The Perfect Son

by Freida McFadden

  “I’m sorry,” I say.

  “It’s okay.”

  And then he reaches under the table with his left hand and finds mine. He gives it a squeeze, and then suddenly we’re holding hands. Oh my God, we’re holding hands! He grins at me, and I grin back. The only thing ruining it a little is that my hand is getting super clammy. I sort of want to pull it away from him and wipe it on my jeans, but I’m not sure how I would explain that one.

  “Hey!” One of the other guys on the team is smirking at Liam. “Cass! What are you doing under the table? Hands where we can see them, buddy!”

  Liam laughs, but his ears color slightly and he pulls his hand away from mine. My heart sinks in my chest, and at that moment, my mom texts me that she’s outside and I better get my butt out there ASAP.

  “I gotta go,” I say to Liam.

  He chews on his lip. “What if I tell her I’ll walk you home?”

  “She’s outside. I really gotta go.”

  “Okay.” He stands up so I can get out of the booth. He rubs at the back of his neck. “I’m glad you came.”

  I smile up at him. “Me too.”

  All his friends from track are staring at us. He keeps rubbing at his neck and smiling self-consciously. “Maybe another time then?”

  I nod, trying not to let on how disappointed I feel right now. He’s not even asking me out for another night. But it’s not like we’re never going to see each other again. We’ve got math class together tomorrow. It’s my favorite class of the day now, and I don’t even like math. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “See you,” he says.

  I wait one more beat, hoping he’ll change his mind and lean in to kiss me, or at least suggest going out again. But he doesn’t.

  Chapter 15

  Olivia

  I am so mad at my mom.

  I was having such a great time with Liam. He’s, like, the first boy I’ve ever had a big crush on. And he actually seems to like me back. And she ruined it. For no reason!

  “Are you going to give me the silent treatment the whole way home?” Mom asks as she turns onto Maple Street.

  I fold my arms across my chest. “You know Liam asked me specifically to come tonight.”

  “And he’ll ask you again.”

  “What if he doesn’t?”

  “I’m sure he won’t be discouraged that easily.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “Give me a little bit of credit, Olivia. Give him a little bit of credit.”

  I let out an angry huff and stare out the window. Mom knows how much I like Liam. I’ve been confiding in her about my crush the entire year. Especially since Madison is so anti-Liam, my mother has been my main confidante. She knows how excited I was about tonight.

  “I think I saw him through the window,” Mom says. She’s chosen to ignore me ignoring her. I hate it when she does that, although to be fair, it usually works. “Was he the one wearing the blue T-shirt with the dark hair?”

  “Yes,” I admit. As much as I want to be angry at my mother, I also sort of want to talk about Liam. I’m very conflicted.

  “Oh.” She nods. “He’s really cute. I can see why you like him.”

  “I know, right?” My palms get all clammy again at the thought of him. “And he’s not just cute. He is, like, one of the smartest guys in the school. You should have heard him at the debate yesterday, Mom.”

  “Well, I’m sorry I made you come home, but I’m sure you’ll have another opportunity with him.”

  “He held my hand.” I smile at the memory. My whole body gets tingly at the thought of it. “I mean, just for a minute because one of his friends started teasing him. But… it was…”

  “You should invite him over to the house.”

  “You mean while you’re home?”

  “Oh God. Unthinkable.”

  “Mom…”

  Mom winks at me. “What? I’ll be cool.”

  Oh my God, she will definitely not be cool. She’ll probably drag out old photo albums and show him pictures of potty training.

  “You can take him up to your room,” she adds. “As long as you keep the door open.”

  “Do we have to keep it open? It’s not like we’re going to do anything.”

  Mom snorts. But I guess maybe she’s right. If Liam and I were alone in a room…

  God, the thought of it makes me all tingly again. I can’t wait to see him again.

  Mom pulls up the Honda in front of our house, and by this point, I’ve mostly forgiven her. Aside from Madison, my mother is my best friend and it’s hard to stay angry at her. And she’s probably right. I don’t think I’ve blown it with Liam. Aren’t you supposed to play hard to get with boys?

