In Plain Sight

by Amy Sparling

  An entire week passes before I even realize it. Time really does go by faster when you’re popular. By Friday, I have two hundred Instagram followers, and a few friends in every single class.

  For as good as it feels to be noticed, I also struggle with the weight of how unfair life can be. In every single class, not one person mentions the girl who used to sit in the desk I sit in now. Not one person notices that I am the same person, the same student who was here all along. It’s as if the old Maddie just disappeared without a trace and no one cares at all.

  Chapter 26

  After another day of mowing Mrs. Ruiz’s lawn, and two more days of my dad dropping money in front of me, saying he’s doing just fine at work and I should go out and have fun, I finally have enough cash to take Maddie out somewhere nice. We’ve been getting to know each other all this week, but since I’m in all AP classes, I’ve had homework after homework keeping me busy at night.

  We’ve only seen each other once after school, and our make out session, while nice, only lasted ten minutes. I am dying to spend more quality time with this girl outside of school. She’s still not totally comfortable introducing me to her family just yet, so that doesn’t give us many options since when she comes to my house, it can be guaranteed that Josh or Bryce, or both will show up.

  I have learned a lot more about her in this past week together. Like how her mom just got engaged to Landon, so he isn’t her official step-dad yet. Maddie has been helping her mom plan the wedding, which happens in two weeks. Maddie hasn’t invited me to be her date to the event, but I’m trying not to hint at it or anything. If she’s not comfortable introducing me to her family, I just need to wait until she is.

  Which is also partly why I want to take her on this date. We see each other at school, text and talk all night, and hold hands every chance we get. But it’s not enough. I’m not ready to settle down into some stupid high school relationship. I want magic, sparks, all of that stuff I previously thought was kind of lame. I want it all, and I want it with Maddie.

  She answers the phone on Saturday morning with a groggy rasp to her voice.

  “Did I wake you?” I ask, holding the phone to my ear while I lay in bed staring at my ceiling.

  “No,” she says, just before breaking into a yawn. “Okay, maybe a little bit.”

  “Sorry. I should have texted first.”

  “No, you can always call. I like it.”

  This makes me smile. I grip the phone tighter and close my eyes, wishing that she were here next to me.

  “So I was thinking, if you’re free tonight . . . maybe you’d like to go on a date with me?”

  “A date?” she says in this funny voice. “Like, a real, genuine, date?”

  “Yes ma’am.” I’m pretty sure she’ll say yes, but I’m holding my breath anyhow. The two seconds it takes her to reply feels like an eternity.

  “That sounds fun,” she finally says. “Where do you want to go?”

  “It’s a surprise,” I say, feeling a rush of excitement run through my veins. “But I’ll pick you up around six, okay?”

  “Awesome,” Maddie says, yawning again. “I’m gonna go back to sleep for a few hours and then it’ll be date time.”

  I glance over at the clock and realize it’s still seven hours until date time. She’s lucky if she can sleep, because I’ll be anxiously planning this date until I go pick her up. “See you then.”

  #

  I’m so nervous I could throw up. I need this date to go well, so I’ve psyched myself out over it. My injured knee is aching, probably from all the stress. When Mom hears me cursing over the ironing board, she puts her hands on her hips and gives me a once over.

  “What’s going on with you?” she asks.

  I let out a frustrated sigh and sit the iron up on the board. “I can’t get this freaking shirt to look good.”

  “Since when do you wear button up shirts anyhow?” she says, walking over and taking the iron from me. With the skill and grace of someone who knows what she’s doing, she gets all the wrinkles out of my dark blue dress shirt.

  “I need it for dinner tonight,” I say, watching in awe as she does in two seconds what I’ve been failing to do for the last fifteen minutes.

  “You have a date? I didn’t know you were dating anyone.”

  “It’s new,” I say, feeling nerves flutter around in my stomach. “Her name is Maddie.”

  “Maddie? I don’t think I know her.” That’s a very Mom-like thing to say, since she prides herself in knowing everyone in town.

