Page 63 of How (Not) to Conjure a Boyfriend
“Huh? For what?” Zachary asks.
“For everything. For how things are with you and Hayden. For being snappy. For Hayden not telling you about us.” The last one stings. Another lie. Another foot down in the dirt and knot in my noose, but I can’t tell him the truth. Not now. If I did, how would he look at me? Would he even? I don’t know that I could bear that. Maybe the lie is better than the truth. “And yeah, I liked it. But I shouldn’t.”
“Yeah.” He nods quickly. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s not just your fault,” I remind him, finally admitting it out loud. It actually feels good, even if it is still a little terrifying.
“It’s okay.” He says quickly, then gulps. “We can still talk though, right? We have a lot in common.”
“Yeah, sure,” I say a little too quickly. Now it’s all weird.
“Good.” Zach gives me a weak grin and we drop into an awkward quiet for a few moments before he saves us. “So, uh, what are you planning to do after high school?”
After high school? What? We’re going from admitting we royally screwed up to what my plans are after high school? That’s a big switch.
“I…” My eyes twitch as I rebound from the topic whiplash. “I don’t really know for sure. I mean college. I’m going to college. Just not entirely sure what I want to major in yet. Probably nursing or maybe psychology though.”
“Oooh! Really?” Zachary’s face starts to glow, which is so much better than the doom and gloom he was giving a few seconds ago. It’s so obvious that he’s trying really hard not to think about it though. Gods, I feel awful.
“Yeah,” I say, contemplating whether or not to tell him why. I don’t want him to think badly of my mom. “I want to be ableto help people. You know, people who deal with things in their head they have a hard time handling. Get what I mean?” It sounds sort of foolish when I say it aloud to him. To think I could really help people. I can’t even do this right. “Probably sounds weird to you.”
“What? Why would that sound weird?” Zachary asks.
“Dunno,” I admit. “Just thought it would.”
“It doesn’t. I promise. It’s actually really cool.” He’s smiling and it seems genuine. Maybe it is.
“I like to cook too, but I don’t think I’m going to make a living as a cook,” I tell him.
He laughs. “You never know.”
There’s a pause because I don’t know what to say, and he must not either.
“Have I told you about my greenhouse?” Zachary breaks the silence.
“You have a greenhouse?” I ask. My first thought is that I could get all my herbs for my spells from him, but that’s selfish.
“Yeah, I have a little one out behind the basketball court at home.” Zachary grins. “It’s nothing major, but yeah. And I love woodworking! You saw my project. I could help you and Hayden build your house and then grow your food—you know, since you’ll probably be my person-in-law by then anyway.”
“Oh really? Person-in-law?” I smile jokingly. “You mean sibling-in-law? And isn’t that assuming an awful lot?”
“Maybe, maybe not.” Zachary shrugs. “It’d cost you less than hiring a carpenter.”
I laugh and nod. “Family discount?”
“Of course.” Zachary shakes his head, and his hand goes to his pocket and pulls out his phone. It’s lit up and buzzing. “Speaking of family, Mom’s calling. Hey, Mom.”
I’m still laughing when his brow scrunches and all the excitement drains from his eyes into a pale gray. What’s going on? Finally he looks up at me, still on the phone.
“We’ll be there ASAP!” he tells her.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“It’s Hayden. He just woke up.”
18
“Mackenzie?”
