Infinite (Strange and Beautiful, Book 1) (68 page)

They
weren’t, but I wasn’t surprised. Jackson probably had to work. I’d spoken to
him briefly the night before and warned him that I may not be at school the
next day.

“Good,”
he said. “You sound like Kermit the Frog.”

“Gee,
thanks,” I croaked.

“Hey,
I just don’t want people to think I’m into interspecies dating,” he chuckled.

“Jerk,”
I laughed tiredly.

Sadly,
that had probably been the highlight of the previous night.

As
I was logging off the computer, trying to decide between giving sleep another
try or taking a shower, Skylar marched into my room without, of course,
bothering to knock.

“What
is this?” she demanded, waving a box around in her hand. I pressed a hand to my
forehead and squinted. All of the waving was making me feel dizzy and nauseous.

“I
don’t know,” I said, moving from the desk chair to my bed. “If you’d stop
waving it around, like you’re trying to take someone’s eye out, I might be able
to tell you.”

Skylar
glared but stopped waving the box around. I finally got a good look at it and
declared, “It looks like a box to a First Response pregnancy test.”

“Smart
ass,” Skylar spat. “Are you and Jackson having sex?”

My
eyes widened as it finally occurred to me that Skylar was under the impression
that the pregnancy test belonged to me. It was a ridiculous notion, of course,
and I had to fight back a laugh—both because it would only serve to piss Skylar
off further and because it would probably only further agitate my already sore
throat. Instead, I just said, “No.”

“Are
you sure?”

“Well,
that’s insulting,” I said, indignantly. “I think I’d know whether or not I’ve
had sex.”

Skylar
rolled her eyes and sighed. “I meant are you telling the truth?”

“Of
course I’m telling you the truth. I don’t even use tampons, so Jackson
certainly has no business trying to put anything else in that . . . area.” I
blushed furiously as soon as the words were out of my mouth. Still, the whole
thing was ridiculous. I couldn’t believe Skylar was honestly entertaining the
possibility that the pregnancy test belonged to me.

“You
know, I had no idea Jackson was insane.” Skylar shook her head.

I
frowned. “What makes you say that?”

“Only
someone out of their mind would choose to put up with these strange things you
say,” she said, smiling incredulously.

I
glared tiredly at her. First, she stormed into my room, waving around a box
like she planned to kill someone with it. Then she demanded to know if I was
having sex with my boyfriend, as if it were any of her business, and then she
accused me of being a liar. How rude.

I
was just about to ask her to leave, so I could get some sleep, when Luke
strolled casually into the room. “What’s going on?”

His
sudden appearance came as somewhat of a shock. Luke hadn’t been in my room
since the day he declared it was my job to help Mark woo Tegan. Now, he waltzed
in as if this were an every day occurrence. The icing on the cake was I
couldn’t remember a single time in the past where both Luke and Skylar were in
my room at the same time of their own free will. Would wonders never cease?

While
I was still trying to figure out if they were playing some kind of strange joke
on me, Skylar decided to answer. She held up the pregnancy test so that Luke
could see it clearly. “I found
this
in the trash in the bathroom.”

Luke
raised an eyebrow. “I had no idea you were a trash digger.”

“Do
you
know
what this is?” Skylar demanded, unamused. “It’s a pregnancy
test, Luke! I’m trying to figure out who’s it is.”

Luke
held up his hands. “Well, it’s certainly not mine.” There was a hint of a smile
playing at the corners of his lips.

“Not
mine either,” I interjected. “Though I’m, apparently, too stupid or naïve to
know whether or not I’ve actually had sex.”

“Huh?”
Luke scrunched his nose, as he often did when he was confused. It was an
expression that graced his face often when he was doing homework, I’d
discovered.

“Never
mind,” I sighed. “I was just pointing out that the test doesn’t belong to me.”

“And
it’s not mine either,” Skylar said. She considered for a moment. “Could it be
Tegan’s? Her and Mark are dating or something now, aren’t they?”

“They
just had their first date Friday night!” I exclaimed.

“Hey,”
Luke snorted, “some people move fast.”

“We
were at a concert together,” I pointed out, shaking my head in disbelief. “They
didn’t have sex. It’s not Tegan’s.”

