“Like that’s any better!” Grayson crossed his arms tightly over his chest and glared at me when I started to defend Aiden again. “Tell her what he did on Thursday.”
“He had every right to—”
“No he didn’t, Avery!”
“Grayson! Stop yelling at her.”
“Mom! She went to watch his debate on Thursday to be nice and prove that she was okay with his choices. She wanted to introduce herself to Mindy and let them both know that she could be their friends. Aiden got pissed off that she showed up and made her leave. He acted like her wanting to be there for him made her some kind of psycho stalker!”
I didn’t realize that my eyes were closed or that tears were leaking out of them until Grayson’s arms came around me and he said, “No more tears, Aves. He’s not worth it.”
“Aiden really did all that?” Cheryl asked in a small voice.
I couldn’t answer her, but I felt Grayson nod.
“Aiden is being a world-class jerk, and Kaitlin has every right to be pissed off at him. All of his friends are pissed off at him. I can’t even stand to be around him because I just want to beat him senseless. You need to get over your fight with Kaitlin, and you need to have words with your freaking son. That bitch he’s dating is turning him into an asshole.”
“Grayson, watch your mouth!”
“Well, she is,” Grayson muttered.
“Grayson.” Cheryl sounded tired now. “I know your brother’s girlfriend is . . . difficult, but would you please refrain from using those kinds of words?”
“Difficult?” Grayson scoffed.
“Yes. She’s . . . she’s . . .” Cheryl sighed and then threw her arms around me. “Oh, Avery, why couldn’t it have been you? Grayson’s right, Aiden’s new girlfriend is . . .” She clearly wanted to use the B-word, but she couldn’t let herself do it. “We all miss you so much.”
She hugged me for a minute and then flopped back down in her desk chair. “I’m sorry. I’ve been so swamped that I haven’t been paying enough attention. I’ll talk to Aiden later, and Kaitlin. I promise.”
“Thanks,” I whispered. “But make sure Mom says she’s sorry to you too. She was out of line with some of the stuff she said.”
Cheryl’s eyes sparkled with humor. “Oh, don’t worry. I’ll get an apology out of her. In the meantime, it’s good to have you back.” She glanced up at Grayson and smiled even bigger. “It’s odd to see you with Grayson, but it’s good to have you here.”
Grayson tucked me into his side. “Better get used to it. I’ve taken a liking to the shrimp. She’ll be back to her old visiting hours in no time.”
Cheryl’s smile melted into pure affection. She’d never admit it, but I’ve always thought Grayson was her favorite of the two. “What are you guys up to anyway?”
“I’m going to help Grayson write a paper. Science club took him bowling today and gave him his first lesson in applied physics. If he writes a report about it, he’ll get extra credit.”
All of Cheryl’s affection was suddenly directed at me. “You are too good to my boys, Avery. Grayson told me what you did for him, talking Mr. Walden into letting him do the science fair instead of getting taken off the basketball team. That was pretty amazing of you.”
I felt my cheeks get hot. “It wasn’t that amazing. Grayson is still working hard for it, and he’s helped me just as much. I really wouldn’t have been able to do the science fair by myself.”
“Still. Between my two boys, this family owes you.”
I felt Grayson perk up beside me. “Actually, Mom, if you really want to do something nice for Avery, I had an idea about her birthday next weekend.”
“My birthday?”
I was a little shocked. I hadn’t said a word about my birthday to anyone. I was sort of hoping people would forget it this year since that’s what I wanted to do. I didn’t know how to celebrate my birthday without Aiden, and I wasn’t particularly looking forward to learning.
Grayson squeezed my shoulders. “Aves, I know you’re dreading it because Aiden said he didn’t want to celebrate with you, but I’m not going to let you spend it home alone watching Shark Week reruns.”
My face must have looked annoyed, because Cheryl laughed. The truth was, that was pretty much exactly how I’d been preparing to spend my birthday.
“Mom, would it be cool if we planned an overnight at the condo with just a few friends? Ski on Saturday and stay up all night watching movies? We’d be home Sunday evening. Wouldn’t miss any school. Promise not to make a mess.”
I didn’t have to look at Grayson’s face to know that his I’m-so-irresistible-you-can’t-say-no-to-me smile was plastered there. Cheryl looked at the stacks of paper on her desk and sighed. “Hon, I don’t have time to go up there for the weekend right now.”
“Kaitlin could come.”
I couldn’t help but be touched by Grayson’s persistence. “You’d really do all that for me?”
“Aves, this is your first birthday that will be celebrated the way a birthday should be—all about you. As your first real birthday, it’s got to be epic, but I didn’t think you’d like a big crazy party with a ton of people, so how about just a really fun overnighter with your closest friends?”
“Actually . . .” I started to cry then because that sounded so perfect. I’d been so bummed about my birthday. I’d just accepted that it would suck for the rest of my life. Grayson couldn’t have known how badly I needed this. I needed my birthday to be awesome in order to prove that life really would go on without Aiden.
“I’m sorry. I’ve just been so emotional lately.” I took a deep breath and wiped away the tears. “That sounds really nice, Grayson. I don’t have to go up to the condo, though. We could just do something here and that would be good enough for me.”
“Nonsense!” Cheryl said. She was looking at me with pity now, but I couldn’t blame her. I was pretty pitiful right then. “If your mom can go up with you, then you’re welcome to use the condo next weekend.”
The way Grayson jolted next to me, I think he assumed she’d never go for it. “Awesome! You’re the best mom ever!”
“Yes, thank you, Cheryl. I promise we’ll be responsible.”
Grayson jumped forward to give his mom a hug. When he pulled back, she nailed him with a suspicious gaze. “How many close friends are we talking about?”
“Just us, Owen, Pam, Chloe, and the nerd herd.”
“The nerd herd?” Cheryl repeated while I gasped.
“You’d invite the science club? With Owen, Pam, and Chloe there?”
Cheryl finally understood and stared at her son in surprise. “My oldest son mixing social classes?”
“Oh yeah, Mom!” Grayson chirped. “It’ll be an interesting experiment. Didn’t you know? I’m all about social science now.”
Cheryl laughed, but I could still hardly believe it. “You’d really invite Brandon, Levi, Libby, and Tara along with Owen, Pamela, and Chloe?”
All the playfulness left Grayson. The way he looked at me made my knees feel like shaking. Somehow I managed to keep them steady, though.
“Those are your friends, Aves. It’s your birthday. I want you to spend it with all the people you care about, even if half of them are really weird.”
I was too choked up to say anything.
“Well,” Cheryl said. “I think it will be a good experience for all of them. Make sure Kaitlin can go. Boys and girls sleep in separate rooms and absolutely no alcohol. If Kaitlin finds even one drop of it, you will all be murdered.”
“Deal,” Grayson said.
“Then you have my blessing. Now go away so that I can get some work done.”
Grayson dragged us out of there so fast that I thought he was afraid Cheryl would come to her senses and take back the offer. He was so excited about my birthday that it took a while for him to settle down enough that he could focus on writing his paper. It ended up taking longer than we expected.
We were on Grayson’s bed, and when I stretched and lay back on his pillow, he closed his notebook. “I can write the conclusion myself. We can be done now.”