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“Ally!” Darci calls after me in the parking lot after track practice. “I’m picking you up. I already talked to Grace, and she said I could bring you shopping for prom dresses with me.”
Oh…great.
“Um, okay. Cool.”
I’m in my sweats and a t-shirt, my hair still wet after showering. We had to run two miles at the end of practice as a team today. My legs feel like jello, and all I can think about is the money that feels like it’s burning a hole through my duffle bag. I’d prefer not to go anywhere without ditching it first.
But I don’t want to raise any red flags, as things have been weird enough between us already. And, I guess, I’d still rather not go home.
I climb into her Honda and pull the door closed behind me. She reaches for the volume knob and turns up the latest Taylor Swift CD.
“Are we picking up Audrey?” I ask.
“No,” she says. “It’s been a while since we’ve spent some time alone together. I think we’re overdue, don’t you?”
“Yeah,” I tell her. “Yeah, that sounds good.”
Better, typically. But something is…off. Over the last year, I’ve spent most of my time on high alert. I’ve become more attuned to people’s moods, their movements, and what to expect next. Ican feel when eyes settle on me, whether alone or in the middle of a crowd. As a result, I’ve learned how to make myself invisible, smaller—someone other people don’t want to look at or watch.
Darci is watching me now. She’s been watching me all week. It’s setting off something in my brain.
Maybe it’s just me. Maybe it’s my nerves getting the best of me because I’m sitting in Darci’s car after track practice, and she’s never done this before. And I’ve got $3,500 in cash in my duffle bag and a getaway plan that involves her brother. I think that would be enough to put anyone on edge.
“Where were you at lunch?” she asks. “We were all waiting for you.”
“I’m failing math,” I tell her. “I was in the library studying.”
The first part isn’t a lie.
“Really? Huh…”
“Are you sure Grace said this was okay?” I ask as we cross the bridge back to mainland Washington. “It doesn’t seem like something she would do.”
“Yes, I’m sure. Do you want to see the text?” she asks.
I shake my head. “Not really.”
“You know, maybe I could work on her about prom, too. I know Trevor really wants to ask you. That’d be fun, right?”
“Yeah, sure,” I tell her.
“Well, don’t sound so excited about it.”
“I just know she’s not going to letme go,” I tell her.
“Right,” she says. “But if youweregoing, you’d go with Trevor, right? There’s no one else you’d want to go with? There’s nothing else you’re not telling me?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve been cagey,” she says. “Distracted. Is it a guy?”
“No,” I tell her. “I’m just tired. Mark came back this week, and the house has been…it’s just uncomfortable.”
“They still fight a lot?”
“Yeah.”
“So sad,” she says, shaking her head. “I don’t know why they don’t just get a divorce.”
