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A warm hand lands on my chin and tilts it upward. Blue eyes search my face. “Are we good, Cassia?”
“We’re good.”
Holden doesn’t look away or drop his hand. “Are you sure?”
“I knew exactly what it was, Holden. Or rather, what it wasn’t.”
He studies me, and I have absolutely no idea what he’s thinking right now. His expression is a blank page with absolutely no words on it. It’s strange—how you can feel so close and familiar to someone in one way, yet so distant in others.
Eventually he nods, then looks away. “Your ride is here.”
I follow his gaze to the blue minivan parked in one of the first rows.
My family is here. Myentirefamily. The twins are both in soccer jerseys, so they must have all come from their afternoon game. My dad waves when he sees me, and Regan is holding a sign that readsWelcome Home Cassia.I smile at the sight. My family is crazy and loud, and I can’t imagine my life without them.
I sneak a peek at Holden. No one is here for him. His mom walked away, and his dad is gone most of the time. Sydney put off her permit test since she had me and Holden to drive her around, so she won’t get her license until this summer. With both of us out of town, she’s stranded at their house.
“It’ll be noisy and you’ll probably have to sit on some Goldfish crumbs, but if you want a ride…”
He glances at me, smiles, and it hits me square in the center of my chest. It looks like a special smile. A secret smile. Ayou get mesmile. The sort that wreaks havoc on my heart and has me replaying parts of last night in my head without the filter of uncertainty. “I told Finn I’d come over for a bit,” he says.
I nod. “Okay. See you later.”
I reach out to grab my bag back from him, but Holden just chuckles and keeps walking toward my family.
They all watch us approach curiously. Me and Holden—together—aren’t an expected sight, at least not anymore. The twins are arguing over a soccer ball and Sally is drinking from a juice box. Otherwise, everyone’s attention is solely on us. My mom and Maggie’s gazes feel especially probing.
“Hi, sweetheart.” My mom is the first to speak, stepping forward and giving me a hug as soon as I reach them.
“Hey, Mom.” I hug her back but drop my arms quickly.
It’s stupid, considering he’s known me since my family moved in across the street in first grade, but I don’t want Holden to see me treated as a kid anymore. Especially after last night.
I glance at Holden and discover he’s talking with my dad. About basketball, by the sound of it. My dad has always been an avid fan, and I was the only one of his kids to stick with the sport for longer than one winter.
“Did you guys lose this?” a familiar voice asks. Harrison is approaching, a soccer ball in his hands.
My mom glances between it and the twins. “Boys! What did I tell you about playing in parking lots?”
“Sorry, Mom,” they both mumble.
“Thank you,” my mom tells Harrison, taking the soccer ball from him and tossing it into the minivan. “It was very nice of you to bring this over.”
“No problem. I’ve got younger siblings too.” Harrison smiles at my mom, then shifts his gaze to me. “Hi, Cassia.”
“Hey, Harrison.”
I can feel eyes bouncing back and forth between me and Harrison, but I resist the urge to look over and see who is paying close attention to us.
“Have fun on the trip?” he asks, in that easygoing way of his.
“Yeah, I did. The Met was cool.”
“The Met was a highlight for me too.” His tone is light. Flirty. We were part of the same group for the museum tour.
I smile, not sure what else to say. Harrison smiles back, but it drops off his face quickly.
“Baker.” Holden’s voice is close. Right behind me.
