Page 55

THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN

Hugh

MAY 2, 1998

M Y SISTER AND G IBS HAD A DANCE COMPETITION UP THE COUNTRY THIS WEEKEND , and my mother had organized for me to stay at Lizzie’s house until they got back.

It should have been the greatest weekend of my life, and it probably would have been if it hadn’t been for Caoimhe and I still being on the outs.

I’d barely spoken more than ten words to her since last summer, when she point-blank refused to believe Liz and I didn’t invent the woman in the woods.

Worse than not believing us, she convinced our parents to take her side, which left everyone thinking we made the whole thing up. Even my own mother was swayed to the dark side, believing I had conjured up the woman in the woods.

I hadn’t.

I knew what I saw that day.

I had a feeling that, deep down inside, Caoimhe knew, too.

The fact that she continued to label me a liar only intensified my thirst for vindication.

And the stronger my grudge grew .

She turned seventeen last Thursday and had a big bash planned at the house for Saturday. I didn’t even wish her a happy birthday when I came downstairs to the party tonight with Liz. Yeah, my so-called babysitter could have one of those when she started telling the truth.

As for her asshole boyfriend who pranced around the house like he owned it, well, he could take a long walk off a short beach. Seriously. I really hoped he would, because the mere sight of his smug face had my teeth on edge and my upchuck reflex locked, loaded, and ready to blow.

Gobshite .

Sticking to each other like glue throughout the party, Liz and I rotated between watching movies in her room and sneaking downstairs to swipe snacks.

She seemed a lot more relaxed this weekend and had slept like a baby last night. She credited this to having me in her room, having told me numerous times that I was her own personal dream catcher. Apparently, my presence in her room, with my makeshift bed on the floor next to hers, kept the monsters at bay.

I didn’t like to think too much about it because whenever I did, I was crippled by wave upon wave of devastation. It was a reminder that she was different. That she had a problem that I couldn’t fix for her. I couldn’t fight what I couldn’t see, and it made me feel helpless.

None of it scared me off being with her, though. Because, even if I didn’t have the emotional capacity to truly appreciate the battles she fought, I had the wherewithal to acknowledge the gifted mind hidden beneath the fractured particles.

Her family didn’t seem to understand her—well, her father and sister certainly didn’t—but I did.

My best friend had a beautiful, complicated, and brilliant mind, and I knew I had enough love in my heart for her to remain right by her side.

No matter what .

“It’s your sister’s birthday,” Mark stated, walking into Lizzie’s room for the third time tonight.

Without knocking .

For the third time .

“The next time you walk in here without knocking on the door, I’m going to rip your fucking head off,” I warned, glaring up at him from my perch on her bedroom floor. Shaking the dice in my hand, I dropped them on the Monopoly board before adding, “Fair warning.”

“Two sixes takes you past my hotel,” Lizzie groaned, looking thoroughly devastated when I moved my boot figurine across the board. “Damn you, Hugh Biggs. I was depending on that money to get me out of jail.”

“Did you not hear me, munchkin?”

Ignoring him completely, Lizzie picked up the dice for her turn, but her hand was shaking in a way that made me know she was stressed.

Beyond irritated by his presence, and angered further by that horrible fucking pet name, I climbed to my feet and stalked toward him. “Are you honestly this devoid of intellect?” I demanded, having had more than my regular quota of Mark Allen for one weekend. “If you’re too thick to take the hint, then let me spell it out for you. Liz doesn’t care about your girlfriend’s party. Not even a little bit, and neither do I. So why don’t you do all of us a favor and fuck right off.”

The asshole looked so taken aback that someone younger than him had the nerve to stand up to him that he was distracted when I made my next move.

Shoving at his chest as hard as I could, I felt a surge of satisfaction when he staggered backwards, giving me ample opportunity to close and lock the door.

“You cheeky, little shit,” he snarled from the other side of the door. “You’ll get yours, Biggs. Just you wait.”

“Looking forward to it,” I called back, rolling my eyes. “Dick brain.”

“That was epic!” Looking up at me with a wide-eyed expression, Liz beamed at me. “But aren’t you afraid of him retaliating?”

“No, because it’s all talk,” I replied, entirely unafraid of the bully I was quickly gaining on in the height department. Returning to her side, I snatched the dice up to roll my turn. “Bullies feed on fear.” Shrugging, I added, “And Mark can’t feed on me.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t fear him.”

“You don’t?”

“No, Liz, and you shouldn’t either,” I replied. “Because I would kill him before I ever let him hurt you.”

“You would?”

“Without a doubt.”

“Why, though?”

I shrugged. “Because you’re my best friend, and there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to protect you.”

Her blue eyes softened when she whispered, “I love you so much, Hugh Biggs.” Reaching out, she covered my hand with hers and smiled. “I wish you could stay with me forever.”