Chapter 18
Every time Teddy came to the treehouse, it was like visiting a time capsule of his childhood. Posters of superheroes and indie bands peeled away from the timber walls, and the custom-built bunk beds in the corner had heard plenty of late-night conversations and ghost stories.
Teddy stood stooped in the doorway, one hand holding the top of the doorframe, the other the torch.
He’d been too tall to stand at full height in the treehouse since he was fourteen.
Coincidentally, that was when his brothers had stopped wrestling with him.
It hadn’t sucked becoming the biggest and best at something, even if it was only because of lucky genetics.
“Wow,” Jessica said once Teddy had turned on the lights.
Years ago, Nate had installed some solar powered ones that ran off a battery. And thank God he had. Because the sight in front of Teddy wasn’t to be missed. Jessica was in the middle of the space, her gaze wandering from place to place, eyes alight as she drank in all the details.
“Sam would love this.” Jessica wandered over to the small bookshelf in the corner.
There were a few very old toy dinosaurs (those had been Raff’s), a half-deflated football (no guesses required there, Nate had written his name all over it) and a stack of board games Owen must’ve stashed up here.
Teddy’s collection of choose-your-own-adventure novels were tucked in the corner.
“He can come visit any time. Mum would love it.”
Lulu’s current campaign for grandchildren had all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Teddy made a mental note to get her a gift voucher for Smash It. That was the kind of outing his mother and the Old Girls would love. Could be a good distraction from all their meddling, too.
“It’s bigger than I thought it would be,” Jessica said, tucking one of the wooden chairs under the small table in the centre of the room.
“Mum and Dad figured out pretty early on that extra space was always going to be a good idea with four boys.”
“Did you camp out here?” Jessica nodded at the bunk beds.
“All the time when we were younger.”
“Why only two beds? Not four?”
Teddy smiled. “Contrary to popular belief, we don’t do everything together.”
She raised her eyebrows, and Teddy chuckled.
“We had a couple of blow-up mattresses too.”
Jessica had moved closer to the beds, her hand coasting along the top bunk’s side support.
“Do you have siblings?” Teddy asked.
Her expression darkened. “No. It’s just me.”
Sometimes it was like Teddy could hear the full stop at the end of a sentence. That sentence had a full stop at the end of it.
Teddy was trying to figure out what to say when he remembered why he’d brought Jessica here. “There’s more, too.”
Her brows lowered. “More what?”
“Upstairs.” Teddy pointed at where the pitched ceiling flattened out.
Jessica snatched her hand away from the bed like it had burnt her. “Teddy James, does your treehouse have an upstairs?”
His privilege hit him in the face again. Maybe the lights Nate had installed hadn’t been such a good idea. He must’ve been bright red. “Mum and Dad also figured out that keeping us busy with projects was the best way to survive the school holidays, especially over Christmas.”
“We grew up in such different worlds, Teddy.”
God. Had he stuffed this up as well? Was he just destined to be a terrible boyfriend? Maybe all the things he’d suspected over the years were true. That he was nothing more than a good fuck. The guy who no one took seriously. The one they couldn’t count on.
But Teddy was sorry that Jessica’s childhood had been so different from his, and he was trying to do something nice for her.
“Um, follow me,” Teddy said once the silence had stretched on too long. He opened the door at the back of the treehouse that led out to the small ladder up to the viewing platform.
“Oh, good. Another ladder,” Jessica said dryly.
She climbed slowly, and Teddy followed. It had been years since Teddy had been up here.
The branches were thicker than he remembered, and leaves poked through the wooden rails that made up the verandah, but there was still a clear view of the sky above them.
“Owen used to have a telescope up here. I should’ve checked to see if it was downstairs.
Not that I know how to use it. I used to only come up here when … ”
Nope. He wasn’t going to say that. That would only prove he deserved his reputation.
“When you had a girl with you, Teddy?”
He rolled his lips inside his mouth. “Maybe,” he mumbled.
Jessica leant forward, her elbows resting on the wooden rails that enclosed the space. Her face was tipped towards the sky, and Teddy didn’t need a torch to see the wonder in her expression. The stars gave off enough light. “It’s so pretty.”
“Here.” Teddy pulled off his jacket and spread it across the floor. The viewing deck was just barely big enough for two people. “You can see more if you lie down.”
