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I’m happy he’s still smiling. That everything that happened the last eight months hasn’t destroyed him.
“What?” he asks as he stands there with the passenger door open for me. “Why are you staring at me?”
I shake my head. “I just think you’re a strong person.”
He glances at the muscles bulging out from his T-shirt. “Good. Shows my daily exercise is working.”
I give him a look. “I meant internal strength.”
He bends close. “I know. I’m just messing with you. Really, Willow, I’m okay. Bri wouldn’t want me to be sad all the time. So I’m taking life by the horns, like she always did.”
I smile. “That’s great. But you know you’re allowed to feel down or sad, too. And I’m here if you need to talk.”
He envelops me in his arms. “I know. Thanks. I told myself when I woke up this morning that I’m not going to let anyone ruin my happiness. Not Dad, not Mom. But I’m going to take your advice and try to build a relationship with my father. It’ll be hard, but if it’s something he wants too, then someone needs to get the ball rolling. And that person is me.”
“That’s great.”
We get in the car and he drives us toward school. We talk about school, but we’re mostly quiet, each of us absorbed in our thoughts. He’s being brave by pretending he’s completely fine, but I catch the sadness in his eyes. Maybe it’ll always be there because he misses his sister.
“You’re staring again,” he says, his eyes on the road. “I hope you don’t see me differently after last night.”
“I do see you differently. I see a strong, amazing, inspiring person.”
His eyes flick to me, then back to the road. “And before that you saw a shallow king of Edenbury High who only cared about himself,” he jokes.
“But now I know just how incredible you are.”
His cheeks redden a little. “Thanks,” he whispers. “And you’re incredible yourself.”
“We’re talking aboutyou.”
“I know, but I just wanted to tell you I think you’re wonderful.”
Now my cheeks feel hot. No one other than my friends and family has said that to me. “Thanks. So we’re both amazing.”
He nods, flashing me another smile.
We continue to drive to school in silence. It’s not an awkward silence, but a peaceful one. Like we’re alone with our thoughts and that’s okay because we’re together.
My phone beeps, and when I pull it out of my pocket, my eyes widen. “Another couple got matched!”
“Nice!”
My cheeks hurt from my huge smile. Of course I was excited when my friends got matched with their guys, but it was expected. But knowing that there are other couples getting matched makes me feel like I’ve conquered the world. Well, at least when it comes to relationships.
“Up next, you and Vanessa,” I say. “But let’s hope it doesn’t happen before the coding competition. Oh, was that selfish? Sorry.”
He shakes his head. “No, that’s okay. We both need to gain something from this, right?”
“Yeah, but if you do match with her before the competition…”
“She’ll have to wait. I’m not abandoning you.”
I just stare at him. “Thanks. Hopefully it won’t be long before the app is out of beta testing and I can fix it up and prepare it for the competition.” I lean back in my seat with a happy sigh. “I can’t believe it’s working. This is one of the best moments of my life.”
“You deserve it. You’ve worked so hard.”
“How do you know that?”
