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

week passed by too quickly, and during that time I discovered that there really was more to Isla than she’d ever let on.

She could be really funny, when she wasn’t trying so hard to hate this town and her new life. And when she forgot to keep her guard up, she was actually kind of...sensitive. Which, I guess, explained why she had her guard up in the first place. She’d figured out how to avoid getting hurt, but that wasn’t working out for her anymore. Not here, not with her friends in the Princess Troupe, and not with me.

As if by some unspoken agreement, the lunch arrangement we’d had on Monday became our daily routine during the week. We sat together and talked and laughed and sometimes we didn’t talk at all, and it was...nice.

Too nice.

It was nice in the sort of bittersweet way that made me ache. I’d finally found someone I connected with. Someone I really honestly understood and who understood me in return, and I was less than two weeks away from walking away from her. From us. From whatever this could potentially be if I wasn’t still stashing money away to get out of town the first chance I got.

The new owners would be moving in at the end of the month and I had to be out of there no matter what. So might as well be gone for good, right?

“So, have you decided?” I asked Isla on Thursday after school.

Giving her a ride home from school had sort of become a thing too. I wasn’t sure why we kept gravitating toward one another, and I knew I should put a stop to it, but then again, our time was limited, right? So why not just enjoy the time we had...right?

I was either going to say goodbye to her in a week or I was going to say goodbye to her once we hit the East Coast, and that was what I was trying to find out right now.

“Are you coming with me or not?” I asked.

Her glance was hard to read. “I’m not sure yet,” she said. “I’m still working out some stuff.”

I hated the flare of jealousy that had me clutching the steering wheel way too tight. “With the guy?”

“Logan?” She laughed as she said his name. “No. Not Logan. That relationship is dead in the water, and I’m fine with that.”

My grip eased. “Then is it about your parents?”

She nodded and I’d have given every dollar I had and every possession I owned to wipe away the sadness in her features. “I talked to my mom last night.”

I pulled the car over to park in front of her aunt’s house. “And?”

She wet her lips. “And they’re getting a divorce.”

I cursed and reached for her hand. “I’m sorry, Isla.”

She nodded and flipped her hand over to grip mine.

“Turns out that’s why they didn’t want me coming back. They were trying to work stuff out, but I guess...well, I guess it didn’t work.”

I wanted to tug her closer. Everything in me ached to hold her again. To kiss her. But that would only mess with both of our heads, not to mention my heart.

Yeah, I could admit it. I had feelings for this girl. And I couldn’t afford to let those feelings get any more complicated than they already were. “So, you’re not going back then?”

I probably should have been relieved that she wasn’t going with me. Days alone in the car together, nights crashing at motels…

It already felt way too hard to think about saying goodbye to her. But after a trip like that?

I wasn’t sure I’d be able to.

“I’m supposed to talk to both of my parents tonight. My aunt too,” she said. Her answer was a non-answer, but I figured maybe she still had a lot to work out.

I nodded. “Yeah, well, whatever you decide, I’m here for you.”

“Thanks.” She looked over at me and I felt her gaze meet mine with a jolt. That was how it always seemed to be when she looked into my eyes. A physical connection. “Flynn, no matter what happens, I’m always on your side.”

My brows drew down in confusion, but before I could ask what that meant, she’d slipped out of the car and I was left to wonder what on earth she was talking about.

It was that Saturday when I finally figured out what she was up to. And admittedly, it took me a minute.

I ran a hand through my hair as I took in the sight before me in the Harveys’ basement where we were setting up for this weekend’s birthday party extravaganza. Or, we were supposed to be setting up. I faced a squad of costumed concern. Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel wore matching scowls. Fierce scowls.

“I’m sorry, but...what exactly is going on here?” I took a step back toward the door, my camera still in hand. “Uh, did I miss something?”

Mrs. Messner stepped into the room and her arched brows and wide eyes had me shifting uncomfortably.

But then Isla moved to the front and gave me a wince. “I told them.”

I blinked. “Told them what?” But before I even finished, I figured it out.

“Quitting school?” Mrs. Messner planted her hands on her hips. “Your mother cannot be okay with this.”

I winced. She wasn’t. But it was my choice.

“If you need money, we can help,” Savannah said.

“No, you can’t,” I shot back. “You all need money just as much as I do—”

“I don’t.” Isla raised a hand. She had the good grace to flinch at my glare. Holding up both hands now, she held them palms out. “We’re just here to talk some sense into you.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered. “This is...what?” I looked around at this small crew with their clear concern. “An intervention?”

They exchanged looks but no one denied it.

I ran a hand through my hair again. I supposed I should’ve been relieved that it was a small party so Maverick, Roman, or any of the