“I’ve been calling you all day.”

“Oh, uh, I turned my phone on silent while I caught up on schoolwork. What’s up?”

“I heard about last night.”

“Oh, that.”

“Yeah, oh that.” He moves my books out of the way and sits on my bed. “I’m sure it’s payback for meddling in your relationship with Heath, but I still can’t believe you went to so much trouble to get Taryn and me back together.”

Oooooh, right. That.

I sit and pull my pillow into my lap. “I know I overstepped. I thought you were having a reaction to Mom and Dad and I wanted to help. You’ve always looked out for me and I wanted to do the same for once.”

“Taryn said as much.”

“Are you mad?”

“No, I get it.”

“I’m sorry about you and Taryn.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“On the plus side, I know lots of girls who will be thrilled you’re single again.” One in particular, but that’s not my secret to tell.

His chest lifts and falls with a quiet chuckle. “I think I’m going to try being single for a change. With everything going on, I think the universe might be sending me a sign.”

“Single, huh? I can’t picture it.”

“Me neither.” He leans so his back rests against the concrete wall.

“I don’t think I’m doing as well with Mom and Dad as I thought either. I came back and threw myself into making plans with our friends because I wanted so badly to pretend everything was normal. But it’s not. I think it’s going to be weird for a while no matter what. Plus, uh, Heath and I are… I don’t even know.”

“Yeah, that’s actually why I’m here, but I figured that wouldn’t get me in the door.”

“You know?”

“One look at Heath this morning and I think we all knew something was up. Wanna tell me what happened?”

“The short version? He overheard me telling you that I loved him, freaked out, told me love was bullshit, and I ran.”

“Why did you run? That’s not like you.”

“Because I was embarrassed. Do you know what it’s like to tell someone you love them and have them not return the sentiment?”

“No.” He shakes his head. “But I’m sure I’ve had a lot of people say it and not mean it. It’s a risk either way.”

“You know, I never thought about it before, but you’re like the bravest person I know. You jump from girlfriend to girlfriend—”

He groans.

“Let me finish.” I punch his leg. “You keep putting yourself out there no matter how many times it doesn’t work. Maybe it’s a little excessive, but definitely brave.”

He rubs at the back of his neck. “Well, I guess that’s one way to look at it.”