Wild About You: Chapter 8

Friday afternoon comes and I haven’t looked forward to a weekend so much in ages.

“Congrats on surviving another week,” Ainsley, or Mrs. Aaron as she’s known to the students, says as I pack up. Today she stayed after school with me and Everly to finish the theater backdrops. With all three of us, we managed to get it done in a week. A very long week.

“Thanks for all your help.”

“That’s what I’m here for.” She rubs her pregnant belly. “See you next week if you’re brave enough to come back.”

I smile. I’m exhausted but this week turned out to be pretty amazing. I didn’t feel like I wanted to puke once today while I stood in front of the class. “I’ll be here.”

The wind and bitter cold take my breath away as I walk outside. I pull my coat tighter around me and hurry down the sidewalk. I pause when I see Everly sitting on the bench near the parking lot.

I walk toward her with slow, measured steps. It’s been at least fifteen minutes since she left the classroom. Way too long to be outside in this weather.

“Is everything okay?” I ask as I approach her.

“I’m fine.” She lifts her chin proudly, but the dots of red on her cheeks and the chatter of her teeth say otherwise. “I’m waiting for my ride. He should be here pretty soon.”

“Tyler?” I take a seat next to her. The metal bench is like ice.

“No, River. He had to work late at the record store to cover for his ex.” She tilts the screen of her phone to show me a picture of what I assume is River and a girl with long, jet black hair. “That’s her. His ex, Molly. She works with him at Empire. Should I be worried that they’re still friends?”

“I don’t know,” I say. “But just because she’s his ex, doesn’t mean he still has feelings for her.”

“I’m not sure I believe you can be just friends with an ex after you break up. It seems like it would be weird. I mean, look at you and my brother. You two can barely stand to be in the same room together.” Small snowflakes start to drop from the sky and land on the screen, and she slides her phone into her coat pocket.

“It’s freezing out.” Literally freezing. “Is there anyone else you could call?”

She shakes her blonde head. “No.”

“What about your brother?”

“He’s out of town.”

Right. He did say he was going to be traveling with the team the rest of the week. I’ve tried to block out everything he said that night, but it’s replayed in my head on a loop.

“Who stays with you while he’s gone?”

“Umm…” She looks nervous. “Scarlett checks on me sometimes or Declan, neighbors, whoever Tyler can convince to pop in on me.”

“Scarlett Miller?” I ask.

She smiles. “Yeah. You know her?”

“I do.” I pull out my phone, but Everly stops me.

“She’s traveling with the team this week. Leo likes having her in the stands.”

I smile because I can hear Scarlett in that. His family hardly ever comes so I love being there for him. He gets the biggest smile on his face when he looks up and sees me in the stands.

“Okay, so who is watching you this weekend they’re gone?”

She gets a defensive glint in her eyes. “Declan is going to check in on me later. I don’t need a babysitter. I’m eighteen.”

“Who is Declan?”

“One of my brother’s teammates. He’s injured so he isn’t traveling, but he’s at physical therapy until five.”

I’m starting to get a pretty good picture of the chaos of Everly’s life. I know it can’t be easy for Tyler trying to juggle everything, but no wonder Everly is acting out. She has no certainty in her life.

I stand. “Come on. I’ll give you a ride.”

“For real?”

“Yeah, but no judgment when I eat a share size Kit Kat on the drive. It’s been a long week.”

Everly gives me the address and I punch it into my phone before we leave the school. I eat my Kit Kat as promised, and Everly stares down at her phone. The snow has picked up and the sky darkens.

When I get to the gated community, my jaw drops. In the back of my mind, I knew Tyler was a wealthy hockey player now, but it hadn’t really hit me until we’re passing the large homes of his neighborhood that he isn’t the young guy struggling to make something of himself anymore.

A part of me is really proud of him, but I can’t linger on that emotion for long without it clouding the anger I feel that I didn’t get to be by his side. That was the plan. He’d play junior hockey, I’d go to college, and someday we’d both be living our dreams together.

“It’s that one right there.” Everly points at the same time her phone rings in her lap.

I pull into the driveway as she answers.

“Hey, Ty. I’m just getting to the house now.”

My stomach flips as I hear just the faintest bit of his voice on the other end of her phone.

“No, he isn’t here.” She glances at me. “Something came up. Piper brought me home.”

“Yeah,” she says. “Yeah.”

