Then There Was Maverick

Chapter 22

~ Katie ~

I had never been more nervous for a family dinner in my entire existence. I paced around our dorm room making sure that I had everything in order and that I was dressed in an overly appropriate manner so there was nothing else that my mom could critique. I ran my hands down my stomach and over my hips, smoothing out the wrinkles in my flowy grey shirt. She has always been particular about our clothes being ironed and presentable when we went anywhere out in public. She believes that our appearance is a first impression within itself that directly reflects on her and dad's parenting tactics. I was never allowed to wear distressed jeans either, so purchasing those had been my first scandalous act of rebellion in my senior year of high school. I would only wear them when going out places with friends where I knew we wouldn't be seen by one of the mouthy members of the church's congregation. I ran the lint roller over my black jeans while contemplating changing outfits completely.

Max sat on her bed silently while attempting to complete the next day's reading assignments that she had neglected the night before. I glanced at her reflection in the mirror as I ran the flat iron over my pin-straight locks once more to assure that my natural curls weren't reappearing. She matched my gaze and let out a frustrated sigh before going back to her book. Reaching back absentmindedly to grab the next section of my hair, I grabbed a hold of the hot iron in my other hand – scorching the pale flesh of my palm. "Dear Lord in Heaven!" I dropped the flat iron to the floor.

"Katie grace, you have to calm down!" Max raised her voice with a look of concern on her face. She rose from her bed and got her first aid kit from under her desk. Examining my hand, she determined that the blistered skin of my hand wasn't worthy of a trip to the emergency room and began to put first aid ointment on the afflicted area before wrapping it lightly in gauze. "If you're going to screw up and hurt yourself, at least do it right so we can go see the hot doctors," she retorted with a sarcastic smile on her face.

"You're right," I chuckled, "My bad. Next time I'll make sure that my burn is at least third degree."

A glance at the clock allowed all of my nerves to resurface. 4:45. The date with my mom was set for 5:30 and I still hadn't heard back from Mason. "Everything is going to be fine," Max grabbed my unwrapped hand reassuringly, "Your mom is still going to love you. Plus, if anything starts going south, Maverick will be there to divert the conversation."

"If he shows up," I muttered under my breath.

"He's going to show up, KG," she groaned, "We talked about this whole overthinking thing, right?"

"Yeah," I nodded my head in an agreeing manner.

"Then stop it! He's going to get over it, and he's going to show up!" she said in an attempt to reason with me. "He'll get over it. You apologized – profusely from the sound of it. Maverick is a big boy and he'll be there for you." She stood from the desk chair in front of me, pulling me up with her. "Now, grab your phone, get your ass out the door, and go confront the situation head-on!" she exclaimed while smacking me on the butt in encouragement.

As I pulled into the restaurant, I immediately noticed Mom's car. At least Dad decided against making the trek to campus with her. For once, I was thankful for his Tuesday night run-throughs for the service the following night. Nothing ever trumped the tired ritual. He had missed many of my showcases and games in high school because hardly anything was deemed more important than scripture and his time with God – although he spent a plethora of time with Him throughout the week. Luckily for Tommy, his games always fell on Friday nights for football, so Dad was always there to witness him in action under the fluorescent lights. Dad has drawn even closer to his faith since the accident – as we all have – even though I didn't think that was humanly possible.