“You didn’t talk to me today at school,” I reminded her.

“You didn’t need me to then.”

“I did. You just didn’t realize how much.”

The front door of the house opened, and Maggie quickly moved her hand from mine.

Brady stood there staring. At first I expected him to yell at me for being out here with Maggie. But then I saw it wasn’t anger in his eyes. It was sadness. He was sad for me. Then there was the sympathy I didn’t want.

“He loves you. He’s going to feel bad for you. Let him,” Maggie whispered so quietly, I doubted Brady could tell she had said anything from where he stood.

Let him.

She said I should let him feel sorry for me. Because he loved me. I could do that. I had to. There was no way to keep it from happening. Knowing there was one person who understood my pain in a way no one ever could was enough.

“Stay with me,” I asked her, not taking my eyes off Brady.

“Okay,” was her soft reply.

Brady walked toward us. Maggie stayed by my side. Brady glanced over at her but only for a second. He was focused on me. He wouldn’t know what to say to me. I knew that, because if the situations were reversed, I wouldn’t know what to say to him, either.

“You okay?” he asked, watching me cautiously. Like I would break down at any moment. Didn’t he get that I’d been dealing with this for a long time now?

“Yeah,” I replied, which was a lie, but I wasn’t going to make him feel any worse.

He let out a heavy sigh and ran his hand through his hair as he stared off across the street. He was thinking. He wanted me to tell him. I knew that. But what was he going to do once I did? Tell me he was sorry? That he was here for me if I needed him? Didn’t he know how pointless those words were? He couldn’t do anything for me. He couldn’t make this better.

“He’s been sick for about eighteen months,” I finally said, knowing it was the right thing to do. “The past couple months he’s gotten really bad. Doctors sent him home because there’s nothing else that can be done.”

Brady closed his eyes tightly and inhaled sharply through his nose. I waited for him to speak. I wasn’t sure I could tell him anything more. I didn’t want to talk about it.

When he opened his eyes, he looked at me. “Why didn’t you tell us . . . or me at least? This isn’t something you have to go through alone. We’d have been there for you.”

I felt Maggie’s fingers gently brush against my hand. She was silently trying to encourage me.

“I didn’t want to accept it or talk about it. Telling y’all made it real. I needed to keep going like it wasn’t real. But now . . . I can’t keep doing that. Things aren’t good. It’s bad now,” I explained.

He needed to understand why I’d left him in the dark about something so major in my life. He’d been my best friend since we were six. I knew he didn’t understand this and my not telling him. But it was how I needed to cope. “What can I do?” Brady asked, looking pained.

Before there wasn’t anything he could do. But now he was standing between something . . . or someone I needed. Someone who could help me.

“Let me be friends with Maggie. Just friends. She’s helped me in ways no one else could.”

I glanced over at her and saw her eyes had gone wide. She hadn’t expected that. It made her gorgeous face cute. For the first time in a long time I felt like laughing.

“You want to be friends with Maggie?” Brady asked, sounding confused. “I don’t understand.”

He wouldn’t. But she didn’t talk to him. He didn’t know how the sound of her voice could soothe an ache. He didn’t know having someone to talk to who understood the pain I was going through was exactly what I needed. I didn’t need to talk to him or any of the guys. They didn’t get it. Only Maggie.

Then You Shouldn’t Be So Damn Pretty

CHAPTER 13

MAGGIE

I watched Brady’s face as he stood there staring at me, then staring at West as if he hadn’t heard him correctly. I had to admit, I was just as surprised. West wanted to be my friend. Because I helped him. Like no one else could.

My chest felt warm, and there was a funny flutter in my stomach.

“You wouldn’t understand. No one does. Except for Maggie. She’s helped me a lot the past few days. Having her to talk to is what I need right now.”

The flutter turned into birds flapping around in my stomach. I had to remember West had said, “Just friends.” He hadn’t said, I’d like to kiss her again.

