Page 109 of Bump and Run

He furrows his brow. “Okay.”

“My father was nonexistent and my mother often disappeared for days at a time. She’d leave me some money — a little chunk of my dad’s child support and take off with the rest until it ran out. Eventually, she got sick of coming back to check on me so she put me into that boarding school. I saw her about once a month… maybe.”

His mouth opens and closes. “Oh.”

“Before then, people started to notice, so they’d take me in until she got back. I never wanted to be a burden on anybody but more often than not, I felt that way.” Junior stays quiet. I think to shut up but the words just keep spilling out. “I was that Pierce girl, once again taking up space in places where I didn’t belong but I did chores, helped make meals, and worked to earn my keep wherever I stayed. In the process, I learned a lot about manners and making a good impression from the grateful mothers of my friends.”

“Wow,” he says, his eyes soft on me. “That would explain it then.”

I nod. “Couple that with a natural acting ability and you have the perfect girl to bring home to your parents.”

He chuckles. “I’m sorry about her, by the way, she can be…”

“Like Maggie?”

“Maggie 2.0, really.”

I laugh. “They’ve been great. Really great…”

He steps forward, studying my eyes a little closer and I realize I’ve dropped my guard. “What is it?”

I bite my cheek, hesitating to say anything but I’ve already started the avalanche of weight falling off my chest.

My feet carry me away from him and I let my eyes wander again. “I’ve always wanted a family like this.”

“Like what?”

“Boring.”

Junior scoffs, feigning some fake offense with his hand on his chest. “You think we’re boring?”

“You know what I mean…” I rub my palms together. “Normal. Your parents love each other. They’re still together. You have a sister and you get along. Birthday cards and Christmas cookies.”

He gives a short nod. “I don’t know if we’re normal anymore, honestly. My family could easily be considered weird to most others.”

“Well… it just seems a hell of a lot better than having a famous dad you barely see or a mom that couldn’t even remember whether you’re allergic to peanuts or penicillin.”

“You’re allergic to penicillin?”

“Peanuts.”

“Noted,” he smiles. “Come on, Ellie, look around. You grew up in New York going to fancy schools. All we ever had was each other.”

“You were wealthier than I was, Junior.”

“That’s not true.”

“Yes, it is.”

I take a step back, hoping it’ll hide the river of tears just begging to fall from my eyes. Years of repressed thoughts and feelings build up in my chest but I fight the hormones down. This isn’t the time or the place for it and the last thing I want to do is get emotional in front of Junior. We’ve been exclusive for less than a day, for fuck’s sake, and yet…

“I became an actress just so I could escape my life. Be someone else — even for just a little while. It wasn’t about being noticed, it was about disappearing.”

Junior pauses and he stares down at me with kind eyes, completely void of judgment or annoyance. “I became an athlete so people would notice me.”

I stop a tear before it falls. Once again, we find ourselves standing at the opposite end of a long spectrum from each other, but I’ve never been anywhere else that makes as much sense.

“That’s some mighty green grass you got over there, Junior Morgan.”

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