Page 23 of Regretting Youu

She’s right. He is. He’s only an asshole to me. “Isn’t it weird that my father thinks he’s such a bad person?”

Lexie shrugs. “Not really. Your father doesn’t even like me, and I’m awesome.”

“He likes you,” I say. “He only teases the people he likes.”

“And maybe Miller is the same way,” she suggests. “Maybe he only ignores the people he likes.”

I ignore that comment. Lexie focuses on putting on her makeup, but my mind is whirling. Did their fight really have to do with a silly car ride?

It was probably the car ride coupled with the Instagram follow. Which would explain why he unfollowed me last night. Which proves he’s trying to get her back.

“Do you think their breakup will stick?”

Lexie glances at me and grins. “What’s it matter to you? It was inconsequential.”

Jonah makes me call him Mr. Sullivan at school. I’m sure he’d like it if I called him Uncle Jonah outside of school, but he’s just Jonah to me. I haven’t known him long enough to feel like he’s my uncle yet, even though he just had a baby with my aunt Jenny. Maybe after they’re actually married, I’ll add the title. But for now, all I really know of him is what I’ve heard my parents say—that he broke Aunt Jenny’s heart in high school and moved away without warning. I’ve never asked any of them why he broke up with her. I guess I never really cared, but for some reason, I’m curious today.

Jonah is at his desk grading papers when I walk in.

“Morning,” he says.

“Morning.” I have him for first period, so I toss my backpack in my usual seat, but I take the seat right in front of his desk.

“Did Jenny get Elijah dropped off with your mom?” he asks.

“Yep. Cute as ever.”

“He really is. Looks just like his daddy.”

“Ha. No. He looks just like me,” I correct.

Jonah stacks his pages together and scoots them aside. Before he gets into the whole film project thing, I let my curiosity get the best of me. “Why’d you break up with Aunt Jenny in high school?”

Jonah lifts his head quickly, his eyebrows raised. He laughs nervously, like he doesn’t want to have this conversation with me. Or with anyone. “We were young. I’m not sure I even remember.”

“Mom wasn’t happy when you got Aunt Jenny pregnant last year.”

“I’m sure she wasn’t. It wasn’t very well thought out.”

“Kind of hypocritical of her, considering they had me at seventeen.”

Jonah shrugs. “It isn’t hypocritical unless the action she’s objecting to occurs after the objection.”

“Whatever that means.”

“It means people who make mistakes usually learn from them. That doesn’t make them hypocrites. It makes them experienced.”

“Didn’t they teach you in college not to dole out life lessons before the morning bell rings?”

Jonah leans back in his seat, a hint of amusement in his eyes. “You remind me of your mother when she was your age.”

“Oh, God.”

“It’s a compliment.”

“How?”

Jonah laughs. “You’d be surprised.”