Page 26 of Boys Like You

“Sure, I’ll be fine,” I say, watching as Rory comes around again.

“Before I forget, your therapist's office called, and we made an appointment for Friday. They had nothing sooner. I added it to the calendar. Any of your appointments will be on the yellow sticky notes.”

“Okay, I’ll see you tonight.”

Rory pulls up and kicks out the stand before removing his helmet. His hair is crazy, sticking up all over the place.

“Are you okay?” he asks, taking a seat beside me. I hook my pinky finger around his.

“I will be. I have therapy on Friday and I suppose I’m worried about how it will go.”

“It may not seem like it yet, but everything will be okay. You have us, and we will be there with you every step of the way.” He leaves his pinky hooked in mine.

“You’ll all be back in school soon, and then I’ll be alone.”

“I could get you into school easy, even with no ID. My mum and the principal have a thing; pretty sure she’s been on her knees for him on many occasions.”

“That’s gross, and a horrible thing to say about your mum.” I slap him on the arm.

“It’s true.” He shrugs

“So I could go to school?”

“We would need to get approval from Marlene, but I think we could get Mr Cole to help with that, he is very persuasive.”

We talk about what his school is like. The thought of being around them all day gets me excited. There is still a week of holidays left, but he’ll email his principal and see what he can work out, even if he has to blackmail him.

A whistle catches my ear. I turn and see Rocky running towards us, while Levi, Maximus and Mercer trail behind.

Rocky isn’t even out of breath when he stands in front of us, he says hello, holds out his hand towards Rory, who reluctantly hands over the helmet.

“Go slow. If you get hurt Rick will have my ass.” Rocky agrees and gets on the bike; the others join us sitting on the log.

“Rory says I should be able to go to school if we can get Marlene to sign off on it.” I blurt it out and they all turn to look at me.

“Hell yeah,” Mercer says.

“Is that a good idea?” Levi asks, his voice full of concern. I don’t understand why it wouldn’t be.

“Of course, it’s a good idea,” Rory says, turning back to watch Rocky.

“We need to think about everything. What if it’s too much for JD? What about us getting attached? What if JD remembers who she is and is taken away? I know we’ve all had years of therapy, but can you all handle that?”

A silence falls over everyone, the dirt bike’s engine the only noise in the air. Rocky pulls up beside us, pulling the helmet from his head. “Why do you all look like someone kicked your puppy?”

“Levi is being a party pooper,” Rory snaps, taking his helmet from Rocky and getting back on his bike. With a few revs, he takes off, leaving a cloud of dirt behind.

“I still have no idea what’s happening,” Rocky declares.

I stand, dusting my jeans off. “Rory said he could get me into your school after the holidays as long as Marlene signs off on it.”

“That’s an awesome idea,” Rocky says, clapping his hands. “So why is Rory pissed?”

“Levi expressed his concerns about my health and your attachment to me. It could set off a chain of reactions, and I don’t know if that’s a good thing.

“He’s wrong. You’re not going anywhere, JD, you just wait and see.” He steps forward and kisses my forehead. I wish I could be as sure. “Who’s getting him off that bike? I’m hungry.” I look at the guys and they all stare at me.

“What? I didn’t piss him off,” I state, placing my hands on my hips.

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