AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I know, I know—I’m terrible, and it’s my fault. But…can I ask you something? You said that you’re different now—that youfeeldifferent. How do you feel?”
“Bad, mostly,” he says. “I’m angry all the fucking time. I don’t care about my classes or my grades. I listen to Seth and Isaac talk about their lives, but I don’t really care about anything they’re saying. It all just seems so…trivial. I don’t enjoy reading or gaming anymore. That picture I drew of…you is the only thing I’ve started and finished since I got out. And I didn’t do it because I was inspired; I did it to hurt you. I’m angry with everyone, and I can’t make myself give a fuck about anything other than how mad I am.”
“My mom has been in there for a long time,” I tell him. “A lot longer than you. Do you think she’s…”
“She’s not okay, Ally. Probably not at all. She’s going to be different, too. People can’t…they can’t live like that, you know? Not good ones, anyway.”
I nod and turn toward the window so he doesn’t see the tears spill over. A few seconds later, he turns into the theatre parking lot and stops the car. I unbuckle my seatbelt, and he reaches under my chin, turning my face toward his.
“I know that’s not what you want to hear, Ally, but I’m not going to start lying to you now because Idocare about you.”
“Yeah. I wouldn’t want you to,” I say, then get out of the car.
He meets me around the back of the vehicle and grabs my hand, lacing his fingers in mine, and we walk up to the theatre together. He buys our tickets, then we get in line for food and drinks. My stomach growls when we step in line, and I breathe in the scent of distinctly movie theatre buttered popcorn.
“What do you want?” Devon asks. “Popcorn?”
I nod. “And nachos.”
“Is that it?”
“And a giant soda.”
“Soda? Are you sure? Not a slushie?” he asks as we step up to the register.
“I’m sure,” I tell him.
One of our classmates works the register, eyeing us like it’s the spookiest thing he’s seen all fucking night. He looks like he wants to say something about it, but I know he won’t—not to Devon.
Devon pulls me in close to his side, orders the food, and pays the kid, who says nothing aside from our total and watches us over his shoulder while he gets our food.
“We scare people,” Devon says. “Did that happen to you at all when I was gone?”
“Were they afraid of me? Um, kind of. There was a good mix of pity and fear. They all knew there was something wrong with me. They knew I was a liar.”
“Are you worried about them seeing us now?”
Now, specifically? Not at all. I couldn’t really tell him why, though.
I shrug. “I don’t know. Not really. I don’t expect to see any of Mark and Grace’s friends here.”
“Have you ever googled us?” he asks.
“No…have you?”
“Oh yeah,” he says. “All the time. It’s all I do. I wouldn’t recommend it, though.”
The kid wordlessly sets our food down on the counter and walks away. Devon smiles at me; I snicker a little, then grab the nachos and soda and follow him down the hall to the theatre.
“When was the last time you went to the movies?” he asks after we find seats.
It takes me a minute to remember. “It was before I moved here, obviously. It was one of the newExorcistmovies, but I don’t remember what it was called.”
“Was it with a guy?” he whispers as the movie starts.
I nod. “It was a date.”
“Was he better than me?”
