AllFreeNovel
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She eyes the bag. I can see the wheels turning in her head. Will she forgive me? Will she give me another chance? Do I even deserve one?
“You really did that for me?”
“Yes. And I want to help you with the dance if you’ll let me.”
After a moment, she half laughs. “Never in a million years did I think I’d hear the day you offered to help with a dance.” The corner of her mouth tilts up, and she steps away from the door, opening it wide for me to walk through.
I almost trip over the stacks of newspapers that fill the entryway.
“Sorry, I haven’t had a chance to take those to the recycling center,” she says.
We pass the living room where Sadie’s older sister sits with her eyes glued to her phone screen. She’s using the front camera to apply another layer of mascara on her already covered lashes. She catches me watching. Her eyebrow raises, oozing her confidence. “Did I say you could stare at me?”
“Did I say you could talk to me?” I snap back.
Sadie rolls her eyes. “Easy you two.” She pushes the kitchen door open. It flies back on its hinges the second I pass through.
I set the bag on the counter and start pulling out the different things I bought. The ice cream is buried somewhere near the bottom, so I have to empty the bag to find it.
Sadie stands off to the side with her arms crossed in front of her oversized blue t-shirt. “You went a little crazy at the store,” she says.
I chuckle. “Well, I bought everything we need for the dance tomorrow.” I take both of the ice cream pints, one in each hand. “Chocolate or cookie dough?”
“Cookie dough.”
I open it and stab a fork into the top like a pitchfork. The first time I saw Sadie eat her ice cream with a fork, it threw me off, but it grew on me. Although I opted for a spoon, I have been known to use a fork when all the spoons are dirty and I’m desperate. It’s not that bad, as long as the ice cream doesn’t sit too long. Once the ice cream starts to melt, though, there’s no convincing me to use a fork.
Sadie takes a big bite of ice cream. Yes . . . a bite.
My teeth hurt just watching it happen.
Sadie scrapes the top of the ice cream, forming lines in a crosshatch pattern instead of taking more bites. “Can I be honest with you?”
I nod, my heart speeding up a little.
“I know you put a lot of effort into finding all these ingredients, but I don’t know if I’m up for the dance. I started skipping school again, and . . . I’m considering dropping out.”
“Sadie . . .”
“I know.”
“You’re so close. You’ve wanted that scholarship for years.”
She sniffles, and a tear falls to the floor. “I’ve been having a really hard time thinking about my future lately.” She wipes her cheek on the back of her arm. “You know, he was headed here that day,” she whispers.
“I know.”
As if her tears broke through a dam, they drench her face all at once. “Yeah, but that’s the thing. You should be screaming back at me telling me it was my fault. You should be telling me that, if Ethan and I never started dating, he would still be here. You shouldn’t be bringing me ice cream.” She sinks to the floor with her back leaning against the cabinets.
I sit next to her. “I’m not going to do that.”
“If he had a different girlfriend—"
“You were the only girl for him. He didn’t want anyone else.” It’s true. Ethan always loved Sadie, long before Sadie saw him as anything more than my brother.
“Well, look what good that did.” She sets the ice cream down and draws her knees in. Her arms rest on top, making the perfect resting place for her head.
I rub the arch of her back as her muffled sobs bubble out. I want to tell her that everything will be okay, but I can’t. It’s not really true. Things won’t ever really be okay. He’s gone. That won’t change. We’ll have to adjust to the empty space he’s left.
