Rebound Boyfriend

by Daphne James Huff

  “Sam, this isn’t his fault,” she said. “He got a really great job offer. I was the one who pushed to stay. I could have been more open to things.”

  “What do you mean? Your career is important too.” Though I was closer to my dad for sure, I’d always admired my mom. It was why I was so stressed about getting into a good school. I didn’t want to be some statistic—the cheerleader who married her high school jock boyfriend when she was eighteen.

  At least that was impossible now, I didn’t even have a boyfriend anymore. Somehow, this thought didn’t cheer me up as much as I’d hoped.

  “Of course my career is important, but I was scared.”

  My eyes nearly burst out of my head, and my mouth popped open. My mom, scared? Not likely. More like scary.

  “It’s true.” She chuckled. “I get scared too. Of trying new things, of letting people in. That’s why this past month has been such a nice change. I was finally telling my sister and my friends about everything that was happening, rather than pretending everything was fine.”

  “And that made things better?” I was doubtful. How could people seeing all the bad things about you be a good thing?

  “It’s okay to show people you’re flawed. I didn’t even like to show your dad any kind of weakness. I thought going to California would be giving in, proving he was stronger or more important or something.”

  I’d kept so much from Jeremiah last semester, trying to be this perfect girlfriend with no problems. I’d kept even more from Linzie, I realized now, and how much I had tried to hide from Staci. I was Samantha Parsons, alpha female, right?

  But people had found out anyway. Maybe if I’d just been upfront and brushed off the thing with my parents, people wouldn’t have reacted the way they had today. I could have controlled how they saw me, instead of it exploding underneath me unexpectedly, leaving me scrambling to manage the fallout. Which I had done very badly, thinking back on how the day had gone.

  It had been Charlie Royce who had saved me from a total disaster of a day. All because I’d done something nice for her months ago. Because I’d worried about my cousin’s feelings more than the potential drop in social status.

  Ha! I thought triumphantly. Linzie hadn’t been right after all. I did occasionally think of others. Maybe I wasn’t a total waste of space.

  If I’d been able to figure all this out from five minutes with my mom, maybe I should start coming to her more often with my problems.

  “You’re plenty strong,” I said, reaching over to give my mom a hug. She let out a surprised little “Oh” and then folded me into her arms. “I hope I’m just like you one day.”

  She sniffed, and I could tell she was crying but didn’t want me to see. I kept holding her, giving her time to compose herself.

  It was also kind of nice to be held by my mom. It wasn’t like talking to my dad, but it didn’t have to be. I realized I didn’t have to have the same relationship with both of them.

  “Maybe we can leave tomorrow instead? Can you call the school?” I said hopefully, wanting to get the weekend started sooner rather than later.

  And to avoid another day of everyone staring at me.

  “I’ll see what I can do,” she said.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  My mom made me swear to get notes and homework from someone before she agreed we could leave on Friday instead of Saturday. I spent the rest of the night packing, eager to escape the Colorado winter for a little southern California sun.

  I know we’re still kind of fighting, I sent a message to Staci. But my mom is pulling me out of school to go see my dad. Can you get notes for me?

  I held my breath, waiting for her reply. She might be mad enough to not reply at all, to let me flounder.

  Sure. Have fun with your dad.

  I breathed a sigh of relief. The door to our friendship had been opened just a crack, so I hoped it would still be open when I got back.

  The next morning was a blur of packing and a rush to the airport. I barely had time to settle in and turn on a movie before we were almost there.

  I wasn’t sure what I would feel when I got off the plane. I hadn’t spoken to my dad in almost two months. I’d barely spoken to my mom about it, besides last night. Would it be weird? Would I be angry when I saw him?

  The sudden rush to leave now seemed like a bad idea. I’d rather face another day with the thousand stares of Rosemark High on my back than deal with this family drama.

  All it took was the smile breaking out on his face when I stepped of the plane, however, and I ran into his arms, everything forgotten.

  Shutting people out was definitely not the answer to my problems. I had kept so much hidden, and now that it was all coming out, I felt better, not worse, just as my mom had said.

  My dad was thrilled to have me there, and we quickly fell into our old habits, though all mention of school and boys was avoided entirely. He showed us his neighborhood and his favorite restaurants. My sister didn’t end up coming, since she had work, so it was just me and my parents, like it had been for most of my childhood. It almost felt like we were on vacation, except the way my dad talked about everything, I could tell he was trying to convince us it was a great place to live.

  My parents were perfectly polite to each other, but there were a few times my dad passed me his credit card and his keys and told me to explore on my own. I could tell they had a lot to talk about, and I stayed out as much as I could, hoping that the extra time would help them reconnect.

  I tried to avoid all social media the whole weekend, but when both Staci and Charlie sent a message within minutes of each other Sunday morning, I knew I had to see what it was.

  My heart started pounding the second I saw that it wasn’t even a message, just a link to a post. I clicked it with trembling fingers, not sure what I would find.

  The photo was dark and grainy, so my gaze slid to the caption first.

  Looks like someone’s not over his ex…

  It was Jeremiah and Linzie, clearly fighting in the parking lot after school. I regretted now skipping out on Friday and missing what clearly had been a mega fight. She was furious, and he looked just as mad.

