Page 49 of Faking Forever 1
“Josh. I haven’t seen you in a while, buddy. What in the world happened here?” my dad sets things down, gesturing to the scene.
“Tate bumped me, and I dropped the souffle. I’m sorry.” I nervously let the words escape my mouth.
“I’ll help her clean up. And we can put the groceries away.
Don’t worry. You guys take a load off.” Josh says, forwarding his attention to my parents.
“You’re sure, Josh?” my mom asks.
“Positive. I swear.”
He was pissed off. Probably more than I was at this point, but he had a way of not showing it blatantly. Not in front of authorities like my parents. He had too much respect for them.
They didn’t ask any further questions after he answered them.
Dad proceeded to grab a beer from the fridge and Mom her bottle of wine, and with that, they left us to it. They respected him just as much, but I don’t think he realizes it.
Carefully, Josh lifts us both from the wooden floor.
“Your brother is a moron.”
“I’m sorry.”
We both spit our words out at each other at the same time.
Now was my chance to tell him why I called him over.
“Why areyousorry?”
“Nothing.”
Lie.
“Not nothing.”
114
SO YESTERDAY
Truth.
“Really.”
“Why do you do that?”
Because I can’t look at your cute, dumb face, that’s why.
“Do what?”
“Ever since the party? You’re so secretive now. Like you can’t talk to me all of a sudden.” he says, observing me, “You can say I’m crazy, but it feels like this is greater than a souffle being messed up.”
“Well, it’s not, okay?”
It’s another lie, yet he doesn’t question me about it.
I wish I could tell him about London, but I feel like someone has me by the throat, thinking about the words to say to him.
How to let him down—again. It was going to be some time before I could figure it out. Unless someone tells him before I do, this was another downfall of mine. Procrastination. It’s probably what I’m best at. I always knew the time would come when I would have to grow out of that quality. For Josh to be what makes me grow out of it wasn’t necessarily on my summer break bingo card.
