As it turned out, I remained awful at Geometry.

I think Reese taught me more about math than I taught him. Actually, I learned a lot from Reese. I learned his last name: Havens. I learned that he'd had a crush on this girl named Sarah for forever. And I learned that he scored exactly twenty-three points in his last basketball game, but Sarah only showed up at the last minute to watch him miss a three-pointer.

I didn't really like kids. But I liked Reese.

So the next time I heard the chatter of the after-school group—Directions, they called it—meeting in the basement, I went to find Reese. Because, you know, he was a cool little shit of a thirteen-year-old.

Reese smiled without reservation when he saw me, and that quick trust from a kid that probably allotted very little to the people around him made me smile back. All I did was smile. But I felt a lot more than the simple friendliness that a smile showed.

I didn't know how to describe it, but it was there, in my chest.

Sitting down next to him, I listened while Reese explained how he got a good grade on his last assignment, despite my shitty help. He then transitioned into talking about Sarah and basketball and his annoying English teacher, and I leaned back in my chair, trying to remember when my worries were as simple as that.

But I also knew that wasn't fair to say. Reese probably had a lot of other worries, too. The ones he kept guarded, the ones he put walls around.

And besides, a worry is a worry. It didn't do any good to weigh or compare them.

Listening to Reese's worries for a bit took my mind off of mine. I barely even thought about the note I'd left out for my dad before I left for work.

Unfortunately, it wasn't too long before Collins interrupted.

"Oh, Bren," she said, surprise dancing in her eyes as she walked out of her office. "What are you doing down here?"

Even though we worked in the same building every day, we didn't usually run into each other. We'd kept our distance, just like I asked for when I took the position.

I cleared my throat and stood. With a glance at Reese, I told him I'd catch him later and walked over to Collins.

She cocked her head to the side. Lowering her voice so the kids wouldn't hear, she said, "I didn't mean you had to come every day. Rachel is here." Collins pointed across the room to the dark-haired college student.

Shrugging, I replied, "I know. I just wanted to see how Reese did on the assignment we worked on."

Collins nodded slowly. "Uh-huh."

"Yeah," I went on, "And he has a test coming up, so I was thinking I'd drop tomorrow to see how it went."

"We don't host after-school hours on Thursdays." She had a funny little grin on her face. "You'll have to wait until Friday."

"Oh."

I didn't realize I was frowning until Collins laughed. "Look at you, Hadaway. This, I did not expect."

"What?"

She shook her head. But there was an annoying sing-songy quality to her voice when she said, "Oh, nothing."

I rolled my eyes and began to stomp over to the stairs, meaning to retreat to my little office. But Collins stopped me.

"Hey!" she called.

Turning, I raised a brow. Collins' teasing grin morphed into a softer smile as our eyes connected. "Happy birthday," she said.

"Thanks." I threw Collins a slight grin and nod before heading back upstairs. Glancing at my phone, I saw a notification from Madie that I must've missed earlier. It was a happy birthday text, and I felt like an ass that I hadn't replied. I didn't even see it pop up.

I began to type a response before changing my mind and pressing dial instead. Hopefully my girl was available. Hearing her voice right now would push my decent mood into a great one.

But when she picked up, I immediately reconsidered that thought.

"Bren," Madie snapped at me.

"Hey, baby," I said. The words curled up at the end, a question laced in there. What was wrong?

"I cannot believe you," she hissed into the phone.

I frowned. I didn't like when Madie was mad at me. But I especially didn't like it when I didn't know why.

What the fuck did I do?

The Grounds had a whole different vibe on this side of the counter. The lazy, relaxed atmosphere created by coffee-sippers and newspaper-readers didn't extend to the employees, who were all crushed together as we tried to prep a million lattes.

Well, maybe it was just me. The other baristas actually had a pretty casual approach, slinging drinks and ingredients around like they could make a peppermint mocha in their sleep.

Not me. God, pouring a simple dark roast without spilling was challenging enough.

The cafe hired and took me on right away, thanks to Nessa and her connections. This was my second shift, and I had to keep reminding myself of it.

This is your second shift. Just your second shift. It will get better.

After three hours of my ongoing coffee disaster, as well as three subsequent talk-downs from Nessa to keep me from quitting, I withheld a curse as a familiar face appeared in the doorway of the cafe.

I really didn't need anyone I knew to witness me right now.

Not that I really knew her that well, but still.

"Hey!" I smiled as she approached.

Lana returned my cheery greeting, grinning in a way that I could see all her teeth, and somehow it didn't look creepy. Just happy and pretty. She wore a tunic sweater with white-washed jeans and booties. Effortlessly put-together, as usual.

After pulling out her wallet to order, Lana glanced at me curiously. "This is my usual coffee spot. I didn't know you worked here."

"I'm new," I said and tried not to groan.

This is your second shift. Just your second shift. It will get better.

Feeling my phone buzz in my back pocket, I pulled it out to peek at it. I texted Bren this morning, wishing him a happy birthday, but I hadn't heard anything since then. It worried me a bit. He usually got back to me within a few minutes.

