Page 32 of Blue in the Deep Blue Sea

I counted them once while she rambled on about math.

Thirty-one.

Not counting the two hidden on her neck, just below her ear.

Thirty-three in total.

“Olly.”

There she was again, nearly tripping over her own feet as she hurried to my side. The jeans she wore today made her even clumsier than usual. They were at least two sizes too big. She’d tried to keep them up with a belt, but they still slipped low on her hips, forcing her to clutch the waistband with one hand as she walked.

“What?” I scoffed, rolling my eyes when I saw her.

“Can you walk me home after school today?” she asked quietly. “I have something to tell you.”

She looked up at me with deep blue eyes framed by thick black eyelashes.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because Gianni can’t,” she said. “Please. Please.”

“Fine.”

Her eyes smiled at me as I spoke, her lips curving just enough to reveal the small dimples in her cheeks. She lifted her hand, curling it into a fist and raising her pinky. “Promise?”

I rolled my eyes and gave her a light shove as I walked past. “Ugh, grow up.”

No more promises for us, Gabby.

As I made my way down the hallway, I heard her run into the bathroom to cry.

“What’s up with her?” Gianni asked as he walked over.

“No clue.” I chuckled.

“My mom needs me to leave school early today. Can you walk my sister home? It’s her first time walking back from this side of town.”

“Doesn’t she know the way home?” I asked, confused. My head tilted when I heard footsteps down the hallway. Lorenzo and Inno were walking toward us.

“She does, but this side of town has more cliffs, and she doesn’t like the deep sea,” he said. “Anyway, I have to go.”

I nodded and watched him walk away.

“Are we going to the cinema to watch Jurassic Park?“ Lorenzo asked. “My mom can get tickets for all of us.”

“I can’t,” I said, trying to look past him for Gabriella. “I promised Gianni I’d walk his sister home.”

“How about we all go?” he asked, slipping an arm around my neck as we walked down the hallway.

Soon after, Gabby came out of the bathroom with red, puffy eyes. I didn’t even ask what had happened because I already knew I was the reason she’d been crying. I just lifted my chin and motioned toward the road.

Neither of us spoke. We walked from school toward the hilly part of town. She lived on the other side of the hill, about a fifteen-minute walk away. The road wound along high cliffsoverlooking the deep blue sea below. Looking down without being able to see where the water ended left a hollow feeling in your stomach, so it wasn’t surprising she hated that route.

Lorenzo slowed his pace to match hers, while Inno and I walked ahead, talking about how excited we were to watch Jurassic Park. At one point, Lorenzo came running toward us, waving a notebook with Gabby & Oliver scribbled across it.

“Gabby and Oliver, sitting in a tree…” he sang. “K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” he finished with a laugh.

“Stop!” she shouted, chasing after the notebook.