Page 73 of The Foul Out

My heart skipped when the three dots appeared on my screen. They disappeared quickly, but a moment later, they were back. I waited, holding my breath, until finally, the dots disappeared again. But no message came.

My stomach sank.

The mild November air did little to cool my mood, and I was still on edge, staring at my phone, when JJ walked out the back door.

He came to stand next to me. “Thanks for sticking up for her.”

“Someone should, and it didn’t seem like you were going to.” I had the phone tucked halfway into my pocket when it buzzed, so I yanked it back out, bumbling it in my excitement. And when I saw thatCrabbyhad appeared on the screen, my heart soared.

It was only one word, and probably one she felt compelled to send, but still she had responded.

The dots appeared again, making my pulse take off.

Beside me, JJ sighed. “Are you listening to me?”

“Yes.” I glanced back up and assessed him. Guilt clawed up my throat because, despite my assurance, I hadn’t been listening.

“So you get why it’s complicated.” He blew out a breath, shoulders slumping. The extreme exhaustion with the situation was wearing on him.

But I had no sympathy for him. My situation with Harper was complicated too. Not only was the truth going to put a massive strain on my oldest friendship, but it had the potential to ruin my relationships with my family. Though none of it really mattered in comparison to how I felt about Harper.

“That’s where you’re wrong,” I corrected. “If you really want her in your life, it should be fucking simple.”

My phone buzzed, snagging my attention again.

Crabby: No I’m not. But you can come over when you get home, and we’ll talk.

That didn’t sound great. But if it meant seeing her, then I could work with it. If I could see her face to face, then maybe I’d get her talking to me again. Maybe I hadn’t fucked it all up.

Me: GIF of a man waving his hands by his face in excitement.

I tucked my phone into my pocket, head bowed, and when I straightened, he was staring at me.

He crossed his arms and rocked back on his heels. “I wasn’t expecting you to be so intense about this.”

Silently, I blinked at him.

“You’re right.” He sighed, his shoulders slumping. “Mom is unreasonable. It’s part of the reason I was hoping you wouldhelp with Harper. Because if I’m not the only one doing the talking, then maybe Mom will listen.”

“I’m happy to defend her.” That was as natural as breathing. “But the narrative in that house is fucked up. So first things first, you need to fix that.”

“I know.” He ran a hand over his face. “I’ll explain what really happened.”

Arms crossed, I planted my feet wide on the grass. “Good.”

“And Kyle.” JJ looked down, his expression sheepish. “Thank you for helping me with this.”

I nodded and left it at that. Because if he knew exactly how I felt about Harper, I wasn’t sure he would still be thanking me.

On the sofa,Piper wore her headphones, her focus fixed on her tablet, and giggled. On the floor in front of her, Grey and Sam played happily.

“What is she watching?” Zara asked from across the table.

“Videos of Kyle. He sent them from Texas.”

For the first few days after he had left, Piper hadn’t stopped obsessing over his promise to record videos and send them to her. After I’d yelled at him, I assumed he wouldn’t do it—and why would he?—so I had put her off, making excuses and biding my time.

When he finally did send them, my heart twisted in a way that was much more violent than it had when he’d sent his silly diary messages.

---