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I look at her full on. “What?!”
“Something…” she trails off as she looks at her hand.
I follow her eyes, and then burst into abrupt laughter. “Is that—?”
“DON’T say it! Don’t even think it.”
“Val…” I’m laughing so hard, I might have to pull over. “That’s—”
“Bird poo?” she says, nostrils flaring. “Yeah, got it. Do you have a—”
“Towel’s in the back.”
She undoes her seatbelt with one hand and turns in her seat. As she scrambles into the back, she leans so close that my laugher catches in my chest.
With a grimace, she sits back down and grumbles as she wipes off the white splatter. Wipes again and again so the top of her hand is red. “Ew, ew, ew!”
“They say that’s a sign of good luck.”
“They are just trying to make people who get hit with poo feel better,” she responds flatly. “An impossible mission, by the way.”
“There’s hand sanitizer in the passenger door.”
“Thanks.” She pumps out a solid five dollops. Shoots me a suspicious look. “You’re prepared.”
A smirk crosses my lips. “I never forgot your streak of bad luck.”
Though I’m looking at the road, I physically feel Val tense up next to me. “I don’t have bad luck,” she squeaks indignantly. “Not anymore.”
“So the ripped pants, and the bird poo are…?”
“Unfortunate, unrelated incidents about which you have no business making assumptions.” She shifts in her seat and looks out the window.
Hm. I clearly touched a nerve. Val used to laugh with me whenever bad things happened to either of us, but apparently that’s a line I can no longer cross.
“I’m sorry,” I say sincerely. “Really. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“Yes. Well. Things are different now.”
She’s so right, and so wrong, all at once.
10
Ethan
Four Years Ago
“Don’t touch.” Pops smacks my hand away. Like I’m a toddler.
I chuckle. “It’s for scientific purposes!”
“Can’t let you take that kind of risk.” He shakes a finger at me. Then, he takes that finger, turns around, and sticks it into the brownie batter himself. He licks off the gooey, chocolatey substance, and smacks his lips, giving me a satisfied smile. “It’s safe. You can go ahead.”
I roll my eyes. “Thanks for looking out.”
Pops laughs. “Where’s Val?”
“In my room. A friend from school called her for help with some boy problem. I tried to give advice, but Val shushed me. Said I didn’t know what I was talking about.”
