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“Ellen?” He walked toward her, frowning. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She should feel stupid. Instead, she felt as if she had no choice. “I, um, just wanted to talk to you.”
“Let’s go back to my office—”
“No!”
“Okay.” His eyes looked really concerned now, and she couldn’t blame him for finding her behavior weird. “You want to come up to the house?”
“No!” This wasn’t going well. Not that she’d had any idea what was supposed to happen. “Can we, um, just walk?”
“Sure.”
He started for the street.
“Back here?” She indicated the churchyard, where they’d had their Fourth of July picnic the year before. She’d shared a chicken leg with Aaron. And that evening had been the first time he’d kissed her.
“Sure.” The pastor started slowly circling the yard. “What’s up?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I just needed to talk to you.”
“But you don’t know what about?”
“Not really. I just couldn’t go home yet. I wasn’t ready for…for the relaxed feeling I get here to end.”
He nodded as though he understood. And didn’t find her weird at all.
“So tell me what’s on your mind.”
She shrugged. She couldn’t tell him that. She didn’t talk to anyone about that. Ever. “School, I guess.”
“Have you seen Barbie and Anita lately?”
“Sure,” she said, impressed that he cared enough to remember her friends’ names. “Every day at school. And they were both here today.” But he’d know that.
“I meant outside of school. Like a trip to the mall, maybe? Or even a visit at home?”
She shook her head. “I don’t have time for that right now. My classes are really tough thi
s semester and I don’t want to blow my 4.0.”
“Yeah, your mom said something about that.”
He was so easy to talk to. Ellen wished it could be like that with everyone. Still, she didn’t really have anything to say. She just wanted to feel peaceful.
“How about Aaron?”
Ellen couldn’t breathe. Needed to go home. Why, oh, why had she sent Mom away? She’d made a mistake. She wasn’t ready to be out on her own yet.
“I thought Mom told you. I broke up with him.”
“That doesn’t mean you can’t still see him. You both go to the same school.”
“Yeah, well, when you’re my age and you break up with a guy, he usually avoids you.”
“How do you feel about that?”
How was she going to get home? She’d figured she’d ask him to take her, but now she didn’t want to.
