Page 10 of Why We Break

“Not yet. She wants to get married in the spring, so it’ll be sometime next year," Theo replies, and it’s hard not to notice the way his scowl lifts for a moment when thinking about his fiancée.

“Gotcha. Well, I’m happy for you. I keep thinking it might be time for me to settle down. I’ve been thinking about asking Hannah out,” Kent says.

I’d been halfway through a sip of my beer, but after hearing that announcement, I choke and sputter on the liquid. I wait for him to laugh or give us a hint that he’s not serious, but it never comes. “What, why would you do that?”

“Um, man, I know y’all hate each other, but in case you haven’t noticed she’s a damn bombshell. Plus, all the kids love her, and I think we’d have fun together,” he says with a shrug.

“I think it’s a terrible idea. She’s insufferable. Plus, you can’t date her even if you wanted to because of the rule at the school,” I say with a frustration I don’t understand at all.

Why do I care if he wants to take her out? It’s none of my damn business anyway.

“Well, technically, I’m not employed by the school district anyway,” Kent reminds me, and I try to ignore the way the pit in my stomach sinks a bit lower. But he’s right. Since Kent owns his family business and only comes in to coach during the season, he isn’t really a South Springs County employee.

“Well, she’s still insufferable. You’d be miserable with her,” I insist anyway, unable to let the topic go. Kent is a nice guy, and I’ve known him for years, but all of a sudden, at this moment, I can’t stand him. I’ve heard the girls in town calling him one of Springside’s most eligible bachelors, but I still can’t picture him and Hannah together.

“Actually, she only acts that way with you, Will. I think she’s a lot of fun,” Marcus interjects, and Jason nods in agreement.

Theo just listens, but I practically see the thoughts running through his head from here. If I’m not careful, I’ll have Caroline calling me before the day’s over wanting to know why I care about who Hannah goes out with. And to be honest, I wish I had an answer to that question myself.

“Okay, do what you want, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. Anyway, what’s our game plan for this week?” I ask, thoroughly frustrated with myself and the way this afternoon went.

CHAPTER 9

HANNAH

“Oh my gosh, I don’t think I’ve ever needed a margarita more than I do right now,” I groan as I slide into our usual booth at Maracas on Monday night.

As usual, Caroline and Margaret are waiting for me to begin our weekly tradition of Monday night margaritas. Caroline and I started this tradition years ago when we were first year teachers as something to look forward to at the start of each week, and I don’t think we’ve missed a week since.

“I saw you pull in the parking lot and ordered you a peach one. It’ll be here in a second,” Margaret informs me. “I want to hear about your day in a minute but first I am dying for the tea. What the hell happened on Friday night?”

“God, it was a disaster,” I groan. “I’ve never seen anything like it. One minute we were watching the game, and the next Caroline and I were sprinting toward the squad and trying to get them to the bus in case anything got even more out of control. To be honest, I didn’t see much more than the first punch. But from everything I’ve heard, Will, Theo, and the other coaches did a great job keeping the situation from escalating any further.”

“That is wild! I still can’t believe that happened,” Margaret says, while Caroline and I just nod. “But anyway, I’m so glad you’re both okay. How was school today?”

“My day was okay,” Caroline responds while the waitress hands me my drink, and I take a long tequila-filled sip. “Between the fight last week and Homecoming this week, it was like herding cats trying to get anything done, but I guess it’s all in good fun. I can’t wait to see Theo’s face when he looks out to our yard this week and sees all of Springside High throwing toilet paper around his trees. He said he’s sleeping in his jeans so they don’t catch him off guard and he can run out at them as soon as he knows they’re there.”

Margaret and I both burst into a fit of giggles at the thought. “Yeah, I’m going to need a video of that one,” Margaret says with a smile.

“Yeah, I agree,” I interject. “I’m not looking forward to the cleanup of my yard, but as long as they stay out of the fields I don’t mind it too much. This was one of my favorite weeks in high school. But I agree with Caroline, the combination of Homecoming and last week made today tough. I’m exhausted. Anyway, it’s nothing a little tequila and a girls’ night can’t fix!”

We clink our glasses full of peach margaritas and spend a moment sipping our drinks before Margaret asks, “Caroline, how is Michael doing?” referring to one of Caroline’s students who had become a problem at the beginning of school, but has quickly turned into someone who comes to her for advice and help.

Immediately, her face softens and she replies, “He’s actually doing so much better. We’ve been working with the social worker, and I think we’ve gotten him on a good path to getting caught up in school. He’s actually with Theo now, helping him out around the farm. I never imagined the way those two would hit it off, but I think they’re really good for each other.”

Margaret smiles at that, and I can’t help but feel incredibly happy for my best friend. She and Theo might have had some ups and downs early in their relationship, but I can’t imagine anyone making her any happier.

Too bad you won’t ever have anything like it…My inner voice snarks at me but I try to tune it out as I listen to Caroline and Margaret talk about wedding planning.

“Yeah, we want to keep it as small as possible. Obviously, I want the two of you to be standing with me, and Theo will probably ask Will and Seth to be his groomsmen,” Caroline says before taking another sip of her drink.

“You know we wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I just cannot believe how good this move has been for both of us. A year ago the idea of my brother not only having a fiancée but also a group of friends that want to celebrate with him would have seemed impossible, but here we are. I just really can’t thank you enough for bringing him back,” Margaret whispers, and I can hear the emotion clogging her throat.

Caroline’s eyes water a bit too, and they share a quick hug while I distract myself from their emotional moment with the basket of chips in front of me. When they moved to town, Theo was battling with a good bit of PTSD over the loss of his parents and brother, but Caroline had given him the push he needed to work through some of his trauma with a support group, and even I could see the changes in him over the last few months.

“You know I’ll do anything I can to make sure you have the most perfect day,” I tell her honestly before adding, “please tell me Theo has a hot cousin or something for me to walk down the aisle with.”

Caroline laughs and grabs a handful of chips before answering, “Well, actually, the only people we plan to have in the wedding are you two and then Will and Seth.”

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