Oh yes, it took about two minutes to be uploaded to the national news. They made it even better by warning people they were about to see a young boy get injured.
Range sports put a preorder section on their website. Someone had just made his bosses a fortune.
MOM AND DAD WERE NOT happy campers when I called home. They’d seen me strapped to a backboard and carted off to the hospital in ‘unknown’ condition.
“I’m perfectly fine,” I said for the fourth time. “I just got the wind knocked out of me.”
I gave up and handed the phone to Devin. He made the big bucks; he could talk to my mom. There was a lot of ‘yes ma’am,’ ‘no ma’am,’ ‘I understand ma’am,’ type of responses. Lou and I were grinning from ear to ear when he was done.
“So, are you grounded?” I asked.
“I’m not sure. I do know that you’re no longer our test pilot.”
I just shrugged. I could talk them into it once they calmed down ... maybe.
I HAD A TON OF MESSAGES when I got back to the house. It was about evenly split. The guys thought it was the coolest thing ever. The girls were all sure I was dead. I had Lily put out a tweet that I was fine and resting. I would return calls in the next couple of days.
There were two calls I returned. Harper and Missy called and said they were sorry for getting in the middle of everything. I assured them there wasn’t a problem, and that Tami and I were fine. But I did ask them to allow Tami to make her own calls, in the future.
Chapter 17 – It’s a Family Matter
Sunday July 20
I WENT TO THE GYM AND did a light workout just to get the kinks out. I used their dry sauna to loosen me up, and then I swam laps. They had a special on massages, so I had one before going back to home base.
We had a free day. The two New York girls, Olivia and Courtney, went home. Adrienne called me and invited me over for lunch. I asked her if it would be okay to bring Sarah, Kat and Sasha. They were excited they were going to meet a supermodel.
Up until it was time to go, I returned calls. I was surprised I had one from Eve.
“Hey, Eve, is this a good time?” I asked.
“Yeah, I was just getting up,” she said, sounding like hell.
“Rough night, last night?” I asked.
“Just about like any other. We had a gig at a little bar. After they closed, we stayed and had a few before going home. No big deal,” she told me. “I saw you about kill yourself. What were you thinking?”
“I was testing a new toy for Range Sports. It broke at just the wrong time and knocked me out.”
“You okay?”
“Yes, thanks for asking.”
“Oh, I finished the breakup song. Sorry, but I don’t think you’ll be a fan. I went a little hard on you.”
“Great, just something else I need to add to my list.”
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing, I’ve just had a bad week. It was good talking to you,” I said as I hung up.
Maybe she and Tami could compare notes. Speaking of which, I needed to call Tami. She’d actually left a message.
“Hey, I just wanted to return your call, and let you know I’m all right.”
“I got the tweet. So you’re really okay?” she asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“David, what’s going on? I’m going crazy here. No one’s talking to me about you. Why are you being so mean to me? I call and get ‘it’s a family matter.’ Then I hear you traded in the car we picked out. To top it off, I had to find out you were in an accident by watching it on TV.”
“Tami, to be fair, that’s how my parents found out,” I told her.
“David, you came home from the hospital yesterday! Did you not think to even call me? Have things changed that much?” she asked me.
I could hear the pain in her voice. I was messing this up. She was still my friend, after all. I would have wanted to hear from her if she had been hurt. I felt like such a jerk.
“I really am sorry, Tami, I should have called you.”
“You know I love you, David, but right now I don’t like you very much. You even called Missy and Harper yesterday. How do you think that made me feel?”
“Look, I’m sorry. I was still pissed you sent those two to force me to call you.”
“David, that’s just it. I shouldn’t have to force you to call me. Your mom told me you were having a tough time with Trevor and me going out. She said you needed to make some changes to be able to be happy for me. Don’t you think you should be talking to me if we’re going to work this out? If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you’re really trying to hurt me. You know how much it drives me crazy when you keep me in the dark. Why are you being this way?” Tami asked.
“I needed time to get my head around you dating seriously,” I said, and decided to come clean. “We’ve always said someday we’ll get married, you were just waiting for me to grow up. In my mind, I made a claim on you, which wasn’t fair to either of us. I was planning my life as if we were already married, in a lot of ways.
“Eve was a perfect example. She knew what we mean to each other. She knew if I had to choose, I would choose you and not look back. That was why she went a little nuts when you and I talked.
“The good side of me committing to you was we’re closer than friends. The bad side is if we’re this close, I can’t even imagine you being with another guy. I had to release my claim on you for me to be able to handle you and Trevor going out. I love you to death. You’ll always be my one and only. I just needed to come to grips with us just being friends. As my friend, I can be happy for you,” I confessed.
“What you’re telling me is, because I’m just a friend, I get the cone of silence,” she accused.
There it was. This was what was going to tear us apart. I had my whole Alpha Male thing, which made it impossible for me to be happy for her if I thought she was mine. She had her need to know everything about me. This was what was going to end us. The realization almost made me drop the phone.
“Look, our relationship needs to change. You’re always bitching about me becoming more mature. How is that ever going to happen if you keep pulling my strings, or if you keep telling me what decisions to make?” I asked.
Ever wish you could take something back? I knew it as soon as I said it. If I wasn’t sure, Tami let me know.
“You know what? You’re right. Our relationship does have to change. What you’re forgetting is this is a two-way street. When I thought you were out of the picture, I accepted the scholarship to Wesleyan. I would never have taken it if we hadn’t been on the outs.
“I’m doing it now with picking a college. Hell, I even went and talked to football coaches to see if you were a good fit. I need to stop and look at what’s best for me, not us. I just turned down an opportunity to go study abroad because of you. If I’d realized things between us were so bad, I would have done us both a favor and accepted it.”
“Don’t let me stop you,” I shot back. “I’m not going to be the source of your regrets. You do what’s best for you. If that means dating Trevor, go for it. If it means you studying somewhere else, by all means, go. As far as college goes, I want what’s best for you. Even if it means we’re no longer friends, I’ll always want you to be happy,” I told her.
“Don’t lay your guilt trip on me. You’re such a jerk sometimes. This whole ‘I’ll sacrifice everything so you’re happy’ bullshit makes me sick. If you’d just be honest with me, we could work through this. If you keep spouting your bullshit, we’ll never survive,” Tami said.