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“I got the phone from a . . . boy. It was a gift. I’ll call the phone company and cancel it right now.”
“Is that why you’ve been acting so strange this week?” he pressed. “Breaking dishes . . . and so tired?”
Maddy let out an embarrassed breath. She didn’t know what to say. A realization seemed to wash over his face.
“I’m guessing you weren’t studying with Gwen last night, were you?”
“No,” Maddy breathed.
“You lied to me?” Kevin looked genuinely shocked at this. He looked down at the table. “You were sneaking around behind my back, lying to me.” When he looked up, Maddy was surprised to see the genuine hurt in his eyes.
“I didn’t raise you this way, Maddy.”
It was enough to raise a lump in her throat. Hot tears threatened to overspill her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Kevin,” she whispered. “It won’t happen again.”
Kevin nodded but didn’t seem entirely convinced.
“And who was this boy, anyway?” he asked, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. “Some boy from school?”
“Not exactly,” she said. “But nothing happened. And it’s over now. I promise.”
Kevin’s expression softened a bit, his shoulders relaxing. “All right.”
Maddy looked out the window, out to the Angel City sign looming on the hill. She imagined it was mocking her. Mocking them both.
“You want to take the rest of the night off? I already called someone to fill in for you.”
“Sure,” Maddy said weakly. “Thanks.”
Kevin looked a little embarrassed himself now. Maddy knew these “father-daughter” things weren’t easy for him.
“Just do me a favor. I know you’re older now, but it’s . . . dangerous out there. Especially for . . . you. I mean, young girls like you. Please. Don’t walk home by yourself at night for a while, okay?”
“Okay,” she said, feeling slightly puzzled. She went over, kissed him on the cheek, and stepped silently upstairs.
Disappointing Kevin was something she rarely did, and she had forgotten how truly terrible it felt. Their modest life wasn’t much, but it was everything he had to give her. He had always provided for her, and she wasn’t even his daughter. How disrespectful had she been? Very, she decided.
She sat on her bed and pulled out the BlackBerry Miracle. Somehow she had to figure out how to cancel the thing. Then it chimed.
It was a new-blog alert.
Apparently the phones at the party had all been preprogrammed with bookmarked web pages, and, of course, the Angel blogs were among them. Maddy read the screen. It was about Jacks.
“Amid the media firestorm that broke this morning around the Angel killings and last night’s Angels Weekly Commissioning party, Jackson Godspeed released a press statement today playing down rumors ACPD has him on a list of potential targets. Jacks also emphatically denied there was anything romantic between him and the girl he brought to the party the previous night, describing her as a ‘contest winner.’” The blogger continued by declaring, “Whatever that contest is, we’d love to play!”
The tears finally came. She had made a fool of herself and betrayed or disappointed everyone she cared about. Gwen first. And now Kevin. And someone else too, a name she was startled to realize was on the list. Ethan. Maddy threw the phone on the floor. From that moment, she decided, she was going to start fresh. A new beginning. A clean slate. She was going to be the fun, social, loyal Maddy she knew she could be. She looked out the window. There was that sign again. Like a ghost. She got up and quickly drew the shade. Then she went digging for her old phone, sat at her desk, and, taking a deep breath, made a call.
Ethan picked up, sounding distracted. “Hello?”
“Eth
an, hey. It’s Maddy. From school.”
His voice immediately brightened. “Hey! Wh-what’s going on, Maddy?”
“I just wanted to say I changed my mind. I’d love to come to your party, if that’s still okay.” The line was quiet. “If not, it’s—”
