Page 96 of I Knew He Was Trouble
“I hope so, kiddo.” I rub her back. “I miss her too.”
I stay with Evie until her breathing slows. Once she’s asleep, I head to the kitchen and treat myself to the last two cookies Shayna gave me. Sweets aren’t usually part of my diet, but I’ve made an exception this week.
I stare at the crumbs on my plate, feeling like I’ve hit a wall. One that I can’t break through on my own. I need female advice. There’s no way I’m calling Aunt D or Nadine—they’d likely show up here in all-black outfits and insist we break into Kelsey’s house. All the girls next door haven’t told me what I can do to fix things, and I don’t usually talk to my parents about women. That only leaves one option: Tess.
She’ll never let me live this down, but she did say to call her if I needed help with a grand gesture. And I feel like a grand gesture is about the only thing that will help me get Kelsey’s attention right now.
I pull out my phone and do the unimaginable. I call my sister for dating advice.
It rings twice before Tess’s sleep-laden voice comes through the speaker. “Is Evie okay?”
I should’ve known that would be the first place my sister’s mind went when getting a call from me at this hour. “Yeah, she’s fine. Sorry.”
“Then why in the world are you calling me at…” She pauses. “Two in the morning?”
I press my lips into a firm line. “Ah, I completely forgot about the time difference. Sorry, I’ll let you get back to sleep.”
Tess sighs. “You already woke me up, so you may as well tell me why you’re calling, little bro.”
“I need your help,” I mumble.
“That’s like music to my ears.” She perks up. “Say it again.”
“Oh, big sister. I need your assistance winning over my neighbor and telling her I love her. In a Taylor Swift way, or whatever it is you said before.”
“I thought you’d never ask.” I can hear the wicked grin in her voice.
Tess is never going to let me hear the end of this, but I’m desperate at this point. I’ll do anything, even endure my sister saying she was right for the rest of eternity, if it means I might win Kelsey back.
It’s been pure torture waiting another day to putOperation: You Belong With Meinto action. I still think the name is a bit much, but Tess insisted every grand gesture needs a name.
I already checked with Mallory that Kelsey would be home tonight. Now that Evie is in bed, it’s finally time for this operation to begin.
With each step toward my workout room, I try to convince myself that Kelsey loves me, but I’ll even settle for her just talking to me. I can’t think of any other outcome than that.
My heart races when I step into my exercise room. I already did a practice test this morning to ensure that my soundproofing job workedinsidethe house. It works like a charm, so Evie won’t wake up during this little operation. But Kelsey, on the other hand, is about to hear everything.
I unlock the window, slide it open, and make sure everything I need is within reach before I play “You Belong With Me (Taylor’s Version)”—because Tess told me it’scrucialto listen to her version—at full blast through my speaker system.
I hold up the giant poster board where I wroteYou ok?exactly like Tess told me to. I guess this happens during the music video for this song. I’m just hoping it has the same effect on Kelsey today. That maybe she’ll finally see that she belongs with me.
The chorus hits, and there’s still been no sign of Kelsey. My heart sinks. This was a stupid idea. I don’t know why I thought—
Kelsey’s head pops out around her curtain. I can’t read her expression from this far away, but she pauses. The seconds I wait to see how she responds feel like an eternity. My breath catches. My heart pounds. But I can finally breathe again when she slides her window open.
Her voice carries across the wind like a whisper. “What are you doing?”
I point to my sign in response.
She hesitates, but only for a second this time, before holding up a finger and disappearing from view. Thankfully, Tess gave me the idea to supply Mallory with a marker and some poster boards to put outside Kelsey’s door. Now, all I can do is hope that she’ll actually play along.
When she returns a minute later, I feel like a weight has been lifted off my chest. Instead of feeling like I’m giving an elephant a piggyback ride, hope blossoms inside once more.
Kelsey writes for a few seconds before holding up a sign that readsNot reallyin bubbly handwriting that doesn’t match the tone of her message.
I hold up one of my premade signs that saysSorryfollowed by another one that could make or break how this night goes.Meet me out front?
She looks away for another minute before holding up a sign with only one word. One so simple that it doesn’t mean much by itself. But to me, right now, it means everything.