  “She just moved here. She lives in Shady Heights.”

  Boom. There it is. Mom’s eyes widen and she suddenly seems to glow with appreciation and pride. “Shady Heights? Well, isn’t that something.”

  I nod. “Her mom is engaged to Landon Howard. He lives near Mindy—”

  Mom cuts me off. “I know exactly who he is. He’s a great guy. Oh, this is so exciting!” Mom lifts my shirt off the ironing board and hands it to me, then proceeds to fold up the board herself and put it away. That’s really saying something, because Mom is big on making us clean up after ourselves.

  “Oh, honey, I am so proud of you. I want to meet this girl as soon as possible.”

  I roll my eyes. “Let’s make sure she likes me first, okay?”

  I already know she does like me, but Mom doesn’t need to be privy to those details yet. The last thing I need during this glorious puppy love phase of my new relationship is for Maddie to meet my parents and have them ruin it. A Shady Heights girlfriend? Yeah, my parents will liken that to winning the lottery.

  “Let me get you some money,” Mom says, sauntering off into the kitchen.

  “No, Mom, I’m fine,” I call back, but it’s useless.

  She digs into her purse and pulls out three twenties. “Where are you going? Somewhere nice?”

  “I have a reservation at William’s Steakhouse,” I say, knowing she’ll approve.

  She frowns and pulls out two more bills from her wallet. “This won’t be enough, but it’ll help. How much do you have?”

  “Mom. I have plenty of money, I promise.”

  “William’s is a nice place,” she warns, shoving the cash in my hands. “You need to impress this girl. Get dessert, too. Order those fancy cocktail drinks without the alcohol.”

  I reach out and put my hands on Mom’s shoulders, doing my best to peer down at her. Even though she’s shorter than I am, she’s still intimidating because she’s my mom.

  “I love you, Mom. But I’ve got this, okay? Trust me.”

  She heaves a sigh and then slowly smiles. “Okay, I’ll trust you. You treat her well, okay? And have fun! You’ll seem much more interesting if you’re having fun.”

  #

  Maddie meets me on the grand entrance steps to her massive house. They’re painted shiny white and look cleaner than even the cleanest dishes in my own house.

  “I would have knocked on the door,” I say, as I get out of my car and walk over to her.

  She’s wearing a dark blue dress that matches my shirt, even though we didn’t plan it, and black ballerina type shoes. Her bright pink hair is swept back and poufy on top, and I’m not sure how to describe it, but she looks cute as hell.

  She sighs, and reaches for my hand so I can walk her to my car. “My mom was like freaking out about me having a date, so I didn’t want you to come inside. She would have fawned over us like we were some freaking magical phenomenon or something, and it would have been embarrassing, so I just slipped out.”

  I can’t help but chuckle. “My mom is the same way.”

  I open the door for her and she slides in, peering up at me with the cutest smile as I close the door and head over to my side of the car. “So, I hope you like fancy steakhouse food.”

  “Oh my God, I love steakhouses,” she says, tossing her head back.

  “Well, it’s not like a Texas steakhouse . . . it’s more sophisticated. They offer a ton of stuff, not just steak. They even
have vegan food and stuff. It’s pretty good.”

  “Cool,” she says. Her hand slips over the console and wraps in mine. My knee is aching, but being near her makes the pain easy to ignore.

  “Whoa,” Maddie says as I drive up to the restaurant. It is a pretty awesome sight, the large building overlooking the river that runs through town. It’s made of big slabs of rocks for bricks, and has a tree-lined entrance with all of the trees glowing with little clear lights. There are a ton of people here, like always, which is why I needed reservations. I pull up to the very front, and we get out so the valet can park the car.

  “They actually have valets here?” Maddie says, her mouth open.

  I wrap my arm around her waist and tug her close. “Of course. Why wouldn’t they?”

  She shrugs. “I thought that was like a Hollywood type thing. So fancy.”

  I find it a little weird that a girl who lives in Shady Heights has never used a valet, but I shrug it off. Maybe they take their own private jets to restaurants or something.

