by Hope, Amity
“You have to get up,” she ordered as she scrambled off.
“No—” I reached for my comforter. I had wallowing to do, darn it, and my little pest of a sister was not going to interfere.
“Leo’s in our kitchen.” She bounced backward, making way for me as I leaped from my bed.
“Are you sure?” I shoved her aside to get to my closet. My hands were shaking as I started rummaging around. Leo was here? In my house? I was simultaneously confused and excited.
“Look out the window, his truck is out front,” she said. “I heard Mom let him in.”
“Why? Why is he here?” Heart pounding, I yanked out a yellow cardigan and a pair of blue sweatpants because they were the first thing I saw. I pulled them on over my tank top and sleep shorts.
“How should I know?” Allie shot back. “Didn’t you hear the doorbell?”
“Yes,” I said, tugging my door open, “but why would I ever think it was Leo?”
“You didn’t know he was coming over?” she asked.
I frantically motioned to my disheveled self. “What do you think?”
I turned to leave and realized I couldn’t see more than four feet in front of me. I whirled around.
“Need these?”
I nabbed my chunky purple glasses from Allie’s hands and pressed them onto my face. I had thought they were cute when I picked them out. I quickly decided purple matched almost nothing. I was going to have to suck it up and deal, as I had no time to put my contacts in.
It had only been a matter of minutes since the sound of the doorbell reverberated through our house, but knowing that Leo was alone with my parents made it feel like a whole lot longer.
I was ready to fly down the steps, but she grabbed my wrist, anchoring me in place. Before I could scold her, she placed a finger over her lips and shushed me.
Leo’s voice floated up to us.
She dropped onto the top step, pulling me with her.
“I can’t believe he’s here.” Her whisper was so loud, I was afraid it would echo off the high ceiling and travel down the staircase. “What do you think he’s doing?”
He was talking to my parents. That much was obvious. I just wasn’t sure why. I couldn’t imagine why. My hands trembled as I clenched them into fists.
“All right, Leo,” Mom said. “We’re both here. What did you want to talk to us about?”
“Kylie,” he said.
“I figured that much,” Dad grumped.
“Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins.” Leo hesitated and I could imagine him fidgeting. “I’ve spent the past few days trying to figure out what to say. Nothing I’ve come up with seems good enough. There’s no excuse for sneaking around or lying.”
“No,” Mom agreed, “there isn’t.”
Allie and I looked at each other. I knew she was thinking what I was thinking. Our parents were not going to make this easy for him.
“All I can do is tell you how sorry I am. And maybe try to explain myself.” He cleared his throat, and Allie grabbed my hand again. This time she didn’t let go. “I know you don’t know me. Given what happened in the past, I understand why you might not trust me to some extent. But I’m not my brother. I’m nothing like my brother. I have nothing but the greatest respect for Kylie. She’s the kindest, most caring person I’ve ever met.” He paused, letting his words sink in. “I’ve liked her for a long time. A really long time. I had a hard time believing that she liked me, too.”
“This would’ve been nice to hear several weeks ago. Or has it been months?” Mom said, her tone a little gentler than it had been before. “I suppose it’s better to hear it late rather than never.”
“I was afraid of losing her,” he candidly confessed. “I was afraid you’d judge me based on my family’s actions. Mike is not a nice person, never has been. And my parents? I know they can be difficult.”
Dad scoffed. “You’re damn right about that.”
“Dave,” Mom scolded. “Let the boy finish.”
“I don’t have much more to add,” Leo concluded. “Except that I love Kylie. I think I’ve loved her for years. My parents might not like it when I tell them, but they can’t change how I feel.”
Allie nudged me, making a little awww sound. I wanted to run down the steps and toss myself into Leo’s arms. I started to stand, but Allie pushed me back down.
“She wanted to tell you about us, but I talked her out of it. I know she’s in a lot of trouble right now, and I feel like it’s my fault,” Leo admitted.
