Page 23 of Catch the Sun

Brynn! seems unbothered by the silence that washes over the group and proceeds to link our fingers together like we share an intimate bond—like she didn’t give me her phone number a mere twenty-four hours ago. As she offers up an animated introduction, her palm squeezes mine, and the kindness is appreciated. I force a smile and lift my unoccupied hand with a wave.

Soot bites at my eyes, ashes at my throat. I’m so out of my comfort zone, I’ve forgotten what it feels like to be comfortable. Back in Nashville, I had friends. I had a social life. I wasn’t a unicorn like Brynn!, but I knew who I was and I felt a sense of belonging and community. People smiled at me in the hallways and invited me to bonfires and boat rides out on Percy Priest Lake.

Right now, even my own hoodie is trying to suffocate me.

I scratch at my collarbone, shifting from one foot to the other. “Hi.”

Pathetic.

Nobody says anything, which I suppose is a tiny miracle considering the alternative. They simply go back to talking among themselves like I’m invisible.

Brynn! drags me around the back of a bench toward the waterline, where two figures are silhouetted, conversing with each other. I can already tell that one of them is Max Manning by the stretch of his shoulders and the tousling of his hair as pale moonlight hugs him. McKay stands beside him with a beer in hand, his profile strikingly similar to Max’s, only with longer hair that teases his shoulders.

“I want to introduce you to McKay, my boyfriend,” Brynn! says to me, still dragging me along by the hand. “And his brother, Max. I think they live by you.”

“They do. Across the street,” I confirm. “And I already know them. I lived here with my dad for a year, back when we were in first grade. We went to school together.”

Her eyes ping open as we trek forward. “Wow! I didn’t know that. I didn’t move here until I was in junior high. We’ll definitely need to get together and watch a movie or something.” She pauses, looking away. “At my house, anyway. I’m not allowed at McKay’s house. I guess his dad is kind of a mess.”

“Oh, really?” I immediately sympathize with Mr. Manning since “mess” is almost always code formisunderstood.

She shrugs. “I wouldn’t know. McKay never talks about him.”

“How long have you two been dating?”

“Six months.”

Six months is a long time to have never met the parents—but, then again, what do I know about dating? Nothing. I know nothing.

Nodding, I follow beside her as she releases my palm. “I’ve seen you two in the hallways together,” I say. “You really like him.”

She lights up like a moonbeam, flipping her long ponytail over her shoulder. “I think I love him, Ella. Is that weird?” Shaking her head, she waves a hand in the air as if to erase the question. “Don’t answer that. I already know you’ll think it’s weird. You have anti-love eyes.”

“What? I do?” I blink repeatedly like I’m trying to see my own eyes. “I think people call that resting bitch face.”

Her nose scrunches up. “That’s just a classless term for girls who wear their pain in their eyes. I always hated that phrase.” Then she grabs me by the shoulders and halts me in place before we reach the base of the hill. “What do you see when you look at me?”

Glitter. Everywhere.

Aside from that…

We stand face-to-face as starlight reflects off the lake and illuminates her shimmery hazel gaze. I tilt my head and reply with the first thing that comes to mind. “You’re compassionate and fun-loving. A good friend to everybody,” I tell her. “You have Christopher Robin eyes.”

She squints, processing the response. “Who?”

“A character from Winnie the Pooh.”

“Oh…” Those pretty, kind eyes twinkle as a bright smile follows. “That sounds like a compliment.”

“It is.”

“Well, thank you.”

“Hey, Brynn!” McKay hollers from a few feet away. “What’s the holdup?”

Lowering her hands from my shoulders, she smooths out the baby hairs frizzing along her hairline, then picks up her pace, still grinning wide. “Coming!”

Max turns toward us when we approach, his focus sliding over to me and holding tight. His lips twitch with the barest smile and I’m not sure what to make of it. It appears he’s not disappointed to see me, even though I was kind of a jerk to him earlier at the clearing.

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