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A soft huff of laughter made his tight chest calm a bit. “It’s funny,” she said. “I was actually looking forward to it.”
Nathan’s lips lifted gently. “Me too, angel. It’s not every day someone gets to dance with Tulsa Harding.”
The line stayed silent on both ends, and Nathan wasn’t eager to hang up. He wished he could comfort her in person. When he was upset, having someone with him always made him feel a million times better.
“I have to go,” she whispered. If she was grounded, she probably wasn’t supposed to be talking to friends. He wondered if she’d called Stephanie at all. He supposed he’d have to call her after this to let her know—see if her hunch was right. “Thank you, Nathan. I’ll see you on Monday.”
The line went dead before he could say goodbye.
forty-two
tully
The house was quiet most of the day until Joliet’s friends started arriving for homecoming photos. Tully’s mom bought a brand-new bulky camera just for the occasion. They all laughed and chatted in the living room as the doorbell rang every five minutes or so.
Joliet had gone out that morning with their mom to get her hair professionally done at their mom’s hairdresser friend’s salon. Even before Tully was grounded, she didn’t know they were going to do anything like that—not that she was invited.
They acted like it was a wedding or something. A high school dance was hardly worththatmuch dedication.
Tully managed to sneak out of her room a single time to grab some food. It was worth the trip because a new letter from Eugene was waiting for her on the counter. She snatched it and a few crappy snacks and returned to her room before anyone saw her.
It didn’t say much, other than his usual updates on school and New York. Right then, she wished she could be there with him more than ever. She was so worried that this whole accusation would end up ruining all she’d worked for. Stumping up that remake exam could drop her 4.0. Worse even, it could ruin her chances for NYU.
His letter offered a small sense of escape until the last few sentences. Unlike his earlier plans, he wouldn’t be able to make it home for Thanksgiving break.
Tully sighed and flopped back onto her bed. She’d been looking forward to seeing him during the break next month. Letters and short long-distance phone calls were too hard to share all the details of their life. She still hadn’t told him about Nathan, or Joliet or anything that she actually wanted to tell him. Part of that was her own reluctance, and part was she would rather say it in person. If she could grow the nerve for it when the time came.
The doorbell rang again downstairs and new people entered the house, making the decibels rise. How many people was Joliet friends with?
Tully grabbed her Walkman and stuck an Aerosmith tape in, turning the volume up just loud enough to block out the sound as she stared at the ceiling.
She didn’t hear anyone knock, but her bedroom door opening caught her attention and she sat up.
Joliet, admittedly, looked gorgeous. Her hair was teased higher than her grades, her makeup matched her bright blue dress and she walked with a pace that screamed, ‘look at me’. Homecoming queen, no doubt.
Tully pulled off her headphones. “What are you doing in here?”
Joliet shut the door behind her, closing them in together. “It’s so lame that you got grounded right before homecoming. I feel awful for you.”
No, she didn’t. If she felt awful she wouldn’t grin like that.
“Thanks for your input. You can leave now,” Tully said, and made to put her headphones back on.
But Joliet didn’t leave. She walked over to Tully’s open closet and glanced at the dark purple dress she’d picked out with Stephanie but would probably never wear. “What was Mrs. Carmichael thinking, leaving the test answers on her desk like that? It’s like she was asking someone to steal them.” Joliet watched Tully expectantly.
Tully’s hand froze, the headphones close enough so she could faintly make out “Dream On” hitting its chorus.
There was no way . . . right? Her sister was cruel but would go to those lengths? “You . . .”
“But youreallyshould have known better, Tulsa. Of all places, your locker has to be the worst. I had to tell them, for your sake. It wouldn’t be right to keep it a secret just because you’re my sister,” she batted her lashes. “You’re better than this.”
To risk her future . . .
“You bitch!” Tully screamed, jumped off the bed, and took two steps until she stood in front of Joliet. With heels on, Joliet was face-level with her now making it easy to scream in her face. “I knew it! You did this? Why would you do this?”
Her bedroom door flung open and their mother ran into the commotion. Behind her, a few of their classmates had come upstairs to see what was happening and were curiously peeking. If she wasn’t steam-in-ears livid, she would have been humiliated that everyone was trespassing on her space.
“Tulsa. What are you doing?”
