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“Are you afraid Mom’s thinking less of you?” she asked, voice quiet. “Because of Harry?”
“I know she does.” I smiled, but it held no humor. “But it doesn’t matter. I think we might be over.”
“Over,” Nellie echoed. “Like broken up?”
Ugh, the words settled like a rock in my stomach, but they were a serious possibility. If neither one of us messaged first, if I never went to Crushed Beanz again…
“I don’t think you should,” my sister went on. “Break up, I mean. I think you should be with him.”
Her supportive words made me smile a bit, and I reached out to trace a finger on the shirt’s ruffle. “You don’t even know him.”
“No…but I know you’ve been happier these past few weeks than you have been in a long time.” Nellie tucked her long hair out of her face, fingers catching on a knotted strand. “I think you deserve to be happy. Especially if it’s with a guy as cute as him.”
“Go change into the next outfit,” I told her with a chuckle. “Let me see the next atrocious combination.”
“Atrocious,” she said happily, “A-T-R-O-C-I-O-U-S.”
I held my palm up, and she smacked hers into it.
Once she ducked into the dressing room, I eased my cell out from my coat pocket, looking at the blank screen with a little dip of disappointment in my chest.No, I told myself firmly, unlocking the phone.You’re going to message him first. Be a big girl and call your freaking boyfriend.
Since the last app I used was my social media, I found Untapped Potential’s latest update glaring back at me. All caps.
Untapped Potential Status Update:
THIS SATURDAY NIGHT – UNTAPPED POTENTIAL WILL OPEN UP AT DOWNTOWN IN BAYVIEW
Underneath the update, it went on to say the time and how they were opening for a band. Whoever posted the update also mentioned that they were playing their normal gig at Crushed Beanz Friday night.
I stared at the post for the longest moment, having an internal crisis in the middle of a kid’s clothing store. This was game-changing for Untapped Potential. Their first gig outside of Crushed Beanz. Their firstrealgig, opening up for a band.
And Harry didn’t tell me.
The wind fell from my sails, leaving me slouching against the cushiony chair. The kid’s song still bopped through the speakers, but the cheerful tune couldn’t lift my spirits. Pressure built in my throat, as if someone had their hand wrapped around it.
Without liking the post or even opening my text messages, I slid my phone back into my pocket, preparing to plaster on a happy smile for Nellie once she emerged.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to go tonight, Margot,” I said sadly, staring at my glum reflection in her vanity mirror.
And it seriously was glum. The week had passed at a slow and depressing rate. Day after day went by, no texts. The updates from Untapped Potential on their social media page got more and more energetic as the days went on. They were allso stinking super excitedto play at Downtown.
I still couldn’t believe that Harry hadn’t texted me once even to mention it.
“I’m telling you,” Margot said, fishing around in her makeup drawer for a brush. “It’s probably just miscommunication. You two were all gaga for each other Saturday night. I thought I was going to have to intervene.”
“Until we weren’t. He came over to my parents, and after that, everything completely shifted.”
Margot motioned for me to shut my eyes, and I quickly complied. “Maybe he got overwhelmed. I mean, hediddance with Ms. Nancy. Who knows what sweet nothings that crazy old lady whispered in his ear.”
The pressure on my lid lifted, and I blinked my eyes open, looking in the mirror at the perfectly swiped liner across my lid. “I don’t know, Margot. He was going on about how we were from two different worlds. He’s never talked like that before.”
Margot swiped up my tube of mascara, twisting the wand out. “Does he have a bad relationship with his parents? Maybe he’s projecting onto yours.”
A sudden, piercing ache swirled through my chest, the realization hitting me hard. “His parents passed away when he was little. He doesn’t have a great relationship with the rest of his family.” More like nonexistent, he’d said.
“Sheesh. Talk about baggage.” She swiped the mascara along my lashes. “That’s probably what was wrong, though. How long have they been gone? Maybe seeing your parents reminded him about his.”
I hadn’t even thought about how strange it might’ve been for him to meet my parents. Maybe it wasn’t something he expected either, and he’d just been so caught off guard by the emotion. “That could’ve been it.”
