Page 60 of Hypothetical Heart
Ever since Jameson came to our school, even when he was Genevieve’s biggest rival and I thought she wanted tokill him in his sleep, he’s been a friend to me. Hell, he lives with me, and that makes him feel like a brother.
“I’m happy for you and Gen,” I tell him for the first time. “Nothing makes me happier than seeing two of my best friends find happiness within each other.”
He runs his hands through his hair, smiling. “God, I love her, man.”
“I know you do, and she does, too. That’s all that matters.”
“I hope you find that,” Jameson says. “You’ve always been the complacent one, going out of the way for everything except yourself. Genevieve tells me all the time how good of a friend you’ve always been, how much of a people pleaser you are. I just hope you don’t let that hold you back from what you truly want.” He glances back toward the living room—where the two girls are sitting—and when he looks back at me, he’s grinning. “You have to do things for yourself every once in a while. Just remember that, alright?”
The sound of Eloise and Luke bounding down the stairs is just the alert we need, one that saysit’s time to get the day started.
“Thanks, man.” It’s not often we get to have these talks. Despite living under the same roof, our lives are packed to the brim with people and places. It’s hard to make time to talk about the important stuff when it feels like all we do is talk.
But maybe the constant, everyday conversations that seem so mundane are what are really important. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to pull the conversation–gems out of the sand. The normality of frequent talks is what makes the really important ones stick out.
As Jameson walks away, his words linger, settling deep into my mind.You have to do things for yourself every once in awhile.It’s something I’ve heard before, but coming from him, in this moment, it feels different—like an unspoken challenge.
I glance toward the living room, where Winnie’s laughter floats out, warm and familiar. She’s always been there, at the center of everything, but somehow just out of reach. Jameson’s right; I’ve spent so much time making sure everyone else is happy, so much time worrying about being the good friend,the reliable one. But what about what I want? What about the things I’ve been too afraid to say, too afraid to reach for?
Maybe it’s time,I think, feeling a stir of determination mixed with a hint of fear.Maybe it’s time to stop holding back.
“Logan, catch!” I hear only a split second before a foam football hits the side of my head. “Whoops,” Eloise winces.
I pick the ball up from where it’s floating in the water, lofting it back over to her.
“How about a little heads up next time, E?” I joke as I walk past her, putting a hand on her head and dunking her under the water.
“You’re dead, Callaghan!” She gasps as she comes up. “You hear me?” We’re all laughing, watching her try to maneuver her sopping hair out of her face while also trying to chase after me.
Eventually, I stop abruptly, so she runs straight into my back. She laughs before jumping on my back, wrapping her legs around my torso for leverage so she can pullme underwater.
One of the main things I’ve always loved about Eloise is how easy it is to rile her. All of us have way more fun when Eloise is amped because that’s how she operates. She’s outgoing and crass and can make anything enjoyable.
“Eloise, don’t you dare!” I catch the tail-end of Winnie’s plea as I get the water out of my ears before seeing the giant splash in my peripheral. Eloise is officially on a mission to dunk everyone.
Genevieve is already diving in—because she’d rather do it herself than be tackled under—and I see the gleam in her eye when she grabs onto Jameson’s leg as she comes up, pulling him all the way into the water. He doesn’t even care, he’s just happy to be in the water with his girlfriend, but all I can think about is how his arm is probably getting infected as we speak.
“I’m washing your arm with rubbing alcohol tonight!” I yell at him, and all he does is smile.
By the time everyone has gone underwater, it has turned into all-out warfare. Everyone is dunking everyone, with no mercy in sight. I think I’ve been tag-team-dunked by all the girls at least seven times, to the point where now I just let it happen.
Amid the chaos, I feel a hand grab my wrist, tugging me toward more shallow water. It's Winnie. Her eyes are bright with mischief, and she doesn't say a word, just pulls me along until we're out of the main splash zone.
“Truce?” she asks, her voice low and playful as she lets go of my wrist, raising her hands in surrender.
“Truce,” I agree, though I’m not entirely sure I believe it. There’s a certain look on her face that tells me she’s not done with the dunking just yet.
But instead of attacking, she surprises me by stepping closer, her laughter softening into something more gentle.
“You know, you’re pretty terrible at avoiding foam footballs,” she teases, reaching up to brush a bit of water off my forehead.
“Yeah? Well, I think you’re just trying to distract me,” I shoot back, trying to ignore the way my heart skips when her fingers linger a second too long.
“Maybe,” she admits, her eyes meeting mine in that way that always makes it hard to breathe. “But it worked, didn’t it?”Maybe a little too well.Her hand trails from my sternum down toward my abs.
Before I can respond, Eloise’s voice rings out from across the pool. “No secret alliances! Everyone’s fair game!” And just , that, the moment breaks as Winnie and I exchange a quick glance before diving back into the fray, the unspoken connection between us lingering even as the water splashes around us.
It continues like that for a while, and eventually, we’re all gasping for air as we make our way out of the water. It’s one of the best feelings in the world, one that’s reminiscent of playing chicken in this same water when we were little kids.