“Sorry.”
Skylar sounded anything but as she shrugged. “I was just asking.”

I
turned back to Luke. “Could it be Brooke’s?”

“Who?”
Luke looked confused.

“Oh.
My. God.” I muttered, shaking my head. Even though she hadn’t been to the house
in ages, there was no way Luke could’ve forgot the girl he’d been having sex
with regularly only a few months earlier. He just couldn’t have because that
would just be unfair. I still had nightmares about the things I’d heard her say
to my brother while in the throes of passion.

“The
blonde cheerleader you were screwing,” Skylar reminded, rolling her eyes and
shuddering at the word “screwing.”

“Oh.”
Luke’s eyes lit with recognition. Then he shook his head. “No, we practiced
safe sex. Condoms and birth control, always. Besides, she’s ancient history.”

The
expression that crossed Skylar’s face was filled with disgust. “Good to know,”
she muttered.

“Could
it be Mom’s?” I asked after a moment. “She looked awfully peaked today.”

Luke,
Skylar, and I all stared at each other for a moment, as if to consider my
question, before we seemed to come to the same conclusion and shook our heads.

“No
way,” Luke said. “Mom and Dad
so
don’t have sex. Especially not lately.”

“How
would you know?” I laughed, which hurt my throat and caused me to start
coughing. Luke gave me a thump on the back that, surprising, stopped my
coughing fit in its tracks. “Have you been monitoring their bedroom activity?”
I questioned once I found my voice again.

“Seriously.”
Skylar snorted, eyeing Luke curiously. “Not that I want to know if they are,
anyway. But hasn’t Mom been through menopause?”

“She’s
not
that
old,” I commented.

“She’s
too old to have a baby, though,” Luke argued.

“I
don’t know,” I shrugged. “Geena Davis had twins when she was in her late
forties. Mom’s not that old.”

“Oh,
come on,” Luke scoffed. “You can’t seriously think it’s Mom’s.”

I
shrugged. “I don’t think it’s impossible. Besides, where’s the actual test?
What was the result?”

I
looked to Skylar for the answers. She shook her head. “I don’t know. The tester
wasn’t in the box.”

Luke
seemed revolted by the mere possibility that our mother could be pregnant. To
be totally honest, I was a little freaked by the idea as well. Still, it seemed
like an obvious question to raise since the test was found in our house.

“Maybe
it’s Stevie’s?” I suggested after a moment. I was mostly grasping at straws.

Luke
perked up at this and nodded vigorously. “Yeah, maybe it’s hers. She gets
around a lot, doesn’t she, Skylar?”

Skylar
glared daggers at him. “Just because she had sex with you
once
, it
doesn’t mean she’s easy, like the trash you like to date, but I suppose it’s
not impossible.”

That
seemed to conclude the conversation because Luke shrugged and moseyed out of
the room. Skylar glanced at me, and I could tell that she wasn’t sold on the
idea of the test belonging to Stevie. Finally, she sighed and left the room as
well.

I
looked around the room and took a deep breath. For as boring as my morning had
been, the afternoon had certainly turned out to be rather interesting. Still,
it left me exhausted, so I turned and crawled back into bed, hoping to finally
get some rest.

The
discovery of and curiosity about the pregnancy test was forgotten almost as
quickly as it was brought up. Skylar dropped by my room a few days later to
inform me that the test didn’t belong to Stevie; aside from that, not much else
was said. Whatever initial concerns Skylar had were overshadowed by the
delivery of her first college acceptance letter.

She’d
applied to the University of Illinois at Chicago, Illinois State University and
the Art Institute of Chicago. Of the three, the last was her first choice. The
first letter of acceptance, though, came from the University of Illinois.
Skylar was flying high from the acceptance, and even Dad, who had been surly
for nearly three weeks, was pleased. Of course, I secretly thought he hoped if
he could get Skylar to go to either UIC or ISU, she might change her mind about
majoring in the arts.

While
Skylar was basking in the joy of her first college acceptance, the mystery of
who the pregnancy test belonged to weighed at the back of my mind. When I
returned to school—flu free—on Wednesday, I told Tegan all about it.

