“No,” he said. “I mean, well, the thing is . . .”
“I’m your babysitter,” Sammy offered practically. “I can’t date your brother. Plus, another girl has already won his heart.”
“But you guys went to the movies together,” Piper said, matter-of-factly. “That’s like, a date.”
“All right, all right, Little Miss Matchmaker,” Sammy said, closing Piper’s French book. “Why don’t you go on the computer and get a little extra Wikipedia time in? I won’t tell your mom.”
“You guys are trying to get rid of me, right?” Piper asked.
“Yes,” Sammy said.
“You just have to ask, geez,” Piper said, and headed upstairs as fast as she could.
Sammy leaned back in her chair. Gael sensed that this was his moment. He just had to somehow find the right words.
“Well, that was awkward,” Sammy said, looking at him and laughing.
“Uhh,” Gael stuttered. He took a seat next to her. He could feel himself starting to sweat.
Sammy stared at him, but he didn’t say anything. Her embarrassed blush was already fading. She crossed her arms finally, breaking the spell. “I do want to hear more about your Halloween.”
He shrugged. Halloween was literally the last thing he wanted to talk about right then. “It was good, I guess. We were zombies. Umm, how was yours?”
She leaned her elbows against the table, tilted her head toward him. “You okay?” she asked.
Gael nodded quickly, wondering why this was so damn hard?
“Well, my Halloween was whatever. I didn’t end up going out at all, actually.”
Through the window outside, Gael saw three kids tossing a ball back and forth. He wondered, briefly, what Sammy had been like as a kid. Probably exactly the same. He scooted his chair back a little. He wondered how in the world to turn a boring conversation about Halloween into what he wanted to say—but what did he want to say?
“How come?” he asked finally. “I thought you said you had plans.”
Sammy sat up straight and wrung the bottom of her T-shirt in her hands. “Yeah, I was supposed to do something with my roommate, but, well, I ended up just talking to John.”
Gael felt his heart beat faster. He was taken aback completely. It was the last thing he’d expected to hear. “Your ex?”
She nodded. “He called me on Monday night . . .” Her voice dropped off.
“And what did he want?” Gael demanded.
Sammy hesitated. “He apologized for everything.”
“Everything including cheating on you?” Gael asked.
“Hey,” she said, raising her eyebrows. “He explained everything. He got with another girl at a party and then broke up with me the next day. I’d hardly call it cheating.”
“Oh, that’s convenient,” Gael said. He could feel himself getting worked up, his face becoming hotter.
“Well, it’s true,” she argued. “He said he was just scared by the idea of a long-distance relationship. Since Monday, he’s been texting a bunch, and he even sent me flowers on Tuesday. It was so sweet.”
Gael took a deep breath and tried to gather his thoughts.
Sammy fiddled with Piper’s French book, avoiding his eyes. “Anyway, I’m going to Baltimore tomorrow night. I figure I need to see him in person to figure out if we can give this a real shot again.”
“What?” Gael asked, dumbfounded. “You’re actually thinking about taking him back?”
She turned to look at him, narrowing her eyes. He noticed a tiny tear in the page she’d been messing with. “If Anika had come back apologizing, don’t tell me you wouldn’t have given her another chance. And John didn’t, like, start dating my best friend behind my back. He made out with one girl at one party, one time. It’s college.”
Gael opened his mouth but found he had nothing to say. Finally, he shrugged. “Whatever. It’s your life.”
“You know, you’re not being very supportive. We’re supposed to be friends,” she argued.
And it was only as she said it that he realized how desperately he wanted not to be friends with her.
But it was too late. That was painfully clear.
“I should get some homework done,” Gael said quickly, standing up. “Safe travels.”
He didn’t wait for her to say anything else, just headed back to his room.
text therapy
Gael stayed in his room the rest of the afternoon. He put on Rushmore, a movie Sammy did not like, and texted Mason furiously with the new developments.
so i actually thought i liked Sammy but she just told me she’s getting back with her ex what happened to hippie chick?
i don’t know i can’t stop thinking about Sammy i knew it! so why are you NOT stopping her from getting back with douche-face?
because it’s her life, and that’s what she wants LAME
she’s not into me, it was clear from our convo i always thought she was, tho if she was why is she getting back with douche-face nice name, btw
don’t know, dude, don’t know, girls r weird
anika is freaking out bc i assumed we had plans tomorrow without asking LOL don’t ever assume with Anika little bit of advice for ya
go talk to Sammy
NOW!!!!!
i can’t