  So I’m in a pretty good mood when I get out of the car. Until I see who’s sitting on the front steps to our house.

  Chapter 16

  Erika

  The smell of the meatloaf in the oven fills the kitchen as I chop cucumbers for the salad that will be the green element of our dinner tonight. My mother raised me to always add a green element to dinner. Even though it’s a guarantee that Hannah will pick it off her plate with her thumb and forefinger and look at it like it’s dog poop. And Liam might also. Actually, it’s fifty-fifty that Jason will too.

  Still, you have to have a green element.

  The front door slams shut, which means Jason is home from work. Right on time. He’s removed his shoes by the door—getting him to do that was a victory that was hard won. He wanders into the kitchen, looking pretty dang handsome in his shirt and tie. He offers me a crooked smile. “Smells good.”

  “Meatloaf.”

  He joins me at the counter and looks down at the cucumber I’m chopping. “Funny. It doesn’t look like meatloaf.”

  I roll my eyes and nudge him with my shoulder. “It’s in the oven. Five more minutes on the timer.”

  He walks over to the oven and throws it open to peer at the meatloaf inside. I hate it when he does that because it disrupts the cooking process, but I grudgingly appreciate that he likes my cooking so much that he has to witness it in progress.

  “How was traffic?” I ask. I still don’t know how he can brave the commute from Manhattan to Long Island during rush hour and keep a smile on his face. Five minutes on the Long Island Expressway and I’m crabby all day.

  “Not bad.” He sticks his thumb into his tie to loosen it. “Can I help with chopping?”

  I snort. Jason is good with computers, but cooking is definitely not his thing. When he’s chopping vegetables, he’s just as likely to slice off a chunk of his finger—I’d rather not have blood all over my salad. “That’s okay.”

  “What?” He points at the tomato on the counter. “I could chop that up for you.”

  “Hmm. Could you?”

  “Sure. I have great knife skills or whatever.” When I give him a look, he grins at me. “Come on. It’s just for our dinner. It’s not like we’re entering the salad in a salad competition.”

  “How about you set the table?”

  “Your wish is my command, m’lady.”

  I roll my eyes. “Can you yell for Hannah and Liam to come down first?”

  “You got it.”

  Jason pulls his tie the rest of the way off as he wanders over to the staircase to yell for the kids to come down for dinner. Then he obediently comes back to the kitchen to set the table. He’s being a five-star husband tonight.

  “Did you have a good day at work today?” I say as I start chopping the tomato.

  He nods eagerly. “The team is making great progress. Everyone is working really hard, and we’re going to have a new product soon. It’s exciting.”

  Jason explained to me some of the software they’re building, and I don’t entirely understand it. He is definitely some kind of genius. It’s a bit intimidating, because I’m definitely not a genius, but after twenty years of marriage, I don’t feel insecure about that anymore. At least it means we can afford a nice house and nice cars. And
maybe if he gets some time off, we can take a nice vacation as a family.

  Hannah wanders into the kitchen in her bare feet just as the timer goes off for the meatloaf. Jason makes a big deal out of how delicious it looks, but Hannah just crinkles her nose. She glares at the gray mound, glistening with tomato sauce and its own juices. “We’re not eating that, are we?”

  “Of course not,” Jason says. “That’s our new TV. What would you like to watch?”

  “Dad,” she groans. She narrows her eyes at the dinner I just spent the last hour cooking. “It’s just so… meaty. It’s like this big hunk of meat.”

  “Yes, Hannah. That’s the definition of a meatloaf.”

  She sinks into one of the chairs at the kitchen table. “I’d rather have chicken.”

  “Well, I’d rather be in the Bahamas.” Jason shrugs. “We don’t always get what we want. Sometimes you have to do horrible things like eat delicious meatloaf.”

  I smile to myself as I continue chopping the tomato. “Where is Liam? Can somebody tell him to come down?”

