Chapter 50 Tate
fifty
Tate
So, you guys broke up?”
It didn’t make sense to tell everyone individually, but it’s probably not what everyone thought was happening when we asked if they were down for a group hangout at Greystone.
“Yes,” Fletcher replies.
“And you’re going on tour?” Zeke squints as if he’s trying to piece it all together. “Is that why you guys broke up?”
“No.” I shake my head. “The breakup came first.”
“But you still love each other?” Zeke adds.
Fletcher and I look at each other and then back at our friends.
We don’t respond to that one.
“Anyone other than Zeke want to chime in on this?” I tap the table, my eyes bouncing from person to person.
“Are you guys okay?” Jere’s eyes meet mine, soft and concerned.
“Yeah, I think we are.”
“We were friends long before we were dating,” Fletcher continues. “That doesn’t end just because we did.”
I fight a smile, thinking about how I said something similar to Fletcher the night we broke up.
Zeke raises his hand, and I roll my eyes.
“This isn’t school, Zeke. You’re free to ask a question without raising your hand.”
Zeke’s hand falls, hitting the table with a thud. “Am I the last one to know about this, too?”
I tilt my head. “Huh?”
“Like, is this get-together all for show, and everyone else has known since it happened, but you didn’t want me to feel left out again?”
“No.” Fletcher and I say at the same time, looking at each other. “No one knew about it. Some people may have suspected it… But no one knew for sure.”
“When do you leave?” Ember leans forward, nearly falling off Declan’s lap.
“In a week.”
“A week?” There’s a unanimous gasp.
“Guys, it’s a summer tour.” I chuckle.
“Yeah, but summer starts in June,” Brinley argues. “Typically, the end of June, if we’re being technical.”
“Tour starts on the fifteenth of June and ends just shy of the start of senior year,” I clarify.
“Then why are you leaving next week?”
“There’s this thing called rehearsals,” I tease. “I need a few weeks to not only figure out what songs I’m going to be playing but also get acquainted with the team. You know, meet Gracie and Colson for the first time.”
“This is so exciting!” Avalon squeals. “I can’t believe you’re going on tour.”
“We’ve talked about this since we were kids.” Brinley shakes her head. “I always hoped it would happen for you. And I don’t mean to take all the credit because you’re like super talented and everything, but this never would’ve happened if I didn’t push you to post your singing.”
Fletcher and I exchange a knowing look.
“I know, Brin. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”
“For starters, when Gracie Dunn comes here this summer, you get us some really good tickets. I’m talking top-notch, pulled some strings, type tickets.”
“Deal.”
Jeremy’s phone buzzes on the table, and he glances down at it, quickly types a response, and then shoves his phone into his pocket.
“Hey guys, I hate to run, but I have an appointment I need to get to, and I’m already running late.” Jere jumps out of the booth, circling the table to give me a kiss on the head. “Proud of you, Tate. If anyone deserves an opportunity like this, it’s you.”
“Thanks, Jere.”
The second the bell rings above the door, announcing Jere’s departure to the group, Jax slides off the barrier between our booth and the one behind us, stealing Jere’s previous spot.
“Has anyone else noticed he’s been acting super weird in the last couple of weeks?” Jax looks over his shoulder towards the door.
“I think finals made us all a bit crazy this year.” Fletcher grabs an onion ring from the plate in the center of the table. “I think it started to become real that next year we graduate and are tossed into the real world.”
“Not all of us.” I can’t tell if Brin is bragging or kind of disappointed that her friends will be moving on next year, and she’ll be the only one stuck at Rockford.
Even Alex will graduate next year, so she won’t even have him to lean on.
Maybe I should introduce her to Becca next year; that way, she’ll have a buddy when we graduate.
“Jax might be right,” Brooks rests his hands on the back of Maia’s chair, leaning forward into our group circle. “When you confirmed you were dating, Jere had to rush off then as well.”
“He was meeting Coach. I think you’re all just overthinking it.” I shake my head, grab my soda, and take a long drink. “He’s got a bad back, guys. He still does PT about four times a week to prepare for next season and whatever comes after that. He’s probably just talking about that.”
“Then why wouldn’t he just say PT?” Ember asks.
“I don’t know. What I do know is Jere isn’t acting any weirder than usual, not to me anyway.”
“Do you think it’s his back?” Jax ignores me. “Like he’s not telling us something about it?”
“I think we’re worrying about something that we don’t need to worry about.” Declan chimes in.
“Maybe he’s in a secret relationship and doesn’t want us to know yet,” Zeke suggests. “Our group has a knack for them for some reason.”
