Damage (2 page)

“Well, you should've invited them to join us for dinner.” Mom fanned herself with the menu. “Phew. I can't take this heat.Thank God your brother has a pool.”

“Yeah,” I said. “Thank God Darrell's perfect.”

She gave me a look.“Don't start,Theo.”

I stared down at the menu. “Can I get a Corona?” I was pretty sure I already knew the answer, but what the hell—we were on holiday, right?

“Theo...” Mom frowned.

Dad gave me a steel-eyed glare. “Sure you can. In four years, when you're legal drinking age. You start drinking now, you're breaking the law.”

“Take off those sunglasses, Theo,” Mom said. “You're in a restaurant.”

I took them off.

Dad put his elbows on the table and leaned forward so that his face was inches from mine. “Your eyes are very bloodshot.”

“Chlorine,” I said. “I was in the pool, remember?”

“Hmmm.” He didn't move.

“Dad, are you trying to smell my breath?” I blew at him. “Here. How's that? Doritos, extra cheesy.”

“Don't get smart with me, young man. We're just looking out for you.” He sat back. “Marijuana kills motivation. You smoke that stuff, you'll go nowhere.”

I wasn't into anything harder than an occasional cold beer, but I was tired of trying to convince them of that. “I'm not smoking anything and I don't want to go anywhere,” I said irritably.

“Look at Koli,” Mom says. “He got into drugs and he's having to face the music now. Is that what you want?”

I rolled my eyes. “All I want is to eat dinner without you two getting on my case. All right?”

“On your case?” Dad repeated. “
On your case?
What the heck is that supposed to mean?”

“Maybe Darrell can talk to him,” Mom said in a low voice, as if I wasn't sitting right there.

That did it. I stood up.

“You know what?” I said. “You're right. This restaurant does suck.” And I stormed out, leaving them opening and shutting their mouths like a pair of goldfish.

Chapter Three

I had cut across the courtyard and was heading toward my room when I saw Ronnie, sitting on the cement walkway near the pool. She'd changed into denim shorts and a white T-shirt with a big pink flower on it, and she had a stroller beside her. I grinned at her, my bad mood vanishing like fog in sunshine. “Hey, Ronnie. Where are you off to?”

“Nowhere.” She leaned against the brick wall. “I've been walking around for an hour, trying to get Zachy to go to sleep.”

I looked at Zach. He had a glazed look on his face, and his thumb was firmly planted in his mouth. “Can I get you anything? I mean, if you're hungry or...” I trailed off.

“I'm fine. We've got food in the car. It's easier than taking Zach to restaurants. And cheaper.”

“Right.” I leaned against the wall too. Heat radiated from the bricks. “So, we're leaving in the morning.”

“To see your brother, right? That's nice.”

“No, actually. It sucks. It'll be three days of all of them ganging up to convince me to quit smoking pot and study hard so that I can be a dentist.” I groaned and rubbed my hands across my face. “And I don't even smoke pot.”

She laughed out loud. “And do you want to be a dentist?”

“God, no.” I made a face. “I can't think of anything more disgusting. Sticking your fingers in people's mouths, seeing all the little bits of food stuck in their teeth, scraping off plaque and poking around...” I shuddered. “Just the thought makes me gag.”

“So what do you want to do?” Ronnie's voice was low, and she sounded amused.

“I don't know.” I didn't want her to think I was still a dumb kid with a dumb dream.

“Come on. You must have some idea.”

“Nah.”

She laughed. “Liar. Spit it out—I won't laugh.”

“Yeah, okay. I guess I like film. It'd be cool to make movies. Direct them, maybe, or just work on them.”

“Ha! Remember how you used to make those little videos? With your action figures? Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda...”

“Yeah. And Han Solo.” I lowered my voice. “
Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid
.”

Ronnie laughed out loud. “He was always my favorite.”

“Yeah, he had the best lines.” I decided not to mention that I knew most of them by heart.

“So you want to make movies for real, huh? That's cool.”

I shrugged. “Dunno how realistic it is.”

“Lots of people do it.” She stuck her hands into her shorts pockets. “You should come with me and Zachy. We're leaving as soon as I can get him to go to sleep. Driving down to Los Angeles. Ten hours, and you could be in Hollywood, baby.”

