No Place Like Homecoming

by Dallen, Maggie

  And more importantly, I didn’t have room in my life for anyone but my family.

  Her gaze moved over my face, and she looked like she might argue, but then she pressed her lips together and nodded. “Yeah. Okay.”

  Great. Good. So we were understood then. A bitter taste filled my mouth, but I couldn’t summon my earlier anger. And I couldn’t turn away from her when she needed me. No matter how much I might want to.

  I gave in with a weary sigh. “Look, if you come with me, you have to find your own way back.”

  Her brows arched high. “You’re not coming back?”

  I shook my head, waiting for the questions I’d been dodging for weeks now. But after a minute she just nodded. “Okay.”

  I pulled her back so she was resting against me. “Okay,” I echoed.

  She wasn’t crying anymore, so that was something. But my chest still felt empty. Like I’d just lost something vital.

  Thirteen

  Isla

  On Monday I discovered the hard way that Savannah was kind of a mother hen.

  A tall, gorgeous, blonde mother hen.

  Sure, she’d seemed all standoffish and cold when I’d first met her but apparently I was part of her crew now that I was a fellow princess, and this put me on her motherly radar.

  “I’m fine,” I said for the tenth time as she hounded me by my locker.

  She narrowed her eyes. “Did you eat breakfast?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yes, Mom.”

  “Savannah, are you coming?” One of her obnoxiously pretty cheerleader type friends called to her from the far end of the hall. She cast me another narrowed, suspicious gaze.

  “Don’t worry, Savannah. I got this.” Callie linked her arm through mine, and Savannah nodded in approval before walking away.

  “Is she worried I’m going to ruin another gig?” I asked.

  Callie snorted. “Nah. That’s just how she is when you’re a friend of hers.”

  I stopped short. “Am I? A friend of hers, I mean?”

  Callie’s nose crinkled in confusion. “Of course.”

  Willow stopped beside us, her arms filled with books and her hair in that no-nonsense bun she was always sporting. “You okay, Isla?”

  I just barely resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “I’m fine.”

  And today I actually meant it.

  Kind of.

  Mostly.

  Willow still eyed me from head to toe, her gaze clinical. I got a short nod at the end of it. “Okay, then. But don’t skip lunch, all right?”

  I gave her a little salute that made her smile, and then she was off to her next class. All business that one, but I kinda liked that about her.

  Callie tugged me along beside her. “Are you gonna join me and the girls for lunch?”

  I shook my head. The girls she hung out with at lunch were a nice group, and all, but I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Flynn ever since my aunt showed up and took me home.

  He’d texted on Sunday to make sure I was okay, and that text nearly killed me.

  The fact that he worried about me when I so didn’t deserve his concern, it shook me to my core.

  My aunt had given me space on Sunday, although she made me cookies, which was just...weird. And nice. Also, I really needed to remind her about my low-carb diet. But I’d decided that since she’d gone to the trouble and all, I could afford a cheat day.

  But now, today…I couldn’t keep thinking about Flynn. I had to talk to him.

  “I was hoping to find Flynn,” I said.

  Callie gave me a little smirk. “What’s going on with you two?”

  I shook my head, about to say ‘nothing,’ but what came out was, “I don’t know?”

  “Fair enough.” She bumped my hip with hers. “Is he gonna take you along on his big road trip?”

  I nodded. “He said he would.”

  My stomach churned at the thought. Not of the drive. Getting in a car with Flynn and driving far away from everyone and everything sounded kind of amazing, to be honest.

  But the thought of what I was driving to, that was the issue.

  I was driving back to a life that didn’t want me. And while that fact had pretty much rendered me catatonic on Saturday, I’d had all day yesterday to process. Did I really want to go back to a life that didn’t want me? To parents who thought I’d be in the way and a guy who moved on when I’d been off his radar for less than a week?

  What was I so intent on getting back to?

