The Backup Girlfriend (Grove Valley High #2) - Emma Doherty Page 0,78
discuss this with who might actually get where I’m coming from. “But have you ever seen those videos online where the soldiers come back and surprise their families? Like at football games and stuff?”
A smirk flickers across his mouth.
“Have you seen them?”
He eyes me for a second. “Yeah I’ve seen them.”
“Don’t they make you so happy and sad all at the same time?”
He laughs out loud. “I guess.” He pauses as though he’s trying to decide something. Eventually… “They did it to me once.”
He looks back at me and sees he has my rapt attention.
“It was Christmas, back when I was eight or nine,” he explains. “He’d been away for nine months and was supposed to be home for it, but then his orders were changed. Christmas morning I’m sitting there opening my presents, and he just comes strolling in through the door.”
“Oh my god!”
He laughs. “Yeah, I should have known really—my grandparents and my cousins and aunts and uncles were all there, which they never usually would be.”
“Did you cry?”
He pulls a face. “Me? Cry? No.”
Oh.
He laughs at the look on my face. “I’m joking. I sobbed like a baby and wouldn’t leave his side for the rest of the day. I even tried to follow him into the shower.”
I chuckle at that. For some reason that little tidbit absolutely delights me.
“It was the best Christmas ever.”
“You must miss him a lot.”
He nods. “I do. I’m hoping he’ll retire in a couple of years, especially since I’ll be away at college. I don’t want my mom here on her own.”
What a lovely, lovely guy. Most guys our age wouldn’t think twice about leaving their mothers to go off and party in college.
“He must be really proud of you.”
Brett shrugs modestly. “I guess.”
From the way his mom spoke about him and how close he seems to be to his dad, I’d say his ‘I guess’ is a complete understatement. My guess would be that he’s very, very proud of his son.
“That must be nice.” I say it without thinking. “Him being proud of you.”
His eyes meet mine. “Yeah, but I’m proud of him too—fighting for our country.”
I nod. “Oh for sure, it’s a really noble profession.”
He laughs. “Yeah, one that pays shockingly badly.”
I laugh. “Is it bad?”
He waves his hand around. “We’re hardly rolling in it.”
“You know it’s not all about money, Brett.”
“Coming from the girl who has it.”
He’s got me there. I don’t know what it’s like to struggle and to have to contribute to the bills, and I also don’t know what it’s like to come from a loving family. Right now, in this house, I know which scenario I’d pick.
“I always watch those videos online,” I admit, shifting in my seat and changing the subject before I reveal something about my home situation that really should stay hidden. “Like I’ve spent hours watching them before.”
He snickers. “You have?”
“Uh-huh. They always make me cry.”
He flashes me a wide grin. “Who would have thought Abigail Baker was such a complete softie?”
I shake my head but can’t hide my smile. “Shhh. Don’t tell anyone my secret.”
“No, seriously…you’re not who I thought you were.”
I shrug. “I’m who I wanted everyone to think I was.”
His eyes meet mine. “No. No, you’re not her—not at all.”
I swallow as his eyes meet mine. Does he mean he can actually see through the facade I wear? This one where I pretend to be confident and happy and detached and uninterested? Does Brett actually see me for what I am?
I really hope he does.
He winks at me. “I’m going to tell all my friends that Abigail Baker cries at those cheesy military reunion videos.”
“They are not cheesy!”
“Oh, they are.”
“No, they’re emotional moments captured on film.”
“Okay, okay,” he replies indulgently. “Tell me about your favorite ones.”
“Well there might have been this one I may have watched a couple of times,” I tell him, pushing my textbook away and getting more into the story. “It’s this one where this soldier has just come back and is surprising his daughter in her high school. She’s not a little kid,” I explain seriously. “Most of the videos are of young kids being reunited with their parents, but this kid is only like a year younger than us.” I look at him expectantly and he nods again, knowing I’m awaiting a response and a sign that he’s actually listening to me. “Anyway, he walks into her cafeteria, and whoever made the video must have had a couple of cameras on her