  Hannah takes out her phone and start thumbing through her text messages. “Liam isn’t home.”

  What? “He isn’t?” I try to keep the tremor out of my voice. “Where is he?”

  “I don’t know. Track practice? What’s the big deal? It’s not that late.”

  I glance out the window, where the sun has already dipped in the sky. “The sun is down.”

  “So?” Hannah keeps her eyes on her phone. “He probably went to eat somewhere with his friends or something. Why are you freaking out?”

  “I’m not freaking out.”

  But she’s right. I am freaking out. I look over at Jason, who doesn’t seem even the slightest bit concerned that Liam is not home. Which makes sense, because our son is sixteen years old and practically driving. He can be responsible for himself. He’s not even late yet. He’s come home at this time before.

  But it’s not Liam I’m worried about.

  My hands are shaking so badly that I slip with the knife and the blade goes right into my left index finger. Blood immediately pools all over the cutting board.

  “Geez, Erika!” Jason winces and goes for the paper towels. He grabs two squares and thrusts them in my direction. “Are you okay? That looks like a bad cut.”

  I press the paper towels against my finger, and they immediately saturate with crimson. But the cut on my finger is the least of my concerns. Where is Liam? All I can think about is Olivia Reynolds. What if he’s with her?

  What is he doing to her?

  I hope Frank hurries up and does his damn job.

  “Erika!” Jason’s voice cuts into my thoughts. “That’s really bleeding a lot. Maybe we should go to the emergency room…”

  “No!” The word comes out too loudly and Jason blinks at me. I clear my throat. “It’s fine. Really. I just bleed a lot.”

  Jason tries to smile, but he looks pale. “And you were worried about me chopping the tomatoes…”

  The front door slams, and I let out a breath. Liam is home. Thank God.

  My son stomps into the kitchen, still wearing his sneakers that have now tracked dirt all over the carpet and the kitchen floor. I’ve yelled at him for that many times before, but I’m not going to freak out over it right now. I’m just glad he’s home.

  “Mom was worried about you,” Hannah speaks up before I can pretend the opposite is true.

  “You were?” Liam looks surprised. “I just went out to Charlie’s with some of my friends from track. You just said to be home by seven. Right?” He looks down at his watch. “I’m not late.”

  “No, it’s fine.” I grab another paper towel from the counter to replace the one that’s drenched in my blood. “Did you have fun?”

  Liam shrugs. “Sure.”

  The blood seems to have slowed down, which is a good thing. I was beginning to worry I needed stitches. I’ve never had stitches before, except for during childbirth. “Was it just the guys from track? Or were there girls there?”

  I try to say it casually, hoping he might let something slip. But given the way Jason smirks at me, I don’t think I was successful.

  Liam goes to the cupboard to grab some glasses, which Jason forgot when he was setting the table. Liam has set the table many more times than Jason has. “It was just the guys.”

  Jason laughs. “He probably wouldn’t tell us if it wasn’t.”

  He probably wouldn’t. And that’s exactly what I’m afraid of.

  Chapter 17

  Olivia

  “Tyler.” I frown as I say his name. “What are you doing here?”

  The last person I expected to see when I got home was Tyler Martinson. He’s still got on his football jersey, and he’s sitting on the front steps of my house, his elbows on his knees. When he sees me get out of the car, he scrambles back to his feet.

  “Olivia,” he says. “I’ve got to talk to you.”

  “Tyler!” My mother has noticed Tyler sitting there. He knows her because Tyler’s mom is this crazy PTA lady. She’s always volunteering for this or selling tickets for that. All the other parents are always trying to suck up to her, including my mom. “How are you doing?”

  “Good.” Tyler shrugs. Liam is always really polite around adults, but Tyler isn’t. I’m lucky he doesn’t curse my mother out. “Mrs. Mercer, I need to talk to Olivia for a few minutes.”

  My mother hesitates. Even though she knows his mother, Tyler doesn’t look like the kind of guy you want to leave your daughter alone with. He’s big, he doesn’t look adults in the eye unless he’s pissed off, and he resembles the date rapist in some TV movie.