  The answers had been depressing, to say the least. But when I’d taken a break from stewing in my own misery, my thoughts had invariably led back to Flynn.

  What was he heading to that was so important he’d leave his life here behind?

  “Do you guys know when you’re leaving?” Callie asked. “And how long before you two come back? We’re going to miss you guys.”

  I turned to stare at Callie’s profile as she led us into the cafeteria.

  She meant it. She would actually miss me. And Flynn.

  And she had no idea that he wasn’t coming back. I spotted him grabbing his lunch in line and followed him as he headed toward a door leading to the courtyard. Surrounded on all sides by the school, it wasn’t exactly a huge lawn, but with the sun out and a free bench, it looked like heaven.

  Flynn sat and I sat beside him. He looked at me. Looked at my empty lap. “You’d better be eating lunch or Savannah will never let you hear the end of it.”

  “You heard about her, huh?”

  He shrugged. “She looks after people she cares about.”

  I frowned. “She shouldn’t care about me.”

  He arched his brows as he took a bite of pizza. “But she does.” His gaze moved over me as he chewed. “So does Callie, and Willow, and Mrs. Messner.”

  “And you?” The words slipped out.

  I was such an idiot. I shouldn’t have asked that. I definitely shouldn’t have put him on the spot, and I shouldn’t have let myself look so pathetic, and—

  “And me,” he agreed.

  A freakin’ bonfire ignited in my chest at his simple answer. He made it sound so easy, so casual. And I knew he wasn’t, like, declaring his love for me or anything, but it still felt like a big step forward.

  Like maybe one day he’d forgive me for being such a brat those first few times we’d met, and such a selfish cow the last couple times we’d interacted.

  I looked away when his gaze felt too intense, the look in his eyes way too knowing. “Speaking of the princess troupe,” I said. “They all seem to think you’ll be coming back to Lindale after a quick visit to see your family.”

  He turned to face forward, shoving the pizza in his mouth again and ignoring the implied question. After he swallowed, he asked, “Are you going to tell them otherwise?”

  “It’s not my place to tell them anything.”

  He turned to face me then, his gaze considering.

  “So, what’s the deal?” I asked.

  He didn’t pretend not to understand. “My mom and my little brothers need me.”

  Without prompting he told me how his dad left, how his mom lost her job. By the time he was done, my heart was aching on his behalf. His problems were real ones. My own were pathetic in comparison.

  “I’m really sorry, Flynn,” I said.

  He looked over with a smile. “Wait, were you the waitress my dad took off with? I thought you looked familiar.”

  We shared a stupid laugh over his dark humor. “Hilarious,” I said. “And no. That wasn’t me. But I am the spoiled brat who showed up all put out because I had to work a part-time job.”

  “And you commented on how bad the help was,” he added. “That’s Disney-villain levels of nasty going on over there.”

  “I know, I know. I’m sorry.” I laughed as I shook my head. “And I’m sorry for my bad attitude when I first got here. I was really caught up in my own problems—”

  “So wait.” He pretended to be confused. “You didn’t want to come
to this town?”

  I shook my head, trying not to laugh at his faux confusion. He was freakin’ adorable when he was teasing, and seeing him not brooding was a rarity.

  “It wasn’t my top choice of getaways,” I said, going along with the joke.

  “Well, this is shocking news,” he said before taking another bite. After he did, he held out the slice. “Want some?”

  I shook my head.

  “Don’t make me call Savannah over here,” he said with a warning look.

  I held my hands up. “I’m not on a hunger strike or anything. That’s not why I fainted.”

  He took another bite and arched his brows. “You want to talk about why you did?”

  I drew in a deep breath, ready to say ‘no’ but stopped myself. This guy had just told me his life story and it seemed like a rejection if I didn’t give him at least a glimpse of what was really going on for me too.

  “Was it the guy?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “Not really. Or maybe a little.” I shrugged. “I found out he hooked up with someone else.”