“We have rules in this house,” Dad reminded him. “We’re parents. It’s our right. Kylie broke those rules. She knew there would be consequences.”
“You don’t deserve all the blame,” Mom said pointedly. “It’s my understanding that it was Kylie’s idea to sneak around in the first place. You two did that for quite some time. Quite frankly, I’m disappointed in both of you. I expect more from my daughter and the boy she insists on dating.”
“I understand,” Leo said. “And I respect that. When Kylie’s allowed to date again, I’d like to ask for your permission to take her out. No matter how long I have to wait.” He hesitated before saying, “If she ever agrees to see me again.”
He was met with silence, and I had to guess my parents were looking at each other, having one of those telepathic conversations they were so good at.
“I’ve waited years to ask Kylie out,” Leo continued. “I can be patient a while longer. I know she’s worth waiting for.”
Dad cleared his throat. “Well, I think that it took a lot of courage to come here today.”
“We accept your apology,” Mom added.
“That’s a whole lot more than we ever received from your brother, and what he did to Maddie isn’t even in the same ballpark,” Dad said.
What Mike did was so much worse.
“I’m sorry about that, too.” Leo sounded dejected again.
“No,” Dad said, “there’s no need for you to make that apology. As you pointed out, you are not your brother.”
“I understand that you did what you did because you care about Kylie. I don’t agree with how you handled it, not in the least, but I do understand it to some extent,” Mom said. “As for Kylie, she’s not entirely innocent in this, either. I hope you both can learn from it.”
“I definitely have. I swear,” Leo said. “Honesty from here on out.”
“Glad to hear it,” Dad said.
The soft tap of footsteps caused me to catapult to my feet. I was ready to bolt toward my bedroom but Allie got in my way.
“Look at me,” I hissed.
I was wearing mismatched clothes that clashed with my glasses. I had bed head, morning breath, and probably indents from my pillow case carved into my face. I was a hot mess.
“He’s not going to care,” Allie insisted. “You need to go talk to him.”
“Kylie?”
I twisted around slowly to find my mom standing at the bottom of the staircase. With raised eyebrows and a knowing look, she said, “Your friend stopped by.”
I sucked in a surprised breath when Leo appeared in the archway between the kitchen and the hall. His hair had been neatly cut. Not just trimmed, but cut. He wore khakis and a button-down shirt. He looked so not like Leo. I knew he did it in order to impress my parents.
No, that wasn’t right. He didn’t do it for my parents.
He did it for me.
Dad moved into the foyer. His gaze bounced between me, still standing on the top step, and Leo frozen in place beside him. Dad cleared his throat and Leo turned his way.
“We appreciate your apology,” Dad said. “But Kylie is still grounded.”
“Right.” Leo agreed. “I should go.”
“I’ll walk you out,” Mom said.
I raised my hand in a tentative wave. Leo nodded in return before my parents led him out the door.
“Kylie, go after him,” Allie scolded.
I bounced down the steps, hitting the bottom as the front door clanked s
hut. Dad stood in front of it as Allie joined me.
“Kylie’s not going anywhere right now,” Mom said firmly. “As your dad pointed out, she’s still grounded.”
“And just because the boy apologized,” Dad said gruffly, “don’t think that makes everything okay.”
I blew out a sigh, twisted on my heel, and trudged back to my room. If Leo’s apology wasn’t enough to sway my parents, I didn’t think anything would. As for me, all of my anger had fizzled away. I wanted to fix things with Leo. I wanted to chase after him. I wanted to tell him how much what he’d just done meant to me.
I wanted to tell him I loved him, too.
…
“Kylie. Take a deep breath,” Maddie said in a tone she’d probably perfected on overwrought kindergartners. “It’s going to be okay. I promise.”
I did as my sister ordered. I sucked in a deep breath…let it out slowly.
I was sitting in the backyard, too wired to be confined to my room but not allowed to leave to go anywhere. Being grounded was such a bummer.
