Maybe we can’t survive two hours.
I clear my throat. “So, can we just listen to One Direction?”
They all three groan in unison, Kai and Wren immediately starting to argue about who is the worst boy band they’ve been forced to listen to thanks to me.
As we leave the parking lot and head for the highway, Grayson looks at me with an expression that says,is it always like this?
I look back with one that says,you have no idea.
He chuckles and leans back against his seat.
I focus on the window again.
The highway unfolds into two lanes, then opens into the kind of wide, flat stretch that only exists between cities.
Having Grayson with us feels different. That’s the thought I can’t put down, even when I try.
Tyler came to our house twice, but never for me. He was there with Kai, and I simply existed in the background.
Both times, my parents were politely awkward in that way they got when they didn’t trust someone but didn’t want to say it out loud. Both times, Tyler sat at our kitchen table and talked almost exclusively to Kai, like I was just the reason he’d been admitted entry. Like I was the footnote to his visit instead of the point of it.
Grayson is here because he wants to be. Wants to be with me.
I think about how different this feels. How different we feel, compared to what I’ve experienced before. We don’t need a lot of words. That’s something that I’ve realized slowly, the way you realize you’ve been breathing easier without knowing when exactly that changed.
Wren leaning toward me breaks me from my thoughts. “Your brother used to fucking love 5 Seconds Of Summer. Don’t let him fool you.”
Kai's eyes flick to the mirror. “I can hear you.”
Wren just grins right back at him, and I look out the window so I don’t laugh.
We pull off the highway a little before six, and the streets get smaller and more familiar the closer we get. Houses with porch lights on.
The Mercer house is a pale-blue colonial with white trim and a porch my mom has been threatening to repaint for the three and a half years since we moved in. The driveway is lit up, and I can see the warm yellow glow through the front windows before we even pull in.
My stomach does something complicated.
Not bad. Just full.
Kai parks and has his door open before the engine is off, which is exactly how he operates.
Grayson hops out, coming around to meet me at my door. He grabs our bags out of the trunk, Kai and Wren already arguing about something new as they head for the house.
Taking his free hand in mine, I pause to look at him. “You ready?”
“I think so.” Grayson swallows. “I’ve never really done the whole ‘meet the parents thing.’”
“They’ll love you, I promise.” I give his hand a squeeze before we head toward the house.
The front door swings open before we’re halfway up the path, and my mom appears in the doorframe, holding a dish towel and wearing the expression she reserves for moments she’s been anticipating too long to play it cool.
“Ahh! Look at all of you!” She rushes Wren first, earning an eye roll from Kai.
“Yes, Mom, definitely hug the one who is not your actual child first.”
Letting go of Wren, she snaps the dish towel at him. “Oh hush. I just saw you a couple weeks ago. It’s been almost a year since I’ve seen her pretty face.”
She quickly hugs Kai, her head barely coming to his chin, before turning to me.
