“You do know that high school is still two years away, right?” I ask him, furrowing my eyebrows. “And I don’t think it actually works like that in real life.”
“Sure it does!” Jake says, retracting his fist. Before he can say anything more, our conversation is cut short when Rachael Lawson appears out of nowhere and slides onto the bench alongside him.
“What are you guys talking about?” she asks, resting her elbows on the table. She glances around at the three of us from behind the smudged lenses of her glasses. Sometimes, she and her friend Meghan join us for lunch.
“Rach, why are you so obsessed with me?” Jake teases, smirking at her as he nods down at her arm brushing against his. Jake is such a joker. I wish I was like him sometimes.
“With those braces? Keep dreaming,” Rachael fires back, then dramatically shifts a few inches away from him. “Mr. Hayes has asked Meghan and me to show the new girl around, so be nice. Here they come.”
“There’s a new girl?” Dean says with curiosity, but there’s no time to get an answer.
Meghan Nguyen walks over, her dark hair swinging around her shoulders, and behind her, a girl I’ve never seen around before is following. I didn’t know we were getting a new girl either. Meghan sits down on our side of the table next to Dean, and the new girl joins Rachael opposite us.
“Are you gonna introduce yourself?” Jake says, leaning forward to look at her over Rachael.
The new girl gives him a small, confident smile as she tucks hermousy blond hair behind her ears. Her eyes are seriously bright blue, like ice, and she studies all of us one by one, her gaze shifting around the table. “I’m Tiffani. Just moved here. And you guys are?”
“Someone ain’t shy,” Jake snickers under his breath, covering his mouth with his hand, but we all hear him anyway. Then, he flashes Tiffani a smirk. “You can call me Jake, and I hate to break it to you, but Rachael and Meghan are both alreadyin looovewith me, so hands off.”
“Shut up, you freak,” Meghan hisses across the table while Rachael digs her elbow into Jake’s ribs. The three of them do break into laughter though. Jake teases them all the time, and it’s only ever playful.
“Aren’t you nervous?” Dean asks quietly amid the bickering. He cocks his head to one side as he looks at Tiffani suspiciously. No new girl iseverthat comfortable so quickly. Usually, they don’t even speak until at least their second week. “I’m Dean, by the way.”
“Why would I be?” Tiffani asks, blinking at him, her over-glossed lips still curved into what seems to be an innocent, gentle smile, but it really isn’t. I’ve learned to read expressions more carefully than other people. Her bright blue eyes flicker over to meet mine, and she pouts at me. “What’s up with you, quiet boy? Do you have a name?”
“Tyler,” I mumble, dropping my eyes back down to my tray of untouched food. I hate strangers. The more people who know me, the more people who have the potential to figure out that there’s something wrong.
“Can I just call you Ty?”
I look up at her, my expression blank. “No.”
“Whatever,” she says, rolling her eyes and turning her attention away from me as though I’m not worth it. She pulls out her class schedule and looks it over, biting down on her lower lip. “Does anyone have science with Miss Fitzgerald next?”
“Tyler does, I think,” Meghan says, and when I glare at her, she only gives me a small shrug.
“The quiet one,” Tiffani murmurs. Her eyes lock back on mine again exactly as the bell rings, and the noise in the cafeteria amplifies even more as everyone gets to their feet, including us. “You can walk me to class, Ty,” she says, throwing one strap of her bag over her shoulder and flicking her hair. As I walk around the table, she hooks her arm around mine. “Let’s go.” Over her shoulder she calls, “Catch you guys around!”
I sigh but I don’t bother fighting against her. She’s new, probably trying too hard to make an impression, and is just latching onto the first group of people she can find. I do, however, mutter, “It’s Tyler.”
26
Present Day
“This is nice, having all of us together,” Mom muses. She glances around the table at all of us, a warm smile lighting up her face. It’s the first time we’ve been together as a family of six, rather than a family of five. “We should do this every Sunday.”
“Agreed,” Dave says. They exchange a glance, and I swear he reaches for her hand under the table.
“Disagree,” I add, just for the sake of making things awkward. My smile is beyond sarcastic and I tilt my head down, fold my arms, and stare at my silverware. I don’t want to be here, especially with Mom and Dave both emphasizing this whole “family” thing. We’renota family. Dave’s not my dad. Eden’s a stranger.
“How long do we have to sit here for?” I ask soon after we’ve ordered our food. I’m not participating in the casual conversation that Mom and Dave have got going on, but neither are my brothers or Eden. She keeps quiet next to me, and every time I surreptitiously steal a glance at her, she’s twiddling her thumbs in her lap. I stare across the table at Mom and Dave as I loosen my tie. It’s hot in here. “I’ve got better things to do,” I state, even though I don’t.
Dave fixes me with a threatening look, almost as though he’sdaringme to ruin this momentous occasion, and his hand tightens around the glass of his drink.
“Stop being so moody,” Mom says, almost jokingly to begin with, but then her expression quickly grows taut and she sits up a little, meeting my eyes. She looks concerned, the exact same way she did earlier this morning. “Did you take your meds today?”
“Mom,” I say with a strain to my voice. Did she seriously just ask me that? Right now? In front of everyone? I steal a quick glance at Eden to see if she’s heard, and of course she has.Nowwhat is she going to think of me? “I’m gonna go get some air,” I mumble, exhaling.
I push myself up from the table and turn away, my pace quickening as I weave my way between tables, my eyes set on the door. It’s Sunday afternoon, so of course the place is packed. I tear off my tie as I push my way through a group of people, desperate to get outside. And as soon as I do, I inhale the longest breath of air I possibly can, holding it in my lungs. Then, I release it and lean back against the wall. It’s clear blue skies today, and the sun beats down on me as I glance down at my tie in my hand. It reminds me of Dad.
