Page 131 of Finding Delaware

Even Salem stops struggling as she whispers, “oh shit, he used his dad voice.”

Jumping to his feet, Matt turns to me with a stern look. “Taylor, let Salem go.Now.”

Xed gazes up at him with begrudging admiration as my hands release Salem’s arms. She gets one good kick in my ribs when she slides off the couch, plopping down onto the opposite end with a flushed face and flared nostrils. I smirk as she glares. Logan rubs the back of his neck awkwardly, Huck shakes his head while muttering under his breath, and Owen seems to want to look away but can’t.

“Apologize,” Matty demands.

I push my bottom lip out when I swing my eyes his way. “Sorry, Daddy. I’ll behave.”

A choking noise comes from Huck, and I laugh when I catch him coughing up the sip he just took.

“You’re fucking unhinged,” he sputters, slapping at his chest.

Xed sighs heavily as he gazes up at the ceiling, arms folded. “He’s actually a lot tamer than he used to be now that he’s sober. Consider yourself lucky.”

“Are you saying all of your parties end up like this?” Owen asks, completely mystified.

There’s a cacophony of answers from everyone, consisting of‘usually,’‘pretty much,’ and ‘this isn’t even the worst of it.’

“Look, I do actually have a reason for inviting everyone over,” Matt starts, running a hand over his short strands. “We got some news this morning that I wanted to share with everyone.”

The anxiousness in his tone makes all of us wait uneasily.

“The results for the draft were made official this morning. I’ve been picked as a defensive lineman for the Cardinals.”

I feel my heart drop all the way to the floor.

“Arizona?”

“Yeah.” He places his hands on his hips, glancing at Xed sideways, whose jaw is feathering at the corners. “Come July, Hannah, Valerie, and I will be moving.”

There’s a moment when the air just leaves the room like a vacuum sucked out of our communal lung.

Christian steps forward, Arya momentarily forgotten as he stares at Matty incredulously. “FuckingVal?!”

“She’s doing better,” Matt sighs heavily, “she’s been going to rehab. I think she’s ready this time to be the mother Hannah needs.”

“But...” I bounce my gaze between him and his best friend. “What about Xed?”

They’ve been friends for almost as long as Christian and I have.

And that’s when the realization hits me.

My head whips to Huck, who’s watching me warily. “Didyouget drafted?”

His lips thin until they turn white before he utters words that throw me for a loop. “Yeah. Baltimore Ravens.”

I stare at him momentarily, my brain lagging as it processes what he just said. Owen walks over to Arya and whispers something in her ear before pulling her toward the kitchen, even though she protests against it. But I don’t hear her. I don’t hear or see anything other than a pair of sad, dark eyes gazing back at me.

“Baltimore?” My voice sounds foreign, like it doesn’t belong to me. “As in Maryland?”

As in the other side of the fucking country?

Matty continues. “My parents will let Xed stay here, so it’s not like he’s getting kicked out. Though he’ll probably need to find a roommate.”

“I can move in,” Salem murmurs with watery eyes, all her anger gone. I feel Logan’s shoulders slump from where he sits against me.

Xed swallows, still looking at the ceiling. “I don’t want to put you out, Salem.”

---