Total pages in book: 157
Estimated words: 149510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 748(@200wpm)___ 598(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 748(@200wpm)___ 598(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
“I don’t know why everyone keeps saying that! Ace and I are best friends, and we’ve known each other our whole lives. Everything about us is normalllll.”
Kayla looks over at me to garner support, but when she realizes I’m still hovering by the door, she frowns. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” I shake my head and stare at my feet, trying to gather the courage to say it out loud. “It’s just that…” I pause and lift my gaze to meet theirs. “You guys really don’t need to keep babying me, you know?”
“Babying you?” Julia asks, confusion evident in her voice. “What are you talking about?”
“Making sure I have all of my notes, leaving me hot chocolate every night, dropping off dinner and snacks,” I list off everything they’ve been doing over the past month. “The old-school Discman with burned CDs with very specific playlists. I appreciate it all, and I’ll admit, the ‘I want to break shit’ playlist has really gotten me through some rough days, but it’s not necessary anymore. I’m doing okay. Almost good, even. You don’t have to keep going out of your way for me. Okay?”
“Um…Scottie?” Julia ventures, her eyes darting to Kayla and back to me. “That wasn’t us.”
I furrow my brow. “What?”
“That was Finn,” Kayla answers. “I mean, we helped him with a few things, like getting notes from some of your classes when he couldn’t make it to that part of campus, but it was all his doing.”
Everything has been Finn this whole time?
“He’s been really worried about you,” Julia says, her voice soft. “I know you guys have had your moments in the past, but Ace says Finn’s officially in his emotionally healthy era.” She rolls her eyes and laughs. “I mean, you know Ace, he’s dramatic, but every time I’ve seen Finn this semester, he has seemed different. Steady, you know?”
My body feels warm, my hands tingly. The idea of an emotionally stable Finn Hayes is…overwhelming. And frankly, seems a little too good to be true.
“Again, it’s none of my business, and I know there’s been some shit that’s gone down between the two of you,” Julia says, and her eyes lock with mine. “But when a guy is willing to do the kinds of things he’s been doing for you, I think he might be worth talking to.”
I can’t say I disagree with her. He’s always been special, and I love him for a reason. But my heart can’t take another U-turn. I won’t survive it.
Wednesday February 12th
Finn
“I feel compelled to give a toast,” Wendy, the matriarch of the Winslow family, announces as she rises to her feet, her majestically silver bob of hair shining under the overhead lights.
The entire gang is here—both the Winslows and the Hayeses—for the first time ever. All of us, in one house. We’ve been together in parts and pieces ever since the big news first broke, but it’s hard to get this many people’s schedules to align. But tonight, we’re all here, Remy having bought Reece a last-minute plane ticket so he could fly home from California yesterday, and thankfully, Wendy’s New York brownstone is big enough to fit us.
“Reece, Finn, Travis, Jack, and Willow,” Wendy addresses, “seeing you all here, so young and vibrant, takes me back to when my boys and Winnie were young.”
“Hear that?” Jude teases, pointing to the Winslow kids. “We’re old now.”
Wendy shushes him immediately. “I didn’t ask for crowd participation, Jude, but now that you’ve mentioned it…yes, you’re old. And so am I!”
Jude laughs, and Flynn elbows him to calm down when he starts choking on spit. Wendy carries on, undeterred. I imagine she’s pretty used to all their shit anyway.
“I’d be honored if you called me Aunt Wendy, and I want you to know that you always have me in your corner. I’m always here for you.” She smiles toward each of us.
“Aunt Wendy it is!” Trav exclaims, and she laughs.
“Thank you, Travis,” Wendy says through a small laugh. “And Helen,” she says my mother’s name and looks across the dinner table at her. “I feel like I’ve gained a friend. A friend I hope I get to know more and more as the years go by. A friend I hope knows that I’m always here for her too. A friend I hope will one day understand the same things that it took me what feels like decades to realize. You are strong. You are beautiful. And you can do anything.”
“Thank you, Wendy. That means more than you probably realize.” My mother’s voice shakes, and a sheen of tears shines in her eyes. She’s been emotional since I set foot in the door, and she greeted me by wrapping me up in a big hug. The past two nights, we’ve had long phone conversations—that she initiated—and I’m happy to see her taking all of this in for the gift that it is. She’s going through a lot right now, and after spending years in an abusive marriage, it’s almost like she has to retrain her brain.