Page 66 of This Changes Everything

“What?” Zoë asked, smiling mischievously.

“You’re going to see Gwen Stefani, aren’t you?” I already knew the answer.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Zoë pressed her hand into her heart, faux-bashfully.

“What?! Seriously!” Maddy shrieked. “I’m never returning to my family, am I? Have I run away from them? Do I live here now?”

“Ooooh, that’s going to be fun.” Hannah turned to me with a shit-eating grin. “I’m so sorry you’re missing it, sister.”

“Whatever. I’m done with this.” I left the girls and chased down the shot girl at another table. I did a shot with that table, then came back to our table and said, “I’m not missing out tonight.”

“You’re not bailing on Rory, Ellie-Bee.” Hannah narrowed her eyes at me. “This is like . . . the night we’ve all been waiting for. You haven’t seen him in four years. It’s been eight years since you broke each other’s hearts. And you’ve been in love with him—he’s been hidden away in the back of your heart—every day of your life for seventeen years!”

“Don’t say that! That’s not true!” I threw my head down on the table with a slam, knowing it was completely true.

“You just need to let out some stress. Maybe you should masturbate.” Zoë calmly rubbed my back.

I scoffed at her, which turned into a cough, and she grinned back at me playfully.

“No, what I need is to have a little fun, and I need some Gwen.” I stood up from my seat and walked over to the pianist, making a request.

“Aaaaaand she’s back, baby!” Zoë laughed.

“Uh-oh.” Kara’s eyes were wide. “Here we go, folks!”

“What is she doing?” Maddy watched me with eagle eyes.

“Maddy, we’d like to introduce you to New York Ellie.” Zoë laughed.

The pianist began playing No Doubt’s “Just a Girl.” I lifted the microphone to my mouth and started singing with 100 percent commitment. I let it rip like a raging lunatic, and in a matter of seconds, I had everyone in the whole dinky bar on their feet.

Chapter 24

NEW YORK 22 years old

BEN AND I WERE SHARING AN UMBRELLA THAT WE’D HAD TO PICK up from Duane Reade after an unexpected downpour pummeled us during our walk home from school. Hannah was in town. The arrangement of her and me sleeping on the bed and Ben sleeping on the floor had worked out for the first two days, but when she suggested things might be a little less cramped if she stayed with Lucas, I kept my mouth shut and my smile smug.

Along with Zoë, we were all heading back to Grayrock, dodging enormous piles of garbage that lined the street, when Ben spotted a glowing orange sign in a window that read “PSYCHIC.”

“Let’s do it.” Ben tugged on my arm.

“Oh! Fun!” Hannah did an excited little jump. She and Lucas were sharing an umbrella as well, and Lucas didn’t appreciate the jostling, which caused the rain to slide off the umbrella and onto his shoulder.

“Hey! Settle down, Canada!” Lucas yanked the umbrella away from Hannah entirely. She shrieked and grabbed his arm, cuddling for cover.

“No. Ben, no.” I leaned back, away from the psychic, trying to keep him on track. We were going to the movies, and I still wanted to change out of my tights from our last class of the day.

“I’m with Ellie. I don’t like psychics,” Zoë said, walking behind all of us with her head tilted back, letting the rain fall on her face. “Now, find me a witch, and we can have a real conversation.”

“Watch this.” Hannah switched one of her rings around, putting it on her left ring finger. “Lucas, you keep your hands in your pockets, and I’ll bet you all thirty dollars that the psychic thinks we’re married.”

“Yes. I’m in.” Lucas jumped under the eave of the psychic’s door and closed their umbrella.

Ben gave my arm another small pull. “You don’t have to do it, but you’re gonna watch, because now I want that money.”

The door chimed as we opened it, and we stepped into what looked like the waiting room of a doctor’s office. We all sat stiffly on a long white couch in front of a coffee table. Ben and I exchanged a glance as a woman appeared from behind a closed door. She pulled up a seat and sat in front of us. I looked around the empty, musty room with dying plants and said, “Oh, are we doing this here?”

The psychic’s attention dropped down, sweeping across our bodies. Hannah noticed the psychic note her “wedding ring.” She and I made eye contact, and I could see her attempt to restrain her bubbling excitement.