Just One Year(19)

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, that’s a story for another day.”

“No. Tell me.”

I sighed. “Well, Veronica and I had lunch plans in Kenmore Square, only she didn’t tell me they included meeting her parents. It was sort of an ambush.”

Teagan narrowed her eyes. “I didn’t realize you guys were that serious.”

“We’re not. I mean, I guess we’re not seeing other people, but in my opinion, meeting the parents was premature.”

“How were they?”

“Like my biggest nightmare. Her father questioned my decision to major in general studies, and her mother basically said I might as well break up with her daughter now if I planned to move back to England.”

“Ouch.”

“Yep. They ended up leaving to go sightseeing. So I ordered a beer and downed it just before I got Maura’s text about you. Then I took off and left Veronica sitting there.”

Her eyes widened. “Did you tell her what happened? Why you left?”

“No. Just that something happened at home. I texted her later to explain and apologized for booking it out of there.”

“You ran all the way from Kenmore Square?”

“Of course. I was freaking out, thinking you were hurt.”

What I neglected to mention was how pissed off Veronica was after I left her at the restaurant. She didn’t understand my reaction. I wouldn’t have expected her to, considering she and I had never discussed my friendship with Teagan.

Teagan blinked. “Thank you for caring so much.”

“Of course. You guys are like a second family to me. I couldn’t imagine anything happening to you, Teagan.”

I meant that. Teagan had no idea about the issues I dealt with at home. Being here with the Carrolls was like a breath of fresh air.

She stared off. Again, her mind seemed to slip into a contemplative place. I supposed when you experienced a traumatic event, the realization came in waves.

“I do everything in my power to hide my sexuality,” she finally said. “And yet just being a woman, I’m a target. It’s so scary.”

“Even if you were flaunting your sexuality, it wouldn’t have been your fault. It’s never someone’s fault when a sick person decides to attack them.”

We sat in silence for a bit.

“Can I tell you a secret?” I finally said.

“This would be your second secret out of ten, so make sure it’s a good one.” She smiled.

It’s good to see her smile.

“Okay, then I should clarify that it isn’t officially a secret, because I’ve sort of hinted at it before, mostly when talking about your intelligence, but today it applies more to your overall character. I’m not sure if anyone’s told you this, but you should know it.”

“What?”

“You’re a badass, Teagan.”

“That’s your secret? That I’m a badass?”

“Yes.”

Her mouth curved into another smile. “Well, thank you.”

“You really are. And I think we need to celebrate that fact tonight.”

“How are we going to do that exactly?”

“Spoiler: not by studying.”

“Well, that’s a given.”

“I’ll give you a hint at what I’d like to do to celebrate your badassery. It begins with an S and rhymes with floors.”

She took a second to ponder. “You want to celebrate with s’mores.”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

“Didn’t we just make s’mores the other night?”

“I can’t help it. I think I’m addicted—to s’mores and Hot Cheetos. Two things I don’t have back home. I need to get my fill while I’m here.”

“You can make s’mores back home.”

“I suppose. Although I don’t see myself lighting a fire outside our flat with no real yard. Quite sure that’s not allowed.”

“Yeah, that probably won’t work.”

I hopped up. “What do you say?”

“I say you’re crazy.” She shrugged. “But let’s do it.”





CHAPTER SEVEN




* * *



TEAGAN




A week later, I was in my room when I noticed I’d missed a notification that someone had joined one of my performances on the singing app. That rarely happened to me.

I cracked it open and saw the user’s name: S’moresDude.

My heart sped up as I clicked into it and saw Caleb’s smiling face in the preview.

Oh my God!

No, he didn’t.

How did he know about this? It had to be Shelley. She always used to sneak my phone before she got one. I’m going to murder her!

After I pressed play, I couldn’t help laughing like a fool as I watched our duet, a split screen of Caleb and me singing Adele’s “Someone Like You.” Our voices blended well, his deep baritone complementing my soprano. It was kind of great, actually.

The exaggeratedly serious expression on his face as he sang cracked me up, and Caleb’s voice was pretty good. I was no professional, but I could carry a tune, and apparently so could he. I’d even venture to say his voice was better than mine. I’d always done these for fun, to let loose, not because I thought I had something to offer in the singing department. Oddly, though I tended to be uncomfortable expressing myself around people I knew, I had no problem interacting with strangers. No one knew me on the app—until now. It had been a place I could let my inhibitions go and not be judged or recognized. Or so I thought.