Jill Williamson - The Me You See

Riverbend Friends

Real, Not Perfect

Searching for Normal

The Me You See

Chasing the Spotlight

The Me You See

2021 Focus on the Family. All rights reserved.

A Focus on the Family book published by Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188

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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The characters and events in this story are fictional. Any resemblance to actual persons or events is coincidental.

Cover design by Mike Harrigan. Interior design by Eva M. Winters.

Interior illustration of musical note copyright streptococcus/Adobe Stock. All rights reserved. Interior illustration of emoji icons copyright Marc/Adobe Stock. All rights reserved.

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ISBN 978-1-58997-706-8

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data can be found at www.loc.gov.

ISBN 978-1-68428-146-6 (ePub); ISBN 978-1-68428-147-3 (Kindle); ISBN 978-1-68428-145-9 (Apple)

Build: 2021-12-14 11:41:27 EPUB 3.0

P ANCAKES AT SEVEN OCLOCK.

My eyes flashed open. Someone stood over my bed, looking down. Fire shot through me as my brain put two and two together.

Sebastian! I pulled my blankets up to my chin. No coming in here without knocking!

I did knock, Isabella Valadez, my brother said. Pancakes at seven oclock.

I glanced past Sebastian to the digital clock on my nightstand. It was 7:04. Hed probably been knocking since 7:01.

Ill be downstairs in five minutes, I said.

Sebastian didnt move. His eyes such a light brown they were almost hazel were fixed on my bedspread. My brother didnt like making eye contact. His normally frizzy curls were wet and tightly matted together. Hed showered and dressed himself already.

Go downstairs and wait for me, Bash. I stifled the Ahora! I wanted to tack on. Anger never worked on my brother. I softened my tone, reminding myself he wasnt trying to annoy me. Get out the flour and the comal, okay? That will help me make them faster.

Get out the flour and the comal. Make them faster. Sebastian wandered out of my room, leaving the door gaping.

Sebastian! I yelled after him. Shut the door behind you. Por favor?

He stepped back into the open doorway. Okay, yes, Isabella Valadez. Shut the door behind me. He turned his back to the door, reached behind him, and closed it.

My head fell back against my pillow. My brother was the most impaciente person in the world. He was twelve, but because he had autism, my parents acted like our move last summer nullified Sebastians independence. Now that we lived in a city, they said someone had to always be watching him. Since Mam and Papi both worked full-time, Leo was in college, and Claire had robotics and a job, that someone was usually me.

I lay under the warm covers, wishing I could doze another hour or three. Captain Marvel gazed at me from the poster on my wall. My whole family was obsessed with the franchise, but with her intelligence, strength, and kindness, Captain Marvel was my favorite. How would she handle a brother like mine? No question there. Shed get up and make the kid breakfast. After checking her cell phone, of course. There could be an important message from Nick Fury.

I reached for my phone. Checking it was the first thing I did each morning. I had to know what was going on out there what I was missing. Cyber-stalk my crushes. All the important aspects of a girls life.

To my great disappointment, there was nothing going on. At least not with my squad. Theyd been gone all winter break. They were still gone. And I was still here with Sebastian. Every day. Making him pancakes for breakfast and peanut butter and honey sandwiches for lunch. Wishing I could go someplace where people my age were hanging out. Cute people. Boy people.

With that thought, I thumbed over to Cody Nicholss Instagram. He lived at the end of my street and was the whitest white boy Id ever crushed on. I couldnt help it. He was a total Captain America with peachy skin, blond hair, and the sweetest brown eyes. Sadly, Cody had friend-zoned me from day one. He friend-zoned everyone. I dont think he actually dated. Cody never posted on his feed, but he usually had a story up. Nothing today, though.

Next up was Zac Lloyds page. His real name was Isaac, but everyone called him Zac. He was a senior and a white boy, too, but he was so tan his skin was as brown as mine. Wed make a striking entrance to prom. He was super hunky. Id started saying hunky after watching an 80s movie with my mom. It made me laugh at the time, but now I think its perfect for describing boys like Zac. Especially since he looked a lot like Matt Cornett, who played E. J. on High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, which was my current favorite because, duh, #musicals. Zac was on my sisters robotics team and ran track, but his most notable trait was something I called The Dazzle. Zac had the most incredible hazel eyes that sparkled. All. The. Time. When those hazel eyes were directed at someone even accidentally, which had happened to me twice, swoon they had the power to captivate. Think Flynn Riders smolder, only I didnt think Zac could control it. It was simply who he was.

I have crushed on Zac ever since I first laid eyes on him at church. He attended sporadically with his dad. Multiple times Ive tried to calendar his appearances without success. So far stalking his social media was the best I could do to chase after the man I loved.

Actually, I thought he had a girlfriend, so there was that little problem too.

Oh. And also, the fact that he didnt know I was alive. But I was a glass-three-quarters-full kind of girl, so I didnt count those things as obstacles against our future marriage.

He, too, rarely posted pics of his face, which I found somewhat annoying. Last night hed posted a football meme I totally didnt get. Me and sports dont mesh so well. I lingered a bit, gazing at the two pics in his feed that actually showed his face and those mesmerizing eyes.

I closed out of Instagram and was about to thumb over to Snapchat, when I remembered I didnt have time. In about three minutes Sebastian would return to demand his breakfast. I sighed and rolled out of bed, knocking about a dozen stuffed animals onto the floor. I shoved my feet into my monkey slippers, put on my bathrobe, and padded downstairs.

Pancakes at seven oclock, Sebastian said when I finally placed a plate of five pancakes in front of him. Its 7:28, Isabella Valadez.