Someone to Drive Me Home

Someone to Drive Me Home

Chapter 24

Tara was already acting weird around me the next day at work. She started out by hugging me extra gently when I walked into the employee lounge on my first break, around noon. She obviously wanted to ask about the situation, but she wasn’t sure if she should or not. So she walked around close by me, in case I broke down and told her everything, right then and there.

The till I was working on was four away from Tara’s, but every chance she got, she was next to me, yapping my ear off about this or that. And, not that I would have ever admitted it to her, I kind of appreciated her being there.

At six o’clock, I shut down my till and headed towards the employee lounge once again. Inside were Chantel and Maryanne, two fellow co-workers, who I never saw apart. They both looked up at me.

“Hey, Lucy,” Chantel said quickly.

“Hey guys,” I replied.

“You off now?” Maryanne asked.

I was taking off my apron and changing back into my high-tops. I think it was pretty obvious that I was off work.

“Yeah, long day,” I humoured them.

“Hey, do you have plans this weekend?” Chantel asked then.

I looked over to make sure she was talking to me. “Uh, kind of,” I said, remembering about the meeting at Teen Moms-to-be on Saturday. “Why?”

“Oh, we were going to invite you to a party on Saturday. It’s at my boyfriend’s place,” Chantel went on.

They were going to invite me to a party? I kind of wanted to know exactly what kind of party it was, but I knew I couldn’t go either way.

“Oh, right on. Yeah, I’m busy Saturday. Thanks, though,” I replied.

Both of the girls smiled faintly at me, and then that was that. They would probably never invite me to a party again.

My cell phone was ringing a moment later; it was Drew, telling me that he was out in the parking lot, waiting for me. After waving to the girls – who weren’t paying attention – I walked out of the room. Tara was busy with an elderly lady buying dog food, milk and a whole bunch of rolls of paper towels. Tara glanced up as I walked by, so I motioned for her to call me. She nodded, and I continued on my way to the parking lot.

When Tara called later that evening, Drew and I were relaxing, watching a movie. The conversation was short and to the point. I invited Tara over so her and I could talk – about everything. She agreed and said she would be right over.

Half an hour later, the buzzer was buzzing and suddenly I felt my stomach flip-flop. I was nervous.

“Aren’t you going to let her in?” Drew asked with a laugh.

I nodded. “Yeah, yeah.”

“Lucy, what’s wrong?” I should have known this was coming.

I pressed the button on the wall by the door, to let Tara into the building.

“I’m just… I don’t know…” I said, looking at Drew.

“Afraid of what Tara’s going to think of you after you tell her what’s been going on?” he asked.

I rolled my eyes at him. “No, I don’t care what she thinks.”

“Sure you do,” Drew insisted, just as Tara knocked on the door.

I shot him a look and then opened the door. Tara was smiling and hugged me right away.

“Hey, come on in,” I said to her.

“Thanks,” she replied, stepping in and taking off her shoes.

“Hey, Tara,” Drew smiled, standing up. “How’ve you been?”

“Good, thanks,” she said.

“Well, I’ll leave you two alone to talk. I’ll be in the bedroom,” Drew went on.

I smiled at him and kissed him before watching him leave the room. Once he was gone, Tara and I sat down on the large sofa, where Drew and I had been sitting together.

“So,” I started, flipping the television off.

Tara waited for me to continue, and when I didn’t, she said, “So, you’re pregnant.”

I felt my cheeks go red. “I am,” I told her.

“How far along are you?” she questioned me.

“Four months… so… sixteen weeks. I’m due in November,” I told her.

Tara’s eyed widened. “That’s pretty crazy, you know, that you’ll have a baby in five months from now.” Her blonde hair was back in a ponytail, except for one strand at the front, which she twirling around her fingers.

“You’re telling me,” I smiled.

“Is this something you and Drew planned?” she wanted to know next.

Do any seventeen year olds plan on getting pregnant? I wanted to ask her. Instead, I said, “Uh, no. And, actually, the baby… it’s not Drew’s.”

