No Place Like Homecoming

by Dallen, Maggie

  Thankfully Aunt Lucy was on my side when I was done.

  She was in my corner, and that meant everything. Which was why I followed up with one more request. “Aunt Lucy, do you think you could set up a videocall for me and my parents?”

  Her brows arched but she just nodded. “Yeah, kid. I can do that.”

  “Good. There are some conversations I need to have with them, and I need them both to be there.”

  “I think that’s very wise,” she said.

  “And Aunt Lucy…?”

  She waited expectantly.

  “I’m hoping you’ll be there too.” I swallowed and cleared my throat. “I mean, if you don’t mind.”

  She came over and took the knife out of my hands, setting it down before pulling me in for a bear hug that stole my breath. “I’ll be there, kid.”

  Fourteen

  Flynn

  The rest of the school week passed by too quickly, and during that time I discovered that there really was more to Isla than she’d ever let on.

  She could be really funny, when she wasn’t trying so hard to hate this town and her new life. And when she forgot to keep her guard up, she was actually kind of...sensitive. Which, I guess, explained why she had her guard up in the first place. She’d figured out how to avoid getting hurt, but that wasn’t working out for her anymore. Not here, not with her friends in the Princess Troupe, and not with me.

  As if by some unspoken agreement, the lunch arrangement we’d had on Monday became our daily routine during the week. We sat together and talked and laughed and sometimes we didn’t talk at all, and it was...nice.

  Too nice.

  It was nice in the sort of bittersweet way that made me ache. I’d finally found someone I connected with. Someone I really honestly understood and who understood me in return, and I was less than two weeks away from walking away from her. From us. From whatever this could potentially be if I wasn’t still stashing money away to get out of town the first chance I got.

  The new owners would be moving in at the end of the month and I had to be out of there no matter what. So might as well be gone for good, right?

  “So, have you decided?” I asked Isla on Thursday after school.

  Giving her a ride home from school had sort of become a thing too. I wasn’t sure why we kept gravitating toward one another, and I knew I should put a stop to it, but then again, our time was limited, right? So why not just enjoy the time we had...right?

  I was either going to say goodbye to her in a week or I was going to say goodbye to her once we hit the East Coast, and that was what I was trying to find out right now.

  “Are you coming with me or not?” I asked.

  Her glance was hard to read. “I’m not sure yet,” she said. “I’m still working out some stuff.”

  I hated the flare of jealousy that had me clutching the steering wheel way too tight. “With the guy?”

  “Logan?” She laughed as she said his name. “No. Not Logan. That relationship is dead in the water, and I’m fine with that.”

  My grip eased. “Then is it about your parents?”

  She nodded and I’d have given every dollar I had and every possession I owned to wipe away the sadness in her features. “I talked to my mom last night.”

  I pulled the car over to park in front of her aunt’s house. “And?”

  She wet her lips. “And they’re getting a divorce.”

  I cursed and reached for her hand. “I’m sorry, Isla.”

  She nodded and flipped her hand over to grip mine.

  “Turns out that’s why they didn’t want me coming back. They were trying to work stuff out, but I guess...well, I guess it didn’t work.”

  I wanted to tug her closer. Everything in me ached to hold her again. To kiss her. But that would only mess with both of our heads, not to mention my heart.

  Yeah, I could admit it. I had feelings for this girl. And I couldn’t afford to let those feelings get any more complicated than they already were. “So, you’re not going back then?”

  I probably should have been relieved that she wasn’t going with me. Days alone in the car together, nights crashing at motels…

  It already felt way too hard to think about saying goodbye to her. But after a trip like that?

  I wasn’t sure I’d be able to.

  “I’m supposed to talk to both of my parents tonight. My aunt too,” she said. Her answer was a non-answer, but I figured maybe she still had a lot to work out.

  I nodded. “Yeah, well, whatever you decide, I’m here for you.”

  “Thanks.” She looked over at me and I felt her gaze meet mine with a jolt. That was how it always seemed to be when she looked into my eyes. A physical connection. “Flynn, no matter what happens, I’m always on your side.”

  My brows drew down in confusion, but before I could ask what that meant, she’d slipped out of the car and I was left to wonder what on earth she was talking about.

  It was that Saturday when I finally figured out what she was up to. And admittedly, it took me a minute.

  I ran a hand through my hair as I took in the sight before me in the Harveys’ basement where we were setting up for this weekend’s birthday party extravaganza. Or, we were supposed to be setting up. I faced a squad of costumed concern. Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel wore matching scowls. Fierce scowls.

  “I’m sorry, but...what exactly is going on here?” I took a step back toward the door, my camera still in hand. “Uh, did I miss something?”

  Mrs. Messner stepped into the room and her arched brows and wide eyes had me shifting uncomfortably.

  But then Isla moved to the front and gave me a wince. “I told them.”

  I blinked. “Told them what?” But before I even finished, I figured it out.

  “Quitting school?” Mrs. Messner planted her hands on her hips. “Your mother cannot be okay with this.”

  I winced. She wasn’t. But it was my choice.

