I’m not as good at shifting as he is. Kenny’s voice filters through. “May sent me up to get you. Dinner’s ready.”
There’s amusement in Brett’s voice. “Did you help her?”
“Only a bit.”
“Good girl.” He’s smirking at me over her head, where she can’t see. “Mom’s a great cook. You’ll learn in no time.”
Kenny’s smiling, but it slips a little as she glances between us. I don’t say anything, and she settles on me. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” I force a smile. “Let’s go.”
“Actually.” She shifts on her feet. “Can I speak to you for a sec? It’s about that essay.”
“Sure.” I step back to let her through, catching Brett’s eye. “We’ll follow you.”
He doesn’t smile. “Sure.”
“Brett.” I murmur quietly enough that only he can hear me. “You might have been joking. But I wasn’t.”
His jaw tightens. A short nod is all he gives me before he turns away.
Kenny is almost dancing when I close the door, already tugging a crumpled envelope from the denim pocket of her jean shorts. “I got this today.”
I push away the bad thoughts, trying to leave them on the other side of the door. “What does it say?”
She inhales, cinnamon hair shaking around her face as she looks up. Uncertainty fills her eyes. “I don’t know. I haven’t opened it yet. Will you… open it? For me?”
She slips her fingers into mine, towing me over to the bed and pulling me down beside her before she thrusts the envelope at me. “Please.”
Her fingers are trembling. Instinctively, I catch them as she pulls back, keeping them entwined with mine as I use my other hand to nudge the flap open and tug the letter free. Unfolding it against my shorts, I flick my eyes over it. She watches my every movement in the corner of my eye, her teeth buried in her lip.
“Stop that.” My smile threatens, but I bury it, biting the inside of my cheek. “Read it, Ken.”
Slowly, she reaches for the letter. My smile breaks free, grows. “Dear Kennedy. We are pleased to inform you…,”
Her words trail off. Grinning, I pull her hand closer and press my lips to the back of it. “You did it, Ken. You got in.”
All the nights. The hours. The frustration. All of it, for this.
“I got in,” she breathes. She repeats the words, almost dazedly, as she stares at the words on the page. “I got in?”
“Yeah, you did.”
“I’m going with you?”
Myheart. It thuds in my chest. “Yeah, Ken. You’re coming with us.”
Her smile falters. “Max and Jake—,”
But I’m shaking my head. “Don’t you worry about it. They’re gonna be soproudof you. You earned this, Kenny. Enjoy it.”
The letter slips from her fingers. And then she’s laughing, crying, a bundle of joy and nerves and excitement as she throws herself at me. I catch her, both of us tumbling backward as she laughs against me, both of our bodies shaking. “I got in!”
Smiling, I push back her hair so I can see her face. “I’m proud of you. In case I didn’t say it.”
I… can’t remember what I’ve said. Not right now, all though emptying from my head like a cloud of butterflies taking flight. They seem to settle in my stomach. Kenny’s face softens, her eyes widening and a flush unfurling against her cheeks. She’s plastered against me, our legs entwined.
Our noses brush together, and I inhale as she presses her cheek to mine, whispering in my ear. “Tell me… tell me this won’t change anything.”
