her?”
“No. I can tell something is wrong. Mother’s intuition.” I sighed.
“Everyone is hiding stuff from me. It’s like they don’t think I will understand or something.”
“Who’s hiding what from you?”
“Well first, Amy hid the fact that she is now dating Ethan.” I grumbled.
“Ethan and Amy are dating?”
“Mom, that isn’t the point here.”
“Okay, okay. Continue.”
“They didn’t even tell any of us. I found out when I saw them making out on the side of a building. I then ran into them at the ice cream shop, where they did admit it. But why did they lie? I would have been fine with it.” Even though I said that, I knew I wouldn’t have been. I still wasn’t.
“Would you be fine with that, honey? Everyone knows you have a huge crush on Ethan, so of course it is going to be hard hearing your friend is dating him.”
“I don’t have that big of a crush on him!”
“Yes, you do. The only people who don’t know is Ethan and your brother. Both are denser than rocks,” Mom mumbled into the phone. “Anyways, honey, they probably didn’t tell you because they wanted to see if they had actual feelings for one another, before telling anyone.”
“I understand that, and I have kind of made up with Amy for it. But still they hid that from me. And now I just found out Luke and Macey have been seeing each other as well!”
“Luke and Macey? Our Luke and Macey?” I nodded then realized she could not see me.
“Yup. They have been seeing one another for a while now apparently.”
“You father owes me ten bucks.”
“Mom! You and Dad made bets about them getting together!” I exclaimed through the phone. What was up with my family betting on things?
“Of course, we had to make things interesting. Your father never thought Luke would get up the balls to ask Macey out.” Mom giggled through the phone. “Did you hear that, honey?” I heard Mom call out to my dad over the phone.
“Our son is seeing Macey.” I couldn’t hear my father’s response, but my mom then said, “Pay up, bitch.” Why are these people my family again?
“You guys have a gambling issue,” I muttered into the phone.
“Honey, that is good news though. We have all wondered when they would get together.” She was silent for a moment before she spoke again. “That is who he took to the aquarium the other day!”
“Mom, you don’t get it! They lied to me this entire time. Every time Macey said she was studying, she was with Luke. Why didn’t she just tell me? How many opportunities did she have to say ‘hey, I’m seeing your brother’?”
“Honey—” my mom started to say, but I kept on talking.
“She is my best friend, like a sister to me. We are supposed to tell each other everything, and she hasn’t been. She hasn’t even been around much lately, and now I know why.” I was now sitting up cross-legged on my bed. “Even Luke could have said something!”
“Carter! Honey, listen to me,” my mom finally yelled through the phone at me. I shut my mouth and listened to her. “I know you are upset that they didn’t tell you, Macey especially, but you have to see it from their point of view. They were keeping it to themselves to make sure they would work out. Why tell you and have you freak when they would only break up the next day?”
“I get that. I just—”
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“Your aunt and I had the same situation happen to us. I didn’t really tell her I was seeing your father and she never told me she was seeing Nick. We were both just caught up in our own lives. But look how things worked out now. All of us are happy. ”
“Sweetie, you are allowed to be mad at Macey. And I am sure she wants you to be mad at her for not telling you, but you can’t stay mad forever. They did what they thought was best. Luke and Macey are still in that ‘are we boyfriend and girlfriend’ or just ‘friends’ stage still. They want to make sure they actually like one another before saying anything to anyone. ”
“Be mad for a little while, but we both know you will forgive her. She is your best friend, so you can’t be mad for too long. Let both of them know they hurt you, then move on.” I was quiet for a minute, letting her words sink in. My mom knew me well enough to know I would forgive Macey instantly. I just hated that she was right.
“Fine.” I groaned, flopping back down on the bed.
“Wait until tomorrow to talk to her so you can have a clear head, then let her explain. Everything will work out.”
“Thanks Mom.” I smiled softly.
“No problem, sweetie. Don’t let your brother know we knew about them.” I raised an eyebrow at that.
“Why?”
“Oh, nothing. I gotta go, sweetie. Your father owes me ten bucks. Have a good night and text me tomorrow how everything goes.”
“I will, Mom. Thank you for listening to me.”
“It is what moms do. Goodnight, sweetie, love you.”
“Love you too, and tell Dad goodnight.” With that, we hung up. I stared up at my ceiling feeling better now. Moms know what to say in the right moment.
My mom was right about the whole thing. I was right to be upset, but I had to forgive and forget, even though it wasn’t that easy.
***
As my mother predicted, Macey and I made up the next day. Even though I was angry and hurt, I couldn’t be without my best friend for too long. Being like normal girls, the moment we met up at 95 Degrees after classes, both of us started crying and hugging one another. I wanted to be angry at her and my brother for longer, but it wasn’t who I was. I always forgave, which could be a bad thing at times.
Even after we made up and talked things through, I was still a little peeved, but I pushed it all aside. I could be happy for my best friend and my brother. I didn’t want to be “that” sister who ruined someone’s relationship over something stupid. So I did what I needed to do, and I forgave both of them.
Mace and I talked for a few hours about things we had kept from one another. I finally told her about hanging out with Gage, getting in a fight, and the kiss. To say she flipped out would be an understatement. Only when she had stopped freaking out and firing questions at me did she start to explain how she and Luke ended up together.
She told me how they kissed at the frat party a month ago, and things just went from there. She didn’t realize how much she actually liked him until then. I tried to engage in the conversation, but it was my brother we were talking about. The moment when she started to say he was a good kisser and knew how to use his hands, I had to cut her off. No sister wanted to hear that about her own brother.
