“Now, does the Godmother card trump the Godfather card?” she asks, her eyes meeting Stella’s again. “I just want to know if I can use it against Fletcher anytime he’s holding Theo.”
I say, “Don’t you even think about it.” At the same time, Stella says, “Obviously.”
I glare in her direction, but she just hugs Tate a little tighter.
We arrive in the living room, where a stack of games sits on the floor near the television, with Uno cards already in the middle of the floor, still in a single stack.
“Tate, so happy you could join us.” My mom smiles, reaching for the deck ofUnocards.
“Happy to be here.”
Kassidy scoots over before patting the floor next to her, letting Tate know to sit down next to her. I sit down next to Chase. He doesn’t say anything; he just shoots me a subtle wink.
It’s like nothing happened. Nothing’s changed between her and them. They’re just as much her family as they are mine.
And that won’t ever change.
fifty
Tate
So, you guys broke up?”
It didn’t make sense to tell everyone individually, but it’s probably not what everyone thought was happening when we asked if they were down for a group hangout at Greystone.
“Yes,” Fletcher replies.
“And you’re going on tour?” Zeke squints as if he’s trying to piece it all together. “Is that why you guys broke up?”
“No.” I shake my head. “The breakup came first.”
“But you still love each other?” Zeke adds.
Fletcher and I look at each other and then back at our friends.
We don’t respond to that one.
“Anyone other than Zeke want to chime in on this?” I tap the table, my eyes bouncing from person to person.
“Are you guys okay?” Jere’s eyes meet mine, soft and concerned.
“Yeah, I think we are.”
“We were friends long before we were dating,” Fletcher continues. “That doesn’t end just because we did.”
I fight a smile, thinking about how I said something similar to Fletcher the night we broke up.
Zeke raises his hand, and I roll my eyes.
“This isn’t school, Zeke. You’re free to ask a question without raising your hand.”
Zeke’s hand falls, hitting the table with a thud. “Am I the last one to know about this, too?”
I tilt my head. “Huh?”
“Like, is this get-together all for show, and everyone else has known since it happened, but you didn’t want me to feel left out again?”
“No.” Fletcher and I say at the same time, looking at each other. “No one knew about it. Some people may have suspected it… But no one knew for sure.”
