Chapter 24
TWENTY-FOUR
“Hey, Ty, you want to go see that new scary movie that just came out?” Astrid asked as she flipped the pages of the magazine she was reading.
I stilled on the car I was working on.
Fuck.
I never thought I would feel guilty for having a girlfriend, but here I was. I knew I needed to tell Astrid, but telling her felt wrong, so I kept putting it off.
When I began talking to Liz, I never expected this would be where things would take me.
This year, I only had two classes with Astrid.
None of those were gym, lunch, or free period, so we didn’t talk much outside our shared classes.
Since they were on opposite ends of the school, we couldn’t hang by my locker like we had the previous years.
It was the first time since kindergarten that we didn’t have the other to rely on.
On the other hand, Liz was with me during lunch, my free period, and in math class. Astrid was taking a more advanced class than I was, and I hated constantly asking her for help even though I knew she didn’t mind.
Things with Liz started when we began sitting together in free period to do homework. Then she started talking to me in gym class. I didn’t think much of it; I spoke to girls all the time. Then, one day, she just kissed me.
The kiss took me by surprise. I knew girls liked me because many of them sent me notes or had their friends come up to me to let me know.
Up until then, I tried to keep anything that had to do with kissing or sex out of my mind.
It wasn’t that the thought didn’t cross my mind.
It fucking did all the time, but for all the wrong reasons.
The only person I could see those things happening with was my best friend.
When Liz kissed me, I thought, what the hell, and kissed her back. The feeling was fresh, new, and addicting. At the same time, it felt wrong, but it didn’t threaten to rip everything away from me.
“About that,” I began to say. I pulled back from the car’s hood, put the tool down, and wiped my hands with the rag hanging in my back pocket. “I told Liz I would take her.”
I turned around and saw Astrid blink several times before she said a thing.
She opened her mouth, but nothing came out until she cleared her throat.
“Oh, that’s cool. Is it like a date or something?” She looked at me, then down at the magazine again.
“We’ve kind of been dating for the last week,” I told her.
“Kind of?” she questioned softly, looking at the magazine intently. She wouldn’t even look at me.
Fuck, was she mad that I had kept it from her?
“She’s in a few of my classes, so we started talking more, and then she began to call me at night. One thing led to another, and now she’s my girlfriend. The movies will be our first outing outside of school.”
Astrid stayed quiet for a few seconds.
“Are you mad at me?” I asked, slightly panicked.
“Don’t go there with her.”
EZ’s words came back to haunt me, but how ironic would it be if I still lost her?
“Don’t be silly,” she said. She turned to look up at me and gave me a small smile. “I’m happy for you. Liz is beautiful. I mean, she won homecoming princess for a reason.”
“I can watch it with you tomorrow if you still want to go?” I offered because I hated disappointing Astrid.
She shook her head.
“No, that’s okay. Thank you, though.”
I felt sick.
“I’m sure Liz won’t mind if we make it a group thing.”
Astrid looked at me, horrified.
“Tyler, this is your first date. It deserves to be special. Don’t worry about me.” She waved me off. “Shouldn’t you go home and shower? For the love of God, put in some effort.”
Even though she was teasing me, her shoulders were still stiff.
Before I could say something, the door to the front opened, and in came my brothers.
“Are you guys down to go see the new scary movie that just came out? EZ and I are thinking about catching the eleven-o’clock viewing. That way, it will be extra scary when we drive back into town.”
“Ohmigod, the cemetery will be right there,” exclaimed Astrid. “So creepy.”
“That’s what I’m saying,” replied Adam. “I heard that after midnight people have seen ghosts.”
“I can’t. I’m already going to the eight-o’clock show,” I told them, wishing I hadn’t made plans.
“You two made plans without us?” Adam asked, sounding offended.
“No, Tyler has a date,” Astrid replied for me.
Adam’s head turned toward me, his brows scrunching in confusion, and then his eyes slid to Astrid.
“He has a date, and it’s not you?” he asked Astrid.
I felt my face heat up, and I glared daggers at Adam, but he didn’t notice—or probably didn’t care.
“W-w-what? No. We’re just friends,” Astrid spat right away, and for some reason, her dismissal burned.
“Yeah, Astrid’s like my sister.” The lie fell quickly from my lips.
I focused on my brothers because I couldn’t meet Astrid’s eyes now.
“You want to come with us, Astrid?”
That surprised me. Sure, Astrid hung out with my brothers, but I was always there.
“My parents won’t let me go with just you guys and your friends,” she added shyly.
This time, I looked at her and noticed her eyes were glossy and her cheeks flushed.
My throat constricted.
Did she still get nervous around my brothers? Why did the thought of it bother me?
“It’s just us two… Well, we thought it would be the four of us, but since Ty has plans, it can be the three of us. Come on, I’ll talk to Mama Hart.”
“Oh my God, please don’t. She def won’t let me go if you do your smooth-talking,” she said with laughter in her tone.
Ezekiel, who had been quiet all this time, spoke.
“I can talk to your parents if you want to go with us.”
His words felt like a betrayal. A part of me was already thinking of excuses I could give to Liz because I would much rather hang out with my brothers and Astrid. Or maybe I didn’t want her to hang out with just them?
“Okay, yes, it will be fun,” Astrid said brightly.
My stomach sank.
It was just one movie, but it suddenly felt like Astrid and I had gone on different paths.
Astrid turned to face me, and the same barely-there smile was on her face.
“Go get ready for your date,” she told me softly. “Shower. Wear that black shirt with those jeans you bought at the mall the last time we went. It will look nice.”
I put my hands in my pockets and nodded.
“Have fun with my brothers.”
There was a look in her eyes I couldn’t place.
“I’m like their little sister, too,” she whispered sadly.
“Yeah, you are,” I bit out harsher than intended because the last thing I wanted was for her to date either of those dipshits.