  “If you need money, we can help,” Savannah said.

  “No, you can’t,” I shot back. “You all need money just as much as I do—”

  “I don’t.” Isla raised a hand. She had the good grace to flinch at my glare. Holding up both hands now, she held them palms out. “We’re just here to talk some sense into you.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered. “This is...what?” I looked around at this small crew with their clear concern. “An intervention?”

  They exchanged looks but no one denied it.

  I ran a hand through my hair again. I supposed I should’ve been relieved that it was a small party so Maverick, Roman, or any of the new people Mrs. Messner was supposedly hiring weren’t here to witness this humiliation. “Guys, I appreciate the concern but—”

  “But nothing.” Isla had her hands on her hips, and—she was back.

  The girl I’d first met, with the cocky arrogance and the crazy bravado. She marched toward me and grabbed my arm, all but dragging me out the way I’d come in. “We’ll be back,” she told the others.

  “Isla, what do you think you’re doing?” I hissed as she tugged me outside where a catering company fancier than mine was unloading a truck full of food and beverages.

  “Isla, why did you tell them? What were you thinking?”

  “I was thinking you needed help and you weren’t going to ask for it yourself.”

  I stared at her for a long moment, torn between frustration and the urge to kiss her.

  “This is none of your business.” I flung a hand toward the people waiting inside. “It’s none of their business.”

  “I beg to differ.” Her tone was so pert, her chin tilted up so haughtily. “They do too. They’re your friends, and they want to help.”

  It was an effort to drag air into my lungs as her gaze met mine and held. We both knew what was coming. I knew we were both thinking it. If they were my friends...what was she?

  I could see her throat work as she swallowed. “Willow’s parents said you could s
tay with her.”

  I blinked. Then I shook my head. “What?”

  “She’s always there alone, anyways, and apparently she sold it to them that you’d be, like, her bodyguard or something.” She shrugged. “I don’t know, she can explain better. But if that doesn’t work out, Mrs. Messner said she has Jason’s room free and—”

  “And what?” Humiliation nearly swamped me as I stumbled back. Now I saw what this was. Charity. “You think I’m gonna accept handouts?”

  “None of this is a handout.” Her brows drew down as she planted her hands on her hips. “This is people who care about you offering to help.”

  I ran a hand through my hair. “Isla, you don’t understand. My mom—”

  “Yeah, about your mom.” Her wince made me cringe. “I kinda talked to her too.”

  My eyes grew wide as I stared at her. “You...you...what?”

  “Actually, my aunt did the talking.”

  “Your aunt.” I was repeating her words like a freakin’ parrot. Maybe if I said them too they’d make sense.

  Isla’s expression was pained and pleading when she reached for my hands. “Flynn, she doesn’t want you to quit school—”

  “It’s not about what she wants—”

  “Then what about what you want?”

  “It’s not about that either, Isla.” I sighed with exasperation. My head was spinning and for the life of me I couldn’t seem to make out how I was feeling.

  This girl, she was freakin’ trouble. This right here, what she was doing, it was everything I’d been trying my best to avoid.

  I didn’t need help, and I didn’t want worry. I had it all under control.

  Or I had until she’d come along. Now all I wanted to do was say screw it to all my responsibilities, and forget about all the problems that were weighing on me. All I really wanted to do was kiss the hell out of this girl.

  “You’re right, this isn’t about what you want, or what your family wants, it’s what you need,” she said. “And you need to let people help you. No one can do everything on their own.”

  “Isla.” It came out on a growl. She was frustrating the hell out of me. Did she think I didn’t want to stay? Did she think I wanted to leave my friends behind, school behind, dreams of college behind? But my life wasn’t like hers. “You have no idea.”

  “Maybe I don’t,” she agreed. But she said it so readily that I knew it would be followed with an argument. “I’ve never faced the same issues as you. And let’s face it, I’m sort of the poster child for selfishness.”

  I choked on a surprised laugh at that. “I didn’t say that.”

  “No, I’m saying it,” she agreed, yet again way too readily. “But I’ve figured some things out recently. I’ve learned something by getting to know you.” She moved toward me and part of me wanted to back away. Part of me knew that if she got too close I’d give in to this urge to reach out to her, to pull her close.

  Part of me knew that if I did, I’d never let go.

  “But the thing is, I’ve always been selfish because I thought I had to be. I thought that if I wasn’t looking out for my interests than no one else would either.”

  I winced at that because for a second I saw that vulnerable girl, the one she tried so hard to hide. “I’m not being selfish, Isla, I’m—”

  “No, you’re being selfless. But being totally selfless isn’t always the best way to be either, Flynn. Not when there are tons of people around you who’d love to help. You don’t have to blow up your whole life in some grand sacrifice. You don’t have to be the hero. And you definitely don’t have to do it all alone.”

  I stared at her, temporarily speechless because I’d never heard so much passion from her. And it was for me.

  The urge to kiss her finally won out and I pulled her close, claiming her lips in a kiss that I’d been dreaming about for the past week. Ever since our last kiss.

