Page 22

I should be. I’ve never been one to shy away from something new or challenging. But maybe all this baby stuff has really gotten to me because I feel like a Little girl, and the thought of him leaving me here alone is suddenly more than I can handle.

Wrapping my arms around his neck, I sniffle loudly, making the sound as pitiful as possible. “I wanna go home.”

“It’s only for a few hours, kitten, and then Daddy will be right back here to pick you up.”

“Don’t care. Wanna go home.”

“But then you’ll miss out on all the fun activities Miss Evelyn has planned. Come on, let’s go inside and see your friends and I bet you’ll feel lots better.”

“No!”

“Excuse me, little girl?”

Daddy’s tone sends my heart racing. But before he can punish me, Miss Evelyn interrupts.

“If I may, Mr. Hawthorne?” When Daddy nods, she continues, a sympathetic smile on her lips. “Natalie… are you worried about your friends?”

I don’t want to answer her, but I have a feeling if I don’t, Daddy is just going to get madder. So I force myself to nod. “Uh-huh.”

“Do you want to know a secret?”

Lifting my head slightly, I peer at her over Daddy’s shoulder. “What secret?”

“They’ve all been talking about how excited they are that you’re going to be here today. I think they’d be very disappointed if you went home.”

“Even Juliet?”

Understanding warms her gaze. “Even Juliet.”

“Oh.” Well, that does change things a bit. “Okay.”

“Why don’t we let your Daddy go put your things away and I’ll take you to your friends.”

“Okay!”

Excitement replaces the nerves bubbling beneath my skin as I wiggle out of Daddy’s hold and let Miss Evelyn take my hand.

The school is set up much like I imagine a preschool would be, with a large play area, several shelves of books, and tables where I assume we’ll eat lunch.

Along the far wall are a few mats for nap time, as well as a large changing table.

My friends are all seated in a circle, playing with toys clearly meant for toddlers. Victoria looks up as we approach, a wide smile breaking out across her face as she leaps to her feet and races toward us, throwing her arms around my neck.

“Natalie! Oh, we’re so excited you’re here!”

“Really?” Even though her words echo what Miss Evelyn said, it’s different hearing them right from the source and even more of the knots in my tummy untangle themselves.

“Uh-huh. Come on, come play with us!”

Her excitement is infectious, and I immediately drop Miss Evelyn’s hand so I can join them in their circle. And to my immense relief, Juliet greets me with a smile as I kneel beside her.

“So… is this what we do all day? Just play together?” I ask as I pick up an oversized building block and look for a place to add it to Isabella’s creation.

“We get to play a lot, but no,” Victoria says with a shake of her head.

“Miss Evelyn will read to us, and go over stuff like numbers and letters and colors. Then it’s lunch time, then nap time, and today we have dance class!

Izzy’s been teaching us. I can almost do a…

Izzy, what’s that thing where we spin in circles across the room? ”

A gentle smile curves Isabella’s lips. “Cha?nés turns. We probably won’t do those today though, since Natalie is so new.”

Victoria’s face falls. “Oh. Yeah, that makes sense.”

My stomach twists again. My presence on the island has already caused so many issues, the last thing I want to do is take something fun away from my new friends. “It’s okay. If Victoria wants to do turns I can just watch.”

Clapping excitedly, Victoria cheers. “Thank you! But also nobody but my Daddy and Miss Evelyn call me Victoria. Everyone else calls me Tori. And Izzy and Juju,” she adds, pointing at the other girls in turn before tilting her head to study me. “You need a nickname too.”

“What about Nelly?” Juliet pipes up. “You know, like Nosy Nelly.”

And just like that, my hopes that we were actually going to be friends come crashing down around me.

“That was a mean thing to say.” Her voice surprisingly more adult-sounding than usual, Victoria glares over at her friend. “If you’re going to be mean then we aren’t going to play with you.”

Juliet rolls her eyes. “Oh, get off your high horse, Tori. It was just a joke.”

“Not a very nice joke.” Frowning, Isabella looks from Juliet to me and back again. “You should apologize, Juju.”

“Fine. I’m sorry I called you nosy. But I still think Nelly is a good nickname.”

Part of me is tempted to let her stew. She’s been nothing but a bitch to me since I got to the island.

Then again, I’ve had my own jokes fall flat more times than I can count. Sometimes when you have a sarcastic sense of humor like my own and Juliet’s, it can just sound mean to others.

It’s the glares from the other two girls that have guilt stabbing at my chest. At some point, I’m going to be leaving the island and Juliet will be left behind with only Isabella and Victoria for companionship.

It would be pretty shitty for me to ruin things between them just to turn around and leave.

And honestly, it was kind of a funny joke.

“My grandma used to call me Nelly,” I lie, offering Juliet a wide grin. “You can call me Nelly if you want to.”

Juliet immediately perks up, the hope on her face almost painful to see as she looks over at her friends. Isabella and Victoria share a look, a silent conversation, before Victoria nods and once more becomes her usual grinning, happy self.

“Okay then,” she says with a decisive nod. “Nelly it is.”

Happiness wells in my chest. I have a nickname, just like them. For once in my life, I’m part of the group instead of always standing on the fringes.

And for once in my life, I find myself wishing I could just turn my back on a story.