Chapter 25
Ainsley
Present
“This is going to be a long night.”
I chuckle and hand Evan a soda can. “Ivori and I are taking bets on who’s going to try to spike the punch.”
“No one.” His jaw works under his skin. “I’m on punch duty.”
Ivori coughs out a laugh. “Oh man, you’re so screwed.”
“Eh, but they all respect Coach Cole.” I elbow him in the ribs. “I think you’ll be fine.”
He grumbles and heads for the punch table.
The juniors trickle into the ballroom, each of them wearing bright, excited smiles. I can’t help but smile with them. The best part of high school was getting to experience it with Ivori and Evan by my side.
And Landon...at least for some of it.
Ivori scans me from head to toe. “You look extra nice tonight. You trying to catch someone’s eye?”
“Ew.” My nose scrunches. “They’re a bunch of high schoolers.”
She rolls her eyes. “You know damn well I’m not talking about the high schoolers.”
My shoulders slump as I groan, because yes, I do know who she’s talking about. “Why do I care what Landon thinks? Why am I trying to impress him?”
Why did I spend two hours on my hair and makeup for a prom that isn’t even mine?
“Because you like him.” She says it so matter-of-factly, as if it’s no big deal. “And you have since we were the ones at this prom.”
I rub my temples as the DJ invites everyone onto the dance floor for the first song of the night.
That kiss Landon and I shared rewired my brain.
I haven’t been able to focus on anything else, other than lacrosse.
And even then, shutting him out is impossible because he’s right there, sharing the field with me every day.
Ivori pats my back. “Stop questioning everything and trying to control it. Let it happen.”
“Let what happen? I don’t even know what’s happening.”
“You like him, and he likes you. Lean into it. Let it go where it’s gonna go.”
“I’d like it to go into the bedroom, but he’s making me work for it.”
Ivori laughs, her braids swaying with her. “That’s because Landon isn’t a one-time fling.”
My lips tug downward. “Which is why nothing can happen between us, because I don’t need him getting attached.”
“Or you’re afraid that you’ll be the one getting attached.” Ivori points toward the door. “Look, the JV girls are here.”
Dominique steps into the room with a group of her teammates. She looks stunning in a satin yellow strapless dress, the color accenting her dark-brown skin.
“I love getting to see these kids all dressed up.” I smile as Dominique waves at me from across the room. You look beautiful, I mouth.
She nods her head and grins. Thank you.
Flipping over my phone, I glance at the screen.
No new notifications.
Landon said he’d crash the party, and my skin buzzes at the thought of seeing him in a suit. But Mr. Punctuality hasn’t arrived yet.
“The way you’re checking your phone?” Ivori says. “That’s excitement. And I haven’t seen it on you for anything other than lacrosse in a long time. I think Landon is good for you.”
I pop open the top on a can of Ginger Ale and bring it to my lips, letting the fizzy soda burn down my throat into my chest.
Or maybe it’s my best friend’s words hitting their mark.
“And just so you know,” she continues, “This person you’re pretending to be? The one who has casual sex, and doesn’t do relationships? That’s not who you are deep down. It’s just the armor you’ve been shielding yourself with because you’re scared of getting hurt again.”
I purse my lips. “Okay, Mel Robbins. No more self-help podcasts for you.”
She nudges me with her shoulder. “You know I’m right.”
Then she saunters away as Sexy Back by Justin Timberlake blares through the speakers.
Chaperoning a room full of teenagers isn’t the way I prefer to spend my Saturday nights. It’s a lot of responsibility, and the boys tend to get rowdy. But it’s nostalgic to experience.
And I was looking forward to experiencing it with Landon.
We didn’t get to spend junior prom or senior prom together. By then, it was already too late. We were at each other’s throats, and there was no going back. We missed out on so many important life events because of our fight.
Maybe Ivori’s right. Maybe we can make up for lost time now with this second chance we’ve been given.
Maybe this time around will be different.
My heart thrums in my chest as I check my phone again. We’re already an hour into prom, and there’s no sign of Landon.
Something’s wrong.
I feel it in my gut, twisting like it always used to.
I shoot him a text, hoping he’ll tell me he’s running late or had a wardrobe malfunction. Something minor. Something silly.
But he would’ve texted.
My mind runs away from me, conjuring up the worst scenarios. One hour turns into two. And while the kids are doing the Cha Cha Slide, I finally break.
I tug Ivori’s elbow, dragging her into the hallway outside the ballroom. “I’m gonna dip out early. Can you cover for me in case Harrison asks where I am?”
“Of course.” Her head dips. “Do you think something happened to him?”
My stomach drops as nerves trickle into my bloodstream. “I don’t know, but I won’t feel better until I know he’s okay.”
I race into the parking lot and duck behind a few cars so nobody makes me out. Once I’m in my Jeep, I pull out onto the main road and click Landon’s name to call him.
It rings until his voicemail picks up.
I smack the steering wheel. “Fuck.”
It takes about twenty minutes to get to Landon’s house from the party hall. I make it in ten.
I pull into his driveway behind his Explorer. Marie’s car is here as well. Flinging open my door, I jump out and scurry up the driveway as fast as my stupid heels will allow me.
The lights are on but the blinds are closed, so I can’t see into any of the rooms downstairs. I ring the doorbell, frantic like a lunatic, in between pounding on the door.
