Chapter 11 11: The Hidden Treasure
\[ K A R A \]
I was hoping I wouldn't run into Ryder this morning, spare me the awkwardness, please and thank you. I still didn't know how to deal with him, so I was super glad to see that he wasn't in the kitchen when I walked in, it was just Peter and my mom.
"Morning honey, we missed you at dinner last night," mom said.
"Yeah, sorry, I went out with a friend,"
"You've been spending a lot of time with this friend of yours. When are we gonna meet him?" she gave a teasing look.
"Mom. It's not like that,” I rolled my eyes at her. “We're just friends,"
"Sure, they all started that way," she said again with a wink.
"Lacey!" I hissed.
"Fine, fine. So what's your plan for the day? If you're free, you should come with us and watch Ryder compete,"
"Oh I can't," I quickly said. "I have plans," I lied, I didn't have any plans. I just didn’t want to see Ryder right now.
"Oh, plans. With that friend?" my mom smirked naughtily.
"Mom!"
"Just kidding,” she giggled away. “Don't be home too late, honey," she called out as I rolled my eyes at her and left the room.
I had no plans, but I had to figure out something to do so that I didn't have to go see Ryder with my mom and Peter. Thinking I didn’t have much options, I decided to call Gabe up.
"Hey, what are you doing today?" I said as soon as he picked up.
"Hanging out with you, I hope?" he replied.
"Okay, text me your address, I'll come over," I said with a smile.
Luckily, Gabe's house was only a fifteen-minute walk away from our house. I wasn’t planning for this to happen, but here I was. And when I arrived at his place, his parents weren't home.
"Where are your folks?" I said as I entered his house.
"My mom and dad are in real estate. They're always out somewhere. My big brother's in college, he's in California," he explained as we made our way to his room.
Gabe had a typical guy bedroom, the walls were blue, he had a single bed, and he had a desk with his laptop there. On the desk, I noticed that he had so many books, CDs and vinyl records. On the walls were movie posters, and on the corner of the room lay a couple of guitars.
"Cool room," I commented. "Wait, you like Little Miss Sunshine?" I said, referring to one of the posters in his room.
"Yeah, it's one of my favorite movies of all time,"
"No way! Mine too!" I laughed and gave him a high five. "You have good taste. I'm glad we're friends," I said again.
We ended up spending the entire day in Gabe's room. He was teaching me how to play the guitar, in which I gave up after ten minutes. Then we ordered pizza and started binge-watching Breaking Bad on Netflix. Overall, it was a fun and chill day. Time went by so fast, and before I knew it, the sun was already setting.
The sunlight was streaming through the window, and I looked at the way the light hit his face, it was so warm and glimmering. I was caught in a trace, and Gabe caught me looking at him for a second too long. Gabe leaned in and he was about to dive in for a kiss when I quickly pulled away.
"Wow, it's already seven! I promised my mom I'd be back for dinner," I said, stumbling to get up.
"Oh okay, I'll walk you home," Gabe said.
"You don't have to," I shook my head.
"But I want to," he insisted.
Unexpectedly, today turned out to be such a nice day. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind spending the rest of my time in Hawaii like this. When Gabe and I arrived in front of my house, I was laughing at some funny joke he made when I noticed the light from Ryder's garage. And Ryder was there, standing by the garage door— looking right at me.
"Uh, Gabe, thanks again for today," I stopped him, midway.
"Anytime,” he beamed. “Can I walk you to your door?"
"Um, I think I should just go. My mom's waiting," I lied, and he looked a little disappointed.
"Ok, no problem. I'll see you later then," he smiled graciously still.
I felt bad for Gabe, so I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Bye," I whispered and made my way to the house.
And all the while, I could feel Ryder was eyeing me like a hawk.
"Kara, you're home, just in time for dinner," Lacey squealed happily when she saw me coming into the house. She was seated at the dinner table with Peter.
"I already ate pizza, I'm not hungry," I said.
"But I've been cooking all day, come on, just eat a little salad," she pleaded.
Again, I felt bad, so I gave in and took the seat in front of her and Peter. I thought I’d just have a quick dinner and retire to my room, but that plan went down the drain when Ryder suddenly walked in.
"Ryder. Come let's have dinner together," Lacey said and I shuffled awkwardly in my seat.
Ryder took the seat next to me, and he purposely moved his chair so he was sitting closer to me. I coughed a little and scooted my chair further away from him.
"This is nice, isn't it? Let's, uh, say grace," Peter said as he held out his hand. Ryder took his father's hand and held out his hand to me. I reluctantly took it. And as soon as Peter finished praying, I pulled my hand back out.
"So, how was your date?" Lacey playfully asked me. She really didn't know when to stop.