  Maddie is in awe as we enter the restaurant, which looks more like an art museum than a place to eat. We’re taken to our seats, where a candle glows on the table between us. The back wall is one large window that looks out at the river below. It’s beautiful and dark in here, all ambiance and soft music playing from the live jazz band in the corner.

  Maddie looks absolutely blown away, so I’m already feeling like a badass boyfriend right about now. I order one of the fancy drinks Mom had suggested, and Maddie agrees to try one with me.

  Her brows pull together as she looks over the menu. I already know what I want: fried coconut shrimp with a baked potato and veggie skewer. At a place this fancy, they can even make the vegetables taste like heaven.

  Maddie doesn’t seem to impressed, though. “You okay?” I ask.

  Her lips slide to the side of her mouth. “There’s no prices on this menu.”

  That can’t possibly be a new thing to her. Her future step-dad is freaking Landon Howard.

  “It doesn’t matter what it costs,” I say, sipping from my drink. “Get whatever sounds good.”

  She bites on her lip. “That’s the thing . . . I don’t know what half of this food is.” The moment she says it, she looks up at me, almost as if she’s startled. She closes her eyes for a moment and takes a deep breath. “I just . . . we don’t go out to eat very much and . . . I mean, I don’t know. What should I get?”

  “What do you like?”

  She shrugs. “Everything, I guess.”

  “Are you allergic to anything?” I ask.

  She shakes her head. I glance over the menu. “Well, everything they make is awesome. The steaks are good, but I’m kind of obsessed with their coconut shrimp. Also the chicken is good. My mom loves the pasta, so you could try that . . .”

  As I rattle off all of the delicious things to choose from, Maddie lowers her menu and watches me talk. There’s something weird in her expression, but I’m not sure what. I don’t think she’s losing interest in me or anything like that. She just seems weird.

  “What are you getting?” she asks after a while.

  I tell her, and she nods. “I’ll get that, too. If that’s okay with you?”

  I smile. “Of course it is.”

  Dinner goes well, but that little crease in Maddie’s brow has me concerned. It almost feels like she’s faking something, faking her happiness with me. It’s killing me inside, but I don’t want to be the guy who whines about the date, so I try to play it cool.

  “Would you like to take a walk down to the river?” I ask her as we’re leaving the restaurant. “They have a little viewing area down there.”

  “Okay,” she says. When she takes my hand, it feels as if some of her desire to be close to me has faded away.

  Alarm bells go off in my head, and I try to recount the entire date, everything I said and did and all the times we laughed. Did I do something wrong?

  We walk down to the pier, but it’s kind of a stupid idea because there’s a few other people out here, ruining the privacy. There’s even an older couple making out on a nearby bench, their hands and mouths going places no decent person would approve of in public.

  We walk to the end of the pier and I let go of her hand, turning to face her. “Are you okay? Something seems off.”

  “I’m fine,” she says in that high-pitched voice that tells me she’s lying.

  I frown. William’s is hands down, the best restaurant within an hour of Louetta, so I know it was the best place to take her on our first real date. I’ve been a gentleman and I’ve tried being funny and likeable, so why does she seem so very unamused?

  “Maddie, you seem weird. Did I do something?”

  She peers up at me, that look in her eyes exactly the same as when we’re in the middle of making out. That’s good, I guess. I reach for her hands. “You can tell me.”

  Her shoulders lift as she takes a deep breath. “Okay, well I guess I feel weird. I don’t know.”

  She looks at the ground and I squeeze her hands. “Why do you feel weird? Up until tonight, it seemed like we were both equally crazy about each other.”

  Her lips press together and then she looks back up at me. “I do like you. A lot. I guess I’m just not used to fancy stuff like this.” She nods back toward the restaurant. “It’s a little much . . .”

  My eyebrows pull together. “You didn’t like it?”

