Page 144 of As They Are
“No,” she huffed.
My hand went to the small of her back. “The faster you give up, the faster we get back to Strawberry Springs where we can pick up where we left off.”
She immediately went still.
“Got a picture of that!” Mom nearly yelled from the doorway, startling us both. “You two are so cute, you know.”
“Yeah, cute.” Wren stepped away, still breathless from my offer. “I try to help, but he plays dirty.”
“Always has,” Mom said. “Now come here and give me a hug before you head out.” We did as we were told, and when Mom had her arms around me, she tried to whisper, “Keep her.”
I wanted to. More than I could say. “I’ll try.”
A noncommittal answer was the best, though it hurt me to say.
“Andyou!” Mom pulled Wren into a tight hug. “Thank you. You’re good for him.”
“I try,” she said. “Thanks for having us.”
“Come back anytime. I mean it!”
Wren smiled, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “Of course.”
I waited until Mom’s house was out of sight before I asked, “Is the lying getting to you too?”
“The lying?” she asked. “Oh, about us. Yeah, it doesn’t feel great if I think about it.”
“Your smile was off when Mom hugged you. What were you thinking about?”
“Oh, uh ... nothing.” She picked at her cuticle. I reached over to grab her hand.
“Wren, I know you. I know when you’re upset about something. You don’t have to tell me, but I’d love to know.”
She looked at her hands. “I don’t ... have a great relationship with my mom.”
“So it’s hard to see others with it.”
“It’s not that I’m jealous, because I’mnot.I’m just sad.”
I squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry, Wren.”
“Most of the time it’s fine, but it’s been popping up lately. The thoughts of her.”
“If coming this weekend made it worse?—”
She shook her head. “No, it didn’t. I had fun, and I don’t regret it.”
“Do you want to talk more about it?”
“Honestly, I just wanna move on. I spent a lot of my life thinking about her, and it gets old after a while.”
“Understood. But if you ever change your mind, I’m here.”
“Thanks, Henry.” She gave me a smile. “I’m already feeling better.”
For a while, we drove in silence, her hand curled in mine. Having her here was comfortable. It had been the whole weekend.
I always thought that it would exhaust me to be aroundanyonefor a prolonged period of time.It was why I valued my privacy so much. But with Wren, her presence never got old, and she didn’t wear on me. I didn’t want to walk away. I wanted to keep her.
