Page 129 of Outspoken

Paige shifts in the passenger seat to look at me, while Brody glances at me through the rearview mirror.

Paige nods.

“It’ll be awkward,” I say. “What if seeing me makes it harder on him?”

I didn’t tell Paige or Brody all the details about what happened, only that it wasn’t working out. Brody left it at that, but Paige tried to fish for more. I don’t know why, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell her how I’m in love and trying to process that loss. Since I know she’s hiding stuff from me, it makes me guarded. Wereallyneed to work on our relationship because neither of us are acting like besties.

Paige drums her fingers on her thigh in a rhythm. Chewing more hair, she glances between me and Brody with concern.

Brody and I try to answer at the same time, surprised she would even question that.

“Yes, of course—”

“I’ll always be—”

Brody glances at me over his behemoth shoulder, and I wave a hand to show he can go first.

“I’ll always be here for you,” he tells her. “Why would you doubt that?”

Paige stares at her knees.

Leaning forward, I add, “Yeah. He’s here and I’m always here. No matter what. You can’t get rid of me, unfortunately.”

She pulls the hair from her mouth and offers a small smile, but her eyes don’t look confident.

I glance at the thickening crowd near the church doors. “Um, can we give it a few more minutes?”

A few minutes turns into a half hour because I’m too nervous to get out. Even as I watch everyone pile into the church and the doors close, I can’t bring myself to budge. What if Miguel really doesn’t want me here?

We’re broken up—the only term I can think of even though we weren’t dating—but it’s not like we ended on horrible terms. We still love each other, but is it my place to suddenly show up to something this important?

His words echo in my thoughts like they have been every day:“Can you hear it? I love you.”

I take a few breaths, a lump already forming in my throat. I need to stop thinking about our last night together. It keeps making me cry.

“You’re everything, mi amor.”

I take another deep breath and exhale slowly.

You’re everything that makes me myself again, Miguel.

“It’s okay,” Brody says, snapping me back to the moment. “You met Marta, so it’s fine to go in.” He’s trying for the tenth time to get me to move.

Paige finally climbs out of the passenger side, walks around the car to open my door, and tugs on my arm until I sigh and scoot out.

She taps her phone.

I check her body for any signs of anxiety. She’s tense, but she’s been like that a lot recently, so I don’t think it’s because of the church crowd. “You’re not nervous?”

She touches my shoulder.

Puffing air through my cheeks, I glance at the church and its towering steeple. “Right. Okay, I guess. Let’s do it.”

“Finally,” Brody grumbles, locking the car and following us across the street.

As we approach around the side of the church, I take in the surroundings—the trees and grass and walking paths. I notice a bench behind a few bushes. A familiar, moody teenager sitting there catches my attention.

“Um, go ahead,” I tell Brody and Paige. “I’ll be in soon.”

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