Best-Case Scenario

Chapter Seventeen

The whole house avoids the topic of college and Finn for the next week. I'm polite with my mom but leave any details about me and Finn to myself.

"I'm headed over to Matea's," I call from the front door.

"Wait a second Teagan."

My dad comes around the corner with the keys. He stops above my hand, key ring around his finger. "You need to talk with your mother."

"I can't-"

"You can," he says. "She was trying to help."

"I don't need-"

"Teagan."

I shut up. He hardly gets this serious and I listen.

He scratches the back of his head. "I don't know what it's like to be a seventeen-year-old girl but I remember being a teenager even if it was that long ago. You don't want to hear about the future. It's scary. I don't think you're trying to ignore it, but your mom worries you are."

"I'm not," I insist. "I just don't think there's any reason to think about the maybes when there are too many of them."

He drops the keys in my hand. "I get it but cut your mom some slack. She doesn't want you to feel like you're alone or you made bad choices. Talk to her and soon. Okay?"

I nod and take the keys, walking out the door, feeling for what it felt like the uncountable time, tears on my cheeks.

Matea grabs the box and I pick up the cake. She smiles at me and gestures for me to go out first. I lead the way.

"Happy Birthday!" we both shout when we walk through the kitchen door.

Kali is leaning against the kitchen island; a lavender dress falls to her thighs. It's incredibly dressy considering we're all in jeans, but so Kali. "You guys!" she shouts, feigning shock.

Imari bumps her shoulder. "You knew they would do this. Now it's time to sing!"

He leads a rambunctious version of Happy Birthday much to my delight and Kali's embarrassment. I smile at Matea while we're singing. This is the first time we're really in each other's presence. Matea's cute. Not my type but I can't deny she is cute in cute as a button sort of way with the shoulder length hair and that wide smile and thick eyelashes.

She's smiling right now and Kali is giving her a goofy one back. I refuse to roll my eyes and instead, set the cake in front of her and light the candles. Kali blows them out at the end of the song.

It's a small group of us tonight: Me, Finn, Kali, Matea, Imari, Seth, and Carmen. Matea's parents are out for the night and let her use it to host Kali's birthday since Kali's dad isn't up to having so many people crammed into his small house and her mom would be weird about having them in hers.

We celebrate her birthday with cake and presents. I'm distracted through most of it watching her and Matea. Finn nudges me on the couch when they walk away. "Stare much?" he teases.

I nudge him back. "Hey I'm being protective. After Carla.... Matea's so different."

"That's a good thing isn't it?" he asks, his voice low.

I watch Matea run her fingers through Kali's coils and Kali wraps an arm around her, pulling her onto her lap to kiss her. "I think so," I reply and look away. "She gives her space. Kali moves where she wants and Matea will follow instead of taking the lead. She lets Kali make the choices. I've never seen her be in charge like that."

"Wow. Was Carla that much of a controller?" Finn is still watching them and I kick him. He turns to me instead.

I think back to their relationship. "Not controlling, but she definitely led the relationship. Like right now. You saw Kali kiss Matea? Carla was always worried it would be too much for Kali. What if someone said something to her? It looked like she was being a protective girlfriend, but she never let Kali stand up for herself. She looked more like a mom instead of a girlfriend and it wore on Kali. Matea is different."