“Oh, Hallie Holiday, we’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”He links his arm through mine, and we walk out of the bathroom together.
I have a feeling I’ll never be alone again.
We’re sitting in Dandy’s tree house, drinking tea from his mother’s best china.
“This is pronouncedoolong,” he explains, bringing the porcelain cup to his lips with his pinky extended.“Sip it.It’s the best way to enjoy it.”
Dandy doesn’t speak like a ten-year-old.He’s so smart.But not in an obnoxious way.He’s book smart, judging by the mounds of books in the tree house.He has pictures of the galaxy taped to the walls.
I mimic him with my pinky extended as we sip our oolong together.
I am having so much fun.I enjoy being in Dandy’s company.I don’t feel judged, and I can be myself, something I haven’t been since moving here a year ago.
“So, Hallie Holiday, tell me everything.”
I swallow down my tea, suddenly nervous.
I gently place down Dandy’s mother’s cup, not wanting to break it.He notices my nerves and kindly places his hand over mine.
“No judgment here.You’re safe.”
I believe him.
“I was covered in milk today because I thought making friends with the popular girls would make me happy.How wrong I was.I was sick of being…invisible,” I confess, feeling pathetic.“I thought that if maybe I was like them, people would like me.”
I wait for Dandy to turn his nose up at my confession and kick my miserable ass from his tree house.
But he does nothing of the sort.
“We’ve all been there,” he says instead, squeezing my hand.“You have to make mistakes to learn from them.”
I nod because he’s right.
“Do you have any siblings?”
I shake my head.
“Why did you movehere?”he asks in horror because Hollow Banks is a stopover on the way to someplace else.
You don’t stay here.
But those who do seem to be desperate to leave.
“I didn’t have a choice.I live with my aunt and uncle.”
Dandy waits for me to continue, but when he reads between the lines, he doesn’t press.
“Well, whatever the reason, I’m glad because I’ve been waiting for you.”
I arch a brow, confused.
He gestures toward the telescope, which points out the window toward the sky.“The universe told me something big was coming.And it’s you.”
I lower my chin, hiding behind my long hair because this is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me, and I don’t know how to deal with it.
Dandy shared with me that his father died, and it wasn’t an accident.He took his own life.He didn’t go into much detail after that.And I didn’t press because I have secrets of my own.
“Dandy!”A woman’s voice reminds me that a world outside this tree house does exist.