  This one was no less fiery, but it was even sweeter. It was so sweet it nearly killed me.

  She’d done this for me.

  I didn’t know how or why, but she was looking out for me.

  The thought had me crushing her so close she was locked in my arms. Her hands were on my chest, gripping the fabric of my T-shirt.

  When she pulled her head back, she was out of breath, her lips swollen and her eyes beautifully dazed. “Does that mean you’ll stay?”

  I’d never wanted anything more in life. To stay here. To live a normal senior year with this girl at my side and with my friends around me. I groaned as I leaned forward, my forehead resting against hers. “My family—”

  “Will be fine,” she finished with a whisper. “I told you yesterday I was scheduled to have a meeting with my parents, right?”

  I frowned at that. Who had to schedule meetings with their parents? My arms wrapped around her tighter. I wanted to look out for her the way she was looking out for me. I wanted to be her person.

  I wanted her to be my person.

  Never in my life had I wanted to let someone in like this, and I’d never thought it was possible for me. But here we were. Together. And it was perfect.

  Well, it was perfectly imperfect. We were two flawed, broken, and injured people—but together we fit.

  “What do your parents have to do with this?” I asked.

  She wet her lips and wariness stole into her eyes. “We cleared the air about some things and I sort of...led negotiations.”

  I arched my brows. “You negotiated with your parents?”

  She shrugged. “Contracts are pretty much their love language.”

  I frowned. “What’s a love language?”

  She shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. What matters is that we worked out a deal that involves me staying here, Aunt Lucy getting a new car—”

  My eyes widened and she laughed. “Yeah, that came as a surprise to her too. But I explained to her and my parents that a reliable car was essential to my safety.”

  I laughed in disbelief. “Okay, and what else was essential?”

  Her arms wrapped around my neck. “You. Your family.”

  “My family? You’ve never even met my family.”

  “No, but they’re important to you which means they’re important to me.” She shrugged. “Which means they had to be important to my dad. He’s going to give your mom an interest free loan to help her get on her feet, and he’s already reached out to her with some connections he has who can give her some part-time work for now.”

  I opened my mouth and shut it. Finally I gave my head a hard shake. “It wasn’t your place to do this, Isla.” But as much as I wanted to cling to my anger, I couldn’t help the swell of emotions that made it hard to talk.

  She went up on tiptoe and kissed me instead. “I have a proposition for you, too.”

  I arched a brow. “Does it entail me buying you a car?”

  “No,” she said with a grin. “It’s a trade. I’ll help you learn how to be less selfless if you teach me how to be less selfish.”

  I laughed. “I think I could do that.”

  She nodded, her eyes suspiciously misty as she bit her lip. “And maybe we can both figure out how to be better about letting people in.”

  I leaned down to kiss her, a touch that was soft and so achingly tender. “I think we’re making progress.”

  She smiled against my lips. “We are, aren’t we?” She leaned back to meet my eyes. “So? What do you say? Will you stay?”

  I thought over all she’d said, all my friends and this girl had offered to help. “No. I have to go.”

  Her eyes widened and I hurried to explain as tears filled her eyes.

  “But I’ll be back.”

  She blinked rapidly. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. I need to see my family. I need to bring them their stuff and check in to make sure they’re okay. There are some things I need to work out on my own.”

  She nodded. “And if they are? Okay, I mean.”

  “Then I’ll be back.”

 
; She narrowed her eyes in faux suspicion. “When? I mean, how long are you going to leave me here to eat lunch on my own?”

  I smiled, a lightness in my chest spreading and swelling until I thought I might burst. I’d never had anyone waiting on me before. I’d never thought I’d love it so very much. “I’ll be back in time for homecoming.”

  Her lips spread into a smile that stole my breath right along with my heart. “Promise?”

  “I’ll come back home,” I said, leaning down to seal the vow with a kiss. “Because this is my home.”

  You are my home.

  I kissed her before those words could escape. I would be back, assuming Isla’s plans worked out the way she hoped. And when I came back home, she and I had all the time in the world to figure this out.

  Together.

  Epilogue

  Isla

  One Month Later…

  Callie stood on one side of me. Willow was on the other. Savannah likely would have been hovering too if she wasn’t on stage at the moment getting ready to accept her crown as homecoming queen.

  But Flynn?

  He was nowhere to be found.

  “He’ll be here,” Callie said for the tenth time.

  I nodded. He would. I knew he would. It was just… “Where is he?”

  Willow winced as she shrugged. “He didn’t get home before I left.”

  Willow’s home was now Flynn’s new home. For the time being, at least. It seemed Willow’s parents were more than happy to host Flynn once Willow made it clear that she was tired of being on her own so often.

  She may have hinted that she was afraid for her safety and having Flynn around made her feel safer.

  This was not technically the truth, Willow had admitted. But it was close enough. These days, with Willow’s new boyfriend hanging around, I guessed she wasn’t all that lonely. But everyone seemed to be happy with the new living situation so no one was about to complain.

  Still… He’d started his long drive back from the East Coast the day before and I’d heard little from him since he’d left. Just that he’d be here in time for tonight.