You and Me and Him by Kris Dinnison

Author:Kris Dinnison
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-544-55686-7
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Published: 2015-07-07T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Nash hasn’t contacted me, so when I get on the bus the next morning, I assume he’s still angry. My eyes dart to our usual spot. The fall sunlight is slanting in the dirty bus windows, bathing Nash in a diffused glow. He’s left room for me to sit next to him, but I stop in the aisle, not sure if I should take the empty seat.

Nash smiles and pats it, inviting me back to my former status quo without a word.

“Hi.” I slide into the familiar seat.

“Miss me?” Nash says, squeezing my knee.

“Yeah. Um, why the warm fuzzies after so much cold shoulder?”

“I know. I went off the map. Sorry. It’s just—You know me. I get a little—”

“Touchy? Insecure? Unstable?”

Nash drops his head. “Again. I know. But enough about me.” He pats my knee again. “How was your dinner with Tom last night?”

I’m not letting him off the hook that easily. It takes a while, but I wait him out.

Nash only tolerates silence if he’s the one in control of it. After a minute he sighs. “So, here’s the thing: I was really . . . I like him so much, and you guys are getting along so well, and you and Kayla are acting like friends again. I think I could survive Kayla stealing Tom, but I don’t want her getting her hooks into you again. She almost destroyed you last time. I can’t lose you, Mags. I couldn’t bear that.” Nash puts his hands on his knees. His knuckles go white for a minute, then relax. He takes a deep breath. “Anyway, I’m sorry. I know you’re smarter than that now. I know we’re solid.” He doesn’t look at me, but I can see the last couple days have been as rough on him as on me. Maybe rougher. I’m really all Nash has.

I grab his pinkie with mine, and we do this weird little pinkie handshake we’ve been doing since fourth grade. Our teacher had us pair up for math that year, and when we got it all sorted, she had us do the pinkie shake and tell our math buddy, “You are my pinkie partner for life!” It was dorky, but Nash and I like dorky, so we’re still doing it seven years later.

“Don’t worry, Nash,” I say. “You are soooo not replaceable, my friend. I admit I’m curious about Kayla’s recent overtures, but I’m being cautious. I don’t intend to let her crush me this time.”

“Good,” says Nash. “Because I don’t intend to pick up the little Maggie-shaped pieces again. And if Kayla knows what’s good for her, she’ll back off Tom too. She needs to go back to one of her usual Neanderthals.”

I feel a tug to tell Nash what Tom told me last night, that Nash and Tom are not going to live happily ever after, but the bus doesn’t seem quite the right setting to share information that will break his heart. I dig into my bag and pull out a breakfast bar.

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