Date Me, Bryson Keller(68)

We should talk.

I delete it.

Can we meet?

I stare at those words for a while before deleting them, too.

I miss you more than I thought possible.

I snort. There’s no way I’d have the confidence to send that. Annoyed with myself, I throw my phone on my bed and head downstairs to celebrate my good news.



* * *



? ? ?

Later, we’re eating dinner. Dad wasn’t in the mood to cook, and so we ordered in. We’re celebrating my acceptance—both of them. After Saturday night, I thought a dinner like this would be impossible, and yet here we sit Tuesday night. It almost feels normal.

“How was school, Yazz?” Dad asks.

    Yazz sighs heavily before she begins to list all the things that annoyed her at school today.

“So, was there anything that you liked?” I ask.

Dad and Mom laugh. Yazz fixes me with a blank stare.

“I’m going to let that slide because I know you’re going through a hard time.”

“I appreciate it.”

“Oh, Kai, you need to see Ms. Coleman when you get back to school,” Mom says. “But there’s no rush. You can go back when you feel ready to.”

I sigh. “No. I’ll go back tomorrow.”

“So soon?” Dad asks. The worry is etched on his face.

“I don’t want them to think they’ve won, that they’ve chased me away. I won’t give them the satisfaction.”

The doorbell rings. We all pause and look at each other. “I’ll get it,” I offer.

When I pull the door open, my heart soars at the sight of Bryson standing there.

“Who is it, honey?” Mom calls.

For a second, I think about lying. But I’m done with the lies, done with the hiding.

“It’s Bryson.”

I step out of the house and pull the door closed behind me. The chill night air greets me. I’m oddly nervous to see Bryson. I don’t know why he’s here, but a large part of me is glad that he is, happy that I get to see him even for a little bit.

“What are you doing here?” I ask.

    “You sent me a text and then didn’t reply afterward. You ignored my calls, too, so I had to come.”

“What text—” I start to ask but stop. Horror dawns on my face. I feel the blood rushing to my face.

“This one.” Bryson holds up his phone toward me.

I miss you more than I thought possible.

My words. My confession. Oh God! It went through.

Bryson pushes his hoodie down, and for the first time I get to see his face. It’s bruised. Without thinking, I close the distance between us and reach for him.

“What the hell happened to you?” I am both angry and worried.

“Dustin and I needed to talk.”

“You shouldn’t have done that,” I say. “I don’t want you to get into trouble for me.”

“A three-day suspension isn’t so bad,” Bryson says. “It was worth it.” He still sounds like he doesn’t quite believe it. “I’m sorry he did this to you.” Bryson blinks back tears. The betrayal is a fresh wound to him. He’s hurt just like I am. And I am powerless to do anything to help him, because right now I can’t even help myself.

I realize that I’m cupping Bryson’s face. I move to pull away, but Bryson grabs my hand and pulls me to him in one full movement.

“I missed you,” he says as he hugs me. “I’ve been worried about you.”

“I’m sorry,” I say. My arms are at my sides. I want to hug him so bad, but I think that we need time apart. I need to deal with the mess that is my life before I can drag him into it.

    I step back, and Bryson reluctantly lets me go. He studies my face and he must see what I’m going to say as if it’s already written there.

“You need time?”

“I need to deal with everything,” I say. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I don’t like it, but I get it.” He smiles then. It is small and timid. Bryson heads back toward the Jeep. He pauses at the door. “Call me if you need me. Anytime and anywhere.” He gets in and rolls down his window. “I’ll wait for you, Kai Sheridan.”

I watch as Bryson drives away.

I am both happy and sad. I want nothing more than to chase after his disappearing taillights, but I know that I shouldn’t. I can’t right now. I will not out another person against their will. Maybe when everything dies down, we can go back to how we were.

I sigh and walk back inside.

Mentally and emotionally, I start to prepare myself.

Tomorrow I go to war.





33


Mom is driving me to school. It feels strange not to be in Bryson’s Jeep. I’ve grown so used to our routine. The school day has already started, but Mom doesn’t seem to be in much of a rush. We even stop for coffee at the drive-through before heading to school.

“Call me if anything happens,” Mom says. She’s idling in front of the building.

“I’ll be fine.”

“Even so.”

I nod and climb from the car.

“I love you, Kai.”