Time After Time (Sweetbriar Cove #14) - Melody Grace Page 0,73
played football, and everything.”
Aidan smiled. “Nope. I was a real bookworm. I did swim team, but only because I knew I’d need it for college applications. The rest of the team hated me because I was so slow. I always let us down in the relay matches. And my brothers were natural athletes, they had a great time.”
Matty drummed his foot against a rotting sideboard. “It just feels like there’s this whole other life I could be living, one where I’d actually have friends, and be happy, and learning things.”
The yearning in his voice was clear, and Aidan felt a pang of sympathy. He knew what it was like to strive for something, to see a vision of your life that you kept trying to reach. He’d spent half his life chasing the right college acceptance, the big internship, the next promotion, always thinking they would be the thing that made him feel safe. A success.
But none of them ever seemed to last, or give him that security he’d been searching for.
“Don’t get to thinking that one thing will solve all your problems. Boarding school isn’t some magic wand,” he warned quietly. “Sometimes things don’t work out the way we think they will.”
But Matty shook his head. “Anything would be better than this,” he said. “I know she said we can’t afford it, but there are all kinds of scholarships or financial aid. She just won’t even consider it.”
“She has her reasons,” Aidan said. “Even if it doesn’t seem that way to you now.”
“Do you know what they are?” Matty challenged him, and Aidan had to smile.
“No, but I trust her.”
“Of course you do,” Matty muttered. “You’ll always take her side. You’re her boyfriend.”
Aidan paused at that. In all the panic and searching, he’d forgotten about his conversation with Stella from earlier that night – and where they’d left it.
Boyfriend.
It sounded so casual. Temporary. But what if he wanted more from her than that?
What if he wanted everything?
Aidan was shaken by the realization, but this wasn’t the time to think about it right now.
“I know that she loves you,” he told Matty, putting his own dramas aside. “And she’s always put you first. So maybe cut her a little slack sometimes?”
“I do.” Matty protested. “I don’t get in any trouble, and I do my chores, and I pretend like this town isn’t suffocating, because I know she likes it so much. But the world is bigger than Sweetbriar Cove, and she can’t keep me wrapped up in a bubble forever, with all these freaking pumpkins!”
Aidan’s mouth twitched. He tried not to laugh, the kid was clearly going through something, but he couldn’t help it. A chuckle escaped.
“Pumpkins?”
“And cranberries, and eggnog, and spring flings, and lobsters,” Matty kicked the sideboard again. “It’s not funny! It’s like I’m trapped in a Hallmark movie and I can’t get out!”
Aidan smiled. “Trust me, it’s not so bad. You have people here who really care about you.”
“Because they still treat me like a kid.” Matty replied. “I know mom sacrificed a lot for me, and I’m all she’s got, but I hate feeling like I’m the center of her whole world.” He looked down. “I thought maybe, with you around, she’d ease up and get a life of her own…” he trailed off, and Aidan felt another pang.
Feeling responsible for your family was no picnic, not when it took over your whole life.
“Come on,” he said gently, getting to his feet. He held out a hand, and helped Matty up. “Let’s get you home, and deal with the rest of it later.”
Matty sighed. “I’m in so much trouble, aren’t I?”
“No comment.” Aidan said, with a wry smile. “But I’ll put in a good word for you. I’m sure she’ll understand.”
17
By the time 1 a.m. rolled around, Stella felt like her nerves had been wrung out and strung back together a hundred times over. She’d sent everyone home after Aidan had called, but now she was stuck pacing anxiously, watching the clock, waiting for him to bring Matty home.
What was taking them so long?
Finally, she heard Aidan’s engine in the driveway, and saw his headlights cutting through the dark. She flung open the front door, racing out to meet them, and was halfway across the yard when Matty emerged from the front seat, looking sheepish.
“I’m sorry, mom—” he started to say, but she just pulled him into a bear hug, holding him tight as relieved adrenaline hummed through her body.