AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The coffee shop in Jefferson, the next town over, was abuzz with the after-school rush, but I’d successfully claimed a table by the windows, and the one that had the working outlet. My computer chugged the electricity like it was its own brand of espresso. I had my earbuds in so the amount of people filtering in and out wouldn’t disrupt me too much, but in the three weeks that I’d been coming here, I’d gotten good at tuning out the noise.
My phone pinged with the staccato vibration of a Babble submission, and I dropped my coding to snatch up the latest tip.Chelsea Milton got cut from the volleyball team!
Despite the intriguing subject line, my heart gave a sigh of relief. All day, I was so afraid I’d open Babble to find a bomb waiting for me.Reed Manning and Ava Jenson made out!!!Not that Reed was much of a gossip—the exact opposite—but the paranoia of it getting out was enough to make me jumpy.
And just like that, the heat of the kiss resurfaced like a pool float, bringing along a stinging flush across my body. I lingered in that forbidden territory longer than I should’ve, replaying the kiss over in my head, curling my toes inside my sneakers.
The bubble popped when I recalled his response.Don’t get any wrong ideas about last night. The kiss didn’t mean anything to me.
Even now, I could’ve wrung his neck. It ticked me off that he pulled me aside for that pointless—and a bit hurtful—conversation. Mrs. Winston hadn’t been as forgiving a fourth time, and I’d been smacked with the big Detention card.
I put my phone down, rubbing my forehead. God, what was I thinking, asking Reed to kiss me, anyway?Reed?It was a moment of pure idiocy. Weakness. Desperation. The true depth of the consequences hadn’t really hit me. But now, as I went on the rollercoaster again, recalling the high of the kiss and the low of his ‘it didn’t mean anything’ spiel, I realized how stupid I’d been.
A tanned hand fell across the chair across from me, and through the soft hum of my earbuds, I heard, “Is this seat taken?”
I schooled my features into annoyance, prepared to scare off the stranger who couldn’t come up with a unique pickup line. “Yeah, actually, it—” I looked up and stopped, the sentence dying off in a half-finished breath.
Mr. Jacob Manning was a man I’d grown up not really paying much attention to, mostly because he was rarely home. He was usually at work or out golfing during the times Rachel and I hung out. If he was home, he paid more attention to Reed while they ran football drills in the backyard. There were times that they’d be up before the sun even rose, and Mr. Manning’s shouts at his son were loud enough to wake us up in Rachel’s bedroom.
And after Mrs. Manning kicked him out last summer, I hadn’t seen him since. And to my knowledge, neither had his kids.
He looked a lot like Reed, with the strong jawline and same build, but I could see more of my best friend when I looked into Mr. Manning’s eyes. “Hi,” I said softly, blinking up at him as my body locked in place.
“So, this seatistaken?” he asked with a small smile on his mouth, one that looked about as plastic as the keys on my keyboard.
“Oh, um, no. Go ahead.”
Mr. Manning needed no more persuasion. He slid effortlessly into the seat across from me and set his to-go coffee cup on the table. “You look different from last I saw you,” he said kindly. “Your hair is pink now.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I bet your father fought you tooth and nail on that.”
Dad probably would’ve, if he knew about it. I hadn’t seen him since I dyed it two weeks ago. Mom had rolled her eyes when she saw it. “Ah, you’re entering your rebellious phase.”
“I heard you’re designing websites now,” Mr. Manning said as he took in my open laptop, turning his coffee cup from side to side. “That’s pretty impressive for someone your age, you know. Starting your own business is a big accomplishment.”
“I offer the service through a third party,” I said, and now I did close my laptop. It was impossible to feel comfortable in his presence, given what happened. “Like a marketplace for clients to find designers. I do it for cheap—cheaper than most people on the site. I’m trying to gain experience now, build reviews, that sort of thing. I wouldn’t necessarily call it my ownbusiness.”
Mr. Manning nodded as I spoke, listening intently. “That’s still very interesting. Quite ambitious. Have you worked with any big companies yet?”
“No, no, mostly people who want their website updated or tweaked. Small-time bloggers, announcement pages, that sort of thing.”
Mr. Manning took a sip from his coffee, and while he did so, I was able to notice more about him. His hair, chocolate brown, was cut in the same style as always. It was the same way Reed used to cut his hair before he started growing it out. Mr. Manning wore a striped button-up shirt, no tie, with the top button undone. I couldn’t help but look at his left hand. No wedding band.
“Ava.” The name was startling, because though he must’ve said it before—knowing him for ten years, surely he’d said my name once—it sounded so foreign. Like a stranger was calling me. “Can I ask you a question? I’ll understand if you don’t want to answer, but…well. I’d really like to know.”
I tried to give him a polite expression. “Sure, what is it?”
“How are Reed and Rachel?” He let out a soft breath after the words. “Like I said, I understand if you don’t want to share. They haven’t spoken to me in such a long time, despite me trying to reach out. Just…is thereanythingyou can tell me? How’s Reed doing?”
I looked down at my laptop, fixing my attention on the hairline scratch on the corner of the lid, fighting the push and pull of guilt from either side. From the best friend standpoint, I knew Rachel wouldn’t want me to say anything, but then again, my heart squeezed painfully at the predicament Mr. Manning found himself in. That, and the man had a really good puppy dog face.
“They’re doing okay,” I began slowly, not convinced this was the right move but unable to stop myself.Keep it vague.“The school year just started, so they’ve been busy.”
“Yeah?” The happiness in that one word was enough to ease my conscience, if only a little. “I couldn’t make it to last week’s football game, but I’m excited to see Reed play his senior year. I don’t know how he’ll feel about me showing up.”
I tensed up as soon as he brought up football. It made sense that if he hadn’t spoken to either twin, he wouldn’t know that Reed quit. Heck,Racheldidn’t find out until last week. Reed had gone to all the practices before the first game of the season. I definitely didn’t want to be breaking that news to Mr. Manning.