  I checked who had taken the photo and rolled my eyes. Of course, it was Veronica. But the caption had me wondering if she’d overheard my name while they were fighting.

  What else could it mean?

  I quickly texted them both back, demanding to know what the story was. Staci didn’t reply, and a twinge of guilt shot through my heart when I remembered we still had to make up properly. The door had opened a little bit wider when she’d sent me the link, but it still wasn’t fully open yet.

  Charlie just sent a frustratingly vague shrugging emoji.

  The long weekend suddenly seemed to drag on forever, with Monday being the longest. I loved seeing my dad, and now that we’d made up, and he and Mom had at least started to figure things out, I needed to get home and sort out the rest of my life.

  There was a thick packet in our mailbox that had Staci’s handwriting on it. My homework and notes from Friday. I was exhausted from the flight, but I knew I had to take a quick peek before heading to bed. My heart stopped when I saw the first page, however.

  History class.

  Between the Valentine’s Day disaster and the surprise trip, I had completely forgotten that our final history project was due on Tuesday. I knew the paper was done, but it made no sense without the video. And Jeremiah had lost it.

  All the anticipation that had been building in the past twenty-four hours vanished. It didn’t matter if he and Linzie broke up. That wouldn’t save my grade.

  All through a restless, jet-lagged night, I tried to figure out what to do. But there was nothing. I’d missed my chance to talk to Mr. Carter; anything I said Tuesday morning would sound like an excuse. And he’d already heard enough of those from me. There was no time to put together anything else, so I just had to live up to the consequences, just like I had last semester. Except this tim
e, I knew the result would be irreparable.

  If I’d just been honest with Jeremiah, maybe none of this would have happened. But it was too late now.

  I got ready for school, my hands shaking with exhaustion. The drive to school passed in a flash, and not even a stop at Perky’s for my favorite peppermint mocha made me feel any better.

  I sipped the soothing milky foam and thought of the fate that awaited me in first period. I almost turned the car around and went home, but I’d been hiding too long.

  I didn’t even register if people were looking at me or not as I made my way through the crowded parking lot. It didn’t matter anymore.

  “Sammi!”

  I cringed at the sound of Jeremiah’s voice. I didn’t want to hear any more apologies from him. I wanted to disappear into the pavement and never come up again.

  I felt his hand on my arm and turned, my eyes full to the brim with tears. One fell, slow and cold in the winter morning air.

  “Just don’t, Jeremiah. It’s fine.” I sniffed and wiped a glove across my nose, knowing I was messing up my poorly done makeup but not caring. “I’ll take the failing grade. It’s my own fault, not yours.”

  “But I saved it,” he said, his eyes wide and excited. “I didn’t want to bother you over the weekend, until I was sure that it worked.”

  My heart stopped, as the little puffs of white air that made up his words took a second to make their way to my disbelieving ears.

  “You saved it?” I cried, once I’d fully processed the situation. I launched myself at him, wrapping my hands around his neck and squeezing tight. He picked me up and spun me around, and I let out a relieved laugh. “I can’t believe it!”

  “I stayed up all weekend with this guy in the programming club trying to figure it out.”

  He put me down on the ground again, and I took in the bags under his beautiful eyes.

  “But you wouldn’t have failed without it, just me,” I said, pulling my arms away from his neck. “Why do you care so much?”

  His eyes widened. “Sam,” he said, his voice low as he wrapped his arms around me again and pulled me closer. “It’s you. Of course I care. I meant what I said that night when I kissed you. You matter more than anything.”

  I shook my head and pushed out of his arms. I was shivering in the cold morning light and wanted to get inside. But I also didn’t want everyone seeing this. The parking lot had mostly emptied, so if I was going to do this, it was now in this semi-private and freezing moment, or never.

  “I shouldn’t matter to you,” I said, crossing my arms in an attempt to stay warm. “I kept so much from you. I should have told you sooner…” I bit my lip, not sure how to say it.

  “About how you cheated last semester in history class?”

  I gasped. “You knew?” All the weeks of worrying, all the stress of the previous semester came rushing back.

  “Linzie knew.”

  “Linzie knew? This whole time?”

  Between nights cheering for Jeremiah and spending all the rest of our time together, I’d totally forgotten about a history paper due in December. I used my sister’s old laptop for most of my schoolwork, and she had all her papers saved in there. I didn’t have time to put together something totally original, I just needed ideas.

  It had been a simple thing, really. Take the text. Change a little. Put my name on top.

  So easy.

  She’d been a much better student than me. My mom was so proud of her. I wanted the same thing. I still did. I remember handing it in, my heart pounding. Mr. Carter hadn’t been her teacher, but I thought he might somehow know, that he’d be able to tell from my face.

  I hadn’t told anyone what I’d done. How did Linzie know?

  Jeremiah’s eyebrows crinkled together in the most adorable way. His deep amber eyes were so full of worry, my heart broke in two to know that I didn’t deserve it.

  “She said she was on your computer one day and figured it out. She said she’d tell Mr. Carter, and I knew that would be the end of everything for you. College, cheerleading, all of it.”

