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My dad gave us a sideways glance, but then just turned back to the TV without a word. Kyler looked at me with a question in her eyes, like she was worried she’d crossed a line, but I just kissed her forehead and tightened my arms around her so she wouldn’t move. I liked her where she was.
“So, we were just catching the tail end of the parade. Is it just me or have the Broadway shows gotten progressively worse each year?” Hillary chuckled uncomfortably.
Kyler laughed. “Nope. Definitely not just you. My mom and I were saying the same thing this morning while we were watching it. It seems like they’ve turned Broadway into a theme park or something.”
“Right?” Izzie agreed. “No one has any original ideas anymore.”
“The same could be said for Hollywood, though,” Kyler pointed out. “It seems like it’s all just variations on the same five storylines.”
“Way to dump on your dream job, baby,” I teased.
“If I get lucky enough to make movies for a living, they’re going to be original. Real stories about real people. Maybe about people like us. Or like me.”
I loved that idea. I wondered if she’d ever be confident enough to tell her story. It could give hope to sexual assault survivors. Show them that there was light at the end of the tunnel. But in order to tell that story, she had to see the light for herself, and I wasn’t sure she did right now.
“So documentaries, then,” Hillary said. “That’s bold. I love it. What would your first documentary be about?”
“I don’t know. Maybe about high school. About the things no one talks about. Like bullying and stuff. I can’t really explain it. Like, I see it in my head, but I can’t vocalize it.”
I kissed her temple. “You should start it while you’re still in high school. You’re in the A/V Club. You make movies already. Show high school through an actual high school student’s eyes. I can’t think of very many films where that’s been done.”
She looked at me and gave me a sad smile. I knew what she was trying to tell me: she wasn’t ready to do that. Because doing that, or at least doing it as honestly as she could, would mean opening up about her past in a way that she wasn’t ready to yet.
Not wanting to push her, I smiled back and kissed her. What should have been a peck lasted…well a little longer. I heard a phone camera clicking, and that made me come up for air. Kyler turned bright red and buried her face in my chest.
“Has anyone ever told you two that you’re so cute it’s disgusting?” Izzie chuckled. “That was seriously the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Thank you?” I teased.
Kyler snorted.
“Aww, you embarrassed them, Iz,” Hillary giggled.
“I’m his big sister. That’s my job,” Izzie laughed. “Oh, did I tell you that my first introduction to Ky was seeing Ian sucking her face off at the front door?”
“No. Do tell,” she said, like it was the juiciest gossip ever.
“Seriously, I came up from the basement and there they were in the foyer making out like the world was about to end,” Izzie told her.
“Come on, Iz. It wasn’tthatbad,” I groaned.
“Are you kidding? Maya and I could hear that loving exchange all the way in here,” my dad laughed. “No joke, Maya actually asked me if I’d talked to you about wrapping it.”
Kyler’s face got even redder, and she hid it in the crook of my neck. I took a deep breath as I rubbed her back, somehow resisting the urge to snap at my father. My family was not normal. I knew they didn’t know about her past, but that was still uncalled-for.
“Gary! Stop embarrassing your son,” Maya scolded him as she walked into the room. “Not to mention his girlfriend. She’ll never come back over here again if you keep that up.”
“Football’s not on for another three hours. What else am I going to do?”
“I know what we should do. We should resurrect an old family tradition,” Izzie suggested. “Catch Phrase.”
“Good call,” I sighed in relief.
It would give my father something to do other than give the girls a hard time.
“I loveCatch Phrase,” Kyler said with a small smile as she emerged from hiding.
“It’s one of my favorite games,” Hillary agreed.
“Sweet. Majority rules. Dad, Maya, you in?” I asked.
“Areyouprepared to lose?” my dad teased.
“Nice try. We’re going to wipe the floor with you,” Izzie giggled as she pulled up the app on her phone. “Okay. Ian, Ky, you’re a team. Dad and Maya. And me and Hill. Sit in a circle across from your teammates. Best three out of five wins.”
