Page 18 of Catch Me

“You’re not happy, Briar,” Mom says, her voice laced in desperation. The emotion feels like a thick cloak over her words.

“But—”

“We want you to try it until the end of the school year,” my dad says, smiling a little for me. “If you want to come back next year, you can. But we think you might actually like it there. You might actually want to stay for your Senior year too.”

“What about Theo Laughlin?”

Mom and Dad exchange a look. “Who’s Theo Laughlin?”

“Pretty much the only person who can beat me out for Valedictorian. Leaving now would mean he would win.”

“Briar, let’s get serious for a moment. The two times you ran away is going to make this Theo guy win. Not moving you to Grandma and Grandpa’s.”

“I’m not going,” I say, staring between the two.

Mom stands. A waft of pizza aroma hits me in the face and then it dawns on me why she made my favorite meal. They tried to make this as pleasing as possible. They want to send me away, and I’m just supposed to go along with it. Maybe they think that’s what I want, but I can’t imagine leaving the guys and Jules. And Reid. My God, not after what just happened at school.

“I’m not going,” I say again. “I already promised I won’t run away again, and I mean it. I don’t know why I did it, okay? I don’t know why I left, but it had nothing to do with wanting to get away from the memory of Brady or you or my friends. I was just scared.”

My dad looks at my mom, his eyes almost pleading. Mom straightens her shoulders. “You are leaving, Briar. I’m taking you in the morning.”

A sound comes from the hallway, and we all look up. “I can’t let you do that.”

Reid is standing in the entryway, his eyes glued to my mom’s.

“Reid, come in,” Mom says, turning on a smile like flipping a switch. “I made pizza.”

Reid stares at me as he comes over. He places his hands on my shoulders. “I can’t let you move Briar away from here,” he says. His fingers dig into my skin, grounding me.

“Reid,” my mom says, shaking her head. “None of this is your fault. It’s just—”

“I can’t let you take her away because I love her,” he says. His voice rings through the house with finality. My mom’s eyes widen as she looks between the two of us. Dad takes a sip of his milk, drowning any reaction I could have gleaned from him. “We’re seeing each other. It happened while you were on vacation and there just hasn’t been a good time since to tell you what was going on with us. I’m sorry.”

“Well, this is…certainly surprising,” Dad says.

“Briar can say all she wants that she doesn’t know why she left, but I think I do. She saw me get hurt, and it reminded her of Brady. She came into the emergency room to see me, and when she did, it scared the crap out of her. She didn’t want me to end up like Brady, so she just ran. I’m sure she won’t do it again.”

Reid gives me a squeeze, so I mimic him. “I won’t do it again. I promise.”

“Have a seat,” Dad says, motioning toward Brady’s chair. Reid doesn’t take it. He takes the one next to me and puts his hand on my thigh. For the first time, I look over at him. Concern is etched into his features. He looks pale, too. I put my hand over his and hold him tightly in my grip.

“This doesn’t really change anything,” Mom says. “I think Briar could use a change of scenery.”

“I don’t want a change of scenery.”

Mom’s fingers tighten around the edge of the table. She looks like she’s barely hanging on by a thread.

“Please,” Reid says, desperation in his voice. “I need her.”

From my peripheral, I see Dad look between the two of us, but my focus is on Reid’s eyes. He looks so hurt. Pain is radiating from him, and all I really want to do is ask him what’s going on.

“Your mom and I will do some more talking.”

Mom starts to protest, but Dad gets up and gets Reid a plate. He brings it back from the kitchen, and we all finish eating in silence. It feels like it takes ages for Reid to eat. All eyes are on us. I can feel Mom teeming with things to say. When we finish, I drag Reid back to my room, telling them we’ll be doing homework. The only thing she can get out is to keep the door open.

I do as she says, but pull him to the bed as soon as we get in there. “I’ll talk to her,” Reid says, staring back down the hallway as my parents pick up after dinner. “Don’t worry.” He brings me toward him and kisses me on the top of the head.

“I’m not worried about that,” I say to him. Maybe it’s being naïve. Maybe I should be more worried about what my parents just said, but the only thing I’m worrying about right now is the look on Reid’s face. He looks lost. “What happened at practice? Is everything okay?”

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