When Mace did talk about Luke, I noticed her eyes lit up and had a small sparkle I had never seen there before. I had never seen Macey more happy or excited about someone before, and I knew my decision to forgive her was right. I knew deep down they were right for one another. As much as I hated them for keeping it from me, I understood.
Because of our little dilemma, I had to cancel on Gage. I ended up talking to Mace for longer than I thought and when I could finally leave, she dragged me over to Luke’s place to make up with him as well. I hated that I didn’t see him all day, but I knew it was more important if I hung out with her and Luke.
I had of course texted my mom and let her know things were okay. I found out they were coming home Friday, and that they wanted all of us to come over Saturday to see them and eat dinner. She of course made sure I didn’t tell Luke that they knew about him and Macey. When I asked, all she did was change the subject. I had a feeling my mom had something planned for Saturday, and I wouldn’t put it past her and Aunt Kay to do something.
That was why, when Saturday rolled around, I was hesitant about going over to my parents’ house. Sure, I wanted to see them after they’ve been gone for a few weeks, but knowing my mom and Aunt Kay, I was worried they were going to do something horribly embarrassing, and the worst part was it wouldn’t be about me.
Right now, I was getting ready to go over to my parents’ house with everyone. Apparently, Ethan and Amy were going separately and would meet us there while I drove along with Luke and Macey. Goody. Just another thing to remind me how single I was. I wasn’t sure if Gage counted or not, since we were “fake” dating. And I wasn’t even sure if that was still going on between us.
For the rest of the week I had met up with Gage to finish our English assignment. Because it wasn’t due until Monday, we only did a little bit every day, and it was a good excuse for me to see him. We still hadn’t talked about our kisses, or the fact that we were supposedly together. It just never really came up, or if there was a good opportunity to say something, I always ended up chickening out. Things were going good for Gage and me right now, and I felt like if I said anything, it would just make things worse.
I was liking how Gage was opening up to me and acting different. I was learning new things about him every day, and I was liking the things I was finding out. Like the fact that he actually was really smart and didn’t mind school, but he never would admit it out loud. Or that he wasn’t really a bad boy and it was all just a fake persona he projected. It was things like that that made me want to stick around him.
So there were just some things I never brought up. We just did what normal friends would do together, and it worked out well for us.
“Does this look okay?” Macey suddenly asked, barging into my room unannounced. I glanced over from where I was standing in front of my closet to look at her outfit. She was wearing a really cute dress that had a soft blue skirt that came above the knee, and a white top half that had thick straps and a heart-shaped back. It was super cute but way too dressy.
“Mace, you do realize it is cold outside and that a dress is really fancy, right?” I asked, turning to face her.
“Now I have to change again.” She threw her hands in the air and left my room. Wondering why she was freaking out, I followed after her.
“Mace, what’s wrong? You normally don’t a have problem picking out an outfit.”
“I have to look perfect. This is your parents we are talking about,” she said, quickly going through her closet and muttering under her breath.
“Since when do you care what my parents think? Macey, you have met them before. They could not care less what you wear. You could show up in sweats and they wouldn’t notice.”
“Carter, this is the first time I am meeting your parents as your brother’s girlfriend. They aren’t just like my parents anymore, they are his. I am going up against every girl he has ever brought home, Car!” I could tell she was starting to panic.
“Macey.” I stood up and went to her, placing my hands on her shoulders. “Look at me.” Her eyes were wide, but she looked at me.
“You have nothing to worry about. Out of all the girls Luke has brought home, which has not been a lot by the way, you are definitely the best. My mom already loves you like a daughter, so why would that change? Cause you are dating Luke? No matter what you do, they will like you. Plus, they don’t even know you guys are together,” I said, looking her in the eyes. I lied about them not knowing, but she didn’t need to know that part.
“Okay, you are right.” She breathed out slowly, relaxing a little.
“Even if you tell them, they won’t mind at all. Not even your parents will mind.”
“Shit, my parents!”
“Macey, don’t panic. Y
our dad loves Luke like a son, so it isn’t like he isn’t going to approve, and let’s be honest, your mom will be happy either way.” I sent her a smile hoping to calm her back down. It did the trick because her shoulders relaxed under my hands and she sent me back a small smile.
“Yeah. Okay. I am good.” She breathed out.
“Now change into something warmer and less formal please.” Macey let out a light laugh. She nodded, though. “I am going to change as well.” I quickly left her room to finish getting ready. Mom wanted us there at one—why so early I had no idea—so we only had an hour to finish getting ready and get there.
Just as I got back into my room and started looking for something to wear, my phone started ringing. Not even glancing at the screen I picked it up and answered, still leafing through my closet.
“Hello?”
“Hey,” said a familiar voice through my phone. I paused and raised an eyebrow.
“Gage?”
“The one and only,” he teased through the phone. I rolled my eyes but found myself smiling.
“To what do I owe the pleasure?” It wasn’t every day he called me.
“Just seeing what you are doing.”
“Yeah, sure. But if you must know, I am getting ready to go to my parents’ house. What are you doing?”
“Just got forced to play wingman for Dylan tonight. I was actually going to see if you wanted to go with us.” His words made me pause and raise my eyebrows. Gage wanted me to go along with them? Well, that was a first. Not knowing what to say, I decided to go the teasing route.
“Is Gage Harper asking me on a date?” I teased.
“No. I was just being polite,” Gage grunted. If only I could see if he was blushing through the phone right now.
“Well, thank you for the offer. As much fun as it sounds helping Dylan pick up girls and for them to throw themselves at you, I have to be over at my parents’ in an hour, and I don’t know for how long.”
“Someone sounds jealous.”
Silent Love [Part 2] Page 20
