Beautiful Disaster 01 by Jamie McGuire

chest as he ran up the stairs. America opened the door before we made it to the top and smiled.
    “Look at you two. If I didn’t know better….”
    “Knock it off, Mare,” Shepley said from the couch.
    America smiled as if she’d said too much, and then opened the door wide so we could both fit through. Travis collapsed against the recliner. I squealed when he leaned against me.
“You’re awfully cheerful this evening, Trav. What gives?” America prompted.
I leaned over to see his face. I’d never seen him so pleased.
“I just won a shit load of money, Mare. Twice as much as I thought I would. What’s not to be happy about?”
    America grinned. “No, it’s something else,” she said, watching Travis’ hand as he patted my thigh. She was right; he was different. There was an air of peace around him, almost as if some kind of new contentment had settled into his soul.
“Mare,” Shepley warned.
“Fine, I’ll talk about something else. Didn’t Parker invite you to the Sig Tau party this weekend, Abby?”
Travis’ smile vanished and he turned to me, waiting for an answer.
“Er…yeah? Aren’t we all going?”
“I’ll be there,” Shepley said, distracted by the television.
“And that means I’m going,” America smiled, looking expectantly at Travis.
Travis watched me for a moment, and then nudged my leg. “Is he picking you up or something?”
“No, he just told me about the party.”
    America’s mouth spread into a mischievous grin, almost bobbing in anticipation. “He said he’d see you there, though. He’s really cute.”
Travis shot an irritated glance in America’s direction and then looked to me. “Are you going?”
“I told him I would,” I shrugged. “Are you going?”
“Yeah,” he said without hesitation.
Shepley’s attention turned to Travis, then. “You said last week you weren’t.”
“I changed my mind, Shep, what’s the problem?”
“Nothing,” he grumbled, retreating to his bedroom.
    America frowned at Travis. “You know what the problem is,” she said. “Why don’t you quit driving him crazy and just get it over with.” She joined Shepley in his room, and their voices were reduced to murmuring behind the closed door.
“Well, I’m glad everyone else knows,” I said.
Travis stood up. “I’m going to take a quick shower.”
“Is there something going on with them?” I asked.
“No, he’s just paranoid.”
“It’s because of us,” I guessed. Travis’ eyes lit up and he nodded.
“What?” I asked, eyeing him suspiciously.
“You’re right. It’s because of us. Don’t fall asleep, okay? I wanna talk to you about something.”
    He walked backward a few steps, and then disappeared behind the bathroom door. I twisted my hair around my finger, mulling over the way he emphasized the word us, and the look on his face when he’d said it. I wondered if there had ever been lines at all, and if I was the only one that considered Travis and I just friends anymore.
    Shepley burst out of his room, and America ran after him. “Shep, don’t!” she pleaded.
    He looked back to the bathroom door, and then to me. His voice was low, but angry. “You promised, Abby. When I told you to spare judgment, I didn’t mean for you two to get involved! I thought you were just friends!”
“We are,” I said, shaken by his surprise attack.
“No, you’re not!” he fumed.
America touched his shoulder. “Baby, I told you it will be fine.”
He pulled away from her grip. “Why are you pushing this, Mare? I told you what’s going to happen!”
She grabbed his face with both hands. “And I told you it won’t! Don’t you trust me?”
Shepley sighed, looked at her, at me, and then stomped into his room.
    America fell into the recliner beside me, and puffed. “I just can’t get it into his head that whether you and Travis work out or not, it won’t affect us. But he’s been burned too many times. He doesn’t believe me.”
    “What are you talking about, Mare? Travis and