“Feel better?” she asked.
I clutched the phone to my ear and sighed. “Not really.” I’d just dumped all of the past few weeks’ drama on her, getting her completely up-to-date on the complicated dilemma that passed for my love life.
“I can’t believe I fell for the guy whose brother ruined your life,” I said.
“Kylie,” Maddie’s tone was firm. “Mike did not ruin my life. I will never give him that much power over me. Don’t get me wrong, at the time it seemed like my whole world was crumbling. But I got some distance, and I got some perspective. In the end…” She hesitated. “Well, I’ll never say I’m grateful for what happened. But I can say it made me stronger. It certainly made me more empathetic.”
I was silent, letting her words sink in.
“The first assignment my counselor gave me was to think of a way to turn a painful experience into something positive.” Maddie laughed self-consciously. “I seriously thought she was out of her mind. I told her so, too. It took me a long time to figure out how I could do that.”
“But you found a way?” I asked.
“I did. It’s because of Mike that I decided to become a teacher.”
“Why?” I asked, more than a little surprised by the revelation.
“I liked the idea of molding young minds,” she said. “Teachers can have such a strong influence. I decided I wanted to be in a position where I could cultivate compassion, teach children to embrace uniqueness.”
I smiled. “And you decided to start early. With kindergartners.”
“It makes sense to me,” Maddie said lightly.
“It makes sense to me, too,” I admitted, because it truly did.
“Last fall I started an anti-bullying group at school. A few other teachers and I work with the kids. We talk about the effects bullying can have, but mostly we talk about how to be good friends to one another. How to have each other’s backs, you know, step in and support someone if other children are treating them badly.”
“That’s great, Maddie.”
“I think so,” she said. “We’ve made it fun and more kids are joining every week.”
“I bet you’re really making a difference.”
“If I help even one child, or save even one kid from being tormented the way I was, I’ll feel like I’ve made a difference.” Maddie hesitated a moment before adding, “Mike wasn’t the first person to bully me. I was always picked on about my weight, starting in elementary school. Kids can be so cruel. But the experience with Mike was by far the worst because my weight was only part of the issue.”
“I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that Leo’s parents are the same people who were so awful to you.” I stopped in front of my mom’s cherry tree and studied a tiny bud. “I can’t believe he showed up here today. I’ve spent the last few weeks thinking he might be just like the rest of his family. I mean, he kept things from me that he shouldn’t have.”
“Don’t you think maybe he had a valid reason?” Maddie asked.
Her question wasn’t as much of a shock as it would’ve been a few weeks ago. “I guess he probably did. I’ve gone over everything that happened a hundred times. It was hard at first, but now I see that I did say some things that could have scared him off. Besides,” I admitted with an aggravated sigh, “if I were him, I’m not so sure I’d want to claim Mike as my brother, either.”
Maddie laughed softly. “You should know that at least a few members of Leo’s family aren’t so bad.”
“Really?” I could not hide my shock. I walked over to the wrought iron table and dropped onto a cushioned chair.
“When things got really out of control at school, like when Gretchen and her minions were coming at me full-force, Scott started following me to my car,” Maddie admitted. “At first I thought he was trying to intimidate me. Then I realized he was following me because he literally had my back. He kept Gretchen and Mike at a distance. In hindsight, I maybe should’ve thanked him; he was trying to do the right thing. But I was barely coping. His sister Jenna, she tried to talk to me a few times, but I just wasn’t in the frame of mind to make friends. And I definitely wasn’t in the frame of mind to make friends with a Zimmerman. I’m sure Scott’s presence shielded me from what could’ve been some pretty brutal confrontations. My guess is that Leo is a whole lot more like Scott than he is like Mike.”
“Maybe,” I said. “But I still hate that he lied to me.”
“Haven’t you ever made a mistake?” Maddie asked.
