Page 114 of The Fake Out

Currently, I was in Adult Fiction, where I’d been culling out mis-shelved books. Last night had seemed like some kind of weird fever dream. Had I really curled up on Chris’s lap and cried? By the time I’d got home, I’d been exhausted in all the ways a person could be. I’d taken a hot shower and, for the first time since the pool house, I’d slept hard. But between the Barn Incident and last night, I had no idea where Chris and I stood.

Me: Yes?

Dreamboat: Are we okay?

Me: I think so.

Dreamboat: Good.

Sometimes texting was the absolute worst form of communication. Was that a hey, it’s real good or a eh, good? If texting was supposed to make things less awkward, it was not working.

“Attention. Can I have everyone’s attention, please? Gather ’round.”

I poked my head out from the stacks to find Iris standing in the middle of the library, arms spread to the ceiling like a prize fighter.

“What’s going on?” I asked, walking to her.

She bounced on her feet. “Where’s Aidan?”

“Right here,” he said, coming from the children’s section.

A huge grin spread across Iris’s face when she saw him. She ran to him, put her hands on his cheeks, and kissed him right on his mouth. When she stepped back, he blinked, looking dazed but not altogether unhappy.

“Hi?” he said.

“We did it.” She pulled a packet of paper from her backpack and presented it like she was a magician and it was her rabbit. “We did it.”

Without waiting for his reply, she waved the paper in the air and ran around in a circle like she was doing a victory lap.

“Okay. Iris, I need to ask you something and I want you to be honest,” I said. “Are you using drugs?”

She stopped directly in front of me. “Not yet.”

“Not funny.”

“Ta-da.” She presented me with the packet.

I took it from her and realized it was the math test she’d taken earlier in the week. “You got a B plus? No way.”

“Yep. It brings my grade up to a very solid C minus and I still have the final to go. That means unless I completely give up, I’ll be able to pass. I can’t believe it. We did it, Aidan.”

Iris and I turned to look at him, but the poor guy hadn’t moved a muscle.

“Hey?” Iris said. “You okay?”

“Um, yeah,” he said, his cheeks pink. “This is great news.”

“The very best.” She giggled—giggled!—then turned to me. “Heard anything from Dad?”

I shook my head and lied straight to her face. “Sorry. Nothing.”

With a sigh, she stuffed her test in her backpack. “You’ll keep trying?”

“I promise,” I said, and resisted the urge to cross my fingers and hide them behind my back.

“Well, I have to run. Stuff to do.” She took off for the door and then stopped, turned back and rushed to Aidan. When she got to him, she threw her arms around him. “Thank you. I can’t believe I passed that test.”

“No problem,” Aidan squeaked out, his arms pinned to his sides. He cleared his throat. “See you tomorrow for tutoring?”