Page 113 of Meant to Be

“What are you and Harley doing?” Belle asks.

I sigh, scuffing my shoe into the ground. “Good question.”

“It doesn’t have to be hard, you know,” Belle says. “Just do what you want to do. Don’t worry about anyone else.”

“You make it sound easy.”

“It can be.”

“Last time I did that, my world got turned upside down.” I adjust my hair and slide my glasses further up my nose. Belle and I have talked about this a lot this week. “It’s not fair of me to turn Nick down again, after he stopped things with Jess for me.”

“Because it’s totally fair sneaking around behind his back.”

I flinch at her tone and her face softens. She touches my arm, giving me a small, apologetic smile. I’ve been keeping Belle up to date with my life. It’s nice to have someone to talk to. Usually, I bottle everything up to the point I explode. I’m trying not to do that anymore.

“Okay everyone!” Shannon calls out, waving her hand. “One minute before the bus leaves, make sure you have everything ready!”

Nick notices me and waves. I wave back and abruptly turn again, hoping he won’t come talk to me. I’m feeling all kinds of anxious about him enough as it is.

I do a last-minute check that I have all my essential items. Everyone is shuffling into a line, when a truck pulls in. We all turn to stare as Brennon and Harley step out of it. There’s a murmur amongst the girls in front of us and Belle breaks from me to greet them.

Harley’s eyes shift to mine and my face breaks into a smile before I can stop it. I pull my attention away and when I face the front, Nick is watching me with a frown.