I didn’t want to look at the one with Cadence in it though.It was the usual when it came to the others.Planning outings and dinners and life and the more they kept going the more I felt so out of place.
I got up the nerve to check.What if it was Dad or Cal?
I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw it was a message from Justin.
Justin:Can you give me a ride?
Paxon:Where are you?
Justin:School.I was wrapping up some stuff and stayed a little later than expected.Aunt Laura can’t pick me up.
Relief loosened something in my chest.I was glad it was him.Justin was easy to deal with.He left it up to us to talk, never pushing.The others were pushing me, but Justin hadn’t.Not yet, at least.
Paxon:On my way.
I put the car in gear and pulled into the street.The night air misted the windshield, little droplets catching the light from the streetlamps.The roads were slick with melting snow, and I drove carefully, letting that focus keep my mind away from Cadence.
The drive to school was quiet except for the soft thrum of the tires on wet pavement.When I pulled into the parking lot, Justin was there by the curb, hood up, a duffel slung over one shoulder.He lifted a hand when he spotted me and jogged across the pavement.He yanked the door open and dropped into the seat, the smell of chlorine and cheap soap filling the car immediately.Swim season had been over for a couple of weeks now, but he was still adamant about pool time when he could.The guy was secretly a fish.
The moment he settled in, he exhaled sharply, rubbing his hands together.
“Cold,” he muttered, setting the bag between his feet.
“Yeah.”I turned up the heat a little and pulled out of the lot.
He didn’t say much at first, just stared out the window.
After a minute, he asked, “You were at Seth’s?”
“Yeah.”
“With Cadence?”
The question was simple.My pulse wasn’t.“Yeah.”
He nodded once, like he already knew the answer and just wanted to hear me admit it.“How’d it go?”
“Fine.”
He made a quiet sound that could’ve been a laugh.“You don’t sound fine.”
“It’s...complicated,” I said, gripping the wheel tighter.
“It’s been complicated for a while now,” he said in a lower voice.He didn’t need to say it.I knew he was thinking what everyone else had been saying.For me to get my shit together already and decide before there was no longer a decision to be made.
I huffed, gripping the steering wheel tighter.“We were just going over homework.She missed some work and I’m helping her catch up.That’s all.”
“Sure.”His tone wasn’t mocking—just calm, matter-of-fact.“You keep telling yourself that if it helps.”
The heater clicked softly as it cycled higher.Rain began falling again, light and steady, tracing slow lines down the windshield.
After a long moment, Justin spoke again, quieter this time.“You care about her.”
It wasn’t a question.
“Yeah.”It’d be dumb of me to pretend otherwise.“But it isn’t just me.All of us like her.”
“And so you won’t do anything about it.”
