This Is Falling(33)

“You’re not going to believe this, but this is Paige’s dress,” she says, grinning and pulling up the side of the dress to hold it out a little.

“Wow. I didn’t think she had anything without bling.”

“I can’t believe you know what bling is,” Rowe says, smirking at me and raising her eyebrows.

“Oh, you haven’t seen what Ty and I have done to the place. We’ve gone full bling,” I say, making her laugh. I love it when she laughs—even her teeth are freakin’ hot. I bet she had braces growing up.

“Full bling, huh? I’m gonna need to see this,” she says, and I tuck that to the back of my mind for later, reminding myself that Rowe wants to see my room.





Other than the fact that their sons have decided to come to this school, my parents have no association with McConnell whatsoever, But looking at their tailgate set-up as we walk up—and the crowd that’s hanging out with them—you would think they were alumni super-boosters with buildings named after them.

“What is all this?” I ask, tugging on the McConnell fold-up chairs, sitting under the McConnell canopy, and next to the McConnell plates and napkins.

“We thought we’d leave the chairs and tent with you guys. Just something fun,” my mom says, leaning in to kiss me and noticeably eyeing the girl standing behind me.

“Your mother just likes a reason to shop. We couldn’t even fit the tent in the damn rental car. I had to tie it to the roof,” my dad says, reaching over to shake my hand, and eyeing Cass and Rowe behind me just as mom did.

“Mom, Dad, this is Rowe and Cass,” I say, reaching back to regain the fragile grip I had on Rowe’s hand. She grips me a little harder now, and I can tell she’s nervous.

“Cass, we have heard absolutely nothing about you,” Dad says, pushing his sunglasses into the pocket on his shirt, and for a moment, Cass looks mortified. “That must mean you’re pretty special. We only hear the breakup stories, and we used to get one of those a week.”

“It was touch-and-go there for a while,” Cass says, and Ty’s face looks panicked. “I painted his room pink.” And Ty’s smile is back quickly.

Dad laughs, reaching over to shake Cass’s hand, our mom waiting her turn behind him. “Ah, so that explains why you didn’t want us to come up to the room.”

“It was Rowe’s idea,” Cass says, shifting Dad’s attention to Rowe, who is manically snapping and unsnapping the button on her wallet she’s so nervous to meet my parents.

“Remind me to consult you when these two short-sheet my bed over the holidays. And fill my car with packing peanuts. And paint my fingernails with red Magic Marker while I’m napping.” Rowe laughs lightly when she shakes my dad’s hand, and I can see her relax just a little.

“I’ll make you a manual on how to deal with them,” she says, and I can’t help but move closer to her and put my arm around her. At first, I’m afraid she’s going to shrug me away, but instead, she reaches for my fingertips with her hand and holds on.

“Rowe, so nice to meet you,” my mom says, giving me a wink from the side, letting me know she approves. My mom likes my type too.

“Thanks for inviting me, Mr. and Mrs. Preeter,” Rowe says when she shakes my mom’s hand, her voice wavering; I can actually hear her pulse racing through her vocal cords. My mom holds onto her hand and covers it with her other one, looking Rowe right in the eyes.

“Please, it’s just Cathy and Dave. And it’s our pleasure,” Mom says. I see Rowe whisper my parents’ names to herself when they turn away, like she’s trying to memorize them, and I almost lean in to kiss her on the cheek when she does, but I catch myself.





McConnell is more of a baseball school, it would seem. By the third quarter, the McConnell Bulls were trailing the Miller Pirates by four touchdowns, and the stadium was only a third of the way full. I sat next to Ty, and the girls sat in front of us. I was stuffed—one of the nice things about sitting in the box was free food, and good food, too. Not the cafeteria shit I’ve been eating.

I can tell Cass and Rowe are arguing about something. Not a serious fight or anything, but Rowe definitely seems unhappy. I nudge Ty and nod toward them; he just shrugs. I’m trying not to eavesdrop, but I hear bits and pieces.

“Where am I supposed to stay?” Rowe whispers. Cass says something back, but I can’t tell what it is.

“Cass…pleeeeease? Can’t you go there?” More whispering, and Rowe turns to look behind her—just enough, that I jump and quickly pretend I’m intensely watching the blowout happening on the field.

When the third quarter ends, Cass gets up from her seat and Rowe slumps down in hers. I watch carefully as Cass walks to the other side of Ty, whispering in his ear, and soon he’s backing up in his chair and Cass is grabbing her purse from a table.

“We’re heading back. Mom, Dad—see you guys tomorrow at dinner?” My mom leans in and kisses Ty on the top of his head and shakes Cass’s hand again, walking them to the suite door before returning to her seat. Rowe is sitting alone directly in front of me, and she’s getting smaller with every second.

“This seat taken?” I climb over the back of the seat Cass left open, feeling like an idiot, but just dying to get closer to her. She just smiles and looks to the field. “We don’t have to stay you know. My parents don’t care. My dad’s firm has a branch here. That’s how they got the seats. They didn’t pay for them.”