Page 11 of The Way the Heart Breaks: Jade’s Story

She says something to Ryan, and he dips his head toward her, listening. Really listening.

Something twists low in my stomach. Not sharp, not painful, just… there.

I look away before anyone can catch me looking.

Becca climbs on first and spots me right away. Of course she does. Her face softens when she sees me, even with the girls crowded around my seat.

She makes her way down the aisle, offering a quick, “Excuse me, sorry,” as she squeezes past.

“Hey,” she says when she reaches me, warm like always.

“Hi,” I say back, shifting my bag before she even asks.

The aisle girl moves on her own this time, as she knows better, and Becca slides in beside me with a small, grateful smile.

“Thank you,” she says, meaning it, then leans in just a little. “You doing okay?”

“Yeah,” I say. “You?”

“Good.” She nods, then glances at the girls who were just here. “You’ve got a new friend today.”

“Apparently.”

She smiles, a quick one, then lowers her voice, not mean, just… honest. “They like being close to anything connected to the team this time of year.”

I huff out a small laugh. “That obvious?”

“A little.” She bumps her shoulder into mine, gently. “Just don’t let it stress you out. You don’t owe anybody anything.”

I see Ryan helping the younger ones find seats, doing that thing he does where it looks like it’s their idea and not simply who he is. The new girl lingers a second too long in the aisle before sliding into a seat a few rows back, close enough to him that she may as well be on his lap.

Becca follows my line of sight, not missing much.

“That’s Amanda,” she says quietly.

I nod, like I wasn’t already staring.

“She’s new,” Becca adds, then hesitates, like she’s choosing her words. “She’s… figuring people out.”

I glance back again, quickly. Amanda’s leaning toward Ryan, smiling at something he says.

That same twist hits again. A little tighter this time.

Becca sees it, because of course she does. She always does.

“She’s sticking close to Ryan,” she says, soft but sure. “He’s being good about it, but at some point, it’ll grate on his nerves, and she’ll either give him the space he needs, or she’ll get her feelings hurt when he tells her how it is.”

Amanda sees me and narrows her brown eyes. I turn and look forward quickly, like I may have just gotten away with staring.

The bus jerks forward again, pulling away from the Brooks homestead, as I try to decipher why I’m annoyed that she’s annoyed. Ryan is my brother's best friend, which makes him kind of mine, too. She doesn’t get to be a rag to me. He was ours before she even came to Blue Valley.

Becca giggles, “You look like you want to stir up some trouble.”

“She started it with her bratty glare.”

“I don’t think that’s a glare, I think it’s her natural expression. Daddy says she’s going to be more diff—” She stops abruptly when the next students get on the bus.

I watch as she looks down, then tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, and her cheeks begin to bloom the lightest shade of pink when Joshua smiles at her as he walks past.