Chapter 4 The Deadline Looms

• Ambre
• "Astrid, hurry!” Cameron yells in the stairwell.
• It's almost eight in the morning and we're still not in the car. I wait impatiently for my sister, who makes me very irritable and in a bad mood. My father and Mia left a good twenty minutes ago, but we're still waiting for Madam Diva. Being late is really what I hate the most. Especially on a Monday!
• How to start the week right...
• And then it's the last stretch before the end of high school, so I really have to give it my all. Even though all the college applications have been sent out...
• The die is cast, but I can't help but stress that the deadline for the results is dangerously close.
• Astrid rushes down the stairs and almost hits the floor head first.
• "Watch out, damn it!" I mutter between my teeth.
• "You're rushing me too," she grumbles.
• "You should get up earlier."
• She sticks her tongue out at me and follows Cameron to the car. I lock the door, leaving Jayden locked in the house. He'll have to walk through the garden! I can pretend he doesn't exist..."
• ***
• After four intense classes - or rather three hours and forty minutes, given the delay this morning... - I take the girls to the cafeteria to get something to eat, then we sit on the grass behind one of our school buildings. Cameron, Tyler and Garret join us a few minutes later. Tyler sits next to me, which doesn't go unnoticed by the girls, who smile and giggle like idiots. Discreet as a bull in a china shop. Pretending not to see them, I unpack my sandwich.
• "Damn..." I mutter under my breath.
• "What?" Cameron asks me.
• "The cafeteria lady was wrong again, she gave me the sandwich with mayo."
• I grimace, disgusted at the sight of this pale yellow paste that disgusts me so much, smeared all over the slices of bread.
• "Give it to me and take mine if you want. There's none in mine."
• I turn to Tyler, who hands me his sandwich with a small smile on his face. The light gray t-shirt he's wearing brings out the beautiful blue of his eyes. How could I not fall under his spell, despite some rather insurmountable flaws? Tyler, Tyler, Tyler, I think you're going to give me a hard time.
• "Thank you," I say.
• He nods his head and turns back to the group, eagerly biting into the sandwich. I decide to snap out of my contemplation so as not to draw the attention of Esther and Holly, who don't miss a thing.
• "So girls, did you find an apartment?" Garret asks us.
• My smile widens as I'm already projecting myself into this three-bedroom apartment we're planning to share in the fall. With a mischievous twinkle in his eye, Garret looks at us with interest and waits for our answer. Not really talkative and rather shy around people, he is completely different in our presence.
• "Not yet," Holly answers with a small pout.
• "But we already have some clues. We have to go see them. And you, are you moving in with Lydia?" my second friend asks him.
• Garret nods with a smile. He has applied to study biology in Boston, where Lydia, his girlfriend, lives. I totally understand his decision, but it's going to be really weird not to see him with the guys anymore. I've always known them together.
• "It's really too bad that you're not joining us, man. It could have been so awesome all together in Seattle," Tyler adds.
• It's been our dream for over a year. I can't remember exactly who came up with the idea, but it was the day a guidance counselor came to our classroom to help us decide what to do with our future. We had received several brochures from different universities all over the United States; the University of Washington was our favorite. The campus looked huge in the pictures, the students were smiling, and most of all, the programs were enticing. We were determined to go together. It was obvious. San Francisco couldn't compete with the Emerald City. Saying goodbye to the beach and fine sand, we were all obsessed with the greenery and adventure that Seattle promised.
• Yes, Tyler is right, we will be really good there, even if this "all together" probably includes the last person in the world I want to hang out with... Seattle is big. Maybe I have a chance to escape... Slim chance?
• ***
• The drive back was even longer than this morning due to a traffic accident that held us up in traffic for about an hour. So the three of us are exhausted when we cross the threshold of the front door. The TV in the living room is on, but no one is there.
• "Jay?" Astrid calls.
• "In the kitchen!"
