Page 59 of Wild Card 13

The kindness. The ridiculous sense of humor. The way he remembered things people told him. The way he noticed when someone wasn't okay. The way he cared far more deeply than he let anybody realize.

The boy underneath all the noise.

Ty squeezed my hand. "You got quiet."

"So did you."

"Yeah, but mine was mysterious."

I laughed. "Of course it was."

His grin returned immediately. The comfortable rhythm settled back between us. The kind of conversation that wandered wherever it wanted.

For a while we talked about teachers. Friends. The upcoming hockey game. A movie neither of us had finished because we'd spent most of it talking instead of watching.

And somewhere in the middle of all of it, without warning, the conversation drifted toward home. Toward parents. Toward all the things neither of us usually talked about.

The radio continued playing softly in the background. The city lights stretched endlessly ahead of us. And for the first time, I found myself telling him things I hadn't meant to say out loud ever, to anyone.

"I don't know," I admitted quietly, tracing my thumb against the back of his hand. "Everything just feels... weird lately."

Ty glanced over. "Weird how?"

I stared through the windshield. “It’ll sound crazy if I try to explain it.” That was the problem. I couldn't explain it. Nothing was wrong. Not exactly. There hadn't been some giant fight. Nobody was yelling. Nobody was getting divorced. At least not that I knew of.

But lately it felt like something had shifted inside our house. Like somebody had moved all the furniture two inches to the left and I was the only person who noticed.

"My mom's just..." I hesitated. "Different."

Ty didn't interrupt. Didn't rush to fill the silence. Didn't immediately tell me I was overthinking.

"My dad will be talking to her and she'll be staring at her phone." I shrugged. "Or she'll disappear into another room to take a call." The words started coming easier after that. "Sometimes I feel like she's not really there anymore."

The confession sat between us. Ty squeezed my hand.

"Have you talked to her about it?"

I laughed softly. "No."

"Why not?"

I turned toward him. "Because that would require me to have an actual conversation about my feelings."

His grin appeared immediately. "Fair point."

I pointed at him. "Don't make fun of me."

"I'm not."

"You are." I rolled my eyes.

Ty's smile softened. "I don't think you're imagining it."

Most people would have told me not to worry. That everything was fine. That I was being dramatic.

Ty simply nodded like what I was feeling mattered.

And somehow that made me feel better.