Page 26 of His North Star
Ty laughed. “Yeah, right.”
“I think she likes you, man.”
Ty laughed harder, bordering on hysteria. “Not likethatshe doesn’t. We’re best friends. We’ve known one another forever. Besides,Idon’t like her in that way. She’s like a sister to me.”
“Yeah?”
“Justin, I can assure you, if this is your way of asking my permission to take Maren on a date, you have my full support.”
“Really?” Justin said hopefully.
“Really.”
I’d stumbled to the bathroom with tears blocking my vision, my heart heavy. I had avoided Ty for a week while I worked on how to set aside my feelings for him and remain his best friend. Obviously, I didn’t succeed very well. It took me a year to construct a fortress around my love for Ty, and it had remained hatched down ever since.
Lys’s voice broke through my thoughts. Small, reserved. “Sorry. I’m usually not this insecure. It just feels like he’s got one foot out the door and I’m trying to figure out why. I love him,” she whispered. Her eyes were glassy.
Dropping my head into my hands, I rubbed at my face before turning to meet her watery gaze. “I promise, nothing is going on between us. Ty cares foryou. He and I are just friends.“ A phrase I’d said so many times over the years, I should get it tattooed on my forehead.Ty and I Are JUST Friendswith some broken, jagged hearts mixed in.
She glanced over her shoulder to make sure we were still alone. “He’s never said he loves me. We’ve been together for months now.”
Wow. I tucked my chin, utterly shocked. Why was Lys talking of marriage if Ty had never said he loved her?
Ugh. I hated being stuck between them like this. I liked Lys and our friendship. But I would always choose Ty. Before Blake and I split up, I’d hoped the four of us would be inseparable. That Ty and Lys would get married, and we’d raise our babies together. Maybe Blake wasn’t the only one who crushed that dream. If Ty didn’t actually love Lys, we’d never have been a four-friend clan anyway.
Her face perked up. “Would you talk to him? Maybe he’ll tell you more than me.”
“Tell you what?” Ty asked, right in between our heads.
We both jumped.
I placed a hand over my hammering heart. “Don’t do that!” I scolded him. How did we not hear them come back?
“You almost made me pee my pants,” Lys admonished.
Ty laughed. “Sorry, I couldn’t help it.”
“You’re such a twelve-year-old,” I retorted, pushing his shoulder.
“It was kind of funny seeing you two jump so high,” James said, smiling.
“Whatever,” Lys responded with an attitude. “Did you find any bears?”
“Does scat count?” James winked.
Did poop require winking? “You found poo?” I snickered.
“We did.” James nodded, looking proud. “It didn’t look too fresh, so, sadly, no bear sightings for me.”
“You’ll see one eventually,” Ty said. “It’s inevitable around here.”
“We passed a bathroom not too far back.” James thumbed over his shoulder. “I’m going to make a pit stop. Anyone else need to go?”
I shook my head. Ty did as well.
Lys said, “I do.” She turned to me and mouthed,Talk to him, then clasped her hands in front of her in a plea.
I rested my forehead on my knees. James and Lys walked off, leaving Ty and me alone.
