Free Always You by Missy Johnson Page A

me.
    “Wow,” she muttered, sighing loudly. “Can you promise me one thing?”
    I turned to her expectantly.
    “If, for whatever reason, this has to get out, can I be there when you
tell Paige? Or better yet, can I tell
her?” She grinned.
    I burst out laughing. God, the look on Paige’s face would almost be worth
it.
    “I told him about the betting pool,” I said with a giggle.
    “Ha! That’s awesome. What did he say?”
    “That it explained a lot,” I said. “I think he was a bit bewildered with
all the attention of the girls.”
    “Well, he’s a delish young teacher. What did he expect?” She smirked. She
shook her head. “Holy shit, Wrenn. This is so . . . rebellious of you. I never
would’ve imagined you getting with a teacher.”
    “I haven’t gotten with anybody.
Not since Toby, anyway. And it’s not like that. I really like the guy,” I said
quietly. The question was, did he like me?
    “Toby?” asked Kass. “Was he your boyfriend back home?”
    I nodded. I’d been convinced that I was in love with Toby, and looking
back, I think I was. That made it so much worse when he broke up with me. When
things get difficult, you don’t expect someone you love to abandon you. But
that’s what happened. Abandoned by my family, and then by Toby.
    “You never talk about your family,” Kass said slowly. She eyed me as if
she were not sure how I’d react.
    And there it was. The
questions began. It was inevitable that it would come up sometime, but the thought of
telling her still made me feel sick. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust her, or I
worried what she would think; it was more the way I felt when people knew that about me.
    “My parents and brother were killed in an accident,” I said.
    Her eyes widened and she moved closer to me, her arm wrapping around my
shoulders.
    “My brother and mom were killed instantly, my dad died a few hours
later.”
    “Oh God, Wrenn.” She hugged me. I felt relieved that she knew. “I can’t
even imagine how hard that would’ve been.”
    “It was. My life before was completely different from how it is now.
Toby, my boyfriend, pretty much stopped seeing me because he didn’t know how to
act around the girl who’d lost her family.” I laughed, thinking about how
awkward everyone else had acted. “I mean, I’m the one whose family died,
yet they can’t handle it?” I shook my
head.
    “And then you came here.”
    “Yes. Layna thought I needed to
be around her. At seventeen, I could’ve stayed at home, but there were way too
many memories…” I swallowed as tears stung my eyes. I missed them all so
much.  
     
    After our deep and meaningful conversation, Kass and I watched movies and
chatted about anything and everything. She was in the middle of telling me
about the plans she and Trina had for the holidays when my phone beeped. She
stopped midsentence and stared at me.
    “Is it him?” she pressed.
    I fished my phone out of my purse, my hands shaking. It’s probably just Layna. Why the hell would he text me?
    I stared at his name on my screen for a good ten seconds before opening
the message.
    Can I call you?
    I texted back.
    I’ll call you. Give me five
minutes .
    “He wants to speak to me,” I whispered, feeling sick.
    Kass jumped off the bed and ran over to the balcony. “Go out here. I’ll
go downstairs and get us something to eat. Come down when you’re finished.”
    I waited until she had left the room before tiptoeing out onto the
balcony. The concrete was freezing against my bare feet, but I barely noticed.
All I could think about was what he wanted to say to me.
    I pulled up his number and pressed Call. Holding the phone against my
ear, I clutched at my stomach, waiting for him to answer.
    “Wrenn.” God, he sounded amazing.
    “Hey,” I said, sitting down on one of the wicker lounge chairs outside
the door.
    “You’re right. We do need to talk, so if you’re still up for the movie,
we’ll go. I think the sooner we clear this