“That’s
really weird,” she decided, but as curious as it was, our discussion on the
topic never really led us to any solid conclusions.

Then,
going into the third week of March, spring break was upon on us and it was
pushed to the back of everyone’s mind. The Tylers were heading to Florida for
the week to visit with Travis’ brother. They extended an invitation to me, but
I decided to stay home.

Dad
wasn’t in a good enough mood for me to feel brave enough to ask, first, for
permission to go and, secondly, to ask for spending money. Asking Mom was
always an option, but things were chilly enough between them already because of
Luke. Besides, Jackson had managed to get a few days off from work. It seemed
like the perfect opportunity to spend some time together since we hadn’t had
much of it since Valentine’s Day.

Tegan
seemed a bit sad when I told her I’d decided not to go. I felt bad, but after explaining
my reasoning, Tegan smiled and said, “It’s okay, Sil. I totally get it.”

“Maybe
next time?”

She
nodded. “Definitely.”

“I
really am sorry for leaving you hanging, though.” I bit my lip as a knot of
guilt formed in my midsection.

“Don’t
be,” Tegan smiled brightly. “I’ll have Tier to hang out with.”

As
bright as her smile was, it didn’t quite reach her eyes, and no matter what she
said, I couldn’t help but feel like I’d let her down. I knew, in part, it was
because I was spending less time with her. We still hung out often enough, but
my time was often split between her and Jackson. She and Mark had been hanging
out, though, and I hoped that if things progressed well between them, it would
absolve me of some of my guilt.

Spring
break fell on the same week for Mom as well. I expected a heavy duty, top to
bottom cleaning of the entire house while she had the time off, but, instead,
Mom lazed around and took it easy.

I
slept in until almost noon on Monday. I felt a bit like a bum, but when I found
Mom scrapbooking in her and Dad’s bedroom, I was surprised to find she was
still her in pajamas.

“Good
morning, sleepyhead,” she greeted.

My
hair probably resembled a haystack, and I pushed it back away from my face as I
leaned against the doorjamb. “It’s almost afternoon,” I pointed out.

“I
know,” Mom grinned. “I was just considering lunch. Care to join me?”

My
stomach gurgled at the mention of food, and I nodded.

After
a quick lunch of lunchmeat sandwiches, chips and apple slices, Mom invited me
to help her with her scrapbooking. We spent the rest of the afternoon creating
a book, capturing memories, extending from Thanksgiving of last year through
New Years.

While
we worked, Oxide practiced below. While somewhat muted, the beat echoed
throughout the house, and I was glad Dad was at work. They usually weren’t so
loud during practice, but it seemed—or, sounded, rather—that they were taking
advantage of Dad’s absence to really let loose.

“They’re
sounding pretty good,” Mom said, but it sounded more like a question. She
looked to me, as if waiting for confirmation.

“I
think so.” It was true, too. They’d only been functioning as a full band for a
couple of months, but they sounded like they’d been playing together for years.

“We
could go down and watch,” I suggested.

Mom
pursed her lips and considered before shaking her head. “I think we’ll just
leave them be.”

Instead,
Mom engaged me in conversation. We talked about everything from friendships and
relationships to my classes and colleges I might attend in a few years time. Of
the last, I had no idea, and Mom seemed relieved. I suspected she was feeling a
bit melancholy about Skylar’s fall departure. All the while it never felt like
she was grilling me for information. If I didn’t feel comfortable answering,
she’d ask another question.

Sometimes
I asked questions of my own. Most of them involved work. I didn’t feel brave
enough to broach the subject of the Cold War Revisited between her and Dad. We
did talk a little about Luke’s decision to end his baseball career, but for the
most part conversation was light and easy.

I
couldn’t put my finger on when exactly it happened, but something had changed
in Mom. She seemed more open and willing both to engage me in conversation and
completely unbothered by my inquiries. It was a relief not to feel like a
nuisance. Strange as it was the change wasn’t bad by any means.

On
Tuesday I slept in again but managed to get out of bed before ten. Mom was
leaving as I got up and stopped to say, “I’ve got to run a few errands. I
should be back in a few hours. If you need me, call my cell.”