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“Where do you want to sit?” I whisper. I prefer to be in the middle. That way your head isn’t craned from staring up when you sit too close to the screen, and on the flip side, I’m not distracted by the other people in the theater by sitting at the top.

Her smile grows and the lights from the movie flashes against her skin. “Let’s sit at the very top.”

“Okay, lead the way,” I say.

She rushes up the stairs and finds a seat in the very top row. We’re so close to the top that we can see the projector.

Annie can hardly stay still because she’s so excited. She tears right into her sour candy and leans back. “Watch the movie,” she whispers.

I chuckle and shift my eyes to the screen. The theater is dark, but the light from the screen bounces off the chairs in front of us, lighting them up. We walked in on a scene where the main character is driving, and I’m assuming she’s going to crash. It’s raining and the background music is eerie. I desperately want to know if I’m right, but my eyes are heavy. Iwiden them, hoping I can force them open, but my attempts are in vain. I don’t know at what point I fell asleep, but I wake up to Annie nudging me. “How could you possibly fall asleep during that masterpiece?”

“I wasn’t sleeping.”

She raises her brow. “You dropped the popcorn halfway through.”

“Oops.”

“Fortunately for you, it landed right side up,” she says.

The lights are on now.

“Sorry,” I say. “Did you like it, though?”

“It was perfect. I’ll have to fill you in on the drive home because you missed the best part.” She holds out her hand, and I take it as she pulls me to stand.

Pain shoots up my side, but I try my best not to let it show.

“Are you okay? You’ve been sleeping a lot lately,” she asks.

I nod. “School’s been wearing me out.”

“Well, next time let’s get you an energy drink before we come.”

“Okay,” I say with a laugh.

We take our time leaving the theater and head into the mall’s food court. As we wait in line for hamburgers, I pull out my phone and notice a missed call.

Daniel called me.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

DANIEL

Earlier that evening

The Miller family is a sit-at-the-table-while-we-eat kind of family. It’s always awkward. I sit there quietly while they each talk about their day. Olive does most of the talking, but Laura mentions a new diet she’s trying and Rob tells us about his newest contract.

I finish my food and take my plate to the sink before heading back to my room. Thankfully, Rob is done using it for the day. I shut the door and lie on the bed. I find myself staring at my hand, holding it above my face and analyzing Margo’s handiwork.

I’m not the type of person who listens, but I let her order me around today. I followed her into the corner store, and I let her bandage me up. Why? Was it because I wanted her to? Why did my heart beat faster when she touched my hand?

I stir, rolling over to grab my phone. I bring up her messages. She wouldn’t have done that today if she didn’t likeme. There’s no way. She would’ve just left. I know that. That’s what people do when they don’t care about you.

She stayed. She took care of me.

There’s a knock at my door and I fumble, dropping the phone as Olive barges into my room.

“My audition is coming up,” she says, walking in. “I really need someone to help me practice my lines.”