Read Online The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine - Free Book Online

fall. She and Pete would coordinate their classes as much as they could, and while money would be tight, they were sure they could handle it. This was only a blip in their lives. They loved each other, had planned on getting married and having a family anyway. Maybe it wasn’t ideal, but that’s how life goes.
    Halfway through, my father began kneading his forehead. My mother’s face was a mask, the giddiness from moments ago evaporated.
    “Josh, you and Wren should go,” she said, picking at a thread on the tablecloth.
    “Mom, we can handle it. It’s not like we don’t know where babies come from.”
    Her eyes cut through me. Josh was on his feet, tugging me to get up.
    “C’mon, squirt, let’s fly.”
    Once we reached home, Josh retreated to his attic room, and I took solace in a hot shower. I knew I should feel lucky that Mom dismissed us—who would want to be in the middle of that conversation? But being sent away made me feel weird, like an outsider.
    I dressed in sweats and ventured out to see if anyone had come home. The house was silent, except for strains of Blink-182 coming from Josh’s room. I smiled and opened the door a crack. His lights were on, so I made my way up the creaky, carpeted steps into his lair.
    He was busy typing away on his computer. I knocked on the newel post so I wouldn’t startle him. Next to him, on his desk, was an open bottle of beer. Considering his condition, I thought he’d want to lay off the stuff at least for a night. I raised my eyebrows.
    “Hair of the dog, Wrennie, best hangover remedy,” he said. “Want one?”
    “Drinking . . . here? Don’t you think Mom and Dad—”
    “Wren, Golden Girl has screwed up. The parental units are officially checked out for the moment. I could be hosting an orgy up here, and no one would know. Come on, live a little, have a brewski with your big bro,” he said, reaching into the small fridge by his desk, cracking open a bottle, and offering it to me.
    I took the beer and leaned against the edge of his desk. “What do you think is going to happen with Brooke and Pete?”
    “I thought you learned all that in health class,” he said, leaning back in his chair.
    “Duh, I just meant . . . it’ll be strange, them being married . . . a baby . . . you’ll be an uncle.”
    He clasped his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling. “Wow, Josh is not an uncle name. Aunt Wren . Sounds like a lady with cankles who bakes great pies.”
    “Thanks for that mental picture,” I said, grabbing his senior yearbook. My heart raced. Why hadn’t I thought of this before? Grayson might be in there . I plopped myself down on Josh’s very unkempt bed. He’d been back for less than twenty-four hours, and his room—littered with dirty clothing, empty cups, and a plate with a half-eaten sandwich—was as though he’d never left. I punched up the pillows and sat back, trying to sound casual. “Do you know a guy named Grayson Barrett? He went to Saint Gabe’s?”
    He clicked at his keyboard feverishly before answering me.
    “Got kicked out . . . that Grayson Barrett? I know who he is, but I don’t know him. A bit of a douche nozzle around his lax bros, if I remember correctly.”
    “Don’t call him that,” I said, grimacing and casually leafing through the yearbook. The end covers were full of signatures and notes to Josh, reminding him to Stay cool, bro! and Party hard!
    “What? Douche nozzle or lax bro? They’re interchangeable,” he said, pivoting in his computer chair with a smirk on his face.
    “Josh, stop.”
    “Ah, so someone is currr-aaaaving a little boo-tay.”
    “It’s not like that!”
    “So what’s it like, then?” he asked, getting serious.
    I ran my finger along a sweat drizzle on my beer label.
    “He’s the one I saved from choking.”
    Josh’s eyes registered surprise. “Damn, you should have let him choke.”
    “How can you say that?”
    “Wren, I’m not serious. Well, maybe a little,” he