The booth goes silent. All of us sit and contemplate Zeke’s thoughts, wondering if there could possibly be any truth to them. But almost as quickly as the thought came, it’s gone, with a unanimous—
“Nah.”
“Okay, enough about Jere.” Brinley perks up. “What are the odds of you introducing me to Colson Young while you guys are here? On a scale from one to ten.” She lifts her hands, creating the scale and moving them around as she waits for me to give her an answer.
“Don’t you have a boyfriend?”
She adjusts in the booth, her hands falling to her sides as she leans forward.
“I’m not trying to date the guy,” Brinley argues. “Unless he’d be down for that, then I might consider my relationship status.”
I shake my head, but out of the corner of my eye, I’m sure I see a brewing smile on Jaxon’s lips. Something I haven’t seen when it comes to Brinley in quite some time.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
Brinley pulls her hands back into her lap, a little smile on her face.
“That’s all I ask.”
Ican’t believe you leave tomorrow.” Brinley is lying on her stomach on the bed as I finish packing.
After Brinley saw a couple of the outfits I was bringing on the road, even after I told her they weren’t necessarily ones for the concerts, she made me drive over here with my closet in tow so she could help me piece things together.
Honestly, it’s been really helpful. I’ve never been one to really care about looking ‘fashion forward.’
“I know. It feels kind of surreal.”
“What did your parents say when you told them?”
“My dad was pretty excited for me, I guess. I think a part of him finally realized this could actually become a real career for me and not just a pipe dream.”
“And your mom.”
“About as much as she said about me dating and breaking up with Fletcher.”
“That bad.”
“Well, when she found out Fletcher and I dated and broke up all within one conversation, she told me she’s glad I came to my senses about marrying into the Reed family.”
“No, she didn’t.”
I nod, “Yeah, she did. She told me breaking up with him was the smartest decision I’d ever made.”
“Hmm, then I can’t wait to hear what she said about this.”
I fold a pair of jeans and tuck them into my suitcase.
“She told me that when I finally give up this little hobby of mine, there will be a filing job for me at her firm while I work on going to law school.”
“Have I ever told you I don’t like your mom?”
“The feeling’s mutual.”
“Wait, as in, you don’t like her either, or she doesn’t like me?”
“Can’t it be both?”
“That’s fair.”
She hops off her bed and walks into the bathroom. When she comes back out, she has a little zip-up toiletry bag.
“There’s a bunch of jewelry in here.” She smiles, sitting it in my suitcase. “I think you’ll be able to find something in here to wear on stage.”
“Thanks, Brin.”
“Anytime.”
I fold my last dress and place it in my suitcase, clipping the suitcase's harness shut before closing it. I move my suitcase from the bed to the floor and take its place. Brinley finds the space next to me and sits down, her head resting on my shoulder.
“It’s going to be weird without you around this summer.”
I don’t remember the last time Brinley and I spent a summer apart from each other. Once Fletcher met the guys, our group quickly formed, and since I was originally the only girl, Brinley and I clicked instantly the first time we hung out at Declan’s.
Due to Declan’s demanding training schedule, it was rare for his family to leave for a holiday during the summer.
Our group always spent summers together… and now… I’m leaving.
It was only a matter of time before we were no longer able to be together during the summers, but I thought we had at least one more summer left.
“Yeah. It already feels weird.”
“You’re going to have the best time.”
“I hope so.”
“You’ll have to call us and keep us updated.”
“I promise.”
The words fade between us, and we just sit there. My eyes focus on the bathroom door, the one we helped her find at Home Depot a little while back.
“The door looks nice.”
She chuckles, “I mean, I haven’t gotten a black eye yet, so you could say it’s a pretty good door.”
“Your eye healed up nicely, though.” I try to be positive, but her head lifts off my shoulder, and she glares at me. “Too soon?”
“Maybe a little. The bruising might be gone, but it still hurts when I laugh too hard. And I’m talking a full-on belly laugh.”
“Would it be wrong of me to try and make you laugh that hard right now?”
Her head tilts to the side, “Maybe I need Declan to go put my old door in your apartment and let you get stuck in your bathroom.”
“I’m leaving for the tour tomorrow, remember? It’d just be a waste of time.” I stick my tongue out at her, but her demeanor shifts.
“Call me every day, okay? I want to hear everything.” She grabs my hand. “And when you get back, I’ll want to hear it all again.”
“Do you think I could fit you in my suitcase? Maybe they won’t even know.”
She shakes her head, wrapping her arms around me.
“This is something you need to do on your own,” she whispers. “And you’re going to kill it; I just know it.”