Changing Fate (7 page)

Mom’s hesitant to let me go back Friday morning, but I really am feeling a little better. I’m not completely healed, but at least I
’m not any worse. When I walk into psychology five minutes late, Kyler turns around and grins. I’ve got an inhaler in my backpack and an extra pack of tissues that Mom insisted I take—just in case.

Once class is over, Kyler’s at my desk
, gripping the strap on his bag and offering a smile that would make the gargoyles on Notre Dame happy. “Are you okay?”

I cough a little in response. “I think so.”

I wonder what the story was. New girl gets Jack’s cold and is out for three days.

Kyler steps back
to let me out of my seat. “Bad cold, huh?”

I laugh, a hoarse, mucous-filled sound. It’s disgusting. But Kyler keeps smiling as he leads the way to statistics. “Seriously,” I say, “If I ever kiss another guy, he has to sign a waiver first. No more sharing sicknesses.”

Kyler chuckles and it brightens my mood. I think of berets and sun dresses and walks through a manicured garden. “I’d like to see that,” he says and I almost think he means my daydream. But really it’s the consent form. “Can you imagine?”

I picture a boy with curly hair and freckles coming in for a kiss. In my hand is a piece of paper and a pen. It totally ruins the moment, but I enjoy the possibility. “Okay, maybe no signature. But maybe no more kissing either.”

Kyler pauses and it takes me a second to turn around. His tooth digs into his lip so hard, I think it’s about to bleed.

“Kyler.”

He shakes his head. “Sorry.”

Sorry about what? He stopped just after I said no more kisses. Does he want to kiss me? A cough races up my throat and I lean away until it subsides.

“Look,” he says, his hands now relaxed by his sides. “I know you’re still sick, but there’s something I want to take you to tonight.”

“A date?” I ask. That fake kiss springs to life in my head.

“You could call it that. Or we could just go as friends.”

I tilt my head to the side. If I’m going anywhere with him, it’s definitely a date. I’m just not sure my mom will be open to me hanging out in public with the chance of getting another infection. “Can you tell me where we’re going?”

Kyler scratches his head. “I want it to be a surprise. I’m not sure you’ll even like it, but I think you will.”

“Will there be a lot of people?” He shakes his head and I
grin—which probably makes it look like I
want
to be alone with him. “I’ll go. What time?”

“I’ll be by around six thirty.” We step into the statistics room and Kyler stops me before I make it to my seat
. “Is this a date or are we just going as friends?”

A pounding in my chest steals my thoughts. I fight back for them and sort through the chaos. I was hoping he wouldn’t ask about this detail. Basically my answer will tell him how I really feel. And I’m not sure I want him to know that yet. I’m not sure I’m even ready to admit it to myself. The pounding
surges toward my throat and I swallow. The words come out in a whisper. “Can it be both?”

One side of Kyler’s mouth lifts into a smoldering half-smile. He reaches forward and barely brushes my hand w
ith his fingertips. Tingles spread up my arm and cut off my air. I’m not breathing, not thinking, not moving. Just floating toward my seat in a dreamy trance. Like he’s put me under some kind of spell that mashes my insides together and leaves me completely helpless.      

I don’t know what the lesson’s about in class today. And I think Max waves at me on my way out the door, but I’m too focused on Kyler to wave back. 

Now that Kyler’s walking down the hall beside me, I try to snap out of the haze. A cough forces its way to my mouth and makes my eyes burn. There’s yucky stuff coming up my throat. I give him a lame excuse to find water and instead hurry to the bathroom. The coughing doesn’t stop until I use my inhaler. Even then, the tickle at the back of my throat persists on bothering my lungs. A sharp pain pinches my throat every time I swallow. The meds will work. I just need to drink more water and maybe avoid talking so much.

* * *

At lunch, I find Giana eating next to Mo. I make my way through the lunch line and glance around the room for Kyler. Instead of finding him, I catch Vivian staring at Mo. The usual boys surround her at the table but she’s ignoring them, her lips pursed as she taps her chin with a long finger.

