The Best Possible Answer(52)

“Yes, probably,” he says.

Virgo raises his hands. “Thanks, but I’ll pass on both.”

“I’m just kidding.” Sammie takes the food out of the fridge. “Today’s menu is just chicken macaroni salad and pork adobo, no innards or bits included.”

She leans into the fridge and pulls out a six-pack of Coke. We help her grab plates, napkins, and utensils, then head back upstairs. She spreads a picnic blanket on the ground near the window, and we fill ourselves on her mom’s awesome food.

“Your mom’s adobo is the best,” I say. “I am so going to miss it.”

“It’s not like we’re moving to Canada. We’ll still see each other on weekends.”

“I know.”

“What are you going to do after Sammie moves?” Virgo asks. “Are you going back home?”

“I guess. I mean, I have nowhere else to go.” I take a sip of Coke. “Can we talk about something else? This conversation is depressing the hell out of me.”

“Sure,” Virgo says. “I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. I’m just sick of talking about my problems. I want to hear about someone else’s problems.”

“I’ve got one,” Evan says. He puts down his plate and then shifts uncomfortably. “I got a message from my ex-girlfriend last night.”

“Whoa,” Virgo says. “Joanna? The high school sweetheart?”

“You mean the tenth-grade sweetheart? The one I pledged my life to when I was fifteen, the one I thought I’d marry and grow old with? Yeah, that one.”

“You seriously thought you were going to marry her?” Virgo laughs. “No one should be talking about marriage when they’re in high school.”

“Well, we did.” Evan’s shoulders slump. “And then she broke my heart.”

“How?” Sammie asks.

“She cheated on me. Even though we were going to different colleges, we promised to stay together, since we’re only a few miles away. But then she got together with another guy her first week at Northwestern, and she told me about it a week later. Said she was racked with guilt and couldn’t take it anymore.”

“When you say ‘got together,’” I ask, “you mean—”

“Well, almost got together,” Evan says. “They didn’t have sex. But they made out. And they got close.”

“Dude,” Virgo says. “You don’t tell!”

I look at Virgo. “What do you mean, ‘You don’t tell’?”

“I mean, you don’t tell.” He pauses to take a drink. “Even if it’s flirting with someone else. You keep that stuff to yourself.”

“But then you’re lying to your significant other,” I say. “And your whole relationship is a farce!”

Virgo raises his hands. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to get you so upset.”

“I’m not upset,” I say, lowering my voice. “I’m just—I just disagree.”

“Wait,” Evan says. “So let me ask you this. She called me last week and said she wants to try again, that she feels terrible about what she did. She wants me to forgive her and give her another chance.”

I’m surprised he’s telling me this, especially after our night in his dorm room.

“You could give her a chance—” Virgo starts to say.

“Nope,” I say, interrupting him. “There are no more chances.”

“So you don’t give her credit for being honest?”

“Hell no.”

“I agree with Viviana,” Sammie says.

“Okay, let me ask you this,” Virgo says. “Would it have been better if she’d kissed the guy and then lied about it to Evan?”

“No! She shouldn’t have done it at all!” I say. “Why? Do you actually think she should have lied?”

“Hell yes,” Virgo says. “What’s it going to fix? She was never going to see that other guy again. It’s like what she did with him happened in another dimension. It doesn’t count.”

“I’d rather know,” I say.

“Are you sure about that?” Virgo says. “Are you really sure you’d rather know?”

I think about everything I do know—I feel for the keys that are burning a hole in my pocket.

I look at Virgo. And I pull out the keys. “Yes,” I say. “Because I already do.”

“What are those?” Sammie asks.

“I found these in my father’s drawer. They’re the keys to his other house.”

“Oh, no,” Sammie says.

Virgo picks up the keys. “What are you talking about?”

“What do you mean, ‘his other house’?” Evan leans over and takes them from Virgo’s hands. He reads the label. “What’s Geneva Terrace?”

Maybe it’s the fact that they’re all staring at me or maybe it’s the thundering sky or maybe it’s what Sammie said about how I need more people in my life who care about me. Or maybe it’s the fact that Evan’s being totally, completely honest with me and I actually do care about him, and so I want to do everything in my power to save him from another broken heart.