Haddie’s eyes met his, and she raised her brows. Then she straightened in her seat, rising to the challenge.
“Sure,” Haddie replied. “Might as well afterthatentrance.” Soft laughter traveled around the circle. She had them wrapped around her finger already, Levi included. “Hi…everyone,” she continued. “So, yeah. I’m Haddie. The lurker.” More laughter. “And my friends Emma and Matteo, who I’m sure you all know, recommended the group since I…um…just lost my grandmon…” She cleared her throat and shook her head. “I lost my grandmothera couple of weeks ago. I’m new in town, and I just started teaching at Summertown Elementary. I was really looking forward to starting fresh, but things haven’t exactly been going according to plan.”
“You mean the budget cuts?” Tilly Higginson asked.
Haddie’s eyes widened, worrying she’d just endangered her job more than she’d meant.
“Oh, don’t worry, honey!” Tilly continued, waving her off. “It’s almost impossible to keep a secret in this town, even if you are Coach Crawford.”
Haddie let loose a relieved breath and then decided to go for broke since the cat was already out of the bag. Her words picked up both volume and momentum as she went on. “And I know football is everything to Summertown, but there are other important sports… I meanprograms,” she amended, and Levi realized she understood that program cuts weren’t exactly public as far as she knew. “And thoseprogramsare important to the kids who are in them and the faculty who sponsor them.” She smiled nervously. “What was I supposed to share again?”
Hope pressed her lips into a grin. “Your name and why you’re here. I think you covered that.”
“Right,” Haddie replied. “Anyone else want to overshare?”
Levi felt the air rush from his lungs as it all hit him at once. Haddie in the hotel bar, the black dress that had seemed so out of place for someone who wasn’t a guest at Tommy’s wedding. He hadn’t simply met Haddie on her birthday. He’d met her on the day she’d buried her grandmother. How had this never come up? It hit him then that despite having already lived with the woman for two weeks, he barely knew any more about her than he did that first night. And now here was Coach Crawford taking away one more thing that she loved, and Levi had basically shrugged it off. He really was an asshole.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Hope told her.
Haddie gave her a painful smile. “Thank you.”
“A car wash!” Tilly Higginson chimed in.
“A what?” Haddie asked, confused.
“Acarwash!” Tilly repeated. “Whatever programs need money, you should organize a car wash. It’s fun for the students, and I guarantee you that anyone in town who drives will be downright delighted, considering the nearest place to get a professional wash is a half hour outside of town.”
She let out a breath and smiled. “Thank you, Tilly. That is an excellent idea.” And while all eyes but hers seemed to pivot back to Levi, he was still staring at Haddie. Finally she turned to face him and shrugged, as if to say,Surprise!
“Levi?” Hope said, and Levi had to deliberately peel his gaze away from Haddie, trying his best to collect himself as he did.
“Right,” Levi replied, scratching the back of his neck. “I’m Levi, and I’m here because a judge says I have to be,” he added coolly.Might as well lead with the truth, right? “I’m sure most of you have seen the YouTube video, or at least clips of it, floating around social media.” He scrubbed a hand across his face. “I did something wrong, something I’ve never done before, and a judge who’d never met me before my sentencing decided that I had anger management issues stemming from unresolved grief.” He let out a bitter laugh. “So… There you go.”
He waited for nods of understanding and received a few, but a quiet scoff made him flinch.
He cleared his throat and turned his direction back to his roommate, brows knitted together. “I’m sorry, but do you…have a problem with why I’m here?”
Haddie sighed. “No. I mean…okay…yes?”
“Yes?” he parroted.
“It’s just… That’s…it?” she continued. “Like…for real?” Her tone was gentle, yet he immediately went into defense mode. “This is a grief support group, you know? We grieve.” She pumped two fists in the air likeWe grievewas the latest Muskies cheer. “I guess I figured that if there’s anywhere you should feel safe to drop the everything-rolls-off-my-shoulders act, don’t you think it’s here?” She winced at her own words, which meant she knew she’d stepped over the line.
He barked out a bitter laugh. “Says the woman who just rattled off her own grandmother’s passing in a very matter-of-fact list of what’s been going on in the past two weeks.”
“Levi!” Tilly Higginson cried in a tone that brought back such a visceral memory of his mom that he nearly lost it, and Levi didn’tlose it—except when asshole refs made bad calls.
“It’s fine,” Haddie said. “He’s right. I shouldn’t have pushed.”
“See?” he replied, not sure if he was directing the ridiculously childish-sounding response to Tilly or Haddie or anyone else who was listening. What. Was. Happening? These meetings were supposed to be a formality, not the relaunching of whatever sort of battle kept brewing beneath the surface of his and Haddie’s relationship.
Wait. Not relationship. Roommateship? That was a thing, right? Whatever it was, after their texts last night, he’d thought… What the helldidhe think? When he and Haddie were able to hide behind a screen, it almost felt like they were making progress. But whenever they came face-to-face?POW! BANG!It was like a comic-book battle between hero and villain, and he couldn’t keep track of who was who. When she didn’t immediately respond, he continued. “There is nothing in my court order that specifies what I have to share at these meetings. I’m here, aren’t I? Doesn’t that count for something?”
“Of course it does,” Hope interjected. “But maybe this is about something else?” She motioned between Levi and Haddie.
“What?” they both cried in unison. “She’s just my roommate,” Levi added. “That’s it.” He gestured like he was a ref calling a slide into home plate safe.
“Right,” Haddie agreed with less conviction in her voice. “Just roommates. That’s it.”