He was hurting, and he liked talking to me. That was all this was.

“She . . . uh . . . she doesn’t talk,” Brady said, glancing at me with an apologetic look on his face.

I waited. I didn’t want West to tell Brady that I talked to him. But then how else did he explain wanting to be my friend?

“She has her own way of communicating, and that’s enough,” West replied.

I wanted to sigh in relief. If my aunt Coralee knew I was talking to West, she’d be trying to get me to talk to her.

Brady pressed his lips together then nodded. “Okay. Yeah . . . if you want to be friends I’m okay with that. But just friends. Don’t—” He paused, and I felt West tense beside me.

“She’s safe with me. I respect her, and I also won’t let anyone else hurt her,” West said with firm determination in his voice.

The birds in my stomach started up again. He wanted to be friends. I could do that. I wanted that. I needed that too.

Brady appeared to believe him. “Good. Well, you want to come inside? Mom made chocolate cake.”

“Yeah.” West looked down at me. “You like chocolate cake?”

I hesitated then nodded. I didn’t want to interfere in Brady’s life, but West wanted me there, and I wanted to be there for him. This side of West wasn’t anything like I expected. He wasn’t cruel or hard. He wasn’t putting up a façade for anyone. This was the guy I wanted him to be when he kissed me that time at the field.

“Then let’s go get a slice of Coralee’s. It’s delicious.”

Brady looked confused, but he turned and headed inside. West nodded for me to follow Brady, and as I did, West fell into step beside me.

I could eat some cake with West then go up to my room and leave Brady alone with his friends. That way I made both boys happy while still protecting myself. No matter how much I wanted to be there to help West because I knew what it was like to do this alone, I wouldn’t let my guard down completely.

Brady walked inside and headed for the den. Aunt Coralee stepped into the hallway from the kitchen and smiled when she saw West. It was a sad smile but also one that said she was happy to see him. I knew she was worried about him.

“West, sweetheart, it’s so good to see you. I missed you this summer. You’re not around enough.” She went straight to him and hugged him, then pulled back and looked at me. “You’re back from your walk,” she said, sounding pleased. “Now you’ve burned some calories, you want to have a slice of chocolate cake with me in the kitchen?”

“She’s actually going to go have some cake in the den with us,” Brady informed his mother.

Aunt Coralee’s eyes went wide, then she smiled brightly. “Well, okay. That’s wonderful. I’ll bring some fresh milk and two more glasses in there.” She turned and hurried back to the kitchen.

“I think that just made her day,” Brady whispered, glancing back at me.

And this time I smiled. Because he was right. She was happy, and that made me smile.

West’s hand slid behind my back, and he led me into the den where the guys I was used to seeing around Brady were lounging on sofas and beanbags, while a couple were shooting hoops at a basketball hoop on the wall.

“Maggie!” Nash said the moment he turned around from taking a shot and saw me standing there. It was the first time he’d spoken to me since I’d sent him that text. I guess the shock of seeing me in here made him forget he was ignoring me.

West kept his hand on my back as he moved me into the room toward the table.

It was obvious Brady hadn’t told the other guys about West’s dad. None of them looked at him like they were worried about him or like they didn’t know what to do. I was relieved for him. He had just faced Brady and Aunt Coralee. He needed a break before he faced the rest of them.

“So, Maggie’s here . . . with West,” Nash said because no one else was saying anything.

Brady turned and looked at all of them. “Maggie and West are friends. Just friends. And I’m good with that.” There was an awkward silence, and West pulled out a chair for me to sit. Once I was seated he looked at his friends and teammates who were still watching the three of us like they weren’t sure what to think.

“She’s my friend. Deal with it,” he informed them, then sat down close to me. He leaned his head toward mine. “Sorry they’re acting like idiots. I don’t normally have girls who are friends. And you were completely off-limits because of Brady. So they’re trying to figure out what’s up.” I nodded. I understood that. Although right now all I really wanted was to run off to my room.