  “Just for a few minutes,” Mom says. “Then I want you to come inside, Olivia.”

  I nod, disappointed my mother wouldn’t give me an excuse to blow off Tyler. I don’t want to talk to him. Not for a few minutes—not for a few seconds. But when my mother goes back into the house, he and I are left alone together for the first time since that day he asked me out and I said no.

  The thing is, Tyler isn’t bad looking. He’s actually pretty good looking. Not as cute as Liam, but who is, right? The reason I didn’t want to go out with him had nothing to do with his looks. It had to do with the fact that he’s a jerk. And a bully.

  For example, when we were freshmen, there was this kid in our class named Greg, who was like the nicest kid ever. But he was also really scrawny, wore super thick glasses, and was definitely pretty nerdy. For some reason, Tyler made it his mission to torture Greg. I had gym with the two of them, and Tyler was always trying to find a way to throw the ball directly at Greg as hard as he could. Which, in Tyler’s case, was really hard. I remember one time he threw it at him so hard that his glasses broke and his nose started to bleed.

  He also started rumors about him online. I can’t remember all the details, but it was pretty bad. I think they also Photoshopped Greg’s face on all these embarrassing pictures. Then they sent the pictures to the whole school.

  It was stuff like that the entire year. By the time June came along, Greg was so beaten down that he barely spoke anymore to anyone. And then he didn’t come back to school in September.

  Oh, and last year there was that whole thing with Lily Macintosh. I guess they were going out and he got mad at her, and he sent everyone in the school these photos of her topless that she apparently sent him when they were going out. I felt really bad for Lily, although you have to be really stupid to send naked pictures of yourself to a guy like Tyler Martinson. Anyway, she left school too. Madison told me she tried to kill herself, but I’m not sure if that’s true. I overheard Tyler laughing about it in the hallway once.

  So yeah. That’s Tyler. That’s the kind of shit he does.

  “What is it, Tyler?” I wrap my arms around my chest, because it’s even colder than it was earlier. Tyler is wearing a coat, but there’s no chance in hell he would offer it to me the way Liam did. He’s too self-absorbed to even notice I’m cold. “What do you want?”

>   “I need to talk to you about Liam.”

  I roll my eyes. “Don’t bother.”

  “It’s important.”

  “Liam is a really nice guy.” I raise my chin to look Tyler in the eyes. “There’s nothing you could tell me about him that would change my mind.”

  “You’ve got to listen to me, Olivia.” Tyler’s voice cracks slightly, which surprises me. Is he actually upset? “I’m not joking around. Liam is… he’s dangerous.”

  I snort. “Liam is dangerous?”

  “I really think…” He frowns at me. “I think if you go out with him, your life could be in danger.”

  “Oh, come on! So you’re saying he’s a murderer?”

  “I’m saying… of everyone I know, he’s the only one who scares the shit out of me.”

  “Why?”

  Tyler shifts between his thick legs. “It’s a long story. You have to trust me.”

  I just shake my head.

  “And anyway,” he adds. “Liam has barely any experience with girls. Wouldn’t you rather be with someone…” He winks at me. “Someone who knows what they’re doing?”

  Right. And now he’s finally come to the real reason he’s here. Because he’s pissed off that I went out with Liam after rejecting him.

  “I wouldn’t, actually,” I say.

  I start to turn away from Tyler, but before I can, he reaches out and grabs my arm. I try to shake him off, but he holds tight.

  “You’ve got to listen to me, Olivia,” he pleads with me. “You’re making a huge mistake. I promise you.”

  Tyler’s fingers are the size of sausages. I try again to shake him off again as I feel bruises blossoming on my skin. “Let me go,” I say through my teeth.

  “You don’t understand…”

  “Let me go or I’ll scream.”

  That finally gets through to him. He opens his fist and I pull away. My arm still throbs where he was grabbing onto me.

  “We’ll talk about it more later,” he says.