Page 58 of The Sun
Brandon stood in the entranceway with one hand in his pocket and a bouquet of white lilies in the other. My steps faltered. I didn’t know what he was doing here, and from the approving grin plastered to my dad’s face when he turned around, Brandon had just opened a whole new can of worms for me.
Simon bounced on the balls of his feet, rattling off questions about football and tugging on Brandon’s shirt.
“Hey. . .” Brandon put his arm around me in the most awkward hug in human history, then handed me the flowers. “I just, uh, saw those and thought of you.”
“Thanks.” I took a sniff. It seemed like that was the appropriate thing to do even though lilies smell like nothing aside from a funeral parlor.
Momma came sashaying into the entrance way, wiping her hands on her apron. “Well, Brandon McClure, to what do we owe this pleasure?”
Now both my parents were beaming. I wanted to groan.
“Simon,” she said. “Come help me finish up in the kitchen, baby.”
“Aw, Momma.”
Brandon ruffled Simon’s hair. “I’ll tell you all about football later.”
That satisfied Simon enough that he took my mother’s hand and followed her into the kitchen.
“I’ll go help your mother. You two kids have a seat.” Daddy walked off, whistling.
Brandon and I stood there, staring at one another for a second before he finally cleared his throat. “I hope you like lilies.”
“Oh.” I nodded, remembering I had flowers in my hand. “I do. Thank you. That’s— It’s really sweet of you to bring them to me.”
“It’s what boyfriends do.” His lips shrank into his mouth, and he shoved his free hand into his pocket, rocking back on his heels.
My brow furrowed with confusion. Last night I caught him making out with a guy, but now he was bringing me flowers and calling himself my boyfriend. “Brandon, I—”
“I need to talk to you,” he whispered, shifting his eyes toward the front door. “Not in here.”
“Oh. Okay. Let me just. . .” I backed toward the kitchen, trying to read Brandon’s expression, but all I could gather was that something not so great was going on. “Let me just go put these in water, and I’ll be right back.”
Momma already had one of the crystal vases down from the cabinet. “Those are just lovely, Sunny,” she said, taking the bouquet and cutting the ribbon from the stems. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you two were talking. His parents are just lovely.” She fussed with the arrangement for a moment before nodding with approval.
“We’re gonna go out for a minute if that’s okay?”
“Well, I think that’s all right.” She glanced at the clock. “It’s only half past seven, what do you think, David?”
Daddy carted the dustpan to the trash. “I think it’s fine. Where are you going?”
Where were we going? I had no idea, but I had to think of something to say. “Oh, just the beach.”
“Be back by nine.”
Simon made kissy faces at me before I ducked back into the hall and followed Brandon out to his car.
The second Brandon pulled onto the highway, he exhaled. “I’m sorry I just showed up, but you’re the only person I can talk to about this. And I couldn’t chance calling you and having someone overhear.”
“It’s okay.”
“That guy.” He paused to draw in a breath, but when he released it, he remained silent.
Worry constricted my chest as I watched him shake his head over and over. “The one from last night?” I asked.
“Yeah, his name’s Travis. I was over at his house, hanging out. Playing Madden and uh, you know, it was nothing. Actually, it was stupid. We kissed in his room, and I guess his kid brother saw from his treehouse.”
The streetlight flickered over the interior when we passed under it. Brandon’s fist pounded the steering wheel and I jumped.
