Page 10 of Catch Me

“Are they okay?” I ask after he takes his first bite.

He smiles. “Delicious, honey.”

The doorbell rings. I’ve just put the next batch on the griddle, so I skip off to answer it, knowing it’s Reid. I give him a huge smile when I open the door. He’s leaning against the pillar, his hands shoved in his pockets. For a moment, I realize how normal this all is. In another life, before Brady, before I decided to run away, I could see this very same thing happening. Now that everything’s changed, it’s still happening. It hits me then: Life really does move on no matter what. Your world could turn upside down in one moment, but the Earth keeps rotating. Other people carry on. Even you, on the outside, still keep up a face. But right here, right now? This actually does feel normal, not out-of-place.

“Hey,” I say, a little breathless just seeing him there waiting for me like that.

He smirks. “Hey.”

He moves forward, placing his hands on my hips, and then leans over to give me a peck on the mouth. My cheeks go up in flames. “Remember my parents don’t know yet,” I whisper.

“I know,” he says, lifting his hands. “I’ll keep my hands to myself. For now.”

He walks around me and into the house. After shutting the door, I hurry after him.

“Hello, Reid.”

“Good morning,” he says happily.

“How’s your head?”

My shoulders deflate. I’d been so busy staring at how hot he looked, I forgot to check the lump on his head and the stitches. They should really stick out to me, but they don’t. I just see him. “Been better,” he says. “Still got the worst of all headaches, but the doctor said that shouldn’t last too much longer.”

My dad smiles as I return to the griddle to flip the French toast. When I turn, Reid is eyeing me. I know he, too, wants to say something about me making breakfast, but instead, he sits. When the next four are finished, I give him two and save two for myself while I make some more.

When Reid came in, Mom ventured to the bar. She’s slowly eating her French toast. She hasn’t let her guard down yet, and I can’t blame her. I wouldn’t be able to either. While Reid and Dad talk football, I ask, “Are you going to work today, Mom?”

She blinks then glances up at me. “Your dad’s going in this morning. I haven’t been going, but I think I’ll make it in this afternoon now that everything is…better here.”

I don’t know how to talk to this mom. I can talk to the mom who loves me, and I can even talk to the mom who is yelling at me, but the one who seems so out of sorts she doesn’t know what’s going on? I’m not sure I know how to deal with that. Instead of saying anything back, I give her a small smile and stuff my face with the rest of my last mouthful. I flip the last four slices and serve them up on the platter as Reid stands from his chair. “We should probably go, Briar.”

This gets Mom’s attention. “You don’t have to take her, Reid. I can take her.”

He looks at her robe and lifts an eyebrow. This makes my mom take a look too. She turns red from her neck all the way to her hairline. “It’s absolutely fine. I want to take her.”

Mom ties and reties her robe, then nods in submission. I pull my bookbag up my shoulder. “I’ll see you guys later.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see my mom prod my dad, hitting him in the upper arm and then nodding toward me. “Oh, honey,” he says. “With everything that’s going on, your mom and I would like you back home right after school.”

I turn toward them. “I understand.”

“That means you’re grounded,” Mom says, her tone harsh.

“I understand,” I say again. I expected this.

Behind me, Reid opens the front door, so I turn on my heel and leave. He waits for me just outside, throwing his arms around me when I step out. “Breakfast, huh? Buttering them up?”

I shake my head. “It wasn’t about that. I was the first one up, so I thought I should do something.”

He leans over and kisses my temple. I hope my mom isn’t watching from the window because I need to be the one to tell them about Reid and me. Maybe tonight when I get home from school. Reid opens the car door for me and steps back. “Your mom took this time pretty rough. She thought you were past all the running away shit, so it blindsided her again.”

Guilt slides over me. “I thought I was over it too,” I whisper.

Reid puts a finger under my chin, making me look him in the eyes. “She’ll come around, babe.” He glances over his shoulder back toward the house. “Do you have any idea how hard it is not to kiss you right now? Or sneak back in through your bedroom and screw school all together?”

A smile filters over my face. “I do know, actually.”

He shrugs. “I guess we can’t have it all.”

---