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Sam combed her hand through her hair, pushing some loose strands back into her ponytail. “Yeah, pizza’s good.”
He offered her a gentle smile before turning around, a slight limp in his step, a reminder of why she needed to come home for the summer. Not only to help him get the house ready to sell, which would be a difficult task on its own because of his hoarding tendencies, but also because of his knee replacement surgery.
“We’re having a neighborhood picnic this weekend for Memorial Day and a little celebration for Gavin.”
“Oh. Okay.” Her dad wasn’t usually one for parties, but she figured he wanted to do something for Gavin before they left their childhood home.
“I got him a cake for graduation, but your mother’s taking him on a trip.” He shook his head in that same annoyed way he always did whenever he talked about his ex-wife. Sam pretended not to see it, like she’d been doing almost all her life, and kept herself busy by unpacking her clothes into drawers, some random socks and shirts still there from the last time she’d been home.
“Okay. Well.” He cleared his throat. “I’ll let you get settled in. I’m gonna shower, and then I’ll call for food.”
With her back to her father, Sam nodded.
“Hey, Samantha.”
She turned to look over her shoulder.
“I’m really glad you’re home,” he said with an unusual catch in his voice. “I missed you.”
She smiled at the rare display of emotion. “I’ve missed you too, Dad.”
He touched the arm of his glasses, giving her one more once-over, then headed down the hall to his room.
It wasn’t that she didn’t like being home; it was that this house and this town hadn’t felt like home for a long time. There were very few things she enjoyed about being here, although she could hear one of them coming down the street now. She walked to her bedroom window to lift it up, allowing the screaming music from Jimmy’s car to drift up to her.
He pulled into his parents’ driveway and cut the engine, along with the music, before stepping out of the rusted yet “classic” Mustang he’d been working on since they were in high school.
“Hey!” She leaned her elbows on the windowpane, shouting down to him. “You still listening to that crap?”
Whipping his head to the side, he shielded his eyes as he looked up at her. A smile immediately took over his face. “Mr. Big is a classic!”
She grinned. Everything he loved was a classic.
He threw his hands up. “You coming down to give me a hug or what?”
In a hurry, Sam slammed her window shut, splinters of paint falling off in the process—another thing to fix before the house went on the market—and she rushed downstairs and out the back door of the kitchen to leap into the arms of her oldest friend, Jimmy Ewing.
“Been a long time,” he said against her ear as he set her feet down on the paved drive.
“I know. Sorry.” She squeezed his shoulder. “You’ve been working out or what?”
When he stepped away from her, she finally noticed how he was dressed, in sneakers, blue athletic shorts, and a Nike T-shirt. “Actually, yeah. With Mike. That’s why I’m here.”
“Here?” She self-consciously tugged at her tank top.
“Yeah.” Jimmy twirled the lanyard with his keys around his fingers. “Didn’t I tell you he was living here?”
She shook her head, running her hand over her hair. They kept in touch pretty regularly over text messages, but he most definitely left out that tidbit of information.
“You all right?” He laughed, and it grated Sam’s nerves that he could see she was very clearly not all right.
Gem, Bronte, and Laney were Sam’s best friends, but she’d known Jimmy basically her whole life. He knew her as well as they did, maybe even better since he’d been around to witness…everything.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” She waved him off. “Tired from the drive.”
“When did you get in?”
“’Bout half an hour ago.”
