AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I will!” That came out a little louder than expected. Checking to make sure I didn’t capture unwanted attention, I lower my voice and turn in my seat to face her. “I will text him,” I say more calmly. “I just don’t know what to say. We left things in a weird place.”
She raises her eyebrows. “Him confessing his undying love for you doesn’t sound like a weird place. It sounds like the type of place where you should have texted him by now.”
I force a laugh. “He did not confess his undying love.”
I haven’t texted Jackson because I’m afraid of the outcome. If he left me that ticket as some type of olive branch so we can keep casually sleeping together, I’ve caught too many feelings for that to work. And if he left me that ticket because he wants us to see each other officially? Equally terrifying.
So, I haven’t texted him. I’ve been perfectly content wandering around in this little world of what if, and I’m not in a rush to leave.
“You’re texting him when we land,” Rae says as the pilot announces we’re clear for takeoff.
I shake my head at her before looking out the window. “Maybe.”
I didn’t text him when we landed. In my defense, there was too much going on. Even if I texted Jackson and he answered, what would I do? I can’t get into a full-length conversation with him while I’m trying to get my luggage and meet my parents at the airport.
Tonight.
I’ll text him tonight.
That’s what I told Rae, but she looked at me like I was feeding her bullshit, and honestly, I could be. But as of right now, I have full intentions of texting him tonight.
Rae and I said goodbye at the airport, but I’ll see her again while we’re home. We only live about fifteen minutes from each other, and her mom has promised to make her signature Texas sheet cake.
Mom cried when she saw me even though she didn’t reach out most of the semester, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen my dad smile so big. They grilled me with questions the entire drive home.
How’s living with Rae?
Are you making friends?
Have you been eating enough?
Now, alone in my bedroom, I feel like I can finally breathe. Our cat, Peanut, rubs his fluffy orange head against my hand, and I give him a scratch behind the ears. I told my parents I would set my stuff down and be right back, but it’s been about twenty minutes, and they haven’t come looking for me yet.
My bedroom looks the same as it always has. I didn’t grow up in this contemporary home. My parents bought this house when I was a junior in high school, so there are no life-long childhood memories within these walls. Just a handful of nights where Rae and I snuck down to the kitchen to make ourselves amateur cocktails and binge-watch One Tree Hill.
A knock on my door frame gets my attention, and I look up to find my father standing there, tall and lean. “Hey, honey,” he says, looking at me like I’m more delicate than I am. He didn’t always look at me that way. He once treated me like I was fearless, and I can’t remember when things shifted between us. “Are you hungry? We made dinner if you’d like something to eat.”
Returning his smile, I say, “That would be great.” Getting to my feet, I follow him down the sleek wooden stairs with Peanut following close behind. Even though both parents have concerns about my major, my dad seems to have at least accepted it.
The chicken penne casserole my mother sets on the table still bubbles as we take our seats. Dad is the king of casseroles. He can take a mix of ingredients you’d never put together and turn it into something amazing. Since my mom works such long hours, my dad is usually the one who finds himself in the kitchen.
Mom smiles as she spoons a helping onto my plate and sets it in front of me. “It’s nice seeing you at this table again.”
“It’s nice being here,” I say with a smile, and I hope it doesn’t come across as forced as it felt. Having a mother who’s a shark of a lawyer takes the task of lying to a whole new level.
She takes a seat, eyeing me from across the table. “And your classes are going well, I take it?”
I look down at my food because it’s easier than looking at her, and I feel like I’m ten again. “Yes. I have A’s in almost all of them.”
A light laugh leaves her. “I would hope so.”
It’s the first backhanded comment of the night, but my eyes still snap up to meet hers before looking at my father and then back down at my food. She thinks my major is easy. She thinks it’s a waste of a degree, and more importantly, a waste of tuition.
“Do you think you’ll live with Rae again next year?” my dad asks to smooth things over.
“I think so. She said she’ll want to live with me for at least another year before she considers moving in with Matt.”
Taking another bite, he cocks his head. “It’s that serious?”
