Wait For Me

Chapter 8

I quickly call Casey's mom telling her that she won't be able to make it home tonight because she'll be spending the night with me so she won't have to wait for her. She didn't seem to mind that Casey was staying with me tonight, but I don't know what my mom would say. She hates when I do things without her permission.  I leave a message on my mom's phone telling her that I'm home and Casey is with me. 

I look over at Casey, who is still lying in the couch full asleep. I sigh at thinking of taking her all the way upstairs to my room. "Casey." I shake her lightly, but she doesn't move. I grab her arms and pull her up and she groans as she get up from the couch. "Come on, we have to get upstairs."

We bump from side to side getting up the stairs but we get to my room and we both fall onto my bed. I try to control my panting breath and focus on the events of the night that this giro beside got us into. The only part that I'm eager to get to is when I see Ron.

"I'm still mad at you." I nudge at Casey, who is asleep. "But I want to thank you. Because if it wasn't for you taking us to that place, because if it wasn't for you. I might of not known that Ron would be in town. I never told you about Ron, but he was an important person in my life and still is. Hope I'm still an important person as I was to him before. Do you think that I am?" I get soft snoring from Casey in response. "To be honest, Casey, I am afraid. I don't know why but I was afraid of seeing him all over again. Maybe it's because I'm not prepared to love him again after being apart for so long. That's why I am afraid."

***

I wait patiently for Casey to come out of the shower and to take her home. I couldn't sleep at all last night and I'm not certain that I want Casey around the house and my mom is working anyways.

"How was last night?" My  mom sets my plate in front of me.

"It was okay." I shrug.

"Okay?" She takes a seat beside me. "Did you have fun? Did you dance?"

"I did." I nod, not making eye contact with her. "So, um, I heard that Ron is in town."

"He is. He came to visit me at the hospital yesterday."

What?

Casey comes into the kitchen in some of my clothes before I could say anything. "Good morning."

"Good morning, Casey. Do you want anything to eat?" Casey nods at my mom and she stands to get another plate.

"Thanks." Casey whispers to me. "For letting me stay last night."

"Well, I wasn't going to take you to your house in the state you were in." I whisper back.

"Yeah, my mom would have killed me, literally."

"Here you go." My mom returns with a plate full of food and sets it in front of Casey.

"Thanks."

"No problem." Mom says. "Your mom should be on her way to pick you up, right?"

"I already called her." Casey nods.

"Okay. Tiffany and I have a long day ahead of us."

"I thought you were going to work." I frown at my mom.

"Oh, no. We were invited to dinner with the Conroy's."

"What?" I murmur.

"Ronnie invited us last night."

"Who's Ronnie?" Casey joins in the conversation. She always hated being left out of conversations so she always finds a way to get in them, but she really should stay out of this one.

"An old friend." I remark to Casey. "Are we going?" I turn to my mom. As much as I am happy to see Ron, I am also afraid to see him. I'm not prepared to see him again.

"Of course. We haven't seen him and his family in a while, it will be nice to finally catch up." My mom says, almost offended by my question. Of course she would want to be with her friend, Ron and April's mother, but I don't want to be near any of the Conroy's anytime soon.

"Can't you go alone?" I say.

"What is up to you, Tiffany?" My mom frowns at me. "We are very close with the Conroy's. Why don't you want to go?"

"I just don't feel good." It's not a lie. I feel uneasy and very uncomfortable with just thinking of me and Ron in the same room. It was horrible and amazing at the same time, but mostly horrible, in his car.

"Well take some medicine and you'll be fine. Besides the dinner is not going to be till late night, so I'm sure you'll be fine by that time."

"But what if I'm not." I say.

"Tiffany." My mom says, sternly. "What had gotten into you. We are going."

"But-,"

"End of discussion, Tiffany." My mom says, irritated now. "We are going."

After that, I know that I can't say anything more. I know my mom would be confused of my sudden behavior at not wanting to go to dinner with the Conroy's, especially after our friendship.  I don't know how my mom would take in the real reason for me not wanting to go. She never knew about Ron and I, she has always gave me talks about being careful when having someone else. I was careful with Ron, but I know my mom wouldn't be too proud of some things.

"I guess it's time for me to go." Casey says at the sound of a honk of a car. "Thanks for the food, Marisa."

"It was no problem, Casey." My mom smiles up at her. "Hope to see you again soon."

I walk Casey to the door. "I thought you shouldn't talk back to your mom?"

"I don't." I say closing the door behind us.

"Well, seems that things are changing." She chuckles. "Who were you talking about?"

"Just some old friends of the family." I shrug. "Nothing interesting."

"You've seemed pretty hooked up with the whole dinner thing."

"Don't worry about it."

"You just saying those words makes me want to worry about. I want to know why you're complaining about going."

"I wasn't complaining." I defend.

"It sounded like you were. Listen, I have to go, but you will tell me everything." She points her finger at me and walks towards the car.

"You should go change." My mom says as I walk back in through the door. "We're going to have to buy some new things."

"New things?" I question. "What new things."

"New wardrobe. We need to look our best for tonight."

"Why?" I frown. "It's just dinner."

"I know, Tiffany." She stops her cleaning and turns to me. "It is just dinner. I don't understand why you're making a big deal out of it."

She is right. It is just dinner. It's not like Ron and I are going to be alone. His parents and my mom will be there. We don't have to talk or be alone. We'll just have dinner.

"Why do we need to buy clothes then?"

"We're having dinner with the Conroy's, Tiffany. We're not going to show up in some random drags in their house. We have to look nice."

We can look nice in the clothes we have in our closets, but knowing my mom, she won't change her mind. My mom always looked her best around the Conroy's, which I don't blame her. They can be a little intimidating and that would make you feel embarrassed of how you look, especially for my mom. 

I quickly change and we leave the house. The drive to the city was quite.