AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Enough about me. What didwedo last weekend?”
“Thank you for covering for me.”
She smiles. “What are best friends for? Although I think Holden is a bad influence. You were with him, right?”
“Yeah. Maggie was right. We went camping.”
Sydney’s nose wrinkles. “How was that?”
“Better than I was expecting.” I know she’s asking about the whole sleeping and eating in the woods part, but it applies to the entire trip.
“Dinner!” my mom calls.
“Come on.” I pat Sydney’s leg. “Let’s eat and then I’ll drive you to the condo. We can watch a movie or something to take your mind off everything.”
She groans but follows me into the hallway.
And the whole walk downstairs, all I can think about is how completely shocking it is my best friend might be a mom.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
HOLDEN
The ball sinks through the hoop with a satisfying swish. Finn swears—loudly.
I grin, retrieving the ball and then spinning it around on one finger. “What’s the score again?”
Mark groans. “I need a water break.”
We all watch as he hobbles toward the grass that surrounds the cracked pavement. Jordan drew a foul earlier.
Most of my time spent in Pembrooke, it feels like nothing has changed. Especially here on this court, it’s easy to pretend that we’re just kids playing a game.
I dribble a few times, then palm the ball. We’ve been out here for about twenty minutes. When I texted Cassia earlier, she said she had to pack tonight, but maybe she’d be up for an ice cream break. We could go to the place with the waffles that she likes so much.
“Fuck.”
We all glance at Mark. He’s sitting in the grass, a strange, panicked expression on his face as he looks down at his leg.
“Did you cut yourself?” Finn asks, then looks away. He’s squeamish. I got a bloody nose during a game our sophomore year and I was worried he was going to pass out.
“I got stung by a bee.”
“Don’t be so dramatic, Kelly,” Finn says. “Just stand up and—”
“I’m allergic.”
“Howallergic?” Jordan asks.
“I dunno. I had a reaction when I was a little kid, so I’ve carried an EpiPen around ever since.”
Finn glances at me worriedly.
“Do you have it with you?” I ask.
“It’s in my gym bag.”
I jog over to the bleachers, grabbing Mark’s bag and my own. I drop Mark’s down beside him, then fish my keys out of my pocket.
