Page 49 of Teach Me Your Ways

Me: We need to talk.

Three dots appeared. Disappeared. Reappeared.

Grady: You free now?

Me: Yeah.

A second later, his address popped up. My heart dropped and leapt at the same time.

It was a bad idea. The worst idea.

So naturally, I threw on a hoodie and went into the living room to talk to my mom. “Can you keep an eye on Sophie?” I asked. “I was thinking about going for a drive and trying to clear my head.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, fine. Just stressed.”

“Of course you should go,” she said with a wave of her hand. “You don’t have to ask. You know I’m going to be here. We agreed I’m your other half until you get on your feet.”

“Thanks, Mom. Seriously.”

“Go on. I’m going to pour a glass of wine. There’s a whole new season of that true crime show. I’m going to binge it.”

“And then go to bed like a freak.” I laughed. “I don’t know why you don’t have nightmares.”

“Because I’m a badass,” she said.

“Thanks. Don’t wait up.”

“I won’t. Have fun.”

She didn’t say she knew what I was going to do, but I had a feeling she had her suspicions. Mom had a way of knowing things.

I started my piece of shit car and followed the GPS to his house. We both knew what was going to happen. I couldn’t talk myself out of it. All of this tension was impossible to bear. I was going to wrinkle prematurely. And develop an ulcer.

His place was out past the main drag, tucked behind a row of trees that probably looked very charming in daylight. At night, it felt like driving into the unknown. The whole drive over I kept trying to talk myself out of going over there.

I just turned up the music and drowned out my common sense.