“I bet you say that to all the girls,” Jessica teased. Teddy was so relieved to hear her joking again that he didn’t even care it was at his expense.
“Doesn’t make it any less true,” he replied, his tone light. He needed to be clear here. “I promised you the stars.”
Jessica turned around so her back was against the railing. “You did.”
Teddy sat, scooting as far over as he could before lying down and crossing his arms behind his head. The chill in the air didn’t bother him at all. He swallowed a smile when Jessica shook her head twice and sat next to him.
“I’m sorry about before. At the smash room,” she said.
“It’s not a big deal.”
Jessica pulled at the sleeves of her shirt, her hands disappearing inside them before looking back up at the sky. “My mum had a lot of boyfriends when I was younger.”
Teddy shuffled up into a seated position. He could tell he needed to be upright for this.
“And they usually weren’t very nice.”
Oh, fuck.
“Jess—”
“It’s okay. I was okay. It wasn’t anything like that.
There was this one guy who would drink a bit too much”—she swallowed, and Teddy pressed his arm against hers, a silent reminder that he was here, that he was listening—“and when he got mad, he’d smash stuff.
Our plates and glasses. They weren’t anything special or even very nice, but they were ours and we didn’t have much.
It took forever for Mum to cotton on that he was a nasty deadbeat.
But tonight when I heard those noises, I … I couldn’t. It brought things back.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I just wanted to explain.”
Surely, it was a good sign that she wanted to do that. Teddy might have been wearing a dunce cap when it came to most relationship-related things, but Jessica hadn’t had to share that with him. It meant something that she did.
Jessica lay down, and Teddy followed her lead.
“Do you know what any of the constellations are?” Jessica asked, her voice muted as though, if she spoke too loudly, it’d scare the stars away.
“Nope. Owen would, though. He was obsessed with astrology when he was a kid.”
“Really?” Jessica laughed.
Teddy rolled onto his side so he was facing Jessica. Her gaze was fixed on the stars blanketing the sky above them.
“Owen doesn’t strike me as someone who believes in star signs.”
“He’s not.” Teddy frowned. “Is astrology not the study of the stars?”
Jessica shook her head. “That’s astronomy.”
Oh, yeah. Teddy always got those two mixed up. “That’s what I meant to say. Owen’s definitely not into star signs. At least, he never was. Might be different now he’s a loved-up fool.”
“Do you really think he’s a fool?” Jessica asked.
Teddy paused, surprised by the direct question. “No,” he said quietly. “I think he’s lucky.”
“Do you ever think about getting married? Settling down?”
Teddy needed a minute to consider how to phrase his answer so he didn’t sound like a dick. “When I was a kid, I assumed it happened for everyone. That you met your person. But now? That sounds so dumb to say out loud.”
Jessica folded her arms across her body. “I don’t think so.”
“No?”
“Why wouldn’t you have thought that? You’ve been surrounded by excellent examples of everything working out your whole life, right?
Your folks are happy. Your brothers have always been there for you and each other.
Owen and Alice are made for each other. So are Nate and Eloise.
You grew up with everything anyone could ever have wanted. ”
Guilt weighed heavily against Teddy’s body. He’d had all of this and taken it for granted. Floated through life chasing fun without considering how his actions were affecting others. How many people didn’t have the same experiences?
Jessica cleared her throat. “I think your lucky streak will continue, Teddy. You deserve it.”
“What about you?” Teddy asked.
“I don’t need luck,” Jessica said, her chin jutting towards the stars, and moonlight danced across her cheekbones, the delicate curve of her lips. “I make my own.”
She was the toughest person Teddy had ever met.
When Teddy grew up, he wanted to be just like Jessica Sonoto.
No. That wasn’t right. He wanted to be worthy of someone like her.
Liar, a quiet voice whispered in his mind. You want her.
But that was ridiculous.
She was far too good for him.
Unless … he could figure out a way to be the guy she deserved, and he could start right now.
“Hey,” he whispered, waiting until she looked back at him. “I was wrong before. Your nickname should be ‘Starshine’.”
The darkness couldn’t hide her blush or Teddy’s grin.
“What do you think?” he asked.
Her smile matched the beauty splayed across the sky above them. “I think I love it.”