Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 107944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 540(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 540(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
Dad placed a kiss on my forehead. “Everywhere. You look beautiful everywhere.”
What in the world is going on?
Dad looked down at his invisible watch and then snapped his fingers. “Not to be rude, but we’ve got to get a move on, folks. We have a tight schedule to adhere to, so come on, Hailee. Let’s get going.”
“Get going where?” I urged, but they ignored me.
“Have a wonderful night, sweetheart,” Mama sang before giving both Dad and me kisses on the cheek.
Dad walked me outside into the chilled night air. We didn’t go far at all. Just right next door to Aiden’s house, where Dad walked me to their backyard. The minute we went through their gate, I gasped when I looked around.
White lights were dressed throughout the yard, twisting in the trees and bushes, lighting up the space like never before. To my left was a folding table set up with two chairs. On said table sat a huge bowl of spaghetti and meatballs, a plate of garlic bread, and a tossed salad.
To my right was another folding table with a record player on it, which was playing a Taylor Swift soundtrack. Aiden despised Taylor but knew that I was a deep Swiftie, so for him to have her music playing meant more than words. Beside the table were cardboard boxes lying on the ground with the words dance floor written across them.
The broken pieces of my heart were surprisingly still able to beat as Aiden walked out of the house, smiling my way.
“Hey, Tom,” I whispered.
“Hey, Jerry.”
“What’s going on?” I asked as butterflies swirled in my stomach. Since when did that happen? Since when did I get butterflies from my very best friend?
“We are checking off one of the items on our high school bucket list tonight. We are going to a house party together. Well, our version of a house, that is. A backyard edition.”
He took my hand into his and pulled me over to the table of food. “First up is dinner, which we should probably eat now. Otherwise, it’s gonna get cold. My mom picked it up about an hour ago, and even though it’s been in the oven to stay warm, it’s not top-notch. I got your favorite things, spaghetti and garlic bread. Here.” He pulled out the chair for me, and my cheeks hurt from smiling so much from my best friend’s act of kindness.
I took a seat, and he pushed me in. Then he walked over to his chair and sat down.
Red Solo cups were filled with soda. I looked around and couldn’t stop smiling to myself. It was funny how emotions worked. How only a few hours ago, I was at my lowest of lows, but then Aiden managed to make me smile when all I wanted to do was fall apart and be sad. That was my favorite thing about best friends—how they could make the dark days shine with splashes of light.
“I don’t think people eat fancy dinners at high school house parties,” I mentioned.
“That’s because they aren’t cool enough.”
“You didn’t have to do all of this,” I told him.
“I did.”
“You should’ve been at the party with the girl you’ve been obsessed with all these years.”
“I know,” he agreed. “Which is why I’m here.”
My heartbeats.
They fumbled, skipped, and flipped in my chest.
I looked down at my hands and tried to collect my thoughts, but Aiden wouldn’t let me.
“Don’t overthink, Hailee. Just eat your favorite foods and enjoy the night,” he urged.
“I’m actually not eating carbs right now.”
Aiden’s eyes bugged out. “Bullshit. Why not?”
Never in my life did I feel uncomfortable talking about anything to Aiden. Heck, he was the first person I told when I got my period for the first time, and instead of being grossed out, he went to the corner store and bought pads for me. Were they the size of Mars? Yes. Regardless, he didn’t get thrown off by much.
Yet telling him about my weight gain and eating problems felt more humiliating than anything else. While he became extremely attractive, I was going in the opposite direction, no matter the amount of time Mom and I spent in the gym together over the last year.
I hated that my first thought the moment I saw the video of Carlton and people laughing about my size was that I had to diet. Not that they were assholes, and they were being jerks, but that I had to diet because there was something lacking within me that made me an easy target for their insults.
I shook my head. “Just not into them anymore.”
He frowned, looking at the plate filled with carbohydrates. “I can order something—”
I shoved a piece of garlic bread into my mouth and forced out a laugh the moment I saw how sad he had grown. “I’m just joking. Pass me the pasta.”