"It wasn't a date, mom. For the millionth time, he's just a friend." I glared at her.
"Alright,” she nodded. “And does this friend have a name?"
"Gabriel," I said quietly.
"Well, I'd really like to meet Gabriel. Maybe you should invite him over for the barbecue this weekend?" Lacey grinned.
This weekend was the 4th of July and the family was doing a barbecue party or something like that in the backyard. Peter loved parties, and he was inviting the neighbors and several family friends.
"No, no, he probably has other plans," I shrugged it off.
"Oh, that's too bad. What about you Ryder, are you inviting a girl over for the party?" Lacey turned to Ryder.
Geez, mom.
"I don't know, probably not," he replied.
"Aw come on, you kids are no fun," Lacey teased playfully.
Just then, I felt something touching me under the table. I took a peek, it was Ryder's feet playfully teasing me. I rolled my eyes at him but he pretended to ignore me. I kicked him off, but he came back again.
"You okay honey?" mom asked, looking at my irritated face. Meanwhile, Ryder was just smirking.
"Um mom, you know what, I think I'll invite Gabriel after all,"
"Honey that's great! I'm looking forward to meeting him." Lacey smiled happily. Not Ryder though, his smirk dropped to the floor.
After dinner, Ryder went back to the garage and I stayed in the house, helping my mom with the dishes. As we were washing the dishes, Peter was watching TV, seated only a few feet away from us.
"So um, honey, I just have to ask. How serious are things between you and this Gabriel?" mom quietly said.
"Mom, I told you, we're just friends,"
"Yeah, but you've been spending the whole entire week with this friend. Look I know you're a big girl and you can take care of yourself, so I'm not worried about you. Just make sure you're being safe, ok?"
"Mom!" I hissed.
"I know, I know, you hate this talk. But I just have to warn you, I had you when I was 16. I don't ever regret it, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. But please, be safe, ok?" she said again. As uncomfortable as this was, I could tell that my mom was being really honest. She was only trying to look out for me.
"Okay," I nodded meekly.
"Do you have protection? Do you need me to help you get some?"
"Mom!" I cut her off. "Don't worry, I got this." I shushed her, not wanting Peter to hear any of this embarrassing conversation we were done having.
After I was done with the dishes, I was making my way up to my room when the words that my mom said rang in my ears.
“I had you when I was 16. I don't ever regret it, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. But please, be safe, ok?"
Growing up, my mom and my grandma kept telling me about how important it was to practice safe sex. I usually brushed it off because sex was the last thing on my mind. I never even went on a date with a guy before. But now that I was eighteen and starting college soon, I was starting to wonder if my mom was right. I didn't plan on having sex with Gabriel—nor with anyone, at the moment. But it was never a mistake to be safe, right?
One can never be too careful.
We never knew what life might throw at us, so I devised a plan. I knew that Ryder was still in the garage, so I was thinking I could sneak into his room and steal a pack of condoms from that drawer of his.
The plan was working, his room was empty. I thought I was doing something harmless. Ryder wouldn’t even know I was here. But as I snatched a pack of condoms from the drawer, I noticed something else. There was a stack of CDs on the desk, The Temper Trap, The Boxer Rebellion, The Lumineers... these were all my favorite bands! I thought he didn't listen to any of them? And ynderneath the stack of CDs, I saw an open notebook with writings on them. I began to read the title, "Letters I'll Never Send."
"What are you doing here?" suddenly I heard Ryder's voice and I forgot how to breathe.
"Ry! Oh—hey. Ha-ha, didn't see you there," I quickly turned around.
Ryder was quiet. He eyed me from head to toe with suspicion. Then he noticed the pack of condoms in my hand.
"Sorry I didn't mean to... uh break in here. But my mom was grilling me about being safe, so I thought I could just borrow one from you, if that's okay?" I said awkwardly.
"So you're gonna do it? With him?" was his response.
I was at a lost for words.
"You won't even kiss me and you're gonna do that with him?" he pressed on.
"So what?" I responded. "You were the one that kept telling me I should ditch the purity ring fan club..." I said, referring to an old joke he once made.
But he wasn't amused. In fact, he looked hurt.
"But the answer's no," I said, putting him out of his misery. He looked up at me, and there was a glint of relief in his eyes.
"I don't plan on doing it with him. Or with anyone else for now, for that matter. I still believe in... what I believe in. Anyway, this is just for safety precautions. So thanks for the uh... this and I'll just, leave. Good night," I rambled on and made my way to the door before he could say anything else.
Phew, that was close!
I did something stupid. And no, I wasn’t referring to the condom I got from him. I did something even worse. I had snatched the notebook from his desk and hid it behind my back.
\- - - - - To Be Continued - - - - -