Total pages in book: 215
Estimated words: 199344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 997(@200wpm)___ 797(@250wpm)___ 664(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 199344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 997(@200wpm)___ 797(@250wpm)___ 664(@300wpm)
My stomach drops right out of my ass, my heart pounding erratically.
East View? Tell me I heard that wrong.
Mom gasps, and I can picture her eyes widening with horror. “With Zoey?”
“Yeah,” Maya says slowly. “Do you think that’s going to be a problem?”
“I . . . I honestly don’t know,” Mom says as I step into the kitchen, unable to remain hidden behind the wall any longer. Mom stands facing me, leaning against the counter, and she clocks me the second I appear, but not Maya. She stands on the opposite side of the island counter with her back to me.
“Maybe I should have a chat with my little warrior,” Maya suggests.
Mom averts her stare, looking back at Maya, and I keep silent, needing to hear where this is going, grateful that Mom hasn’t given me away just yet. “Zoey is . . . she’s still very hurt by Noah’s distance, and it’s taken her a long time to come to terms with it. But Noah, maybe what he needs is to see her again. Maybe this could be good for both of them.”
I shake my head, catching Mom’s eye over Maya’s shoulder. I couldn’t possibly think of anything worse.
“That’s my hope,” Maya says. “If it’s not too much for her, I wanted to see if she’d maybe consider helping Noah settle in tomorrow. You know, just give him the basics. Show him where his classes are, give him a rundown of the school, maybe point him in the direction of the football team.”
Oh, hell no!
I shake my head a little more vigorously, watching my mother all too closely, seeing the way her eyes go distant as if actually considering Maya’s ridiculous suggestions. “You know what,” Mom says, a smugness crossing her face. “I’m sure she’d be happy to.”
Sweet baby Jesus. What has my mother been smoking?
“Oh, that would be amazing,” Maya says as my world crumbles around me. Not only am I going to see Noah Ryan tomorrow, but I’m actually going to have to talk to him. “I know it’s going to be hard for them both, but I really think this could be good.”
Mom purposefully looks over Maya’s shoulder, making it obvious I’ve walked into the kitchen. “Oh, here’s my little sweet pea now,” she says, placing her glass of wine on the counter and walking around to my side as Maya whips around with a wide, beaming smile. Mom throws her arms around me and squeezes my shoulders. “Honey, did you hear? Noah will be starting at East View with you tomorrow.”
I’m frozen to the spot, still trying to register the shock, but at the hopefulness in Aunt Maya’s gaze, I force down the fear and put on a big, fake smile. “Oh really?” I ask as Maya barges into me, throwing her arms around me in a tight hug. “That’s amazing news.”
“Sure is,” Maya says, pulling back and allowing me the chance to breathe. “I know he misses you.”
Liar. If he missed me, he wouldn’t have allowed three long years to pass without so much as a hello. Didn’t he know I was hurting too? I needed him just as much as he needed me.
“Let me guess. He got kicked out of another school?” I question, trying to sound casual even though I’m slowly dying inside. Just the thought of seeing his face again . . . I’m sure he’s changed so much over the past three years. When I saw him last, he had just turned fourteen, but he’s seventeen now, and he’s not a kid anymore. Not even close.
Maya laughs. “You know him too well.”
Ha. What a joke.
“What was it this time?” I ask, moving around the counter and pinching a freshly baked brownie off the cooling rack. “Burnouts on the football field or trashing a classroom?”
“Oooh, so close, but yet so far,” she tells me. “My hunk o’ hunk o’ burnin’ love decided it was a great idea to burn down the principal’s office.”
My eyes go wide, and I gape at Aunt Maya, certain I heard that wrong. “He did what?”
“Yup,” she says, just as horrified. “I was just telling your mom that I don’t know what to do with him anymore. Now, I know it’s a lot to ask, but with him starting at East View tomorrow, I wondered if you could help him settle in. He was always his best self when he was with you, so I hoped that maybe seeing you again would somehow reel him in because this is his last chance. I had to call his father to drop some money on a new office just to keep this from going to law enforcement.”
I cringe, hating my need to always be polite. “I’m not sure, Aunt Maya. That’s a lot of pressure on my shoulders. I don’t think I can just click my fingers and see the old Noah again. Besides, he wants nothing to do with me. Forcing us together . . . I don’t know if that’s going to be a good idea.”