But it was just an unknown number calling, so I frowned at my screen and pushed it back into my pocket.

"Sorry," I said as I turned back to Lana.

"Oh no! Go ahead and take that if you need to."

I shook my head, even though how she said it had been genuine. Lana's friendliness knew no bounds; I was supposed to be working, after all.

"No, no," I said, prying a smile onto my face again. "I think it's just spam. I've been waiting to hear from my boyfriend, but it isn't him."

Lana nodded as she grabbed a wrapped muffin from the side display. "Bren, is it?"

"Yeah, it's his birth—wait, how'd you know that?"

I punched in the price of her muffin as I searched my memory, wondering if I mentioned something about Bren to her at the gala. I didn't think I did, considering I was raging mad at him at the time. But maybe?

Lana's eyes widened, and nervous laughter flitted between the sounds of acoustic guitar from the overhead speakers and chatting cafe-goers. "Oh, I actually met him. Briefly. On Sunday. He, uh, stopped by Hale's office."

Frozen. I was instantly, mortifyingly frozen. "He did what?"

"I was visiting Hale on campus, and he showed up outside his office door." She shifted awkwardly on her feet, and I wondered if it was because of the way I was staring her down. I tried to soften my gaze—my stare had nothing to do with her, after all—but it was harder and harder for me to slip my mask back on lately. Lana cleared her throat. "I left after that because I needed to get to a meeting."

"Oh my god," I groaned, "I can't believe him."

I opened my mouth to ask Lana if she knew anything more about it, but then a stream of college students walked into The Grounds, and our conversation got cut short. Regretfully, I finished her order and watched as she walked out of the cafe.

The rest of the shift dragged. All I could think of was Bren. I knew he'd harbored a bit of jealousy at the gala, but I thought we sorted it. I never would have imagined that he'd do something like this, going to find Hale. And for what?

I slapped a towel down on the counter, making Nessa jump and flash me a curious look while she rang up a customer. Luckily, the clock finally struck three, and I tossed off my apron, gathered my purse and keys, and headed for the door.

Second shift, done.

Nessa stopped me before I could leave.

"Hey, M!" she called. "I'm done in thirty. Wait for me, and we can walk back together."

"Nessa..." I rolled my head in exasperation, just wanting to go hide under the covers of my bed.

My roommate leaned over the counter, ducking past the espresso machine. She lowered her voice. "You shouldn't walk back by yourself."

I stared at her, knowing she was right. And hating it.

"Didn't you promise Bren?" she added, cocking her head knowingly.

Yes.

Dramatically, I rolled my eyes and dropped into the nearest booth to wait for her. Pulling a book from my purse, I sank into the familiar words of The Awakening, my fingers fiddling with the picture of Bren and me that I used as a bookmark.

My mood was still sour when I followed Nessa out the door at half-past three. We were almost back to our room when my phone buzzed in my back pocket.

It was Bren.

I didn't stop to think, answering the call.

"Bren," I snapped.

"Hey, baby," he said with a hint of confusion.

Well, I'd clear it up for him real quick.

"I cannot believe you."

There was a slight pause.

"What?"

"Not only did you have a little chat with Brodie, but you also went and talked to Hale? Why? Why?" A frustrated little growl slipped through my lips. "What did you even say to him? I don't need your overprotective, jealousy shit. If you really wanted to protect me, you'd be here. Here, Bren."

"I—"

"And there's nothing even to worry about with Hale! Did you listen to anything I told you this weekend?"

"Madie, I—"

"God, Bren—"

"Madie," he said, just forceful enough to cut me off. "I went to say thank you."

I stopped walking.

"What?"

"I dropped by to thank him. For being there for you. And I asked him to let me know if he saw that asshole hanging around at all. That was it. I was barely there for five minutes. But I should have mentioned it to you."

All I could manage was, "Oh."

"I...I'm sorry, baby." He sighed into the phone, his voice withdrawn and defeated. "I have to go finish some stuff up at work. We can talk more later."

And with that, Bren hung up. Despite the fact that he'd called me. He clearly hadn't been that busy at work.

"Shit," I mumbled, throwing my phone in my purse.

Nessa shot me a questioning glance as we continued on our walk back.

"I fucked up," I said. As if that explained it.

"I take it he didn't deserve the lashing you just gave him?"

I groaned. "No, not really. And shit, it's his birthday. I think I hurt his feelings."

Nessa grimaced, and her face told me she agreed with my assessment.

"I was just so stressed out with learning everything at The Grounds, and I'm on edge because of all of this stuff with his dad and Brodie, and..." I heaved out a sigh. "I know it isn't an excuse for yelling at him—"

"You don't need to explain it to me, Madie," Nessa assured, not letting me go on. "But maybe you can make it up to Bren later?"

"How?"

Nessa's face split into a grin.

And then it cocked to one side.

🤍

do you think it was fair for madie to be annoyed with bren on that one?

thanks so much for reading!
xoxo