Page 33 of Little Do You Know

I didn’t mean to, but everything Thalia said to Owen was a stark reminder of what my mother’s parents said when they asked me never to contact them again.

She smiles sympathetically. “Did you mean it?”

“No, of course not. She went to France the next day, and we didn’t speak the entire time she was gone. Now she’s back, and I live with her and Owen. Thalia is driving me up the wall, and we’re always arguing. She apologized for what she said, but I haven’t been able to apologize,” I explain, feeling quite stupid now that I’m saying it all out loud.

Mimi smiles and shakes her head. “Not that. Of course you didn’t mean what you said. Everyone says mean things. I’m asking whether you meant it when you kissed her?”

“Yeah, I did. There might be something there, but Thalia is Owen’s little sister. He’d never forgive me if he found out, but I can’t get her out of my head. She has a plan to work around it, but I don’t know if it will work. I also don’t know if I can get past what happened with her last time I almost let her in.”

“Mark, do you know what I think can be the saddest word but also the happiest word?”

I nod because I have it tattooed on me. I remember the first time she told me this, but it wasn’t when she called me Mark. It wasn’t when I was asking her about Thalia either. I was asking about my parents.

“Well, I’m going to tell you anyway. Almost. Almost is all the things that you could have done or didn’t do. No one other than you can decide whether she’s worth it or not.”

“I wish it weren’t this hard. Life would be much simpler if everything could be like your relationship with Grandpa. You made everything look so easy.”

The only thing I’m unsure about is whether Thalia is worth losing my best friend.

Now she laughs at me. “Oh, we are far from perfect. I think we fight all the time. We make a point of not doing it in front of you. I was so angry at him when he made you fall in love with football because I didn’t want to see you get hurt. I didn’t want my boy playing this game where people are actively trying to tackle him to the ground. But now here you are; I’m so proud of you.”

I smile at her. Mimi might not know it’s me, but she’s the most important person in my life. I wish I had more time to visit. Between school and practice and traveling for games, I’m spread thin. “I love you.” Being here and not being recognized by the person who raised me is difficult.

She smiles back at me, reminding me of all the times she’d bandage me up after I got hurt playing too roughly with Owen.

“I love you, too, Mark. Do you know when your father is going to come? I feel like I haven’t seen him in forever.”

I try not to let my smile dim, but it’s hard. Grandpa died of a stroke in his sleep during the summer before my senior year of high school. I miss him.

“He said he was going to come soon. I’ll give him a call after I leave.”

“He works too hard. Promise me that you’re still taking time for yourself. I know how hard you work, and I want to make sure you’re okay.”

“I am,” I reassure Mimi, and she picks the flowers up to look at them closely.

“These are so beautiful. Thank you for bringing them. Make sure you get Carly some. She’ll fall in love with you for sure after that. What girl doesn’t like getting flowers?” she says, taking another moment to smell them.

I freeze at the thought of love. I don’t love Thalia. She drives me insane. That’s quite literally all it is. If I feel anything toward her, it’s lust. If she weren’t Owen’s sister or such a distraction, I might consider the idea of us becoming something more. I do like her, but is it worth losing everything else in my life that’s important to me?

Nope. Thalia’s right. We need to get each other out of our systems. A ceasefire.

“You’re right, Mimi. I’ll think about getting her flowers.”

She pats my cheek lovingly. “You’re a great kid. Now tell me about how the team’s doing. I want to hear everything.”

Today is a good day for her. I’m glad I came.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Thalia

I’VE BEEN ON a roll ever since Sebastian agreed to have sex with me. I took my test, passing with flying colors. Owen and I are back to normal.

The boys were back as of yesterday; Owen and I hung out all afternoon, watching movies until I fell asleep on Owen’s shoulder. This meant I unfortunately missed when Sebastian came home.

I still haven’t seen him, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little excited. I’m not a patient person, and waiting an entire weekend for him to return made it feel excruciatingly long.

I know this can potentially complicate things more than it can resolve them, but I’m willing to take that gamble.

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