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“Yeah. We’re okay.”
“Can I hug you?” he asks softly.
“Yeah.” I smile. “You can hug me.”
He folds me into a tight embrace. “I hated every moment of today until this one.”
I pull back. “But if it hadn’t happened, would you have opened up to me about Caroline?”
“Eventually. Probably. Maybe.”
I smile, and he ducks his head.
“Thank you for letting me in. I know it was hard, but I feel closer to you now. So yeah, today sucked, but we got past the bad part, didn’t we?”
“Yeah. We did.” He smiles. “Thank you for being you.”
“Thank you for being brave enough to be vulnerable.” I cup his face in my palms and kiss him.
I feel steady again. And like maybe this something good I’ve found is going to last.
25 NEW BEGINNINGS
Winter
Lovey and I have a heart-to-heart to clear the air, and both of us end up getting emotional. She agreed that she and BJ needed some boundaries, and those would include not falling asleep together.
A few days before I’m scheduled to move to Chicago for college, my mom gets the all-clear to move back to the cabin. While she’s been recovering at the Sunshine Center, a local, family-run company called Stitches Construction has repaired the railing at the cabin, and they’ve cleaned out the entire garage. They have some kind of plan for that, but I don’t know what all it entails. They’ve also installed a security system, so my mom doesn’t have to worry about unwanted visitors.
So far, my dad has been following the order of protection, although I have a feeling Logan is responsible for that. All I can do is cross my fingers and hope the work my mom has done will help her continue to make good choices and keep my dad and his toxicity out of her life.
I was nervous about Mom being alone in the cabin, but she met a woman in her GED class who has a job at Harry’s Hardware and was looking for a place in Pearl Lake. She’s a few years younger than Mom, but she’s sweet and they get along well, so Clover and Sunny, Lovey’s mom, and I helped get my bedroom ready for her new roommate. I can always bunk with my mom if I come home to visit during the school year. And it’s worth it because for the first time in years, my mom has friends and a social life.
Mom has one of her GED classes the day we’re driving to Chicago. I don’t want her to miss it because it’s math and that’s never been an easy subject for her, so we plan for her to visit once I’m settled in. Coach Ballistic and Lily, and Rose’s parents, Charlene and Darren Westinghouse, help us load their pickup trucks with our belongings. I don’t have a ton of stuff, but Rose has enough boxes to fill a freaking warehouse, and we drive down to the city.
I’ve seen pictures of the houses, but they don’t do them justice. I run my hands up and down my thighs, excitement setting in. “A few of my friends from high school went to college and lived in student housing,” I announce. “None of those places looked like this.”
BJ just smiles. Down the street is the house that’s mine—well, that I’m going to live in. There’s no old couch marring the porch, no sheets masquerading as curtains, no flags in the windows. The walkway is lined with pretty flowers.
“River likes to garden,” BJ explains as we park out front.
“Really?” I haven’t met him yet, but I’ve heard all about him. His twin is Lavender, and she’s in New York. River has a boyfriend named Josiah and he works at a sporting-goods store. He played for the school football team last year, but BJ said he’s not sure if River plans to this fall.
“Yeah. He dresses like a black cloud, but he’s a wizard with a rose bush,” BJ says. “He’s an interesting guy. He’s low-key, serious about his studies, and not big on the party scene, so pretty much the ideal roommate. And he spends a lot of time at his boyfriend’s because Josiah has his own apartment, so he might not be around much.”
“Is he home now?”
Lacey waves as she opens the front door and carries a box inside.
“He’s working, but he said he’d be home later.”
“Cool.” My hand is already on the door handle, waiting for BJ to put the Jeep in park so I can get out, but Lovey comes bounding up to the passenger side and yanks it open.
“Come on! I can’t wait to show you your room!” She’s practically vibrating with excitement.
“Just let me grab a couple of bags from the trunk.” I give BJ an apologetic smile.
He tips his chin toward the house. “Go check it out. I’ll be up in a minute with some of your stuff.”