  “It would have been, except I told Mr. Carter a few days later.” I flushed at the memory of how completely horrible that had been. “I felt so guilty about it. I mean, I changed some of the text, but there were still huge chunks that were my sister’s. He said he appreciated my honesty and let me write it again, but for only half the points. The only way to pass this year would be to do incredible this semester.”

  Mr. Carter had been surprisingly sympathetic to my college concerns and feeling like I had to live up to my sister’s example. The pure relief had only lasted a few days, however, until things with my parents exploded, and my world fell apart around me.

  “Why didn’t you tell me when it first happened?” Jeremiah asked, his eyes so full of hurt I almost forgot he’d been the one to break up with me. But at least now I knew why.

  He’d been trying to save me.

  “That’s why you were with Linzie this whole time?” I asked, just to be sure. We’d had enough miscommunication already. “To keep her from telling Mr. Carter?”

  He nodded and stepped closer to me. My heart pounded as the reality came crashing down on me: all the pain of the past few months could have been avoided. It had been my fault. If only I’d just been honest with him. If I hadn’t tried to be perfect all the time.

  “She threatened to tell Mr. Carter unless I went out with her. Anytime I even glanced at you, she’d dangle it over my head.”

  “I can’t believe she’d be so cruel,” I said, a tear trickling down my cheek. He raised a hand to brush it away. “I probably deserve it, though, for what I did.”

  “No one deserves to have their best friend betray them,” he said. “And you already worked it out with Mr. Carter. Even though she didn’t know that, it wasn’t up to her to punish you for it.”

  He sighed and leaned his forehead against mine.

  “I wish you’d have just told me. We wasted so much time. I missed you so much.”

  “Not as much as I missed you,” I whispered.

  It had been so hard to see him kiss her, thinking he’d liked her better than me. But this entire time he’d liked me so much he was willing to go through that for me.

  Still, there had been an excessive amount of kissing.

  “Did you really have to make out with her that much?” I said, wrinkling my nose and pulling away from him a bit. “I mean, it was almost nonstop.”

  He flushed, his hands balling into fists against my back. “I was going so crazy, worrying she’d let something slip. I thought if she was convinced I really liked her, maybe I could talk her out of it. Every single time I wished it was you. I guess she could still tell.”

  There had been those moments, those long, lingering looks that had left me with that hope all these weeks. Even before the kiss, I knew I hadn’t imagined them. He’d never stopped wanting me. The thought filled me with more warmth than even his arms around me could.

  “What happened Friday?” I asked, still not totally ready to let myself fall for him again. There had been so many secrets, I didn’t want there to be any more.

  “I was already pissed that she told people about your parents,” he said, his eyes furious. “So I’d avoided her all day Valentine’s Day. Then she went mental about coming in second in the bouquet thing and told Mr. Carter anyway. When I found out, I broke up with her.”

  “She could still have told everyone else,” I said. What would have been worse, for the student body to see me as a total academic failure or as an object of pity?

  I took a deep breath to remind myself I didn’t have to be perfect anymore, but the fear still clung to me.

  Jeremiah shook his head, a sly grin taking over his face. “Veronica took care of that,” he said. “She really hates Linzie, did you know that?”

  So much of the worst gossip over the years had been about Linzie, but I’d been caught up in it by being her best friend. Veronica’s slightly friendlie
r attitude the past few weeks had seemed unusual, but who knew what she was up to? I was grateful that for now, she was on my side.

  “What dirt does she have on her?” I asked, then shook my head. “Actually, I don’t want to know. No more listening to gossip.”

  “Veronica did mention someone gave you a rose the other day,” he said softly, his golden eyes sparkling as he leaned in close, his lips hovering just above mine.

  I raised an eyebrow and stood on my tiptoes to reach my lips up to his.

  “You have nothing to worry about. It’s always been you, Miah.”

  “And it’s always been you, Sam.”

  Chapter Thirty

  Walking into the school with Jeremiah’s arm over my shoulder was like winning the bouquet competition times a million. I didn’t even care that my makeup had gotten totally ruined from all the crying and kissing. I was back where I wanted to be, and it wasn’t on top.

  It was next to Jeremiah.

  I shot Veronica a wink as I passed her, and she smiled, the evil glint in her eyes making me shiver. For whatever reason, I was in her good graces, and I hoped I could stay there for another few months.

  We’d spent so long out in the parking lot that Jeremiah and I just barely made it to history class on time. But Mr. Carter loved the video so much that he told us he wanted to enter it into some statewide history competition. I was a little embarrassed to think so many people would see me being so ridiculous, but then Jeremiah reminded me how good it would look to colleges if we won.

  As amazing as I felt, there was still one more person I had to make up with. I used morning study period to hunt her down, reminding myself that I had three more months of them with Jeremiah to use in more entertaining ways.

  I found Staci hiding in the back of the library, leaning against the encyclopedia shelves, eating a bag of peanut butter M&Ms.

  “Do you need me to slap you?” I said quietly, knowing it was probably the worst joke in history. “What guy is giving you trouble?”