Broken Juliet(69)

“Good idea,” Ethan says. He grabs my hand and pulls me down the hallway toward the makeup room, then shuts the door and pulls something from his bag.

He holds it out and says, “Happy birthday.”

I’m surprised he remembered. And pleased. I wanted him to remember without reminding him. As petty as it sounds, he’s passed some sort of boyfriend test.

Having said that, I eye the thing in his hands dubiously. It looks like a tornado of paper and tape got caught on something kind of rectangular.

He shrugs. “Yeah … so, I suck at wrapping. I’ve been trying to hide it from you, but … there it is.”

I smile and rip off the paper. Inside is Ethan’s old, beaten copy of The Outsiders.

“Oh, wow.” Knowing how important this book is to him makes a lump form in my throat. “Ethan…”

“Wait,” he says and opens the front cover. “Look.”

On the title page there’s a message: “To Cassie, on your 21st birthday. Ethan tells me you’re a very special young lady. I hope your future is as bright as the sun. Stay gold. Warmest regards, S. E. Hinton.”

“Oh my God.” I look up at Ethan. His amount of smugness is now off the charts. “You got her to sign it for me?”

He nods. “E-mailed her over the summer. She was really nice and agreed to sign. I mailed it to her a few days later, and she sent it back within the week.”

“Over the summer? But … we weren’t even back together then.”

He pauses, sheepish that he just gave himself away. “I know. But I wanted to be. I couldn’t stand the thought of getting through another year without you.”

“What if I’d said no?”

He shrugs. “I would have still given it to you. It’s your twenty-first birthday. It’s special.” He kisses me gently, so open and relaxed. “You’re special.”

I stroke his face. “This is unbelievable.”

He kisses me again. “So you like it?”

“Like it? This is…” I shake my head, trying not to tear up. “This is the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me. I love it.” I want to say, “I love you,” but the words get stuck. Instead I kiss him and whisper, “Thank you.”

Maybe I’ve been wrong about him being able to change. Perhaps this second chance is exactly what we need, and it took us being apart to make him realize what we have is more important than his fear.

Whatever the reason, I’m grateful. I feel myself falling for him even harder than before, and right now, I don’t think I could stop myself even if I wanted to.

He hugs me, and I’m glad his T-shirt is black so the tears of happiness that bully their way onto my cheeks are camouflaged.




I look over at Dr. Kate, well aware that I’m blushing.

She gives me a small smile. “So, for a while, you were happy together?”

“Yes. Really happy. At least, I was. Looking back, I realize it was only a few months. Not long enough.”

She writes in her notebook. “When did things start to change?”

My tension starts to rise. “I don’t know the exact moment. It happened gradually.”

“Did it have a specific trigger?”

“Connor.”

I know I’m getting short with her, so I try to calm myself. I’m angry with Ethan, not her. “Every time Connor was around, Ethan would shut down and tense up.”

Dr. Kate crosses her hands in her lap. “Cassie, tell me more about Connor.”

I pause for a moment. “He was open. Sweet. Caring.”

“Handsome?”

“Yes. Very.”

Dr. Kate nods. “No wonder Ethan chose him to be the focus of his aggression and insecurities. The mammalian brain doesn’t always work logically when it comes to a perceived threat. In Ethan’s mind, Connor had the potential to steal you away. His primitive instincts would have reacted to that.”

“So that’s why he turned into such a caveman every time Connor was around?”

“Sadly, yes.”

I clasp my hands together and squeeze. “Unbelievable.”

Dr. Kate pauses. “How’s your anxiety?”

“Getting up there.”

“So Ethan’s jealousy upset you?”

I sigh. “At first I found it attractive that he was so possessive. But then…”

“It got worse?”

“Yes. When we got back together, he really did try to not let on just how bad it was.”

“Did he succeed?”

“Up to a point.”

“Which point?”

Sweat breaks out on my forehead. “Graduate showcase. Senior year.”




Erika opens the large file on her desk and hands out stacks of papers.

“Ladies and gentlemen, as you know, the Senior Showcase is only a couple of months away, and these are your assigned scenes. If you haven’t already submitted which monologues you’d like to perform, please do so ASAP. Remember, this showcase will be viewed by producers, agents, sponsors, and important industry professionals. Make it count.”

I nibble at my thumbnail. The Senior Showcase scares the crap out of me. If you do well, you can fast-forward straight into a professional career. If you don’t, you need to wade into the world of endless cattle calls and auditions. The pressure to be good is kind of ridiculous.