My sudden return has my dad scrambling to get everything organized for me. He was literally given hours before I rocked up here. Same as me. But he needs to enroll me in school, and he’s talking about getting me a car, mumbling about the models he thinks would be safe but cheap to run. I’m worried a car would be too much for my dad’s budget. I don’t need a car. Yeah, I can drive, I made sure of that, but I can catch the bus. I really don’t care. I’m happy to just be home.
“Your room is the same. I haven’t touched it since you left. We can go get you a bigger bed, if you want?”
I shrug. “I’m only one person, Dad. I don’t need a bigger bed.”
Walking into the house is like walking into a memory of a happier time. It looks the exact same as the day I left. Even though I’ve been gone all these years, it’s like I just came back from a short trip. Not four years.
It even smells the same. The scent of safe, happy memories. Like I can finally breathe and relax for the first time since stepping on that plane today.
I notice one change—the photos of my parents are missing, replaced by photos of me that I’d sent Dad via email. He’d printed them off and put them into frames. My chest feels tight, and my eyes start to water. The lump in my throat thickens, and I know I’m going to cry. Again.
I imagine Dad having a life here all these years without me. I’d missed him so much. Forcibly, I swallow my emotions and plaster on a smile.
“Do I get to meet Kate?” I spin and face him.
My dad has been dating a woman for the past few months, and from the way his voice changes when he speaks about her, he’s truly happy and in love with her.
He puts my suitcases down, appearing uncomfortable. “Oh, I wasn’t sure if you’d want to just yet.” He scratches the back of his head, and is that a blush? Is my dad blushing?
“Why wouldn’t I? She makes you happy, and I want to meet her.”
All I know about her is that she’s divorced and has two kids, a boy and a girl. They met at school, where he works as the assistant football coach. Her kids are students there. They must come from money, because Lakeview Prep isn’t cheap.
“I usually go over to dinner most nights, but I canceled when I heard you were coming so we could spend some time together. I thought you might want to settle in first before I introduced you.”
My feet began moving before my brain could register what I was doing. I wrap my arms around Dad’s waist and hug him tight.
“You are amazing, Dad, but I want to meet her. Her kids. You don’t need to cancel. We can still go, if you want.”
I hope her kids are better than Malcolm Junior. I’m unsure how well off they are, so I kinda want to get this over with sooner. Just in case they’re pricks. I know the boy is my age; he plays for the football team at Lakeview Prep. I can’t remember his name, though. The girl is fourteen, and her name is Madison.
Dad pulls out his phone then glances up at me. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay in and get settled? We could order pizza and watch an old football game or a movie?”
I shake my head. “Nope,” I reply, popping the p. “I think it would be good to meet them today.”
“Okay, but first I need to speak to the school about getting you enrolled. I’m not impressed about your grades since you’ve been gone, but I’m sure we can convince Mr. Key they’ll only improve now that you’re back home.”
After witnessing the warm welcome Jace gave me, if I was a normal person, I would want to avoid him and go to Lakeview Prep. I know he goes to Ridgecrest High. He wouldn’t have left Roman behind to go to some pompous prep school. Even Hunter, whose parents are loaded, promised to never separate us. He’d planned to attend Ridgecrest with us. Only, I never got there. I was dragged away before I could.
But, even now, I still want to go there. I want to see my old friends. I’m hoping for a warmer welcome from Hunter. Roman, I won’t hold my breath. I’d known cutting him off would be the end of what we’d built for all those years, and I would have to start over with him. I’d broken his trust, and that will be a long road back. One I’m determined to walk. No matter what he throws at me.
“I want to go to Ridgecrest, Dad. All my old friends are there.”
He looks down at me, furrowing his brow. “You don’t want to come to Lakeview? They have an amazing art program. I know you still like art.”
I shake my head. “I don’t want to go there. I never planned on being there when I was younger, and I really want to be at Ridgecrest.”
Dad clears his throat. “Okay, I will call and see if I can get you transferred there. Go up to your room and settle in while I make some calls.”
I walk up the stairs, noticing all the old photos still hanging on the wall. Except one—my parents’ wedding picture. It’s been replaced by a photo of my grandparents. My dad lost them both when he was eighteen. I never got to meet them, but my middle name is June, after my grandmother. I touch the glass over her face. She was beautiful.
I continued up, the top stair squeaking, and I smile. Pressing it with my toe, it squeaks again. Dad never fixed it. I was really back.
My bedroom is at the opposite end of the hallway to Dad’s. The door is closed, and when I turn the handle and look inside, it’s dark. It smells dusty too. Like once I left, he’d closed the door and had never come back in here.
I move to the blind and open it, the sunlight streaming through. Turning, I put my hands on my hips as I survey the room. Same bed, same sheets. My nightstand has a thin coating of dust, and my pink alarm clock is flashing at me, needing to be reset. I open my closet and find all my old clothes from when I was twelve. My pink skateboard and helmet are hiding in there too. I pull the skateboard out and flip it over in my hands. I wasn’t very good at it, but I’d still tried to keep up with the boys. It was more Roman’s thing.
