Page 16 of The Forever After Bet

Ty shakes his head. “No, but thanks for offering. She told me she didn’t know how to be the best friend Hannah needed and still be my girlfriend with everything that’s happened.”

I shake my head. “This sucks.”

“Are things really over between you and Hannah?”

“I don’t know, Ty. Hannah won’t even look at me. She avoids me at all costs. Did you know she’s been sharing a locker with June all week?”

He shakes his head. “No, June never said anything to me.”

“Shit! This year is so messed up. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I just wanted to be with Hannah, play sports, and get good grades in that order. You should unfriend me. Tell June you pick her over me.”

“Stop being stupid.” Ty punches my leg giving me a weak smile. “When everything happened, I told June that I’d always be there for her, that I wouldn’t be jealous of the time she spent with Hannah. I understand how important friends are. Hannah needs her because she doesn’t have her parents’ support; and if they found out about what happened, they’d completely freak out. I think the main reason June broke up with me is because she didn’t want me to feel bad she was choosing Hannah or school over me. She told me it wasn’t fair for me to sit on the back burner waiting for a minute she had to spare. I tried to tell her I wanted to be there, but she’d made up her mind.” He leans back, resting his head on the back of the sofa. “This sucks so much.”

“Yeah,” is all I say. “Want to pilfer a bottle of wine from my parents’ wine cellar and get shit-faced drunk?”

“That sounds like an excellent idea. Let’s order pizza first.”

“Pizza and wine, the perfect combination.” I laugh.

When Jack gets to my house, Ty has to tell him his breakup story all over again. Jack is just as shocked as I was.

“I didn’t see that coming,” Jack says, blowing out a breath. “Maybe she just needs the weekend to realize she made a mistake, and you two, will be back together before we go back to school.”

Ty shakes his head. “That would be awesome, but she’s given this a lot of thought. It wasn’t something she decided on a whim. I don’t think she’ll change her mind. She wanted to stay friends. I told her I’d always be there for her. I’m glad I have a week off from school to get used to not being with her.” Ty glances at me. “I don’t know how you do it, Ford, seeing Hannah every day. I’m sorry it’s got to suck.”

“Yeah, it does. I forgot myself on Wednesday, and I twisted my finger around one of Hannah’s curls. I used to do it all the time during class.” I run my fingers through my hair.

“What did she do?” Jack asks.

I shake my head. “Nothing really. She gasped. That was it.” I’ve never told the guys about my promise to Hannah or about meeting in the meadow after graduation. So, I can’t mention her note without explaining what the note said and meant. I like that it’s a secret I share with just Hannah. I may have to tell them something about it closer to the end of the school year, but I will keep it a secret as long as possible.

Between the three of us, we eat two whole pizzas and drink an entire bottle of wine. It was a cheap bottle someone gave my parents as a gift. Jack is asleep on the floor, and Ty is sleeping, sitting up at the other end of the sofa. My eyes keep fluttering closed, but every time they do, I see Hannah. Each time is different. I see her wearing her cheer uniform. I see her in the meadow. I see her leaning over me, her hair falling in her face. I see us standing in a snowy meadow, getting married. Each time I see her in my dreams, I call out, but she can’t hear me. She turns around and disappears. That’s when my eyes pop open. My heart is beating fast, and my stomach hurts. The last one could be from all the pizza I consumed.

I grab my phone, open my text app, and scroll to Hannah’s name, reading through all the text messages we’d exchanged over the past month. I type out a message to her but then delete it. After a couple of minutes, I retype the same message. Before I can change my mind, I hit send.

9. Don’t Call Me Sweetie

June is asleep in my bed. She was exhausted after the movie and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. I can’t sleep, so I’m lying on my loveseat, aimlessly shopping on Amazon and adding stuff I don’t need to my shopping cart, like a facial spa kit with a nano steamer, several different clay masks, and a set of 23 Stabilo highlighters. I can always use more highlighters. Now I’m looking at Hello Kitty stuff. I’m not sure how I ended up here, but I’m going with it. I add Hello Kitty lip gloss to my cart, a pack of stickers, and a Hello Kitty frame to go around my car's license plate. Jack will love that. I probably won’t get any of the stuff. Well, maybe the highlighters and the Hello Kitty stuff.

My white phone buzzes with a text message. It’s lying on the floor and I bend down picking it up. I used it to text Leah earlier tonight and tell her about June and Ty. Since my parents don’t know about Ford and me trying to elope. I’ve been using the white phone to text Leah, June, and Aubrey, to talk openly about it.

It’s probably Leah with more thoughts on June’s decision to break up with Ty. She was just as surprised as I was that she broke up with him. When I look at my phone, I swear my heart stops beating. I clutch my chest and take a deep breath. Don’t freak out. It’s only a text message. I’m not sure how long I stare at my phone. It’s long enough that the screen goes dark, and I have to reenter my passcode. “I can do this,” I whisper to myself and swipe my finger across the text. It opens up. I cover my hand over my mouth to keep my sobs quiet. I close my laptop, forgetting about my shopping spree, and lay back on the loveseat, holding the phone close to me. I let my tears fall because, for once, they’re not tears of sadness but ones of relief. I read Ford’s text one more time. I’ll keep my promise.

On both Monday and Tuesday, I spend doing homework and getting ahead on a couple of assignments. Wednesday, it snows. Jack has the day off, so we head outside to play with Hank and Scottie. We build a snowman, try to make a fort, and have several snowball fights. I’m freezing and exhausted when we finally go back inside.

“It’s about time you rugrats came inside. I was about to come out and play with you.” My grandpa Clark says. He’s standing in the kitchen with his hands on his hips.

“Grandpa!” Hank and Scottie yell together and run up to him, tackling him with hugs. I finish taking my snow clothes off and hanging them up.

“Hey, Grandpa.” I hug him, and he kisses me on the cheek.

“How’s my favorite granddaughter?” he asks.

“The last time I checked, I was your only granddaughter.” I laugh.

He leans in. “You’d still be my favorite, even if you weren’t.”

“Thank you. I’m doing okay.”

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