No Place Like Homecoming, Dallen, Maggie [beach read book .TXT] 📗

“And you commented on how bad the help was,” he added. “That’s Disney-villain levels of nasty going on over there.”

“I know, I know. I’m sorry.” I laughed as I shook my head. “And I’m sorry for my bad attitude when I first got here. I was really caught up in my own problems—”

“So wait.” He pretended to be confused. “You didn’t want to come to this town?”

I shook my head, trying not to laugh at his faux confusion. He was freakin’ adorable when he was teasing, and seeing him not brooding was a rarity.

“It wasn’t my top choice of getaways,” I said, going along with the joke.

“Well, this is shocking news,” he said before taking another bite. After he did, he held out the slice. “Want some?”

I shook my head.

“Don’t make me call Savannah over here,” he said with a warning look.

I held my hands up. “I’m not on a hunger strike or anything. That’s not why I fainted.”

He took another bite and arched his brows. “You want to talk about why you did?”

I drew in a deep breath, ready to say ‘no’ but stopped myself. This guy had just told me his life story and it seemed like a rejection if I didn’t give him at least a glimpse of what was really going on for me too.

“Was it the guy?” he asked.

I shook my head. “Not really. Or maybe a little.” I shrugged. “I found out he hooked up with someone else.”

He dropped his slice onto the paper plate with a curse. “I’m sorry, Isla. That’s...that’s…”

“What I deserved?” It came out too bitter and I tried to soften it with a smile.

“I didn’t say that.” His chiding was gentle, and more than a little knowing.

I looked away. Gah, why did this guy seem to see right through me when my own parents couldn’t see me at all?

How come he knew exactly what to say even though I barely knew him, when Logan and Taylor and all my other friends from home had never even noticed that I was unhappy.

Maybe I hadn’t let them know I was unhappy.

Whatever. Either way, it was still disconcerting that this guy seemed to understand so much about me without me saying a word.

“Did he hurt you, Isla?” The way he said it, so serious. So earnest.

I knew what he meant. He didn’t mean physically, he’d meant...had I cared enough about Logan to be hurt that he’d hooked up with someone else.

“No,” I admitted. Had my pride been hurt? Yes. My ego was wounded by his moving on so quickly, but he hadn’t broken my heart. “He couldn’t hurt me. I hadn’t let him get close enough that he could do any real harm.”

Flynn nodded. “Yeah, I get that.”

I glanced over at him, and...there it was. He did understand. We might have been complete opposites in so many ways, but I was starting to understand why we seemed to get each other.

The fact that we were sitting here talking like this? This was a first for me, and I had no doubt it wasn’t exactly a normal experience for him either.

That thought made me feel warm all over. Safe. Content in a way I hadn’t been in who knew how long. It also had me blurting out the truth I hadn’t wanted to tell a soul. “He wasn’t the reason I freaked out the other day.” I tucked my hands into the pockets of the long, thin cardigan I was wearing. “My parents don’t want me back.”

He stared at me for a long moment and I waited for it. The pity.

But it never came. He dropped his pizza on his plate, set the plate on the bench and shifted closer until he could wrap an arm around me and tuck me against his side. His lips were pressed to my hair when he said, “That sucks.”

I gave a huff of laughter. “Yeah.”

He didn’t ask me any more questions, and I was grateful. Every time I thought about my parents—my mom, in particular—I kept thinking about what my aunt said. It’s not always about you.

I wanted to believe that was true. But I knew it was time for another conversation with my mom. A real one. One that wasn’t about me. We sat there for a long while and watched classmates come and go, catching a bit of sunlight and warm weather before heading back inside to get to class.

Our lunch break would be up soon, and I had no idea when I’d have another chance to talk to Flynn like this again.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.”

I pulled away from his grip, even though the feel of his arm around me was more soothing than any weighted blanket or little blue pill. “Do you want to go to New Jersey?” I asked.

He looked at me like I’d spoken Chinese. Like the words didn’t even compute. “It’s not about what I want, it’s about what my family needs from me.”

I nodded, smothering a smile. “Spoken like a true martyr.”

He laughed. “I’m not a martyr. Just...doing what I have to do.”

“Mmhmm.”

He gave me an incredulous look. “I take it you disagree, but might I remind you that you barely know me and you’ve never even met my family.”

“No, but I’m willing to bet there are other options out there.”

“Like what?” His tone grew hard and defensive so quickly it threw me.

I hadn’t come out here looking for a fight. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. But I wasn’t afraid of a fight either. “Has it occurred to you that maybe you could ask people for help?”

He let out a little scoff of amusement. “That’s kind of funny coming from you.”

I shrugged. It’s not always about you. My aunt’s words held new meaning for me as I took in his new defensive posture, the hardness in his features.

“The bell’s gonna ring soon,” he said. “We should get going.”

I nodded but I made no attempt to leave. My head was racing, and