Страница 22 из 47
“Her mom is insanely neurotic about appearances and her dad is never around. He works overseas or something, barely even calls when he’s traveling.”
I shrugged. Josh’s dad was a pilot and was gone for days at a time, but Josh wasn’t a jerk because of it. “So?”
“Everything has to be perfect in their world. Her room, her hair, her grades, everything. I’m over there nearly every day and the only things I have ever heard her parents say to her are ‘Why can’t you be as smart as your brother?’ and ‘Why can’t you be as pretty as your sister?’ Never once have I heard them say ‘Good job’ or ‘It’s okay, we love you the way you are.’ Not once. But you know what Alex says?”
I shook my head. Alex never said much of anything to me, with the exception of “Hey” whenever he came to pick up Maddy. So no, I had no idea what his take on Je
“Alex says it’s a show. That they borrowed money from his parents last week to cover their mortgage.”
“She told you this?” I asked, amazed that Je
“No, Alex did, but he made me swear not to tell anyone, so you can’t either.”
Who was I going to tell? Josh? I doubted he cared about Je
Maddy sighed and tossed the TV remote aside. She was irritated, as if trying to explain her best friend’s motives to me was a chore. “No, Ella, I’m saying her life sucks. Dad doesn’t care whether I make the varsity team this year or if you end up valedictorian. And Mom doesn’t swallow a handful of pills just so she can get out of bed and put her makeup on each morning. Je
I didn’t buy that excuse three years ago when Maddy first fed it to me, and I wasn’t buying it now. Sure, maybe Je
“She’s your best friend,” the girl said to Je
I smiled at her words. I may not have known who she was, but the way she quietly tried to defend me made me feel better and more at ease with some of my sister’s friends.
“Alex will make sure she’s okay,” Je
She was right, I’d give her that. Since I’d come home from the hospital, I’d refused to leave the house, refused to see anyone but my parents and Alex. He’d been given depressed-Maddy duty. Je
“Wait. What? You’ve been talking to Alex? We asked him how she was doing, but he won’t tell any of us a thing. He keeps saying she’s fine. How did you get him to talk to you?”
“I’m her best friend, remember?” Je
I didn’t know Alex well, but I’d stake my life on the fact that he didn’t tell Je
I watched as Je
“You sure that’s the best place for that?”
“Hallways are fair game,” Je
“I think you’re wasting your time. Maddy’s go
“You, for starters,” Je
“Besides,” Je
My sister’s image, the one she had meticulously crafted, was being torn apart while I stood here hiding. I knew what Maddy would do. I knew without a doubt that she’d walk down that hall and call Je
Not me. I’d quietly walk away without ever letting Je
20
I turned back the way I’d come, my head down, my mind completely focused on the texture and shade of the dead tree I was already sketching in my mind. No colored pencils for this picture. There was going to be nothing but black charcoal intermingled with gray smudges.
I felt someone’s hands reach out and brush my arm in an attempt to stop me before I plowed her over. It didn’t work, and I found myself staring up at Molly, my books scattered everywhere.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, and quickly turned to look over my shoulder.
Molly shrugged and looked past me toward Maddy’s locker. I turned and followed her gaze, hoping to God Je
“You okay?” she asked, her eyes still trained on Maddy’s locker.
“Yeah. I guess so.” I didn’t know whether she was referring to Je
She nodded, and held out her hand to help me up. I took it, grateful that at least one of my sister’s friends didn’t seem to be completely self-absorbed.
Molly stood there staring at me, her lips parting as if she was debating whether or not to tell me something.
“What?” I said, wanting her to come out with it. I was tired of trying to piece things together, guessing my way through Maddy’s life. For once, I needed someone to tell me how it was.
“Nothing.”
I sighed and walked away, disgusted with myself for foolishly hoping one of Maddy’s friends could be honest.
“I ran into Je