“Vivian’s got the hots for you, Mo.” I sit next to Giana and glance at Vivian. Her stony face turns down and
her minions scramble for her attention. The moment distracts Mo long enough for me to slip my pills in my mouth and drink them down.

“Looks like she’s got enough attention,” Mo says with a chuckle. “She shouldn’t miss me much.”

Giana turns to me. “Mo and I were just talking about this weekend. You have any plans?”

I
take a bite of food and nod. Giana stares, clearly waiting for me to go on. I shrug and can’t help the smile tugging at my lips.

“Come on,” she says. “Hot date?”

The room grows warm and I almost choke on my food with a rising cough. Even when it settles, she’s still waiting. And now Mo is too.

“Yes,” I say, lifting my hands in surrender. “Hot date tonight. In fact I have three more tomorrow. Busy weekend, you know. But that’s normal.”

Giana laughs and Mo lifts an eyebrow in confusion.

“Seriously, Kate.” Giana takes a bite of her
turkey wrap. “Do you want to hang out with us?”

I shrug. “I’m not sure what I have going on tomorrow. Mom was really reluctant to let me come to school with my cold.” My gaze drills through the air toward Giana in a “you know…still worried about the lungs and all” kind of stare. “How about you guys plan something and let me know what it is. I should know by tomorrow morning if I’m free.”

“Sounds good.”

A few minutes later, Mo gets up to refill his water bottle
and I lean toward Giana. “How’s it going?”

She fakes a confused look. Totally fake. People don’t
look happy when they’re that confused. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t give me that, Giana. Mo seems to like you.”

She lets out a short, defeated laugh. “Or he just doesn’t know anyone else.”

“Whatever. He totally does.”

Giana raises a shoulder and lets it fall. “I hope so. Nothing major yet.”

“And how’s your niece?”

Her smile goes limp. “Good. I guess. I mean…” She rubs her forehead. “As good as she can be. She’s a happy baby.”

“And lucky to have an aunt who’s going to find a cure.” Giana’s earlier enthusiasm has obviously died down. “How’s your sister holding up?”

She sighs. “She’s either in denial or accepting life. She loves her baby but I can see how worried she is.”

I nod. That worry will never go away. Even with all the
good times, it will still be there, hidden in the dark corners of her mind. But I don’t say this to Giana. Mo’s coming back so I give her something else to smile about. “By the way,” I say. “I wasn’t kidding about that date tonight. Kyler’s taking me somewhere.”

“Seriously?” Her face lights up and she’s smiling like no one in the world could even have a crazy disease, especially not someone so close to her.

“Yeah, now…” I close my lips and tilt my head toward Mo, who’s taking his seat.

Giana turns to him and I’m glad she’s
chipper again. She may not know it, but Mo seems to look at her as some kind of angel. The way he talks, the way his eyes roam over her face whenever she’s not looking. Yeah, there’s definitely something there. Even if it’s only been a few days. Love at first sight, right? Giana was totally smitten the moment she saw him. Maybe it’s a two way thing.

I finish my lunch and get up to leave. Giana puts a hand on my arm and says, “Have a
good day
.” She even adds a wink to put more emphasis behind her words. Yes, yes. I hope to have a fun time on my date tonight.

* * *

Around six o’clock, my mom comes in my room and sits on the edge of my bed. I’m at the tail end of percussion therapy and still need to finish getting ready for my date.

“You sure he’s not taking you somewhere with a lot of people who could be sharing a lot of germs?”

I shake my head and focus on the air pounding my chest. My cough wasn’t much better this afternoon and I don’t want to be hacking up a lung on Kyler’s lap.

“You’ll take your inhaler, right? And cell phone?”

“Mom, you’re acting like I’ve never been on a date.”

