CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Wes woke on the living room couch with his neck stiff and his injured shoulder aching beneath the sling. He reached for his phone before his eyes fully opened. Bee had not answered him.
He opened their conversation anyway and stared at the message he had sent after leaving Grandma’s house. Bee had not given him an answer.
Wes: I’m sorry. I won’t bother you again.
The words looked worse that morning. He had meant them when he sent them, or at least he had wanted to mean them. Now they sounded like something written to force an answer.
Wes locked the screen and dropped the phone beside him. Less than a minute later, he picked it up and checked again.
His mother entered the living room carrying a cup of coffee. She stopped when she saw the phone in his hand.
“Did her answer change since the last time you looked?” his mother asked.
“I wasn’t checking for Bee,” Wes replied.
His mother sat in the chair across from him. “Then you’ve developed a strong interest in one empty conversation.”
Wes locked the screen. “I’m bored.”
“You’re miserable,” his mother corrected.
“That too,” Wes admitted.
His mother took a drink of coffee and watched him. He had avoided telling her what happened since she picked him up from Grandma’s house.
“You’ve had since yesterday to tell me what happened in that house,” his mother said.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Wes replied.
His mother lowered her cup. “Bee is your first girlfriend, and I like that girl. I watched you come back to the car looking wrecked. I care what happened to both of you, so you don’t get to shut me out after asking me to drive you there.”
“She wanted me to leave,” Wes said.
“That’s the end of the story,” his mother replied. “Start at the beginning.”
“There’s nothing else to tell,” Wes said.
“Then you should have no trouble telling it,” his mother replied.
Wes opened TikTok instead of answering. The recovery video he had posted was still collecting comments. Most people wished him well, but more of them had started asking about Bee.
@kaylamarie: Where’s Bee?
@taylorj87: Are you and Bee okay???
@maddie_rae: Haven’t seen Bee with you since the accident. Is she doing okay too?
@cassidyjo14: Please tell me Hoodie Guy and Bee are still together because I cannot handle another tragedy this week.
Wes scrolled past them. Each new question made his chest feel tighter. He did not know what he and Bee were anymore, but strangers had already started demanding a label.
One comment made him stop. He read it twice before his anger had somewhere to land.
@jessica_marie: She was happy when you were driving around getting her midnight snacks. I hope she’s taking care of you now that you’re the one who needs somebody.
“What did somebody say?” his mother asked.
“Nothing,” Wes replied.
“Your face says otherwise,” his mother said.
Wes reached for the phone stand on the coffee table. It slipped when he tried to open it with one hand. He caught it against his leg before it hit the floor.
“What are you doing?” his mother asked.
“I’m answering them,” Wes replied.
His mother frowned. “You don’t have to answer every question somebody puts on the internet.”
“They’re going to keep asking,” Wes said.
“Let them,” his mother replied.
“I’m tired of seeing it,” Wes said.
“Then close the app,” his mother told him.
Wes ignored her and positioned the phone. His reflection filled the screen. The sling was visible, and the bruising near his collarbone had started turning yellow around the edges.
His mother set down her coffee. “Whatever you’re about to say, think first.”
“I’m thinking,” Wes replied.
“That’s what worries me,” his mother said.
Wes pressed record before she could stop him. His mother stared at him, but he kept going.
“People keep asking about Bee, so I’m going to answer once,” Wes said to the camera. “Bee and I aren’t together anymore.”
“She ended things,” Wes said. “I still care about her, and I’m not going to say anything bad about her. I’m dealing with a lot right now. I guess she decided she needed something different.”
The words sounded calmer than he felt. Wes looked at his own face on the screen and forced himself to finish.
“Don’t go to her page or bother her,” Wes said. “I’m only saying something because people keep asking. I’m trying to heal and figure out what comes next.”
Wes stopped recording. His mother reached for the phone, but he pulled it closer.
“Delete that,” his mother said.
“Why?” Wes asked.
“Because you just made Bee sound heartless, and I don’t believe for one second that’s the whole story,” his mother replied.
Wes stared at her. “She told me to leave.”
“Leaving her grandmother’s house is not the same as ending your relationship,” his mother said.
“She said she wanted me gone,” Wes replied.
His mother leaned forward. “Why were you there?”
“I wanted to talk to her,” Wes said.
“Did she invite you?” his mother asked.
Wes looked down at the phone. “No.”
“Did she know you were coming?” his mother asked.
“No,” Wes admitted.
His mother’s eyes narrowed. “What did she say before you went over there?”
