Page 83 of Unforgettable Player

She goes to pee in the intermission between movies. I check my phone, my thumb hovering over Connor’s number before going back through his texts with a dull ache in my chest.

When she comes back, I shove it back in my pocket.

“Here, got you another Sprite and some sweet popcorn—weirdo.”

“Thanks.”

Planes, Trains and Automobiles breaks me. When John Candy is sitting in his car talking to his dead wife, I lose it. I bite my lip to try and keep it in, but it’s like a door has been demolished. That door was keeping my emotions under lock and key. Now they’re flowing freely, all over the Cinemark floor.

I swipe at my eyes, feeling stupid.

When Scout tries to hold my hand, I slip it out of her reach and tell her I’m fine.

It’s dark when we emerge from the movies. Scout’s eyes are red like mine, so I guess I wasn’t the only one crying. Don’t be mad at her. She isn’t the reason you’re sad.

“You wanna go home for dinner or get McDonald’s?” she asks.

As much as I like the idea of staying away from the house, I can’t hide forever. The way Scout automatically assumes I’ll be coming ‘home’ for dinner reminds me why her family is so important to me. Why they’re not worth losing over a fling that would have ended at some point anyway. The sooner I start acting normal around Connor again, the sooner things can go back to the way they were.

My heart stutters when I see his car parked at the end of the driveway, but I push through. I can make it through this first dinner, then everything will get easier from there.

I let Scout walk ahead, listening to the hubbub in the kitchen. Connor’s voice usually carries over everyone else’s, or maybe I’m just naturally attuned to it. But I can’t hear him now.

He’s at the counter, and the sight of him in a t-shirt from Coach Garvin’s rink and light grey sweatpants makes my chest clench.

“You two look like you’ve been crying. Is everything okay?” Naomi asks.

Connor’s head snaps in my direction, but I keep my gaze averted.

“John Candy,” Scout says.

“What?”

Richard laughs. “You two been to the movies?”

“Planes, Trains and Automobiles has a lot to answer for,” Scout explains.

“Ah.”

I slip into the washroom to splash my face with water and make sure no one can tell I’m wearing concealer before I join everyone at the dinner table.

After saying grace, everyone tucks in. The conversation flows and I slip into the background. It’s easy to do with Scout and Naomi. As different as they appear on the surface, they’re a pair of Chatty Cathy’s once they get going.

“How was practice today, Connor?” Richard asks when he can get a word in.

“Good.” He puts his fork down and dabs at his mouth with a napkin. Hours of watching him over the years tells me that he’s about to tell his family something important.

“Actually, I have some news.” His gaze flickers to me and for a moment, I’m gripped with terror that he’s about to tell them all about us. But of course, that’s ridiculous. Why would he do that when we just agreed to end things?

“I’m going back to Harvard.”

The reaction is instant and overwhelmingly positive. Naomi gets up to hug him and Richard follows.

“Great news, son,” Richard says.

When I look at Scout, she’s smiling, too. A genuine, happy smile for her brother. She gets up to hug him, and I’m the only one who is still sitting in my seat. It’s weird, so I get up, too.

Connor’s eyes get wide when he sees what I’m about to do, but if I back away now, it’s going to look suspicious. Finally, after a little too much hesitation, he opens his arms and I go in for an awkward hug.