I stared at her. Was she kidding? She had to be kidding.

“I'm serious,” she said, as if I had spoken aloud. “I'd love the company. We could split the driving.”

“You're leaving tonight?”

“Yeah, we're checked out already. Our bags have been in the lobby since lunchtime. I know it seems weird, but Zach hates being in his car seat, and if I travel at night, there's more chance that he'll sleep.”

“I don't know...”

“Come on, it'd be fun. I've got a friend in LA who's been in movies. She knows all kinds of people. I bet she could hook you up with a job.”

My heart was pounding hard and fast, and my mouth was suddenly dry. Some choice—drive with my parents to see Darrell and get some sense talked into me, or drive to Hollywood with Ronnie, aka the Most Beautiful Girl in the World.

“I can't just take off on my parents,” I said. Though really, I thought, why shouldn't I? They'd done nothing but nag me and accuse me of lying since we'd left home the day before.

“I didn't mean you should run away.” She laughed. “Jeez, give me some credit.”

“You mean, ask them?”

“Yeah, doofus,” she said. “Ask them. And hurry up.” She nodded at Zach. “He's finally conked out, which means I can put him in his car seat without a total meltdown.”

Ronnie obviously didn't remember my parents very well. There was no way in hell that they would agree. On the other hand, I couldn't imagine letting this opportunity slip away.

I could just do it without asking. Just go, right now. There'd be nothing my folks could do about it. They'd freak out, sure, but that wouldn't be my problem if I wasn't here.

They wouldn't even be able to call to yell at me, since I no longer had a phone. I'd made the mistake of lending it to Koli at a party a couple of weeks ago, and somehow—I wasn't clear on the details—it had taken a fatal dive into a toilet.

I took a deep breath. “Sure,” I said. “I'll go ask.”

I headed toward the restaurant, but as soon as I was out of Ronnie's sight, I ducked into a restroom and waited for a few minutes. Then I headed back to Ronnie, a smile on my face, and gave her a thumbs-up. “Go figure,” I said. “They said yes. I think they must be tired of arguing with me.” I couldn't quite meet her eyes, and I hoped she wouldn't notice. “Um, yeah. So I'll just grab my things.”

Ronnie smiled widely, her cheeks dimpling under her oversized sunglasses. Her teeth looked startlingly white in her suntanned face. “Awesome, Theo.”

God, I loved the way she said my name. I slipped into the hotel room, grabbed a pen and paper from the desk and started to scrawl a note for my parents. I wanted to tell them I was tired of being compared to Darrell, tired of being nagged about school, tired of them not trusting me, but I didn't know where to begin. Finally, I just wrote,
Mom, Dad. Don't worry, I'm fine. Decided to travel with Ronnie for a few days. Have a good visit with D. I'll be in touch.

I quickly packed, slung my duffel bag over one shoulder and headed to the parking lot. Ronnie was standing beside her car, a wide-brimmed hat shading her face and a disposable cup in each hand. “Free coffee from the lobby. From the taste, I don't think it's actually meant for human consumption.”

“Uh, thanks?” I took one from her, though coffee was the last thing I needed. There was so much adrenaline rushing through me, I felt shaky and almost sick.

Ronnie laughed. “Think of it as fuel.” She took off the hat, tossed it into the backseat and shook her hair loose. “Let's do it, Theo. Let's hit the road.”

Chapter Four

Zach was buckled into his car seat, still fast asleep. With the heavy-duty straps over his shoulders and across his chest, he looked like a little astronaut about to blast off.

“I can't believe I'm doing this,” I said.

Ronnie grinned at me. “It'll be nice to have company. Zach's great, but let's face it, he has a pretty limited range of conversation topics.”

“I bet he doesn't do his share of the driving either.”

“Ha. He'd love to. He adores anything with wheels.”

I buckled my seat belt and glanced over my shoulder at him. “Is he always such a good sleeper?”

She hesitated before answering. “I guess so—I mean, yeah. He is.”

“What's wrong?” I studied the frown lines that had appeared between her eyebrows.

