“Mirabelle, she said if she needs anything, she’ll call. Family first, okay?”
“Okay,” I agree, but I don’t feel much better.
It’s almost as if Henry can feel the anxiety radiating from me, so without saying anything, he turns on the audiobook we listened to together on the plane. Turns out it’s a great way to distract my brain from the disaster we’re heading toward, but we’re halfway through the drive back to Wilmington when my phone dings with a message from JJ asking if I’m going to call him back, and I groan. “Fuck,” I mutter under my breath, typing back that I’ll call him later.
Henry’s watching me closely, concern knitting his face, even though his sunglasses are hiding his beautiful eyes. “You okay?”
I chew my thumb anxiously. “No. What did Kait tell you?” I ask, turning off my phone.
“That Bailey was caught drinking in class and will probably be suspended. She sounded upset and asked me to tell you, but based on the way you were racing to Stacey’s office, you already know,” he says.
“I don’t know what to do, Henry. Hunter told JJ and me that he quit soccer, and I don’t know what I did to make him so upset, but he won’t talk to me.”
Henry reaches over to pull my hand away from my mouth, entwining my fingers with his. “Teenagers are hard. You’re doing the best you can,” he says, pressing his lips to the back of my hand.
“You think so?” I ask, turning to watch Henry drive. I don’t need his validation, but I really want to hear it. Henry’s fucking awesome with Kaitlyn, and I feel like I’m letting the twins down, and JJ’s on the other side of the country.
“I do.”
“The principal called me thinking I was my mother. How does that happen?” I ask, and Henry tries to cover up his laugh by coughing, but I see right through him.
“Do you want my opinion as an adult, or as someone who once was a teenage boy?” he asks, and I’m honestly curious how the answer would change between the two of them.
“I think as someone who once was a teenage boy?”
Am I going to regret this?
A part of me expects Henry to pull his hand away, but instead, he rests it comfortably on top of my thigh like this is a normal thing to do. “Well, as someone who once was a teenage boy, I’m wishing I was smart enough to think of that shit in the first place. If I’m right, he logged into your parents’ portal and switched the phone numbers, so if anything ever happened, they’d call you instead of your mom.”
I’m actually dumbfounded because it’s genius coming from the perspective of a teenager, but it’s so infuriating to be the one caught on the other end of it.
“That’s brilliant, but I’m still mad at him. He hasn’t talked to me since the fucking Puppy Bowl, and now I get a phone call that he’s drunk at school and have to bail his ass out? Henry, what the fuck am I going to tell my parents?” I ask, and it dawns on me I’m going to have to talk to my parents.Oh fuck. My parents.
“Yeah. You are going to have to tell them something. Good thing we have some time left in this drive to figure out what we’re going to say to them.”
“We?”
I don’t even care that I probably sound desperate right now. “Yeah, Mirabelle.We.You and I are a team.”
I can’t stop the smile forming on my face, even if I tried. “I think we make a pretty good team.”
“I think so too,” Henry says, squeezing my hand.
Honestly, knowing that Henry is by my side regardless of how this shit plays out, is enough for me to pull out my phone and press my mother’s number, putting her on speakerphone. I might be a little insane, but at least I’m not chickening out.
His jaw unhinges, clearly not expecting that move. “What are you doing? I meant we still had time, not to call right this second—”
Henry’s cut off because the phone only rings once before she answers. “Mirabelle? Is everything okay?” she asks immediately.
“Hi, Mom.”
She takes a strangled breath, and it’s nice to know I’m not the only nervous one, despite having an entirely different reason to be nervous. “I’m so happy you called. Bash said I needed to wait for you to reach out—that we needed to give you time, but I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too,” I reply, tears blurring my vision. I blink them back, wiping at my cheeks with the sleeve of my jacket.Keep it together, Mirabelle. You can feel your feelings later.
“I’m so sorry for how we reacted to your relationship with Henry. If he makes you happy, then I’m glad you’re together. That’s all we’ve ever wanted for you, Mira.”
“I love you,” I say, taking a shaky breath. “Mom, I need to tell you something.”