I stare straight ahead, but then Everly holds the phone out toward me. “He wants to talk to you.”

“Oh, that’s okay.” I try to wave her off, but she keeps holding it out and eventually I take it.

“Hello?”

“Hey. Thank you for giving her a ride home. I’m sorry you needed to come to our rescue again.” His deep voice bats away that anger I was just clinging to.

“It was no problem,” I say.

“Well, I appreciate it anyway.”

I look out the partially snow-covered windshield to the house in front of me. “Your house looks nice.”

“It is, but it isn’t mine. We’re staying with a buddy until I can find us our own place. I had an apartment near the arena, but it wasn’t big enough for both of us.”

I file that information away to think about later.

“Everly said she has someone coming to check in on her later?” I ask as I avoid meeting her gaze. I want her to like me, but I also need to make sure I’m not dropping her off to fend for herself all weekend. She might be eighteen but she should have someone for emergencies.

“Yeah, Declan should be stopping by later. He looks in on her a couple of times a day while I’m gone.”

“The snow is coming down pretty hard.”

He hums. “I’ll text him, but if I know Declan, he won’t let something like a little snow get in the way.”

“It looks like it’s going to be more than a little snow,” I say, noting that the road behind us is now covered. “Do you want me to stay with her until he gets here?”

“I can’t ask you to do that. If he can’t make it, I’ll give the neighbors a call to see if they can drop by.”

“You didn’t ask, and I’m already here.” I smile at Everly. I don’t want to admit that I’m also not thrilled about driving home in this. I needed new tires months ago. My car will be skating home. “It’s no problem. I’ll just hang out until someone else comes.”

He’s quiet for a beat and I have to check the phone to make sure he hasn’t hung up.

“Tyler?”

His voice comes out gruffer. “Thank you, Pipes.”

I shut off the car. The nickname still gets to me more than I’d like to admit. “Okay. Well, good luck or whatever. I’m handing you back to Everly.”

Everly says goodbye to her brother and then looks at me. “You didn’t need to do that. I’m used to taking care of myself, you know?”

“I know.”

She raises a brow like she thinks I’m just telling her what she wants to hear.

“I think you are way more mature and capable than I was at your age, but it’s still good to have people that will look out for you. And it will make your brother feel better.”

She sighs. “I guess you’re right. Besides, I really don’t want the lady next door to check in on me.”

We get out of the car and Everly lets us in through the front door. She nods her head toward the neighbor’s house. “She treats me like I’m five and she’s always hitting on Ty.”

Everly scrunches up her face in disgust. I bet there’s a long list of women hitting on her brother. And who could blame them? Young, hot, rich professional athlete? Any one of those things would make him a catch. All three? Hold on to your panties, ladies.

Everly kicks off her snowy shoes and I do the same.

Her phone rings and a big smile stretches out over her face. “It’s River.”

Everly disappears up the stairs, tapping away as she goes. I let out a long breath and look around, spotting a living area off to the right of the entryway. Even knowing this isn’t Tyler’s house, I still feel him here. The framed jerseys on the wall, the hockey stick mounted like artwork—it all has a very Tyler-like feel that unexpectedly makes me smile.

I reach out and run my fingers along the wooden stick on the wall and goosebumps climb up my arm. The hall leads to an open kitchen with a giant island. A piece of paper catches my eye. Tyler’s penmanship sucks the air out of my lungs. Why is it the smallest things that hit me the hardest when it comes to him?

I hate how even when I want to hold on to every ounce of anger for the things he did in the past, the present version draws me in.

Chris pops into my mind. It’s been a crazy couple of weeks with my student teaching starting and I’ve barely talked to him, let alone seen him.

He isn’t a great love or anything. We’ve kept our relationship casual and fun, but I like him and he’s a nice guy. Still, I find myself comparing him to Tyler. Like I’ve inevitably done with every other guy that came before him.

Chris has a younger sister, too, Heidi, who is about the same age as Everly. It isn’t the same situation—she lives at home with two loving parents—but I can’t help but think of the time he wouldn’t let her borrow a phone charger, and here Tyler is leaving his credit card on the kitchen table like it’s no big thing.

But it isn’t just the money, because God knows he probably has more of it than he knows what to do with now. How incredible is it that Tyler was there for Everly when she had no one else all while keeping a crazy schedule and following his own dreams?

Maybe the truth is Tyler is a good guy. But he can be a good guy and still be the jerk that broke my heart.