Page 71 of The Love Simulation

“Speak for yourself. You were the little hellion. Always causing the most trouble out of all of us.”

“No, I wasn’t. That was all Vince.”

Camille shakes her head no. “Vince didn’t start until he was accepted into NASA’s training program. You’ve been a handful since you were a kid. Remind me, who was it that decided to steal the peaches from Old Man Willie’s yard again?”

We both laugh, and when it dies down, I reach over to pat Camille’s hand. “You are a great mom. You’re a super mom. Super sister and super woman as well. I said I’ve always felt like I had to play catch-up to you, but that’s because I admire you so much. You are a great role model.”

Camille squeezes my hand and sniffs. “Oh my God, what is this?” She reaches for a tissue and quickly dabs her eyes. “Not me out here choking on my feelings. Ew.” Camille has always been the calm and composed one, the least likely of my siblings to cry. I count it as a win that I’ve gotten my sister to show her softer emotions.

“That’s right, let it all out,” I say. “Feel those feelings. Let them surround you with the warm-and-fuzzies. Because you want to know what else? Zara loves you so much. She thinks you’re the best momma in the whole world.”

“Stop!”

“And that husband of yours was made just for you. It’slike you two are pieces of a puzzle that just fit, and it’s more than evident that he knows it too. You are his queen!”

“Ahhh!”

We laugh and cry so hard that we don’t hear our mom step outside until she’s standing between us. “What is going on out here?”

At the sound of my mom’s voice, I instantly hop out of my chair. “Momma!”

She throws her arms around me and squeezes tight, going on and on about her baby being home and how if I ever think of going to Mars for real, it’ll be over her dead body. I just let her rattle on as I hug her back.

After always thinking that I had to play catch-up with my siblings and feeling like I was the last and least important of us to my mom, I realize how wrong I’ve been. And if I’ve been wrong about the fundamental truths that have shaped my adult years, could I be wrong in other areas of my life? Like, maybe I was wrong when I thought it was over between Roman and me.

Maybe.

“Camille,” Mom says when she finally releases me and looks to Camille, “have you been crying?”

Chapter Twenty-Five

I walk into my office and close the door with my back before leaning against it and taking a deep breath. While all the teachers are coming back to prepare for the students’ return in the new school year, I’m packing up my office to leave.

With the school year fast approaching, I hated to leave without giving enough notice and time to find someone else to step up, but now that I know in my heart what I want to do, I can’t stay. In the immortal words of Cookie fromEmpire, I gotta put me first.

Someone knocks at my door, sending vibrations through my back. I quickly move away from the door and to my desk so I won’t get hit. “Come in,” I call.

The door opens to reveal Angie. She’s got a manila folder trapped between her arm and chest, a slice of pizza in one hand, and a wide smile stretched across her face. “Guess whose new chair came in today? I’ll give you a hint—mine!”

I smile as I lean against my desk.

“I’m going to assume you were the one to approve it.”

I shrug. “I heard there was a boost to the budget and some extra funds that needed to be allocated somewhere.”

I’m leaving, but I couldn’t help but check and see whatthe school budget was going to look like for the new year. Once I saw that Principal Major had vastly overstated how much the new football field would be, I made the executive decision that the teachers deserved a real treat. I felt a little like Oprah as I placed the order.You get a chair! And you get a chair!For all they do for the students, it’s the least they deserve. Chairs, and I’ve scheduled for pizzas from Big Lou’s to be delivered to the staff all week as they move back into their classrooms.

“Thank you, Brianna,” Angie says, her words heartfelt. “And I really am going to miss you. It was great working with you last year and at the Hab.”

I swallow the lump in my throat.

When I arrived at the school, I worried that I’d be shunned after I sabotaged Roman to get him out of the Hab. But that hasn’t been the case. Every teacher I’ve come across has greeted me with a wide smile and open arms, congratulating me on a job well done. It’s the most welcoming they’ve ever been to me, which makes my leaving all the more bittersweet.

When Simone heard I was leaving, I immediately handed her my phone so she could plug her number in, then she added me across every social media platform while we were standing there and making plans to meet for coffee. I was and am touched beyond words to be leaving this season in my life with at least a friend, if not love.

And throughout all the congratulations and well wishes in my next endeavor, no one has said a thing about Roman. Not one teacher has mentioned how close we seemed, the kiss we shared on camera, or how I locked him out of the hatch. If I weren’t there, I might wonder if it actually happened. But the Roman-sized hole in my heart proves that yes, it did. It’s more likely the teachers all agreed tonottalkabout him in advance. I both appreciate and lament their consideration. I haven’t seen Roman since coming back to wrap everything up, and I’m dying to know what he’s up to and how he’s doing. Does he still care about me, or did he consider everything we shared in the Hab a wash after he left?

I clear my throat, focusing back on Angie and trying to take my mind off Roman. “I’ll miss you too. Maybe we can meet up for coffee sometime.”

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