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Chapter Forty-Three
Declan
James throws me thefootball. It nearly hits me in the head because I had completely zoned out.
“Earth to Declan,” he yells. “Why are you so out of it?”
I hurl the football toward Eli and say, “No reason. Just spaced out.”
Eli tosses the ball to Will, who catches it and then eyes me suspiciously for a moment. “You’re worried about something – or angry. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s fucking wrong.” Why won’t they just drop it? Clearly I don’t want to talk about it.
MarryMe bounds up and drops a tennis ball at my feet. I turn away from my brothers and throw the ball as far as I can. MarryMe sprints after it. I haven’t seen Maggie yet, but I know she’s coming today. The more time passes, the angrier I grow at her. I can’t believe she’s going to make me get a lawyer. We’re friends – best friends. Why can’t we just do this together? If she could just see past her anger, she’d realize how good this would be for everyone. I understand it’s not what she planned, but I’m not walking away from my baby.
MarryMe comes back and drops the sticky, wet tennis ball at my feet. I pick it up again and throw it even further this time. I feel a presence at my shoulder.
“Last time I saw you this angry was when the two of us were rolling around on the ground fighting over Olivia. Is it a girl?” Will asks.
I don’t look over at him and say, “I really don’t want to discuss it.”
He nods and puts his hand on my shoulder. “Okay. But I’m here if you change your mind. Or if you just need to get into another slap fight to let out your anger. I’ll let you slap me around.”
I snort, and he squeezes my shoulder before he walks away.
I stay outside with MarryMe and then head toward the house when I get a text from James that they are sitting down to eat.
Everyone is already seated when I make my way to the dining room. There’s one empty seat – directly across from Maggie. She’s looking down at her plate as I sit down across from her.
“Now that everyone’s here – let’s dive in.” James claps his hands together and we start passing plates around. I keep stealing glances at Maggie. She never looks my direction.
Juno and Keene dive into a conversation about what superpower they’d like if they could have any power. I’d love to tune them out, but they rope the whole table into their discussion.
“Invisibility,” Keene says. “No question.”
“What exactly would you do with that?” James calls from the other end of the table.
Keene’s mouth quirks and he answers, “I’d never tell.”
“That’s code for something illegal,” Zadie quips.
