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“I get it,” Lozen said. “You don’t have to apologize for having a nice car. Now give me a ride home so I don’t have to take the bus.”
“You coming tonight?”
Saber and Lozen turned, and Elise stood looking at them, bouncing a little on a pair of bright white tennis shoes in a way that made her blond ponytail sway. She also wore blackyoga leggings and a huge Nike sweatshirt in a soft petal pink. Dangling from her arm was a Chanel purse, quilted black leather with gold findings.
“Uh, no, I’m hanging out with Lozen,” Saber said, and Elise’s face flickered.
“Totally,” she said, smiling wide. “Have fun!”
“Wetotallywill!” Lozen said, in a very fake, upbeat voice.
Saber laughed as they swept into the car.
“I fuckinghateher,” Lozen said under her breath as they both slammed their doors.
Saber twisted her key in the car’s ignition, bringing it roaring to life.
“You are so mean,” Saber said, but she was laughing.
“No, I’mhonest.”
They hung out for the entire weekend.
If Lozen’s mom was concerned where she was, she didn’t call or text.
On Saturday they went into the city where Lozen knew about a huge art supply store that happened to be in a basement. On Sunday they hung out in Saber’s new studio while she played with her new art supplies. Saber’s dad had taken them out to brunch at a pub-style restaurant by the water, then they’d spent the rest of the afternoon in companionable silence, other than Lozen casually greeting the crows that landed on the branch on the tree outside of the window. As always, they gave Saber the eerie feeling that they were watching her and waiting for something to happen.
“The crows don’t freak you out a little?” Saber asked.
“They’re not crows, they’re ravens, and no. I like them. The ravens and coyotes are my favorite things about the island. Where I grew up there was even more wildlife.”
“You didn’t grow up in Washington?”
“I kind of did. Washington, Idaho, we moved a lot while my mom was figuring things out. I’m so done with the Northwest.”
Saber’s dad kept his promise and gave her totally free rein in the huge, bright-enough room situated over the garage. While she was at school, he’d had a beautiful, sleek leather couch delivered, a set of drawers for supplies, and a solid wood easel from Blick art supply. When he’d brought her upstairs to show it to her, she’d been stunned into silence. It really was a dream come true, even if it was hard to admit.
The studio instantly became Lozen and Saber’s favorite place to hang out.
On Sunday afternoon, Lozen relaxed on the couch, flipping from her phone to her laptop as she half-heartedly wrote a paper and read text messages, and Saber sketched pictures of her friend’s unsuspecting face as it shifted from serious to amused, depending on what she was doing. She loved the way Lozen wore her emotions on her face so readily, but it made her hard to draw.
Then Lozen sat up so quickly that it startled Saber. She stared at her phone as if in shock.
“Holy shit. Not again.”
“What?”
Saber looked at her from behind the canvas, and the look Lozen gave her made her blood cool.
“A kid was found dead on Old Man Beach.”
“A kid? Alittlekid?”
“No, like, somebody our age.”
“Wow,” Saber said. “How? What happened?”
“He washed up there, so I don’t think they know much. I know him, kind of. I’d met him.”
