“But I believe you. If I’d had any idea that James was blackmailing you…screw him. And screw Isabella. I’m done. They deserve each other.”
“Is that whose Isabella’s secret would hurt? James?”
“I’ll tell you everything as soon as I talk to both Isabella and James. What he did to you…I don’t care what excuse he gives. But I owe him this. He’s one of my oldest friends. Hell, he’s one of my only friends. Or at least, hewasone of my oldest friends.”
I nodded. I didn’t fault him for wanting to talk to James first. He was loyal to the people he loved. I understood that. I just hoped James didn’t lie to him about what happened. It was my word against his. And I didn’t have sixteen years of friendship with Matt on my side.
“Everyone will know that we’re together by Monday. I promise. So what do you say? Come to homecoming with me?”
I’d already said yes to Felix. But just as friends. If Matt could figure out a way to get out from beneath Isabella’s thumb, I could figure out a way to break the news to Felix. “Okay.”
Matt smiled. “And no more threatening to push me down the fire escape?”
I laughed as he pulled me into his arms.
“I’m falling for you too,” he whispered as he held me tight.
“I said Iwasfalling for you. As in…past tense.” I was smiling so hard that my cheeks actually hurt.
He laughed. “Maybe you can just pick up where you left off then?”
I already had. Right when he apologized to my uncle. “Yeah. I think I can manage that.”
When my uncle came back, we all sat down on the couch to watch the movie together, me between the two of them. Matt laughed at the movie in all the same places that my uncle and I did. And the longer the night went on, the more normal it felt for Matt to be there with us. Matt didn’t even make fun of the non-buttery popcorn I made. Although I’m pretty sure he did make a weird face after his first bite. I gave him credit for continuing to eat it though.
He smiled down at me as he stole some of my fuzzy blanket for himself.
I could really get used to this.
Untouchable - Chapter 29
Monday
Kennedy and I sat on the front steps of the school as I filled her in on everything about Matt. The good, the bad, the in-between. All of it. I would have told her over the weekend, but I didn’t want to jinx it. Matt would be walking up these steps any minute now. The time for jinxing had passed.
Once I started talking, it was like I couldn’t stop. I was done with secrets and lies. It kind of felt like a storm cloud had been following me around this school ever since I’d stepped foot inside and learned about the Untouchables. But it was sunny today. A perfect autumn day. The kind of day where my mom and I would rake leaves and jump in the piles.
“So you’re definitely not related to him?” Kennedy asked.
“I think my uncle would have said something if we were. Matt asked his permission to take me to homecoming. I can’t think of a much better segue to make Uncle Jim tell us.”
Kennedy laughed. “Right. Something like…you have my permission,” she said in a low voice. “But only as friends. Because she’s your sister.”
I started laughing halfway through her impersonation of Uncle Jim. “That was terrible.”
“Almost as terrible as the segue.” She pulled her camera out of her bag and snapped a picture of me.
“What was that for?”
“To commemorate the day you finally admitted that you’re desperately, madly, head over heels in love with Matthew Caldwell.”
“I never said I was in love with him.” The words lacked conviction as they left my mouth.
She shrugged. “The picture says it all. And I’d like to take a moment to also remember that I called all this weeks ago.” She turned the camera around, made the sassiest face ever, and snapped a picture.
“I could just take a picture for you.” I held out my hand.
“You wouldn’t properly capture the ‘I knew it all along’ look.” Her smile faltered. “Speaking of which…how are you going to break the news to Felix?”