  He dropped his slice onto the paper plate with a curse. “I’m sorry, Isla. That’s...that’s…”

  “What I deserved?” It came out too bitter and I tried to soften it with a smile.

  “I didn’t say that.” His chiding was gentle, and more than a little knowing.

  I looked away. Gah, why did this guy seem to see right through me when my own parents couldn’t see me at all?

  How come he knew exactly what to say even though I barely knew him, when Logan and Taylor and all my other friends from home had never even noticed that I was unhappy.

  Maybe I hadn’t let them know I was unhappy.

  Whatever. Either way, it was still disconcerting that this guy seemed to understand so much about me without me saying a word.

  “Did he hurt you, Isla?” The way he said it, so serious. So earnest.

  I knew what he meant. He didn’t mean physically, he’d meant...had I cared enough about Logan to be hurt that he’d hooked up with someone else.

  “No,” I admitted. Had my pride been hurt? Yes. My ego was wounded by his moving on so quickly, but he hadn’t broken my heart. “He couldn’t hurt me. I hadn’t let him get close enough that he could do any real harm.”

  Flynn nodded. “Yeah, I get that.”

  I glanced over at him, and...there it was. He did understand. We might have been complete opposites in so many ways, but I was starting to understand why we seemed to get each other.

  The fact that we were sitting here talking like this? This was a first for me, and I had no doubt it wasn’t exactly a normal experience for him either.

  That thought made me feel warm all over. Safe. Content in a way I hadn’t been in who knew how long. It also had me blurting out the truth I hadn’t wanted to tell a soul. “He wasn’t the reason I freaked out the other day.” I tucked my hands into the pockets of the long, thin cardigan I was wearing. “My parents don’t want me back.”

  He stared at me for a long moment and I waited for it. The pity.

  But it never came. He dropped his pizza on his plate, set the plate on the bench and shifted closer until he could wrap an arm around me and tuck me against his side. His lips were pressed to my hair when he said, “That sucks.”

  I gave a huff of laughter. “Yeah.”

  He didn’t ask me any more questions, and I was grateful. Every time I thought about my parents—my mom, in particular—I kept thinking about what my aunt said. It’s not always about you.

  I wanted to believe that was true. But I knew it was time for another conversation with my mom. A real one. One that wasn’t about me. We sat there for a long while and watched classmates come and go, catching a bit of sunlight and warm weather before heading back inside to get to class.

  Our lunch break would be up soon, and I had no idea when I’d have another chance to talk to Flynn like this again.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “Shoot.”

  I pulled away from his grip, even though the feel of his arm around me was more soothing than any weighted blanket or little blue pill. “Do you want to go to New Jersey?” I asked.

  He looked at me like I’d spoken Chinese. Like the words didn’t even compute. “It’s not about what I want, it’s about what my family needs from me.”

  I nodded, smothering a smile. “Spoken like a true martyr.”

  He laughed. “I’m not a martyr. Just...doing what I have to do.”

  “Mmhmm.”

  He gave me an incredulous look. “I take it you disagree, but might I remind you that you barely know me and you’ve never even met my family.”

  “No, but I’m willing to bet there are other options out there.”

  “Like what?” His tone grew hard and defensive so quickly it threw me.

  I hadn’t come out here looking for a fight. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. But I wasn’t afraid of a fight either. “Has it occurred to you that maybe you could ask people for help?”

  He let out a little scoff of amusement. “That’s kind of funny coming from you.”

  I shrugged. It’s not always about you. My aunt’s words held new meaning for me as I took in his new defensive posture, the hardness in his features.

  “The bell’s gonna ring soon,” he said. “We should get going.”

  I nodded but I made no attempt to leave. My head was racing, and a feeling I was totally unfamiliar with had taken root in my chest. I wanted to help him. I wanted to stop worrying about me and worry about this guy since no one else seemed to be doing it.

  He was always taking care of everyone else—including me. But who was looking out for Flynn?