  She shakes her head. “No, I did. It was nice, but it was kind of . . . too nice?” The look on her face tells me how guilty she feels admitting this all to me, and I try my best not to get offended. My heart is thudding like crazy and all I want is to make her happy. It’s a shitty feeling knowing my best efforts have failed.

  “I’m sorry, Maddie.” I run my hand down her cheek, then tilt her forehead up to my lips. “I just wanted to impress you.”

  “I know, and that’s sweet of you. But seriously, I’d be happy with a pizza and a movie at home, or something.”

  I grin. “You’re an M, now, Maddie. Didn’t Mindy tell you you’re supposed to be wined and dined?”

  She rolls her eyes. “I know I live in Shady Heights, but I’m just not used to all of this fancy stuff. I come from . . . well, not Shady Heights. And when I’m in a place like this restaurant, I just feel like everyone knows. Like all these fancy people take one look at me and know I don’t belong.”

  “That’s not true,” I say, sliding my hands around her waist. “All these people are either jealous that you’re the most beautiful girl in the room, or they’re too busy hating me for getting to date the prettiest girl in the room.”

  She grins sheepishly and looks down, then moves forward and presses her cheek to my chest. I feel her arms slide around my back, holding me closely. “Thank you,” she murmurs against my shirt. “For dinner, and everything.”

  “I should be thanking you,” I say, letting my chin rest on top of her head. “You make me the luckiest guy on earth.”

  Chapter 27

  Before long, my old life is like a horrible nightmare that I’ve somehow managed to escape. As weeks go by, Colby and I become the picture perfect teenage couple, and Mindy slowly becomes my favorite person and best friend. She’s really not as bitchy as she seems, once you get to know her. At school, she’s a little . . . much, at times, but when it’s just us hanging out at one of our houses, she’s a normal person. It’s really nice having a best friend, now.

  Almost as nice as having a boyfriend like Colby. He’s sweet, and attentive, and kind. He’s a great kisser. Though our makeouts are getting more intense each day, he hasn’t pushed me into going farther than I want to. In short: my life is perfect.

  That doesn’t stop me from waking up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night, nightmares of my old life haunting me. I used to eat instant noodles and stale bread. Now I eat whatever the hell I want, cooked fresh by our own personal chef. I used to wear my one bra every day, even after safety-pinning it together when the hooks broke.
Now, Mom takes me shopping so often that I can’t even remember where I bought each of the bras in my closet. My sisters are benefiting the most, because now their life is full of fun times with Mom, trips to museums and the movies, and all the food they could ever want.

  My new life is a surreal, crazy change from my old one. I wish I could live happily in it, only caring about the present.

  But the bitter truth is that part of this new life is a total lie. Every time Mindy or Colby says something about my old life, I have to lie, mumble, or change the subject.

  At least once a day at school, I get all nervous and shaky when the teacher talks to me, scared they’ll reveal that I’m not really a new girl at all. Luckily, it’s not like anyone told my teachers I’m new. They all just realized one of their students dyed their hair. They don’t talk to me and I don’t talk to them. But it’s still scary.

  I had to avoid Jacoby like the plague for a week, but then he got arrested for dealing drugs on school property and now he’s in alternative school. Score one for the Universe looking out for me.

  On Monday after school, Mindy comes over a few minutes after Colby drops me off. Lately he’s been taking me to get a coffee or ice cream or something after school, that way we have more time together, but today he has to help his dad clean out the garage so he leaves early.

  It's a shame because even five minutes away from Colby makes my heart hurt.

  “So, I take it things with lover boy are still good?” Mindy says, plopping down on my bed.

  Pam is in here vacuuming the floor, so she finishes quickly and asks if we want anything to drink. I tell her no, before Mindy can answer. It’s my goal to make Pam work as little as possible because I get really weirded out by having a servant in the house.

  “Yep, things are perfect,” I say, my voice all dreamy as I fall onto the bed next to Mindy.

  “I never would have imagined that you’d fall so hard and so fast for Colby Jensen, of all people,” she says. She looks over at me, her black and blue hair falling into her eyes. “But I’m happy for you anyway.”