“Everything okay?” Sarah tilted her head, studying me.
“I guess. I don’t know. It’s just weird because they don’t come home very often.” I typed a quick reply to my mother, telling her I was on my way, and tucked my phone back in my pants. “I’ll see you later.”
“Leo.” Sarah called me just before I rounded the corner. “I ... can I ask you something real quick before you go?”
My shoulders tensed. “Sure. What’s up?”
“Do you even want to date me? I mean, what are we doing here? If you just want to walk away, please just tell me. I don’t want you to feel like you’re obligated to me in any way. Okay? Seriously.” She pressed her lips together before she went on. “I like you, Leo. I have since we met ... remember the sprinklers that summer?”
I smiled. “Yeah. I remember.”
“But I understand that this might not be the right time for us. It’s fine. I’d rather you tell me the truth than let me look pathetic, trying to hang on when maybe you never even meant for us to be anything more than—just friends.”
“Sarah.” I sucked in a deep breath. “I like you, too. You’re probably the coolest girl in this school, you know? You’re kind to everyone, you’re gorgeous ... but I’ve got a lot of shit going on in my head right now. It’s not you, it’s got nothing to do with you, but pretending we could be anything long-term wouldn’t be fair. To either of us.”
“I understand. Thanks for saying that.” Those pretty dark eyes filled with tears, but she managed a smile. “Now you better go home and see your brothers before your mom calls out the National Guard.”
I turned to leave again, pausing just before I opened the door. “Sarah? I meant what I said. You really are the coolest girl I know.”
She laughed, even as a single tear spilled down her cheek. “Oh, get out of here, you big flirt.”
I felt nothing but relief as I jogged down the school steps and across the lawn toward the parking lot. Mine was one of the few cars still there, but I did spot the ancient Ford Quinn sometimes drove. I assumed she was there late working on the paper. Jake was probably with her, and an image of the two of them, making out in the newspaper office, sent a stab of pain through my heart.
But if Jake Donavan made her happy, I’d take that pain. And maybe someday we’d find our way back to being friends. That was as much as I could hope for at this point.
Simon and Danny’s cars were parked along the curb when I got home. Seeing them there gave me an odd feeling. My brothers usually made it back here for holidays, but we didn’t see them often other than. Danny was in the last year of his undergrad degree at Rutgers, and Simon had a job at a marketing company in Baltimore. They called often, and Danny came down sometimes if I had a big game, but they had their own lives.
Which was why both of them being back home on a weeknight made me nervous.
I pulled into the driveway, grabbed my bag and walked slowly into the house. The front door was unlocked, and I dropped the duffel just inside, yelling to my mother as I toed off my shoes.
“Yo, Mom! I’m home. What’s up? Is this a surprise party deal? Did you all forget my birthday was a month ago?”
It was quiet for a minute, and then my mother’s voice floated in from the kitchen. “We’re in here, Leo. Come on in.”
I swallowed hard and padded down the short hallway in my socks. “Hey, what’s going on?”
My parents were sitting close to each other at the kitchen table. Simon and Danny were across from them in the same seats they’d occupied throughout our childhood. Danny’s eyes were suspiciously red.
My mother pointed to the empty chair that was my spot. “Sit down, sweetie. We need to talk.”