If they were home, one of them would open this door.
My heart pounds in my throat as I strain to hear something. Anything.
“Landon?” I bang my fist against the door. “Marie? Are you home?”
“They’re at the hospital.”
I whirl around, looking in the direction of the voice. Landon’s next-door neighbor, an elderly woman with gray hair and a string of pearls around her neck, leans on the ledge of her porch.
“I saw the ambulance pull up and take Marie into the back. Landon went with her.”
Fuck. Marie’s hurt.
“Thank you!” I yank off my heels and lift the bottom of my dress so my legs can move faster as I dart across the lawn and back to my Jeep.
I peel out of the driveway and make my way to the hospital.
A thick ball of emotion lodges in my throat. I haven’t felt this worried since my father was in the hospital. Every time my phone rang, I assumed the worst. It was a stressful way to live, but it was only temporary.
I was with him when he passed, so I didn’t have to wait for the call.
I park in the emergency lot for guests, and run barefoot into the waiting room. The security guard standing by the door eyeballs me as I slow to a stop at the counter.
My chest heaves as I rack my brain for a plausible lie. “M-my mother just got brought in. Last name is Fletcher. My brother is in there with her.”
“Can I see your ID, please?”
My hand trembles as I slip my license out of my wallet. Hopefully she doesn’t give me shit about having a different last name and no wedding ring on my finger.
The woman behind the desk clacks her nails against the keyboard. “Marie Fletcher?”
I nod. “Yes, that’s her.”
“She’s being transported to a room.” She slides a map across the counter and circles the unit Marie is being taken to. “Room 504. Do you need directions?”
“No, thank you.” I know this place like the back of my hand.
I take my license and toss it into my purse as I walk toward the turnstile.
“Ma’am.”
I turn around to face the security guard, ready to accept my fate. I’ve been caught. He knows I’m lying.
“You might wanna put your shoes on. This place is full of germs.”
I blink down at the strappy heels in my hand and offer him a sheepish smile. “Thanks.”
After I fight with the buckle on my shoes, I speed-walk down each corridor until I get to the elevators I need.
Please be okay.
Please be okay.
The doors open, and I scour the halls until I find rooms with numbers in the five-hundreds.
“Five-oh-one...five-oh-two...” I turn the corner and spot Marie’s room.
Her door is slightly ajar, so I creep inside without knocking in case she’s asleep. My pulse roars in my ears as the sterile hospital air and incessant beeping surround me.
Memories of my father flood my mind, and I pause in the doorway, gripping onto the doorknob for support.
You can do this, Morgan. One foot in front of the other. Landon needs you.
My shoes click against the tile as I tiptoe into the room, a failed attempt to muffle them.
Marie sits propped up in the dim room, a bandage wrapped around her head. Eyes closed.
Landon’s head lifts when he catches sight of me. In a gray suit with a light-blue satin tie, loosened from where it once was around his collar, he looks devastatingly handsome. His thick hair is mussed, like he’s been raking his fingers through it all night.
“Wow,” he whispers. Tired eyes trail down my dress, taking their time to appreciate every inch of smooth black material hugging my curves.
I don’t own many dresses, and the ones I wear are business-casual types for school functions.
But I saw this black dress in an ad while I was doom scrolling late one night, and bought it on a whim.
I imagined Landon’s eyes widening if he saw me in it, the way the front comes up high around my collarbone, accentuating my broad shoulders.
It’s much like the way he’s looking at me right now.
I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “Your neighbor said you’d be here.”
Landon pushes out of the chair and shuffles around the foot of Marie’s bed. “I’m so sorry I didn’t call. I left my phone at the house.”
“It’s okay. I knew something was wrong, so I came to find you.”
“How did you convince them to let you up here?”
I hike a shoulder. “Told them I was your sister.”
His shoulders shake with his silent laugh. He reaches out to touch the ends of my hair. “You look magnificent.”
“You look pretty magnificent yourself.” I jerk my chin toward Marie. “What happened?”
Sadness fills his eyes as he stares at his mother. “She was fine, out back watering the plants in the yard. And then the next, she just...collapsed. She fainted, and hit her head on the deck.”
I wring my hands. “She’ll be okay though, right?”
“The doctor says it’s part of the MS.” A long exhale leaves him. “She needed a couple of stitches to stop the bleeding, but she’ll be okay. They’re keeping her here to monitor her overnight.”
I brush his hair back from his forehead. “I’m sorry.”
“You didn’t have to come.” He lifts his knuckles to my cheek, giving it a tender stroke. “I know how hard it must be for you to be back here.”
I lean into his touch. “I didn’t want you to be alone.”
His eyes land on my mouth, and for a moment, the room around us disappears. Time slows, and it’s just the two of us.
“You’re looking at me like you want to kiss me,” I whisper.
“Just wondering if you’d let me.”
“I think I might.”
He leans closer, his nose brushing against mine. Then his soft lips meet mine.
There’s no heat behind it, no underlying hope for something more. It’s tender and gentle. A way for him to express how he’s feeling without words.
“Will you give me a ride home? I can’t sleep in that chair, but I want to be back first thing in the morning for when she wakes up, and the doctor makes his rounds.”
“Of course.”
I say it with absolute certainty, already knowing I won’t leave his side tonight. I don’t want him to be alone.
And for the first time in a long time, I don’t want to be alone either.