slippers. “You may be mad at me now but you’ll understand someday.”
I shook my head, tears spilling down my cheeks. “No, I won’t. This is the only thing I was looking forward to. You are always ruining my life.”
“Kenzie, for goodness sake, why do you have to make everything so dramatic? If I wanted to ruin your life I would’ve taken Drake’s advice and had you admitted to the hospital for a medical assessment.”
My body went hot. “He wanted you to do what?”
She gave me a dismissive flick of the wrist. “You know how doctors are. Don’t worry, I’m not going to do it. I know you will let go of this fantasy world at some point. My job is just to keep you rooted in reality. And that’s what I plan to do.”
“Yeah, the reality that my life sucks!” I spat.
“Okay, that’s enough.” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “I’ve gotta get these rollers out of my hair, and you’ve gotta get to school.” As she made her way out of the kitchen a thought struck me.
“It doesn’t matter what you say anyway. I have a car. I can drive to Grandma’s.”
Mom spun around, her eyes blazing. “If you even attempt to drive to Grandma’s, I will put you in the hospital. Do you understand?”
I nodded, all the while crossing my fingers behind my back. Her threats didn’t matter. If I went to Grandma’s, I would never return.
“Are you gonna tell me what’s wrong?” Tanner asked at lunch.
My stomach hurt so much I couldn’t eat. I had picked at my sandwich so much that now I had a pile of breadcrumbs on the table. I blushed.
“It’s nothing. Just had a fight with Mom this morning.” I glanced over at Rick and Janna, their heads bent together in deep conversation. A few tables down Haley sat with Ian. It was raining so we couldn’t stay in the quad.
Tanner leaned closer, and straddled the bench so he was facing me head on. I caught a whiff of his familiar musky scent and my heart quickened. “Wanna tell me about it? I’ve been told I’m a good listener.” He winked.
I smiled the best I could.
“That was a weak smile,” he said. “C’mon, I think you need to get this off your chest. Spill.”
Leaning forward, I rested my chin in the palm of my hand. Our faces were mere inches apart.
“Mom said we weren’t going to Grandma’s for Christmas.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I know you were looking forward to that.”
I snorted. “That’s an understatement.”
Disappointment flashed in Tanner’s eyes, but he quickly recovered and flashed me a dimpled grin. “There are worse things in the world than having to stay here for the holidays.”
“Not for me.”
“I’ll be here for Christmas. I know I’m not your precious Isaac, but I’m your friend, aren’t I?”
Frustration surfaced. “It’s not just because of Isaac, okay? I wanted to see my Grandma too.” My lips quivered. Embarrassed, I turned away.
Tanner reached out, touched my chin, and turned my face back to his. “I’m sorry. I was a jerk. You’re clearly upset. I shouldn’t have made it about me.”
I stared into his eyes. He looked genuinely sorry. It made tears spring to my eyes. “It’s just that things are so bad at home right now. I feel like I’m going crazy. I just wanted to get away from it all.”
Tanner wrapped me in his arms. I allowed myself to be held, closed my eyes and rested my head on his shoulder. It felt so good that I didn’t fight it. When I opened my eyes, I saw Haley watching me from her table. I quickly sat up, and pushed Tanner away.
Wiping a tear from my face with his thumb, he said, “I really wish you would trust me enough to tell me what’s going on at home that makes you want to run away. Maybe if you told me, I could help you.”
My mind traveled back to my conversation with Scarlet. “Yeah, I guess it’s like you not trusting me enough to tell me why you and Scarlet broke up.”
His hand dropped to his side, his jaw tensed. “That’s
I shook my head, tears spilling down my cheeks. “No, I won’t. This is the only thing I was looking forward to. You are always ruining my life.”
“Kenzie, for goodness sake, why do you have to make everything so dramatic? If I wanted to ruin your life I would’ve taken Drake’s advice and had you admitted to the hospital for a medical assessment.”
My body went hot. “He wanted you to do what?”
She gave me a dismissive flick of the wrist. “You know how doctors are. Don’t worry, I’m not going to do it. I know you will let go of this fantasy world at some point. My job is just to keep you rooted in reality. And that’s what I plan to do.”
“Yeah, the reality that my life sucks!” I spat.
“Okay, that’s enough.” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “I’ve gotta get these rollers out of my hair, and you’ve gotta get to school.” As she made her way out of the kitchen a thought struck me.
“It doesn’t matter what you say anyway. I have a car. I can drive to Grandma’s.”
Mom spun around, her eyes blazing. “If you even attempt to drive to Grandma’s, I will put you in the hospital. Do you understand?”
I nodded, all the while crossing my fingers behind my back. Her threats didn’t matter. If I went to Grandma’s, I would never return.
“Are you gonna tell me what’s wrong?” Tanner asked at lunch.
My stomach hurt so much I couldn’t eat. I had picked at my sandwich so much that now I had a pile of breadcrumbs on the table. I blushed.
“It’s nothing. Just had a fight with Mom this morning.” I glanced over at Rick and Janna, their heads bent together in deep conversation. A few tables down Haley sat with Ian. It was raining so we couldn’t stay in the quad.
Tanner leaned closer, and straddled the bench so he was facing me head on. I caught a whiff of his familiar musky scent and my heart quickened. “Wanna tell me about it? I’ve been told I’m a good listener.” He winked.
I smiled the best I could.
“That was a weak smile,” he said. “C’mon, I think you need to get this off your chest. Spill.”
Leaning forward, I rested my chin in the palm of my hand. Our faces were mere inches apart.
“Mom said we weren’t going to Grandma’s for Christmas.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I know you were looking forward to that.”
I snorted. “That’s an understatement.”
Disappointment flashed in Tanner’s eyes, but he quickly recovered and flashed me a dimpled grin. “There are worse things in the world than having to stay here for the holidays.”
“Not for me.”
“I’ll be here for Christmas. I know I’m not your precious Isaac, but I’m your friend, aren’t I?”
Frustration surfaced. “It’s not just because of Isaac, okay? I wanted to see my Grandma too.” My lips quivered. Embarrassed, I turned away.
Tanner reached out, touched my chin, and turned my face back to his. “I’m sorry. I was a jerk. You’re clearly upset. I shouldn’t have made it about me.”
I stared into his eyes. He looked genuinely sorry. It made tears spring to my eyes. “It’s just that things are so bad at home right now. I feel like I’m going crazy. I just wanted to get away from it all.”
Tanner wrapped me in his arms. I allowed myself to be held, closed my eyes and rested my head on his shoulder. It felt so good that I didn’t fight it. When I opened my eyes, I saw Haley watching me from her table. I quickly sat up, and pushed Tanner away.
Wiping a tear from my face with his thumb, he said, “I really wish you would trust me enough to tell me what’s going on at home that makes you want to run away. Maybe if you told me, I could help you.”
My mind traveled back to my conversation with Scarlet. “Yeah, I guess it’s like you not trusting me enough to tell me why you and Scarlet broke up.”
His hand dropped to his side, his jaw tensed. “That’s
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