“Well…” She doesn’t finish because we both know it’s been a long time. I could count the total number of dates on one hand. I’m surprised she’s not doing my hair or helping me get ready. This is what she wants, for me to hang out, feel those feelings, make lots of friends. “Is he a nice boy?” she asks.

“Remember the boy we saw at the grocery store last week?”

Her eyes light up.

“That’s him. And, yes, he’s nice. Why do you think I agreed to go with him at all?” I fix my eyes on her. “Please don’t threaten him with your black belt like my last date.”

Mom laughs. “That was over a year ago, honey.”

I give her a pointed look. “Yes. I know. It scared all the other boys away.” Not that there were very many…or any at all. I’m not sure why I’d agreed to go on the day anyway. He definitely wasn’t my type.

Her laugh grows. “Well, they should know not to put the moves on you. I didn’t even have to do anything. In fact, he probably still has bruises from the wounds you gave him.”

I flinch. She’s probably right. Maybe not physical bruises but emotional ones. It’s not every day a guy gets beat up by his date. I pick up a dart and throw it at the target. It hits the mark and my therapy timer rings. I turn off the machine and unstrap the vest.

“I have to get ready, Mom. You can meet Kyler when he comes to get me.”

Her eyes linger on me as she walks backwards out of the room. Yes, I know I’m eighteen. And this is what my mom wants. But I still think it’s hard for her to let me go. To know that I may get attached to a boy and that my time with her will be shared with someone else.

* * *

Kyler shows up a few minutes early, which gives him bonus points in my mom’s eyes. She’s always reminding me that it’s better to run early than be late.

He’s wearing
dark, fitted jeans with a plain t-shirt showing beneath his open jacket. His curls are gelled into perfect springs and the freckles near his eyes squeeze together when he smiles. He reaches a hand toward Mom. “I’m Kyler.”

Mom takes his hand, all business-like, and shakes it hard. “You won’t be out too late, right?”

“
Mom
,” I whisper. Those are the same words she used right before telling my last date about her part-time karate job. Luckily, this time, Mom backs away with a wink.

“We’ll be back by nine,” Kyler says then he leads me out the door to a fancy car in our driveway.

I give a low whistle. “Is this yours?”

He chuckles. “My dad let me use it.”

I run my hand along the metallic silver. “That’s…nice of him.”

Kyler opens my door and goes around to his side. The second he starts the car, a
grin stretches across his face. “Dad only lets me borrow it for dates.”

“Wait. This is a date?” I ask, half joking. But we did decide that it was a date as friends. At least, that’s what I thought.

There’s a playful look in Kyler’s eyes as he takes off down the road. “My dad thinks it is.”

“Let me guess. You haven’t had a chance to drive it in a while and I looked like a nice girl to ride with.”

Kyler takes one hand off the wheel and reaches across the console. His fingers trail along my arm until they reach my hand. Then he pauses. And I’m about to die from lack of breath. My pulse is pounding against my wrist and I’m almost positive that’s why his hand stopped. He can probably feel the erratic rhythm beneath my skin.

“Is there a consent form for hand holding?” he asks.

A laugh forms in me and I can’t hold it back. It fills my mouth and comes out as a violent cough. I lean away to divert the worst of it, but Kyler’s fingers slide between mine. He holds on and I squeeze back. The cough was more than just a slight tickle and I’m scrambling in my purse with my free hand to get a tissue. I grab the pack of travel Kleenex and also bring out a water bottle.

And now I have to let go of Kyler, just long enough to get things under control.

The second my hand leaves his, he asks, “You sure you’re okay?”

I nod and take a long swig of water.

“I can take you back home if you’re not feeling well enough yet.”

“No,” I say quickly. “It should be fine. The doc gave me medicine for this cold, but it’s just taking a while to go away.”

“Positive?”

I clean the germs with a squirt of disinfectant and reach for Kyler’s hand. Hopefully that’s a good enough answer for him. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going yet?”