Anything Less Than Everything by Heather Adkins Read Free Book Online Page B

replied. “My alarm will be ringing before I know it to get me up for
morning drills.”
    “Talk to you
soon?” I asked. Hoped.
    “Absolutely,”
he replied. “Sweet dreams, Brooke.” He was gone before I could reply.
    There was no
way I was going to fall asleep, so I went into the kitchen to find something to
drink. Mom was sitting at the counter, the newest issue of Heritage Rose in
front of her. She looked up, smiled slightly, and then returned to her magazine
flipping. “Who have you been talking to all night?” she asked. So she’s
talking to me again , I thought.
    “A friend of
mine.” Vague is always best with parents. It gives them the information they
want without necessitating long drawn out conversations. Unfortunately, by
answering her question I had also admitted that I had, in fact, been on the
phone all night. I tried to backtrack, and said something minimizing the time
spent on the phone, but Mom wasn’t buying it.
    “Brooke. I
tried to call you at 8:30 and your phone went straight to voicemail. I get home
at 11:00 and you’re still talking. That’s what I’d call all night.”
    I sighed,
exasperated.
    “I was
talking to my friend Aaron Davidson. You met him at Nana’s house the other
night. He’s in town at a camp for elite college athletes. He was stuck in his
room icing an injury, so he called to say hi. That’s it.”
    “That’s it?”
Mom asked, accusation thick in her voice. I knew what she meant, what she
wanted to know.
    “Yes, Mother,
that’s it. Aaron and I became friends over the weekend. But that’s it.
Friends.”
    She turned
back to the article she was reading. “Just be careful, Brooke. Making friends
with cute boys is not going to help you patch things up with Spencer.”
    I could not
believe what she was saying. No words came; I just stared at her in disgust. I
assumed Jill had told my parents about the fiancée, the cheating. Apparently I
was wrong. Still, her words stung like I’d been slapped. Now I had a choice: to
defend myself, explain Spencer’s indiscretions or go back to my room and pack
faster. I chose the latter.

Chapter 6
     
    I purposefully stayed in bed until I
was sure my mother had left the house for work. I’d been up most of the night thinking
about--no, stewing about--what she’d said the night before, and I was in no
mood to talk to her again.  But then I looked over at the nightstand, saw my
phone, and remembered my conversation with Aaron. Just thinking about it made
me smile. Maybe if I just spent every night talking to him on the phone I could
avoid all conversations with my parents until I moved out. Passive aggressive?
Perhaps. Effective? Definitely. Still, the time I’d spent with him felt like a
gift, and I felt the need to reciprocate. But with what? More of my stimulating
conversation? Yeah, right.
     
    “Tell me
again why we have to go to the University before lunch?”
    “I never told
you the first time,” I answered, pulling into the parking lot of the dorm Aaron
told me he was staying in. “Stay here. I’ll be back in two minutes.” The idea
had come to me upon seeing an empty Coke can Jill had left on the counter. A
quick stop at the grocery was all it took to put the plan in motion. I grabbed
the case of Dr. Peppers from the back seat and headed for the entrance, leaving
a very confused Marcie behind.
    “Can I help
you?” the college student working the front desk asked as I approached.
    “Yes. I was
wondering if I could leave these for someone staying here for the ProEdge
camp.”
    “Sure. What’s
his name?” She grabbed a sticky note to write down the information.
    “Aaron
Davidson. He’ll know who it’s from,” I answered.
    “I’ll take
care of it,” she said. “Anything else?”
    “Nope, that
it’s. Thanks!” I headed out to the car, trying to hide my smile as I slid in
next to Marcie.
    “Are you
going to tell me what that was about?” she asked, a look of utter confusion on
her face.
    “Nothing