Page 41

“So is that why she just got remarried to the dentist, because she and your dad are ONE TRUE LOVES?”

Gritting my teeth, I pounced. “She got remarried because my dad’s been DEAD for thirteen years.” Tactless moron.

About twenty seconds later, he respectfully wrote, “Sorry.”

If that humble little word hadn’t looked so apologetic, I probably would’ve been able to stay ticked at him. But my shoulders slumped as I said, “It’s okay. I don’t remember him. I was only three.”

“How did it ha

ppen?”

The fact that he asked made my chest ache. “Car accident. He was driving home from work. Someone ran a red light. Side swiped him.”

“Must be strange, suddenly having a new dad again.”

I shrugged. Yeah, but, “Barry’s fine. He mostly lets my mom deal with me. And when he does step in, he sides with me. So I can’t complain.”

“Bet your mom doesn’t like that though.”

I couldn’t believe he’d nailed the problem I was having with my mother so accurately on the head. It bothered me. No one was supposed to know more about me than I did.

“Go ahead and throw the glove away,” I typed, not wanting to discuss my mom just then.

“Why’d you keep it in the first place? What good is a matchless glove?”

I scowled, wanting to defend my homeless glove. But honestly, I didn’t know the answer to his question, so I said, “I don’t know.”

“If you think you’re like that glove, all alone in a foreign place with no one to turn to, you’re wrong. People are looking out for you.”

I frowned. What was he trying to say? Was he looking out for me? It made no sense. Why would he bother? He was still mad at me for kissing Todd. Besides, we didn’t even know each other.

But then he added, “I saw your profile page. Lots of Hillsburg people asked how your first day went. You’re not alone, Grace.”

I wanted to cry. How could he know so much? How could he know what was bothering me the most? And how could he know how to say exactly the right thing to make me feel better?

“I should probably go.” This conversation was getting too dangerous. We’d already strayed into forbidden topics long ago, but this seemed to move deeper than just talking.

He wasn’t finished, however. He just had to go and ask, “Did you like the kiss or not?”

I knew I should’ve logged out right then, except I felt I owed him some kind of answer. “I don’t know.” Okay, so it was a lame answer, but it was all I had.

“So you didn’t,” he said.

“I didn’t say that.”

“Didn’t have to.”

“I just don’t have anything to compare it to.” I groaned as soon as I sent that. Great. Why did I have to go and tell Ryder Yates his best friend had given me my first kiss? I wanted to smack an L to my own forehead.

He hesitated a moment before shooting back, “Doesn’t matter. If you liked it, you’d already know.”

That time, I didn’t even warn him I was leaving. I simply logged off.

But the boy was right. If I’d liked Todd’s kiss, I would know. And all I knew was that I didn’t want to kiss Ryder’s friend ever again.

Chapter 13

Black. Ever since I took up with this new crowd, I’ve had oily, black darkness gunked to my fingers, like I’ve been sticking my hands in dark places they don’t belong, hanging around shadowy people who could only suck me down into their void of life they actually think is important. Today, I’m determined to wash my hands free of all this black.