Wes did not answer quickly enough. His mother sat back as the missing piece settled into place.
“Wesley,” his mother said. “What did Bee tell you?”
“She said she needed time,” Wes replied.
His mother stared at him. “You left that part out when you asked me for a ride.”
“You would have told me not to go,” Wes said.
“Exactly,” his mother replied.
“I was trying to fix things,” Wes said.
“She asked you to wait,” his mother reminded him.
“Texting wasn’t fixing anything,” Wes replied.
“Neither did showing up,” his mother said.
Wes looked away. His ribs hurt each time his breathing became too deep, but he could not make himself relax.
“We argued,” Wes admitted.
“How bad?” his mother asked.
Wes rubbed his good hand across his face. “I raised my voice.”
“At Bee?” his mother asked.
“I was angry,” Wes replied.
“Bee was standing in front of you,” his mother said. “You may have been angry at everything, but she was the one you yelled at.”
Wes looked toward the window. He could still see Bee flinch when his voice rose. Remembering it made him feel shame pushing against the anger he had been holding since yesterday.
“I asked if she wanted me to leave,” Wes said. “She said yes.”
His mother pointed toward the phone. “That’s not the story you told in that video.”
“I didn’t lie,” Wes replied.
“You said she ended things because she needed something different,” his mother said. “You made it sound like she abandoned you because you got hurt.”
“I told people not to bother her,” Wes said.
His mother stared at him. “You think that sentence is going to stop them?”
“I can’t control what people do,” Wes replied.
“You can control what you hand them,” his mother said.
Wes looked down at the video waiting on the screen. He knew how people treated Bee when they believed she had asked him to buy her snacks. He had watched strangers call her spoiled over a favor he chose to do.
His mother held out her hand. “Delete it.”
“She didn’t answer my message,” Wes said.
“What message?” his mother asked.
Wes opened their conversation and handed her the phone. His mother read the last line before looking back at him.
“That’s not an apology,” his mother said.
“I said I was sorry,” Wes replied.
“Then you told her you would never bother her again,” his mother said. “What did you want her to do with that?”
Wes looked away. “I wanted her to say I wasn’t bothering her.”
“Then you should have said that,” his mother replied. “You wanted her to chase you after she already asked for space.”
“I wanted to know she still cared,” Wes said.
“She told you she loved you,” his mother reminded him.
Wes went quiet. The confession inside Grandma’s house had been buried beneath everything that happened afterward. Hearing it again took some of the anger out of him.
“I’ve watched you care about that girl in a way you’ve never cared about anyone before,” his mother said. “I’m not going to help you turn her into somebody cruel because you’re hurt.”
His mother pointed toward the phone. “Don’t punish her because she didn’t prove it the way you wanted.”
“I’m not punishing her,” Wes replied.
“Then delete the video,” his mother said.
“Whose side are you on?” Wes asked.
“Yours,” his mother replied. “That’s why I’m telling you when you’re wrong. I won’t help you hurt Bee just to make you feel better.”
Wes opened the recording and watched it again. He heard himself say Bee had ended things. He watched himself sit there injured while claiming she needed something different.
For several seconds, his thumb hovered over delete. Then he remembered Bee saying yes when he asked if she wanted him gone.
He remembered the unanswered message. The anger returned before the shame could settle.
His mother picked up her coffee. “If you post that now, you can’t tell yourself you didn’t know what it would do.”
She walked toward the kitchen. Wes waited until she turned away.
He pressed post. The first comments appeared before he could put the phone down.
@kaylamarie: WAIT WHAT??? BEE broke up with you?
@maddie_rae: After the accident??? Are you serious?
@cassidyjo14: Wes, I’m so sorry. You lost your truck, can’t work, and now this.
@taylorj87: Nooooo. I loved you two together.
@amberlyn: You deserve somebody who stays when things get hard.
Wes stared at the comments. The support eased something inside him. Nobody asked him to be patient. Nobody told him to give Bee more time. For a few minutes, strangers allowed him to be the only hurt person in the story.
Then the comments changed. The sympathy turned toward Bee and sharpened.
@jessica_marie: So she was happy when you were driving around getting her midnight snacks, but now that YOU need somebody, she leaves?
@courtneyrae: Imagine dumping your boyfriend right after he almost dies.
@alyssabegay92: That’s cold. I’m sorry, Wes.
@livvyrose: Guys, we don’t actually know what happened between them.
@amberlyn: He literally said she broke things off. What else do we need to know?