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She looked up to the pale blue sky. She felt her father beside her, a warm presence in all that cold air.
"Angie!"
She wiped her eyes.
Mira was running across the street, her long skirt flapping against her legs. She was out of breath by the time she reached the park. "Are you okay?"
It was surprisingly easy to smile. "You know what? I am. "
"No kidding?"
"No kidding. "
Mira sat down beside her. They kicked their feet in the sand, and the merry-go-round started to turn.
Angie leaned back and stared up at the sky. She was moving again.
LAUREN SPENT ALL OF THE NEXT DAY GATHERING HER courage. It was dark by the time she reached Mountainaire. The gate was closed and the guardhouse looked deserted. A man in a tan uniform was stringing Christmas lights along the tall wrought-iron fence that protected the houses within.
She went to the guardhouse and peered through the window. An empty chair sat behind a desk cluttered with car magazines.
"Can I help you?"
It was the man with the lights. He looked irritated by her presence, or maybe it was simply the job.
"Im here to see David Haynes. "
"He expecting you?"
"No. " Her voice was barely there. It wasnt surprising. Last nights party had been Thunderdome loud. She and David had had to shout at each other just to carry on a conversation. Later, after hed gone home--just in case his folks showed up--shed cried herself to sleep.
This wasnt a secret she could keep. It was ripping her up inside.
In front of her, the gate jerked once, and then arced inward slowly.
Lauren nodded at the guard, though she couldnt see him through the small window. In its square surface all she could see was her own reflection: a thin, frightened-looking girl with curly red hair and brown eyes that were already filling with tears.
By the time she reached Davids house--shed gone the long way, walking up and down several unfamiliar streets--it had started to rain. Not much of a rain, really--more of a mist that beaded your cheeks and made it difficult to breathe.
Finally, she came to his house. The majestic Georgian home looked like a Hallmark Christmas card. The per fect holiday house with lights everywhere, fake candles in the windows, and evergreen boughs draped above the front door.
She pushed through the gate at the perimeter of the lot and walked up the patterned stone path to the front d
oor. When she reached the door, a light automatically came on. She rang the bell. It played a symphonic melody; Bach, maybe.
Mr. Haynes answered the door, wearing a pair of expertly creased khaki pants and a shirt as white as fresh snow. His hair was as flawless as his tan. "Hello, Lauren. This is a surprise. "
"I know its late, sir. Almost seven-thirty. I should have called. I did call, actually. Or I tried to, but no one answered. "
"So you came anyway. "
"I figured you were on long distance, and I . . . really needed to see David. "
He smiled. "Dont worry about it. Hes just playing that damn Xbox. Im sure hell be glad to see you. "
"Thank you, sir. " She could breathe again.
"Go on downstairs. Ill send David. "