I drummed my fingers across the decorative tabletop. “You know I have. For one thing, I lied to Mom and Dad.”
“There you go,” Maddie said. “None of us are perfect.”
“No,” I agreed. “We’re not.” I paused. “I miss you, Maddie. You never come back to Laurel. I’ve hardly seen you since you left.”
“I’ve been a little busy,” she said. “My coursework was demanding. I had a ton of homework. I worked part-time, mostly on weekends. Trust me, once you start school this fall, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Not to mention, it’s a pretty long drive. I would’ve liked to come home more. It just didn’t work out that way. Now that I’m working full-time, and seeing someone, I barely have ten minutes to myself.”
I hadn’t thought about that. I had assumed she was avoiding Laurel. It hadn’t occurred to me that she was too busy to return.
“You know the road travels in both directions, right?” she asked. “You can come see me anytime.”
She did have a valid point. “Maybe I’ll do that.”
“What are you going to do about Leo?” she pressed.
“I’m on lockdown,” I reminded her. “I couldn’t chase after him, even if I wanted to.”
“Do you want to?”
I didn’t even have to think about it. “Yeah,” I said. “I do.”
“Why don’t you go in the house? Give your phone to Mom and Dad,” Maddie ordered. “I think maybe I should have a little chat with our parents.”
Chapter Twenty
Leo
“Leo.” Dad scoffed. “Of all the girls in the school for you to get involved with, you had to choose that girl’s sister?”
“That girl’s name is Maddie. And she didn’t do anything wrong.” Was it ironic that I dreaded talking to my own parents even more than I had dreaded talking to Kylie’s? At least I could’ve walked away if the situation got too intense at her house. Here, sure, I could leave. But eventually I’d have to come back again.
“Those people came into our home, unannounced, and said some terrible things about your brother,” Mom said quietly.
“Maybe because those terrible things were true?” I shot back. “Mike has to be the most entitled, arrogant person I know. Can you think of even one nice thing he’s ever done? He treats people like they’re doormats. Mom, how can you not see that? Are you really that oblivious?”
Dad had been leaning against the kitchen counte
r, arms crossed, jaw clenched. He took a step toward me, his expression angered. “Leo, I think you ought to apologize to your mother. And stop being so disrespectful toward your brother.”
Apologize to Mom? Maybe. But pretend Mike deserved respect? Nope. Not happening.
Mom put her hand on Dad’s shoulder. “No,” she said, “I think Leo might be right.”
What?
Dad turned to her, his face turning a troubling shade of purple. “What?”
“The night that girl’s parents”—she cleared her throat—“Maddie’s parents showed up, it got a little heated. Tempers were flaring. I think things were said by all of us that may have been a bit harsher than intended.”
“I don’t know about that,” Dad argued. “They came to our house—”
“Because they were upset,” Mom said.
“Those people were completely out of line. And now you want to drag their other daughter into our lives?” Dad growled. “I don’t think so.”
“I’m not really asking for your permission,” I said. “I’m just telling you how things are.” Or at least, how I hoped they would be.
I’d listened to my sister.
I’d made the grand gesture.
I’d gotten an escort right out the front door for my effort.
Sure, Kylie’s parents had listened to my well-rehearsed explanation. They’d accepted my apology. Or at least they said they had, but I wasn’t so sure. They hadn’t so much as cracked a smile. They sure hadn’t offered to let me see their daughter again.
“Oh no,” Dad sputtered. “I do not think—”
“Leo,” Mom said, cutting Dad off again, “perhaps you should give your father and me some time to talk this over.”
My instinct was to bristle at her suggestion. It was clear that Dad had every intention of dominating this situation. Yet Mom’s demeanor took me by surprise. It almost seemed like just maybe she was on my side.
“Sure,” I said.
Neither of them said a word as I made my way to the front door. As soon as I was outside, I had to guess the kitchen would explode in conversation. My parents almost never argued, but the vibe I got told me this might be one of those rare times that they did.