Page 42 of The Forever After Bet

“No, he left for the office about an hour ago.”

“I’ll be home in a while. Is it okay if I have friends over later?” I ask her.

“Of course. Jack and his friends will be here, but you’re all friends. Well, most of you.”

That last dig was about me and Ford. I just don’t understand her.

“Okay, we’ll be there in a while.”

“Sounds good. Talk to you later, Sweetie.” Beth sing-songs in my ear and then hangs up.

“Ugh.” I glance around, and everyone is staring at me. “I guess we’re all hanging out at my house today.”

Leah arches an eyebrow. “Well, this is going to be interesting.”

I turn to June. “You’re going to come, right?”

She glances at Ty. “Yeah, I’ll be there.”

I wrap my arm around her as we walk up to the house. “You and Ty could get back together,” I whisper.

June is shaking her head no before I’m even done speaking. “You and Ford breaking up was only one reason out of several why I ended things with Ty. In a couple of months, we’ll be in very different places.”

I listen and nod at my friend’s reasons. I can tell she spent a lot of time on her decision, even though I wish she and Ty would get back together. It has to be something she wants.

We head downstairs to the game room. “Where’s Aubrey?” I ask.

“She’s at home. She snuck out last night to see Cameron, and her parents found out. So, she’s grounded today.”

“That sucks.” I frown.

Ford is sitting at the end of the sofa. I try to sit down next to him, but he grabs my hips, pulling me onto his lap—all our friends stare at us.

“So, it’s official? You two are back together?” Leah asks.

I look at Ford, and he looks at me.

“Go ahead.” He nudges me with his shoulder.

“Yes, we worked things out. We’re a couple—again.”

There’s a collective sigh that goes around the room.

“I don’t want to use the word, but—but—we decided until we can figure out how to get Bree and Mason’s website taken down, we’re going to keep our relationship private from everyone at school,” I say.

“And we’re keeping our relationship a secret from our parents,” Ford adds. “This isn’t permanent. We’re just tired of the gossip and lies that get spread about us.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? Aren’t all the secrets what led you to want to elope?” Jack asks.

“When Hannah’s parents forced us to break up, the plan was to do that, break up. We’d made plans for after high school, and we were going to be friends and respect our parents’ wishes. That plan didn’t work. We don’t want to go back to that, but we’re not ready to jump into the fire of high school gossip and drama either. It’s not ideal, but we’re taking things slow.” Ford entwines his hand with mine.

“I don’t want to keep it a secret from everyone at school, but I can’t deal with any more gossip. I’m honestly surprised my grades haven’t suffered. It’s taken an emotional toll on me.” I exhale.

“It’s taken an emotional toll on all of us,” Leah says. “I’m all for avoiding stupid high school drama.”

“I support your decision, but you’re both still going to deal with some high school drama. Bree isn’t going to give up.”

Ford groans. “I forgot about Bree.”

---