9781250209153

I shake my head. This girl never ceases to surprise me. It’s a welcome
distraction from worrying about Tally.
“So Danielle totally has a crush on Kevin,” Irene says.
My heart stops. “What? No she doesn’t.”
“Please. It’s visible from a mile away.”
“That’s—it’s not—”
She quirks an eyebrow.
“Fine,” I grumble. “But keep your mouth shut about it.”
“Who am I gonna tell? Besides, I like Danielle.”
I’m about to respond when her face changes. Her eyes widen, her breath
stops. “Shit,” she says, looking over my shoulder. I try to turn, but she
plants a hand on my arm.
“What?” I say, wrenching free of her grasp.
I spin around. My eyes find the stoners passing a joint, the soccer girls
flirting with the baseball players, the kid throwing up in the corner, and—
Tally.
In the middle of the room.
Making out with another girl.
All the air is sucked out of my lungs. It feels like my heart’s been
flattened by a slab of concrete.
It’s a girl I’ve never seen before, so she must not go to Grandma Earl.
Probably a Candlehawk girl, based on the way she’s dressed. And she’s
pretty. Tally is kissing her with so much enthusiasm it’s almost like she’s
trying to eat her. Everything inside me sears with pain.
There’s a warm hand on my shoulder.
“Stop watching,” Irene says, pressing firmly until she can spin me
around.
“But I—”
“No, Scottie,” she says, holding me in place. Her voice is softer than
usual. “Don’t torture yourself.”
We make eye contact. She actually looks concerned, but I don’t have the
emotional bandwidth to care. I slip free of her grasp and hurry to the back
patio.