“Nothing.” Ronnie started the engine. “Let's go.”

Last chance to change your mind.
I closed my eyes for a moment, imagining the shock on my parents' faces when they got back to the hotel room and realized I'd taken off. Dad would be furious with me. Mom, too, but she'd take it out on Dad, blaming him.
If you hadn't insisted on sniffing his breath at dinner, this would never have happened. You never know when to back off, do you?

Nope, I didn't need to listen to any more of their arguments. “Right,” I said. “Hollywood, here we come.”

Zach slept for the first twenty minutes and then woke up crying. We were just outside Redding, heading south on I-5, but Ronnie pulled over and tried to comfort him. She offered snacks, books, toys, but Zach just kept screaming at the top of his lungs. At least, I sure hoped it was his top—any louder, and he'd do permanent damage to my hearing. Ronnie unbuckled him and tried to pick him up, but he just kicked his legs, arched his back and tried to push her away. She looked like she was about to start crying herself.

“Maybe we should just keep driving,” I said at last. “Buckle him back in and keep going, you know? I mean, if he's just going to scream anyway.”

Ronnie gave me a look, like I was a terrible person for suggesting it, but she stuck him back in his car seat. You can only park at the side of the high-way listening to a toddler screaming for so long.

“How about I drive?” I suggested. “You can sit with him.”

She nodded. “Jump to lightspeed,” she said. “Though my car starts to rattle if you go over sixty, so maybe not.”

I dropped my voice an octave and did a Han Solo swagger, smacking the car roof with the palm of my hand. “She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid.”

Ronnie shook her head as she slipped into the backseat beside Zach. “Un-freaking-believable.”

I drove and Zach cried. He yelled and sobbed until his whole face was covered with bright red blotches.

“Um, Theo? Yesterday in the car, singing really helped,” Ronnie said.

“Singing? Me? I can't sing.” I glanced at her face in the rearview mirror and caught her wiping tears from her cheeks. I groaned. “Okay, okay,” I said. “We'll sing.”

After a few verses, Zach settled down, but each time we tried to stop singing, he went right back to screaming. When we passed the exit for Clear Lake—the turnoff that I should've been taking with my parents, to go to Darrell's place in Santa Rosa—my stomach started doing flips. God, my parents were going to freak out. What had I been thinking?

Ronnie and I sang Raffi songs nonstop all the way to Sacramento—over two straight hours. “
Baby Beluga in the deep blue sea
...” My eyes met Ronnie's in the rearview mirror and she gave me a weak smile. She'd stopped crying, at least. I kept singing. “
Swim so wild and you swim so free
...”

This was so not what I had imagined when I pictured the two of us driving off into the sunset together.

Just past Sacramento, I heard sirens close behind us. I glanced in the rearview mirror. Cops. I was over the limit but only just. “Seriously?” I muttered.

“Oh my god.” Ronnie's voice was strained. “Oh my
god
, Theo. Were you speeding? Damn it, what were you thinking? Do you have any idea—”

“I'm only, like, five miles over,” I protested. “If that. I mean, cars are flying past me in the other lane.” I slowed down and started to pull over.

“I can't believe this,” she said, her voice rising. “I shouldn't have let you drive.”

“What's the big deal?” I drove onto the shoulder, braking. “If we get a ticket, I'll pay it, okay? So chill.”

“I don't care about a goddamn
ticket
,” she said. Zach started to cry again. “Shut up, Zach!” Ronnie turned to him and grabbed his shoulders. “Goddamn it! Zach, please. Just stop crying.”

I got an icy feeling in the pit of my stomach. I stopped the car and turned to look over my shoulder at her. “Please tell me the car isn't stolen.”

“Theo! Of course it's not
stolen
.”

“What is it then? Why are you freaking out?” Behind me, I could see the cop getting out of his car and walking toward us. My chest tightened. “Ronnie? Is there something I should know?”

Zach started crying louder than ever. “Just don't use my name,” Ronnie said. She unbuckled Zach and pulled him out of his car seat and onto her lap.

I had started to roll down my window, and the cop was only a few feet away. “
What?
Are you serious?”

“Or Zach's,” she said under her breath.