Stalk Me

After our big PDA, Cush sets me down. “Want a piggyback ride?”

I don’t reply, just jump on his back, wrap my arms around his neck, and kiss his shoulder while he runs back up the beach.

When I hop off his back, he turns to me and says with a smirk, “That probably pissed him off, huh?”

“Probably. Is that why you did it?”

“Yep.” Then he gives me the sweetest looking face ever and whispers, “Plus, I love you.”

I give him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Well, I don’t care what he thinks,” I lie.

I want to look back at him, but I can’t bear to, so I change the subject. “Vanessa is super pissed.”

“We knew she would be.”

I grab my phone and read him what she said. Another text pops up on my screen. This one I don’t read to anyone.

Vanessa:  You might just be as big of a bitch as I am. Enjoy your day in the sun, Keatyn. None of those people are your friends, and I’ll ruin you. Pinky swear!

I think about what I just did to her. How I made her look at school. How I wanted to hurt her.

I look out in the water at Brooklyn and think about how I put on a show to make him feel bad. To hurt him.

I gulp and realize she’s right.

I may have become the biggest bitch of all.

Friday, May 27th

A herd of sheep.

1pm

Finally. School is out for the summer! We finished up the last of our finals, checked in our textbooks, and got out at noon.

Vanessa and RiA

It just doesn’t feel very good.

Cush and I went out to lunch with a bunch of the guys from his soccer team and some of their girlfriends. They were all going to spend the rest of the day at a nearby water park, but we decided to go back to my house and lay on the beach instead.

We’re tired. We both studied really hard for our tests, and I didn’t sleep well all week. I think my subconscious is trying to punish me for being a bitch by giving me horrible dreams.

Kym is in the kitchen working on her laptop when we wander in the house.

“Keatyn, let’s talk about your birthday.”

“My birthday? It’s not until August.”

“I know, but you’re going to be seventeen. Don’t you think it’s time we throw you a big bash? A Super Sweet Seventeen?”

Cush says, “That’d be tight. You didn’t have a Sweet Sixteen.”

“That’s because we went to Australia, and when I got home, they had remodeled my closet! It was my best birthday ever!”

“Aren’t you supposed to want a car when you turn sixteen? That’s when I got my car.”

“I get to drive the Rover and most of Tommy’s cars whenever I want, so I didn’t really need one for my birthday.”

“So what kind of party are you thinking, Kym?” Cush says. He seems enthralled with the idea, and Kym is eating it up.

“Well, I was going to ask the birthday girl what her dream party would be. But what do you think?”

Cush turns and looks at me. “I think you should rent out The Side Door. That place we go dancing. Get your friend to DJ, bring in some food. Invite everybody. It would rock.”

“Is that the club you go to on Thursday nights?”

“Yeah, it’s really fun. Huge. But I think for my birthday, I might just want something small. Maybe a nice di

“What’s wrong with you lately?” Kym says. “Most girls would kill for a party like this. I’m talking dancing, rap stars, everyone cool from your school. You’re young. You’re beautiful. We need to introduce you to society.”

“You go

“Aren’t you just hilarious? Come on, think big. What would you want?”

Cush says to Kym, “She’s having some trouble with Vanessa right now.” He turns to me. “Think about it, Keatyn. That place is huge. You wouldn’t have to invite just the popular people. You could be nice and invite everyone.”

“That’s true. I could. You’re brilliant.” I lean over and give him a kiss.

“I don’t have a man in my life right now,” Kym says flatly. “Or even a hot fling. So do not sit there and kiss in front of me. It makes me feel old.”

Cush and I stop kissing and laugh.

“You’re leaving for Grandma and Grandpa’s tomorrow, aren’t you?” Kym asks.

“Yeah, I can’t wait to see them. Their ranch is so fun. Grandma is going to teach me how to make homemade pies this year. You know, Kym, Grandma says the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Maybe you need to learn to bake.”

Kym shakes her head. “If you ever see me baking for a man, promise you will hold an intervention and send me to rehab or something, because it will mean I’ve finally lost my mind.”

Wednesday, June 1st

Picture of your world.

9:50pm

Tomorrow night I’m going back home. I’ve had a great time relaxing at my grandparents’ ranch in East Texas.

Although, relaxing is definitely the wrong word.

When I’m here, I work all day long. Feeding the horses. Riding the horses. Brushing the horses. Helping Grandma cook. Hanging the sheets to dry on the clothesline outside. Grandma’s sheets smell so good. I wish I could bottle the scent and take it home with me.

Grandpa and I are sitting on the front porch drinking spiked lemonade. Grandpa says spiked lemonade is good for the soul.

“Sometimes it’s hard being the daughter of someone famous,” I tell him. I’ve been thinking a lot about friends lately. Damian’s off in Europe. Brooklyn isn’t speaking to me. Vanessa and RiA

Grandpa sips on his lemonade and looks out over his land. When he sets his glass down and starts rocking in his chair again, he says, “You need to get a bigger picture of your world.”

“What do you mean? I have a big picture of the world. I’ve traveled the world since I was a kid.”

Grandpa shakes his head. “Well, hotshot, just cause you’ve traveled the world, doesn’t mean you know jack shit about your world.”

“My world? I’m living in my world. I don’t get it.”

“At some point in their life, every person has to strike out on their own. I was on my own at sixteen, working cattle fields in Wichita, and then on oil rigs. I was my own man. You’re begi

“That’s pretty deep for an old cowboy,” I tease.

He gets up, ruffles my hair — which is Grandpa-speak for I love you — and tells me it’s time to hit the hay.

Friday, June 3rd

A little naughty.

10am