For a moment, Tara looked horrified. But the look on her face faded as she asked me who the father was. Now I had to swallow hard and decide what to say next.

“His name is Eli, we were seeing each other for a few months… and we were friends for a while before that.”

“How long have you and Drew been dating?” she asked quickly.

“A couple of months now… not long, I guess. But I’ve known Drew since I we were kids,” I explained.

It was surprising how open I was being with Tara, all of a sudden. I really didn’t want to lose her as a friend, and opening up to her seemed like my only option.

Tara looked confused now, though. “So, Eli… he’s not around anymore?”

“No. We had a falling out,” I said. I didn’t have to tell her all the details. I was sure she didn’t want to know the real reason why Eli and I were no longer talking.

“I’m sorry,” Tara replied.

“Oh, no, it’s fine. It’s better this way,” I told her. “I’ve got Drew, he’s going to be there for me and my baby.”

“He’s okay with all of this? I mean, you having another guy’s baby?” Tara wanted to know.

I shrugged. “We didn’t have much a choice, you know?”

She smiled and nodded. “I just thought it would be weird for Drew, because it’s a new relationship and all… and you’re having a baby that’s not even his…” she told me.

“Well, it is a new relationship for us, technically, but like I said, Drew’s been my best friend since for many years. I’ve known him since I was a little kid,” I told her.

“Oh,” Tara answered, “I guess you’re really lucky then.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, “I am.”

Apparently, Tara was just full of questions. “How did you and Drew meet?” she asked next.

Now I knew I had to decide whether I was going to tell her about Kyle and the accident and my wild ways since his death. I knew that meant talking about my brother, and remembering that he was gone, forever. But this evening was about telling all, and that included Kyle.

“Actually, Drew is twenty-one… he went to school with my older brother,” I said, knowing what was coming next.

“Brother? You never told me that you have a brother,” Tara accused.

I took a deep breath in, and then let it out slowly. “Yeah, that’s because I don’t like talking about him.” I told her, and she stared at me, waiting for me to continue. “He died, in a car accident last summer.”

Now my guest was caught off guard, and suddenly uncomfortable. She glanced around the room, and obviously didn’t know what to say.

“I’m sorry, Lucy. I don’t know…” Tara’s voice trailed off.

“It’s okay. My brother, Kyle, and I were really close, and I don’t really talk about him much, now,” I told her.

It was at that moment that I realized that I was talking about my brother, and I wasn’t crying, or doing drugs or getting drunk. I was dealing with the pain of losing my big brother like a normal person. Finally.

“Well,” Tara began again, after a few minutes of silence. “I learned a lot of new things about you, in a short period time.”

“Yeah. But that was the point of me inviting you over tonight. Besides Drew, you are really my only friend,” I told her, feeling slightly embarrassed. Tara was smiling. “And I realized recently that if I keep secrets from one of my only friends, I might not have her as a friend much longer,” I went on.

My words seemingly inspired Tara to become emotional for a moment, and then she apparently had a few things to say herself.

“Lucy, I don’t know if you know this or not, but I don’t have a lot of friends either,” she began. I didn’t say anything. “I guess I don’t like to admit it, but I was kind of an outcast in high school, and I’m glad I finally graduated. My family moved here from Florida, the summer before my freshman year, and I didn’t know anyone, and no one was nice to me.”

Suddenly I was picturing Tara, in the ninth grade, eating her lunches alone, being ignored by the popular girls who had been friends since kindergarten. And then I realized that after Rachel moved away and Kyle died, I started the twelfth grade alone, just as Tara started the ninth. Tara and I were more alike than either of us knew until that moment.

When Tara left later that evening, after I’d emptied myself of all – or most – of my secrets to her, I was exhausted, and went to Drew’s bedroom, only to find him fast asleep, fully clothed. Instead of waking him up, I changed into my pyjamas and crawled into bed next to him, and was asleep as soon as my head touched the pillow.