“Us girls have to stick together,” she continues.
“Yeah, and you wonder why I just blacked out.”
“I wasn’t wondering. I knew why.” Journey takes my hand and leads us out to the car, grinning like a goof. “I’ll make sure we tell Hannah before I call my family. I know how fast the word spreads through our loose-lipped family.”
“Let’s go pick her up at school, so she doesn’t have to walk today. I’m not sure I can wait another hour,” I say.
“Good idea. But park behind the trees or—socks for days,” Journey says.
We’re only a few minutes away from the school, which allows us to take up the only inconspicuous spot at the high school. Thankfully, Hannah walks in this direction to go home, so I won’t miss her leaving. The timing works out well since school got out just a few minutes ago. If I hadn’t passed out, we would have too much time to spare, so there’s the positive side of that.
Journey has her gaze pinned to the side mirror out of her window. “Has Hannah mentioned any boys to you lately?”
I laugh because I’m almost positive it’s the last topic Hannah would bring to my attention. “No, has Hannah brought up any boys to you lately?”
“No,” Journey says, inquisitively. “But, assuming there aren’t multiple girls with fluorescent turquoise hair wearing all black, I want to say Hannah might have a boyfriend.”
“Nope. Nope. No. I can’t. Not today. It’s not her. Tell her, it’s not her, Journey.”
“What are you even talking about? Is that English?” Journey asks.
“No. Just no. Text her. Tell her no.”
“You text her,” Journey argues.
I pull out my phone and type out the clear message.
Me:NO.
“Yup, it’s here. She’s reading the message now. She’s saying goodbye to the boy with matching hair color.”
“No,” I say again.
“Brody, breathe. You can’t say no. You’ll push her to do things you don’t want her to do. Believe me, please.”
“No.”
“Brody, quit it. We’ll talk about this calmly and rationally, okay?”
“No.”
“Dear God,” Journey groans. “Well, she’s walking this way while typing on her phone.”
Hannah:No, what? I’m not talking to you until you tell me the answer.
Me:Just, no! Now, get in the truck.
“She just looked up from her phone and threw her head back with irritation. What did you just say?”
“I told her to get in the truck.”
“You know, I’m not the type who wants to go pop a massive balloon with a pin to find out if there is blue or pink confetti inside, but I would love to enjoy this hour without boy lectures—just one hour. It’s all I’m asking,” Journey says.
I’m being selfish again. I’m always going to be selfish. I want my girls to myself. It’s not selfish. It’s a fact of life. I need to protect them, all three of them now. My God. I’m not going to make it through this.
“Dad!” Hannah whips open the back door. “I walk home; you know this. Why are you here?”
“Well, we were going to tell you the answer you’ve been waiting for, but maybe you should go ask—”
