On a Break

Andrew

“I get why Raven would be upset to think we’re sneaking around. I don’t want to feel like it’s that way.”

“We weren’t,” she said in a small voice.

“Yes, but if we continue to see each other without telling your parents, it will be sneaking around.”

More silence filled the conversation, and I wished I could take back the “but” in my statement. It made the whole situation sound too precarious, like I had no faith in the two of us at all.

“You don’t want to tell them, do you?”

“My dad will be so angry,” she instantly said. “You must know that. You’re, like, his best friend, right?”

It was supposed to be a joke, but it didn’t land its mark.

“I can’t lie to him, Lanie,” I insisted.

“What is he going to say when you tell him? Do you honestly think it’ll go well?”

I chewed that over. Bob was a strong-willed man. An opinionated one. A pretty traditional one, as well. And protective. Even if he didn’t spend enough time with his family, I knew from the way he’d spoken in the past that he