• She rushes into the room and dives into the cupboards to get her snack. Thirteen years old and the appetite of an ogre! Jayden, on the other hand, is sitting on a stool facing the table. His hands are clasped together and the damn cap is still on his head. When I enter, I meet his gaze, which he averts almost immediately without saying a word: Hello, welcome. I go to the cupboard to get a glass and fill it with cold milk, while Cameron does the same with orange juice.
• "Did you see Henri at the garage today?" he asks his brother.
• "Yeah. I start on Wednesday."
• "That's cool, it'll keep you busy. Didn't you want to come and work with Mom and me?"
• Since the beginning of the year, Cameron has been working a couple of weekends a month at his mother's publishing company. He selects books, reads them, and writes reviews. He has always been passionate about books, and his biggest dream is to open his own publishing house like his mother. That's why he wants to study literature at university in the fall, and the experience he's gained working at M&W Edition is a real asset for his studies. And it gives him some pocket money.
• "No, thank you. Books are not for me."
• "You could have helped me a little with communication, since I'm desperately trying to keep busy and there's a knock at the door."
• "Yes?" I answer a little too sharply.
• Cameron's little head appears in the doorway.
• "Do you want to watch the movie with us?" he asks.
• My aggression gives way to surprise and a hint of satisfaction, but I try not to show it.
• "No, don't worry, I'll leave you brothers to it. I have things to do anyway."
• Oh, the bad faith...
• "Oh really, like what?" he asks, entering the room with his hands in the pockets of his gray sweatpants. Squinting, he fixes me with his gaze.
• "I'll think of something," I say, surprised.
• "Oh, come on, stop screwing around and get over here. Jayden's waiting."
• With no comeback, I give up and get out of bed, grabbing my pillows before following Cameron to the second floor. His room is just across the second flight of stairs and I can't help but glance at the door further down. The one that leads to the room directly above mine, where I have never set foot. When Mia agreed to come and live with her two boys, my father immediately tried to make them feel at home. He's very handy, and he spent an entire summer converting the attic into two extra bedrooms. They are a little low, but there is nothing to indicate that they did not exist three years ago.
• When we arrive, the lights are out. Only a small halo of light comes through the Velux. Cameron's bed is along the wall, so we can easily fit three people in it. Jayden is leaning over the computer he has set up on a chair in front of the bed. He looks up at us as soon as he hears us arrive and seems to tense up when he sees me standing behind his brother. He stares at me for a few seconds before gliding his eyes down my bare legs. At that moment, I regret having rushed out of the room without taking the time to change into leggings. Still, a series of small shivers run down my spine as he focuses his attention on me. Which, I have to admit, is not an unpleasant sensation after all. To hell with leggings.
• "Need some help?" asks Cameron.
• Jayden immediately looks away from me to focus directly on the computer.
• "No, it's okay. Just sit down," he says.
• I sit down on the bed first, taking the spot at the far left end of the mattress and putting my pillows against the wall. Jayden sits on the opposite end of the bed from me, leaving the space between us for Cameron. It goes without saying.
• I've always loved horror movies. That feeling of tension that you feel instead of the characters, when you try to imagine how you would react if you were in the same situation... I'm completely absorbed in the movie, jumping or closing my eyes during the most stressful parts. Lying on my side with my head on the pillow, I find myself almost glued to Cameron, who is slumped against the wall.
• "Are you cold, Ambre? You have goose bumps," he asks worriedly.
• "No, I'm fine, don't worry. I think it's just fatigue."
• "Do you want us to pause so you can get a sweater? Otherwise, get under the covers."
• "I'll get a sweater, I guess."
• Cameron moves away from the wall to pause the movie. I jump off the bed to head for the door, but I don't have time to reach it before a large black, or maybe it's dark blue, sweatshirt is handed to me. I turn my head to the imposing silhouette standing next to me. Jayden is there, his chest just inches from my head. A whiff of woody perfume pierces my nose. I lift my face to meet his eyes.
• "Here, take mine," he says simply, pressing the sweatshirt against my stomach.
• And the shiver down my back intensifies.