13
Brynn
“You’resure you’re okay?”
I blink, looking up from my study notes across the table at Waverly.
“Huh?
“Look,” she sighs. “I don’t want to be a nag, you just seem… you know, off? You have for a few weeks now, and I’m just worried about you. I’m not trying to pry, I just—”
“Okay,” I swallow, sighing. “Okay, I’m going to tell you.”
She frowns. “Brynn, I’m seriously not trying to—”
“No, no it’s fine,” I sigh, pushing a strand of hair out of my face. “You’re going to hear about it soon anyways,” I mumble.
No, I’m not telling her about Colton. I mean, not right now at least. With as crazy about him as I am, and as wild as it is, and as much as I want to scream it from the roof of Winchester, I know what the stakes are. I know even if Waverly would, of course, keep it a secret, it’s just one more possible way for it to leak, even accidentally. And the story of us leaking could destroy everything. His career, for one, not to mention making life hell for me for the rest of senior year.
So, no, I can’t tell her. Yet. I will, someday, but it’s not today. But I know I can get some of the weight off my chest, and if anyone will be able to not judge about all the shit with my dad, it’s Waverly.
And so, I tell her.
I tell her about the fraud, and the fleeing the country, and Geraldine disappearing, and that the government might be taking basically everything we own. I leave out Colton, and all the stuff with Lorenzo, but when I’m done, I’m near tears, and Waverly’s running around the table to grab me into a hug.
“I’m so fucking sorry, Brynn,” she gasps, holding me tight as I sniff away tears. “Holy fuck, that’s a lot! You should have told me!”
“I know,” I mumble quietly. “I just…” I shake my head.
I was just too caught up in falling head over heels for our gorgeous, hunky principal.
“I was just trying to process it all. And I guess I thought if I didn’t talk about it, it would just… I don’t know.”
She smiles wryly. “Go away?”
I nod, and she smiles again as she hugs me close.
“Yeah, been there.”
I snort. “Right.”
“I’m serious!”
I smile at my friend. “Waverly, all due respect, you’re breaking state records in swim, your mom just got a sweet new job, you got to move into a really nice single room in the dorms, and you’re all glowy all the time, which makes me pretty sure there’s a guy you’re not telling me about.”
She blushes scarlet, and I grin.
Knew it.
Waverly has been all glowy recently, I just haven’t given her a hard time about it because I know she’ll tell me when she’s ready. But it’s been going on for weeks now, and now I’m just really freaking curious about who this mystery boy is that has her all peppy and smiling all the time.
“It’s no one,” she blurts out. “It must be the chlorine.”
I snort, rolling my eyes. “Right. I’m sure.”
She bites her lip, eying me. “Look, it’s, uh…” she shrugs. “It’s complicated?”
“More complicated than Ramona Weiss dating her stepbrother?”