“The whole Becca thing,” they exclaimed, as if I was stupid. “That’s what we’re talking about.”
Okay. I had this. I was going to give the best advice they would ever receive. “Does Diego care about you?”
They nodded.
“And you care about him?”
“Yeah. He’s… special.” They flushed slightly. “To me. And he’s got a huge—”
“Whoa,” I said, holding up my hands. “Let’s just stop there.”
“I was going to say heart,” Kai said. They squinted at me. “What else would I be talking about?”
“Oh no,” I said. “I’m not going to fall for that. You knew exactly what you were doing.”
“You’ll never be able to prove it.”
Fucking teenagers. I really needed to rethink my career choices. “If you care about each other, then that should come with a measure of trust. And trust means talking to each other. He deserves to know what you’re feeling. Maybe it’ll help. Maybe he’ll make a change. Or maybe he won’t, because he might not need to. Becca can be his friend, and she might even have feelings for hi
m, but if he’s with you and you can trust him with that, then you have nothing to worry about. It starts with talking to each other. This kind of stuff has a way of building if you don’t deal with it as soon as you can. And it can grow into something terrible. You don’t want to let that happen.”
“Right,” Kai said slowly. “So all we need to do is talk to each other.”
I nodded. “Yeah. It’s best to be up-front and honest. You’ll feel better about it.”
Kai stood up. “Thanks.”
I looked up at them. “Um. You’re… welcome? That’s it?”
They shrugged. “That’s it. I actually already did all this. Diego and I talked about it a few months ago. Becca’s one of my best friends now. She’s got a boyfriend named Zach. He’s a jock, but I guess nobody’s perfect.”
“Then what the hell was this all—”
Kai grinned down at me. “I just thought maybe you needed to hear some things yourself, you know? Sometimes it helps to hear it spoken out loud so you can realize how hypocritical you’re being. Jealousy is pointless. Bye.”
I gaped after them as they walked back toward the others. Diego grinned up at them, patting the floor beside him. Kai sat down, laying their head on his shoulder. Diego wrapped an arm around their waist.
It took me a moment to realize I’d just gotten schooled by a seventeen-year-old.
Motherfucker.
GRIFFIN APPEARED shortly after, Jeremy trailing after him. They were smiling, though Griffin’s perhaps wasn’t as bright as it had been. They hugged at the entrance to Phoenix House before Griffin waved at us and left.
Jeremy exclaimed over the pizza, chiding Taylor for not eating all the anchovy slices. The kids all groaned when he picked up a piece and bit into it. That proved to be a mistake, because he immediately spat it back out and started gagging dramatically.
Later, on the ride home, he said, “You’ve been quiet this afternoon.”
I smiled weakly at him. “Yeah. Sorry about that. Just… thinking.”
“About?”
“You’re really good with them. The kids. They’re lucky to have someone like you.”
He sighed as his hands tightened on the steering wheel. “Yeah, I guess. Marina’s still trying to convince me to stay.”
“Why don’t you?”
“Because I belong in the classroom,” he said. “I’ve always loved it there. If things were different….” He shook his head. “I don’t know. This was always temporary. I’ve learned so much over the past couple of months, and it’s helped me to see things in a different light. I want to try and incorporate that more into what I teach. These kids, they’re… learning. They’re growing. And by the time they get to me, the shape of who they’ll become is starting to be defined. I think I can help them more at that stage than any other.”