Passing Week

Talking with Liam helped. Even though I still didn’t have the answer, I managed to get out of my funk I’d fallen into. Even better, I was starting to think Kaylee had forgotten about my promise. Things were more or less back to normal. She was still sleeping with Sean. I knew because apparently, Zoe was too. And Abby. The three talked about it at lunch, coordinating who got him when. They also gushed about how great sex was with him, which got the other girls at the table asking questions too. I ignored it the best I could. It was difficult whenever Kaylee added to the conversation, but Liam provided an excellent distraction with a new comic he found. It was set in a world where the virus never existed. It had some interesting ‘what-if’ ideas that I hoped it would explore in the future.

Unfortunately, my luck ran out Friday after school. As I shuffled towards my locker to drop off my books, I found Kaylee leaning against it, waiting. That was unexpectedly out of character for her. She’d only done that a few times in the years we’d been here.

Seeing me in the crowd, she beamed a smile at me and shifted so I could get into my locker.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hi,” I replied as I unlocked my locker and dumped my books inside.

“So,” she began, pulling a strand of blond and blue hair from her face and hooked it behind her ear. “I was thinking tomorrow…?”

“Huh?”

“The thing?” Her cheeks darkened. “We talked about after dinner last Saturday?”

My face fell. “Oh. Uh. Right.” I was still not closer to actually answering the question she and Liam had asked me. Maybe that’s what this was going to do. Maybe I couldn’t answer it right now, but after this one…

Seeing my reaction, her smile dropped as well. “Is it a bad time?”

“N-no,” I said, forcing a smile. “Tomorrow works.”

“Okay, great!” She glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention. I found that odd. “You uh… want us to pick you up, or do you want to drive separately?” I tilted my head in confusion. “Oh! I forgot to mention that. I’m getting a hotel room. Mom and Dad are having friends over and I want to give them some space.” She made a face. “Last time, I went to get a soda from the fridge and saw my Dad and the neighbor in the kitchen.” A shudder ran through her. “Never going to get that image out of my mind. On an unrelated note, I’m pretty sure I also discovered why Mom married him.” She shook her head, looking like she’d bitten into something sour.

“I’ll meet you there,” I said. The last thing I needed was another awkward trip like the one I had with Sean.

In another surprise move, Kaylee reached out and grabbed my hands. She gave them a squeeze. “Thank you.”

“Kaylee!” We both looked over to see Abby approaching, waving to get her attention.

She released my hands, giving me a smile. “Tomorrow then. I’ll text you the details. See you at the game?” I nodded, earning a smile from her.

I watched her go, laughing as Abby said something to her.

“Tomorrow then,” I repeated softly.