  Me. The answer was me.

  I sat up a little straighter, something in my chest loosening. Unraveling as a smile tugged at my lips.

  “What’s with you?” Flynn asked. He looked wary.

  Smart guy.

  He eyed me with a narrowed gaze as he reached a hand out to help me to my feet. “You ready?”

  I flashed him a smile as I slipped my hand into his. “As I’ll ever be.”

  Was Flynn’s family problem my issue?

  No.

  But I wanted it to be.

  Don’t ask me why. I was trying pretty hard not to overthink it myself. But the thing was, Flynn’s family deserved better. Flynn deserved better. And for the first time in my life...it wasn’t about me.

  I might not have known how to fix my relationship with my parents, and I had no interest in getting Logan’s attention again. He could have his homecoming crown, and whoever he took as his date could get her time on the stage as the queen.

  For me, well...I was starting to realize it might not have been so terrible to be a princess. A fake princess, obviously.

  It only took swooning in front of a bunch of munchkins to make me see reason. That maybe my life wasn’t really back in New York. Maybe it was here. And maybe it could be good if I gave it half a chance.

  Having Callie and the others in my corner was new. It was a taste of what friendships could be like. Having Aunt Lucy talk to me like I was a grown up—heck, having her talk to me at all—maybe that was the kind of home I needed right now. One where I wasn’t treated like a child, for better or for worse.

  For better, I decided when I got home from school later that day. Flynn had given me a ride, and my brain was on fire with ways that I could help him. But I’d need help.

  I’d need friends.

  I walked in to find Aunt Lucy chopping vegetables for dinner.

  I’d need family.

  “Here, let me do that,” I said, taking over and pretending not to notice that her jaw had dropped and her eyes were like saucers. Yeah, yeah, so maybe I hadn’t exactly been bending over backwards to help around here.

  But things were changing. I was changing.

  At least, I wanted to change. And that was a start, right?

  “To what do I owe the honor?” she teased as she
stepped back to let me take over. “I didn’t think you knew how to do anything in the kitchen except for mope.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Would it put you at ease to know that I’m just trying to butter you up for a favor?”

  Her laugh was a cackle and it made me grin as I turned my attention to the knife and vegetables before me. “I do like your honesty, kid. All right, hit me. What’s the favor?”

  “First…” I half turned to look at her. “How well do you know Mrs. Masterson?”

  She frowned. “Flynn Masterson’s mom?”

  I nodded.

  “Well enough. I felt sorry for her and her boys with all they’d been through these past few years. I know a lot of us wished we could have done more for them, but there’s just not much year-round work to be had in this town.”

  I pursed my lips as I debated how far was too far to intervene in the life of some guy I barely knew?

  But as soon as I thought it, I had this flash. This image of Flynn just before he’d kissed me, the way he’d held me as I cried. The way he let me be myself, and how I wanted to be better when I was with him.

  This wasn’t a stranger.

  And the way I felt around him was so not even close to a friend. I swallowed and shook off the thought. I was in it to win it now, right? Go big or go home.

  And it wasn’t like I could go home, right? So go big it was then.

  “Are you close enough that you’d feel comfortable calling her and getting her input on something?”

  I glanced over to see my aunt studying me. “Possibly. What’s this about?”

  I turned, knife still in hand and decided right then and there that I would tell her the truth. I’d tell her my plan.

  My stomach’s revolt at the thought was a not-so-helpful reminder that I didn’t trust people. I didn’t open up to them, and I didn’t let them in.

  Not normally.

  But maybe trusting people wasn’t something that came naturally to anyone. Maybe letting people in was hard for everyone. Well, everyone but Callie. She seemed to be a natural.

  Maybe it was all about deciding to let people in. Choosing to let people help. So I told my aunt everything I was thinking, about how I didn’t want to see Flynn sacrifice himself and his future for his family. About how I might be able to help.