Page 36 of The Boy Who Loved Wicked
Danny and I were in my kitchen waiting for Theory to get changed so we could leave for school. It was the only way to avoid the temptation of watching Emily through my bedroom window as she got ready for work. I couldn’t help it. The need to make sure she was okay and moving on got worse with each day.
“Theory’s pissed at you,” Danny stated the obvious while searching through the contents of the fridge.
“I know.” I pushed my half-eaten bowl of cereal aside. “Do you think—”
“She promised she wouldn’t tell.”
“Right.” I nodded. “Why are you being so cool about this?”
He straddled the chair across from me. “Dude, if I had a chance to bang a hot teacher, I would.”
“This is serious, Danny.” He had to stop making a joke out of this.
“And he’s married,” Theory interrupted, tugging down the tight sweater dress she wore. “It’s wrong.”
Danny rolled his eyes. “Pheeny’s legal, and the guy’s getting a divorce for him.”
“Forhim orbecauseof him?” she countered.
“It’s neither,” I said in frustration. Bad enough I asked myself those same questions, I didn’t need it coming from her too. “It’s not for me or because of me. They weren’t happy.”
“Hmpf. They were living their perfectly unhappy lives quite fine until you came along.”
Her words crushed me.
“Phoenix, I’m sorry.” She took the seat next to me, resting a hand on mine. “I can see why he would appeal to you—”
“Don’t—
“He’s not your father—”
“—Don’t you think I know that!”
Her lips thinned. “He’s preying on you.”
“He is not, Theory,” I said, exhausted from the conversation already.
She whirled on Danny. “And you of all people should not be okay with this. You witnessed the near destruction of your parents’ marriage. You know that getting involved with someone in the midst of a divorce is not a good idea.” She held her hand up when Danny went to argue. “Forget it. I said I wouldn’t say anything, doesn’t mean I have to like it. Let’s just go.”
“Theory.” I grabbed her arm before she walked out the door. “You know you can’t be weird in class, right? You can’t treat him differently.”
“I won’t.” She softened. “Are you sure about this? I get it, he’s good-looking and intense, and when he hits you with one of those drawling grins, your knees go weak. But this can end badly. Like super badly.”
“Drawling grins?” Danny asked what I dared not to after considering her mood. He wasn’t very good with social cues.
“Yeah. Slow forming like a southern drawl,” she said like it should’ve been obvious.
“Nope. Can’t make the connection—ompf.” Danny folded from the blow to the gut, and I winced.
“You promised not to be a dimwit on Fridays,” she said into his ear, “and I promised to save you if you couldn’t save yourself.”
“Nice...save,” he grunted.
“Do you swear this isn’t about your dad? And I’m not asking if you like him because he reminds you of your dad. I’m asking if you’re with him because he fills a void that your father left behind. There’s a difference.”
I’d never examined it from that angle before. Leave it to Theory to come up with it. I had a clear picture of who Sebastian was. He wasn’t my father. But would I have gone down this path with him had my father still been alive? Had I not been vulnerable to a connection that patched the open wound that gaped after Dad’s passing? I couldn’t answer that. “I promise that my feelings for him are real.”
“Okay,” she said, throwing her hands up.
