Page 61 of Always a Chance
I wanted to high-five her, but considering Barrett hadn’t seemed to notice my presence yet, I figured that would be crass.
Barrett smiled down at her. “You must be Gianna. I’m Barrett, Talia’s boyfriend.”
That word. It ricocheted around my brain, refusing to register. Boyfriend. Boyfriend. Talia had a boyfriend, and she hadn’t told me. Not only that, she’d denied it.
I didn’t hear what was said next because I pushed past the stranger and thundered down the steps.
“Johnny, wait!” Talia yelled.
I heard an, “Oh man, that was him?” from Barrett.
I couldn’t be here, couldn’t be anywhere near Talia, or I’d say a lot of things I’d come to regret.
“Jonathan Kelly,” my mom yelled behind me.
With a sigh, I closed my eyes and stopped. “I’m not going back there.” There was no running from my mom, no ignoring her, or I’d never hear the end of it. She was the one person in this world I’d never think of turning away from. With another sigh, I faced her.
In the distance, Talia stood on her porch, her eyes focused on us. I could have just gotten in my car and driven away, but instead, I’d continued down the street, going nowhere in particular and allowing Mom to catch up with me.
She stepped closer. “Honey, it might not be what you think.”
A harsh laugh rumbled out of me. “Really, Mom? That’s the route you’re taking? He introduced himself as her boyfriend. What else could that possibly mean.”
“I know you two were… involved…”
“You mean you caught us making out on the porch only a short time ago.” I rubbed my eyes. “I’m such an idiot. I don’t even know her anymore.”
“She’s Talia.”
“Exactly. The same Talia who left without a word ten years ago. She didn’t care a lick about me then. And now, nothing has changed.”
Mom pursed her lips in disapproval. “I will not have you speaking of her in that way until you hear what she has to say. Don’t be a man, son.”
“Um, Mom, hate to break it to you, but I don’t know how to be anything else.”
She rolled her eyes to the sky, like she used to when I was an obstinate child getting into trouble. “I meant don’t be that kind of man. Be the kind who is understanding, gracious. The one who listens. That is who I raised you to be.”
I had no desire to listen to a word Talia said, but Mom was right. She deserved a chance. “Fine.” I walked past Mom, not stopping until I reached the porch.
I’d planned to keep emotion out of it, to be logical and let her speak, but the moment I came face to face with Talia and the man at her side, anger burned through me. “You and I need to talk.” I sent this Barrett guy a glare. I tried to grab her arm, but Barrett stepped in front of me.
“You’re not taking her anywhere, romance boy.”
At first, I thought I couldn’t possibly have heard that right. Romance boy. She’d told him. My biggest secret, the one thing that could destroy my career if it came out in the wrong way. He knew.
“Just great, Talia.” Mom was wrong. It wasn’t worth hearing her out, not when I could hardly look at her. Ten minutes ago, everything was perfect, better than perfect. The only issue on the horizon was Talia leaving town, and I had sworn to myself we’d figure that out.
Now, the last few days seemed like nothing but a lie. The Talia I’d known wouldn’t have lied to me. “You’ve been trying to tell me you’re not the same person I knew, and I didn’t believe you. But you were telling me the truth, weren’t you?”
“Johnny.” Tears streamed down her cheeks, glistening on her skin where the light hit them. “Please.”
Turning, I walked away for the second time. Except, it wasn’t my mother chasing after me now.
“Let me go, Barrett,” Talia cried before running after me. “Johnny…”
I pivoted on my heel so quickly she nearly crashed into me. “What? What could you possibly say to make any of this right?”
She blinked away tears, and a part of me wanted to fold her in my arms, to wipe my thumbs under her eyes and tell her it was all going to be okay. I couldn’t stand to see her cry.
