Free I'm Over It by Mercy Amare Page A

you ask me out again. This date might completely suck, then you won’t want to go out with me again.”
    “That is highly unlikely, considering I’ve known you over a year. I’ve dated you before. I know everything about you—the good and the bad.”
    I laugh. “The bad?”
    “You’re a commitment phobe with a crazy family,” Ty says.
    “Hey, my family isn’t crazy,” I say.
    “No, I guess compared to my family, yours is pretty normal.”
    “My family is your family,” I tell him.
    “I like that,” he says. “I definitely needed a family do-over.”
    Yeah, he does. Poor Ty. I feel bad about all the things that’ve happened to him—watching his mom murdered right in front of him, having a shitty excuse for a dad, and then having his dad nearly kill him. It’s a lot to take in.
    We walk inside and the waitress leads us to a table in the corner. We order our food, and talk while we sit and wait.
    Surprisingly, I don’t feel panicked.
    Maybe Ty is right. Maybe I can focus on the right now instead of always worrying about the future. And right now, I definitely like having Ty in my life as more than just a friend. Not my boyfriend, but more than a friend.

Sunday, November 7
    8 a.m.
    Somebody was being naughty.

    I went out with Ty and the night didn’t end with me in his bed.
    I also had a really, really good time. We ate dinner, went to see a movie, and then stayed up way too late talking in the living room. Then, at the end of the night, we both went to our separate bedrooms.
    It should feel weird going home to the same place after a date, but it doesn’t. Ty has lived with my family for a while, and it just feels right to live here with him.
    When I wake up the next morning, Gabe is sitting in the living room watching the sports channel. I decide right then that I need some alone time. I go out to grab some coffee. There is a nice coffee shop about two blocks away from the apartment, so I skip my car and just walk there.
    It’s such a beautiful day. The high is 67 degrees and the wind is blowing. I zip up my hoodie, and think that if I was back in St. Louis, it would probably be in the 30’s or 40’s right now.
    As I am walking, a piece of paper blows up at my feet. I am about to step over it when I see that the paper has a picture of me on it. I bend down and pick it up.
    It’s a picture of Andrea and me at the party on Friday night. I am licking the salt off her when I was doing the body shot. The memory is pretty hazy, but it obviously happened.
    I flip the picture around and see that there is writing on the back.

    Somebody was being naughty. I wonder what daddy would think if he saw this.

    I look around to see if I can spot Brian, but there is nobody in sight. There are a few cars driving by, but other than that I am alone. I shove the piece of paper into the pocket of my hoodie and walk at a faster pace, but I refuse to let the note get to me. Not here. If Brian is watching, I want him to see that I’m stronger than I was a year ago. And I am stronger, but I don’t know how much more I can take of this. I’m ready to break.
    A few seconds later, I walk into the coffee shop and order a latte. Once it’s ready, I grab my cup and sit in a chair in the corner. I pull out my phone and call Toby. Brian isn’t in here, so there is no way that he can hear my conversation. I need a moment to freak out and then pull myself back together before I walk home.
    Toby answers on the second ring.
    “Why you call so early on a weekend morning?” he asks when he answers the phone.
    “Boohoo, it’s almost 9,” I say, not bothering to keep the sarcasm out of my voice. “Besides, I need my big brother right now.”
    “What’s wrong?” he asks.
    “Stupid Brian,” I say. “First, I guess I should tell you, I went to a party on Friday night. It was a frat house, and I may have gotten a little bit drunk.”
    I swear I can hear him grinning through the phone. “Wow. You, drunk. I can already tell this