“Mila,” Dad calls out, and I spin to see him entering my room. “I just got off the phone with Ridgecrest. You can start Monday with everyone. We just have to go in and get everything settled in the morning.”
I let out a deep sigh of relief, glad I wasn’t going to a prep school. It isn’t my style. I’d already been at a pompous private schools for the past four years. I have zero intention of going back to that.
“Thanks, Dad.” I put the skateboard down and move over to my single bed. “I think I might need to wash these sheets. They haven’t been changed in four years, and they’re a little dusty.”
I tap my palm down in the middle of the purple comforter, and dust particles rise up and dance in the sunlight. He chuckles, and I do too, until I sneeze. Even then, I can’t keep the smile off my face.
Studying Dad, I can’t help but notice the fine lines along his eyes and mouth. He’s aged since I left, but he still looks young and handsome.
“I’m just so happy to have you back, Mila. This”—he waves his hand at me and the room—“back again. Under my roof and with me.”
I hug him, swallowing the lump forming again. I can’t seem to keep my emotions at bay. “Me too, Dad. I won’t go back.”
That’s a promise.
Dad leaves me to wash the bedding and let me unpack. He gave me some bags to fill with old clothes in my closet that don’t fit anymore and supplies for cleaning. He’d really left my room untouched. I even find my Halloween candy stash that are years past their expiration.
Needing some fresh air, I open the window, and the smell of the freshly cut grass from the neighbor behind pours in. I hear a voice calling out and laughing. I peer into the yard of Jace Montero and see his older brother Grady there with another guy. They’re topless, lounging on outdoor chairs, drinking beer and laughing.
My heart races at the sight of Grady. I might have had a little crush on him growing up. Jace and I used to drive him crazy. Back then, we’d found it funny. Now, I realize he must have considered me an annoying little sister. He’d called me that once and, like a bucket of cold water, had doused all the flames of the girlish crush I’d had on him.
He has filled out…the washboard abs and the tan he’s rocking have my body very aware he has only gotten better with age. I can see his jaw has sharpened too and those full lips of his are even more kissable than ever.
I lean out my window, preparing to say hello. But I’m distracted by the walkie-talkie on the windowsill. My parents and Jace’s gave them to us for Christmas when we were eight. Mine is exactly where I used to leave it each night, in case Jace wanted to talk to me. Our houses are a mirror of each other. My bedroom looks out over the side of his yard, as does Jace’s room with mine.
I look toward his window, finding the blinds drawn. Clicking the button on the walkie-talkie, it comes to life. I smile at the white noise. It reminds me of the last Halloween we were together and Jace slept over.
“Shh, he might hear us,” Jace warns as I let a giggle slip. We’re hiding under my windowsill.
“How is he gonna hear us when we are in my house, silly? Plus, he’s looking for the candy stash we said we left in there.” I raise my brows at Jace, and he just shakes his head with a huge grin.
I grab a piece of candy corn from the bag we got from trick-or-treating earlier and throw it at Jace. He catches it and pops it into his mouth with a grin.
Grady said he was “too old” to trick or treat, but he wants our candy. He’s barely a year older than us. I didn’t see how that was too old. But we don’t want to share it with him when we did all the hard work.
We’d put all our candy into one big bag, like we do every year. We share it and have a sleepover. There are flavors I don’t like but Jace does, and some he hates and I think are the best. So, it makes sense to combine it and eat it all together.
“Here, give it to me.” He reaches out with his palm open, and I give him the walkie-talkie and turn around.
My fingers grip tightly to the edge of the windowsill as I peek up to see if Grady is still in Jace’s room. “He’s still there, looking. He’s going into the closet. Wait…wait…do it…now.”
I put my fist to my mouth, trying to hold myself together as Jace makes a creepy sound into the walkie-talkie, knowing it’ll broadcast to the one hiding in his closet.
Grady jumps and runs out of Jace’s room. We burst into laughter until our tummies hurt. That was the best. We got Grady so good. Jace sits up next to me now, and we both look into his room, waiting to see if Grady comes back.
It only takes a few minutes before Grady storms back into the room. He looks at us and points. He isn’t happy.
“Busted,” Jace and I say at the same time, and we burst into giggles.
“You two,” Dad says at my bedroom door, startling us. We quickly turn and sit up straight, pretending we weren’t doing anything. “No more candy; it’s time for bed. And stop scaring Grady or I will confiscate the walkie-talkie.”
Our mouths drop open. We weren’t good at pretending at all. Dad moves to close my door, but he winks at us just before closing it. We look at each other, brows raised, before bursting into another round of giggles.
I smile to myself. It’s one of my favorite memories. I have a lot, but that night was particularly fun. The next day, not so much. Grady told me I was like an annoying sister that he didn’t have and didn’t want.
With those few words, my crush disappeared in the blink of an eye.
I move back inside the room and turn away from the window. Suddenly, I have no desire to see Grady. I’m worried he’ll react like Jace did, and I don’t think I can handle rejection twice in an hour.
I glance back at my dusty, disheveled room.
This was gonna be a long afternoon.
