Mad Love

Mad Love Chapter Three

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"I hate you, and you're a miserable best friend," came the sullen reply.

"Em! Don't say you hate me, I told you I'm sorry you couldn't come with me!" I exclaimed. My Jeep bounced over a sharp pothole, jarring me. "Hold on," I said, putting the phone down. I navigated over the worst areas of the beaten blacktop, trying to not ruin a tire. Picking the phone back up, I sighed. "Em, blame your mother, not me."

Dad and I were spending the weekend at our lake cabin. Em had originally planned on coming along, which was cool with Dad. However, Mrs. Herbert had been planning to visit her mother in the next state, and Em was being forced to go. There was really nothing we could do.

Em huffed on the other line. "I can't believe I have to go to Old-Peopleville, and you get to go ogle Jamie Freaking Thompson. Life isn't fair. That's it. I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to lock Mom and Danny in the closet, and you come pick me up."

"Um, Em, I think that's, oh, what's the word, illegal? Besides, I'm almost there anyway," I said. Man, she was really getting desperate. "It's only the first weekend of Spring Break. We can hang out when you get home Monday, kay?"

"Sure," she replied, sounding like she was still ticked off. Whatever her next words were, I couldn't tell.

Static shot through the phone, making me wince. "Hey, you there?" I asked. My phone beeped as I lost signal. Sighing, I tossed my phone into the passenger seat of my Jeep. I had opted for the top down today, and relished the feeling of the wind in my hair. I cranked my music back up and couldn't help but smile as I drove down the old country road leading to the lake. The sun was bright and beautiful, casting sharp blades of light through the towering pine trees.

I turned onto our road, and noticed several vehicles parked in various driveways. It looked like a couple of our neighbors were home for Spring Break as well. I pulled into the garage, roughly shifting into park. Looking up at the house, I noted nothing had really changed.

The lake cabin is a two story, muted blue house with a huge deck in the back. The paint was wearing thin on the sides of the house, and it looked vaguely rustic. There was a large in-ground pool in the back yard, and a balcony on the second floor. It's definitely an old house, you can tell by looking, but it's beautiful. I was the first one there, so I went in to kick on the air conditioner, and open a few windows. It was hot and muggy inside, but the breeze would help clear out the stale air.

It was pretty standard that for Spring Break, and a handful of weekends in the Summer and Fall, Dad would invite a bunch people up to the lake cabin. Rob and Julie almost always came, several guys from work, and a few relatives and neighbors. Tonight, which was Friday, it would just be me, Dad, the Garners, and Jamie. My heart skipped a beat just thinking his name.

It had been a couple of weeks since I had last seen him, and the thought of spending a weekend around him made me crazy. I tried not to focus on it. The more I worried about it, or let myself get psyched up over it, the more my Dad would think something was up. The last thing I need is Dad and Rob teasing me for liking Jamie, or worse, keeping a close eye on me.

After packing away my things, and clearing some pine straw from the pool, I decided to walk down to the lake. There's an entrance ramp onto the water about half of a mile from the cabin. It's a short walk, and one I really enjoy. I've always loved walking. Running, too. I used to be in track, but my junior year I had to quit. I injured a ligament in my leg several times in the same year. My physical therapist told me that it had weakened from repeated injury, and that more damage was likely to recur if I kept up competitive training. Track wasn't everything to me, but it was something I had really liked. My feet pounded against the blacktop, and I realized I had begun to jog.