Страница 11 из 53
A few of the girls clapped, and everyone started gabbing at once. Sha
“Can I talk to you?”
Chloe glanced over her shoulder at Sha
I blinked. Did she really have to ask?
“About . . . you know,” I said, finding it hard to form the actual words. “The thing Faith mentioned at Co
Chloe’s cheeks turned pink and she looked at her shoes. “Oh, that. She was just being melodramatic. You know Faith.”
Okay. Now I was totally confused.
“Well, it was kind of a big deal,” I said, tucking my hands into the front pocket of my sweatshirt.
“Please. It was almost a year ago. And it was just a party,” Chloe said. Then she rolled her eyes. “I mean, I know I always made a huge deal about how important my sweet sixteen was, but I get why you didn’t come. Really. It’s all good.”
My mouth sort of hung open. What the hell was she talking about?
“Wait. You invited me to your sweet sixteen?” I asked.
Now it was her turn to be confused. Her brow knitted and she crossed her arms over her chest. “Yeah. Isn’t that what . . . I mean, that’s what Faith was talking about. How you never RSVP’ed? I was upset at the time, but—”
“Hey, girls!” Faith interrupted brightly. My brain was still struggling to catch up as she and Sha
My eyes darted to her face. I knew she was messing with me, but somehow my heart still flipped in hope.
“Oh, wait! The shoestring that is your budget couldn’t even lace up one of my Gucci boots,” she added, tilting her head so that her blond hair tumbled over her shoulder.
Sha
I was starting to feel dizzy. And sick. And maybe just a bit hopeful. If Chloe wanted to be friends again . . . maybe there was a slim chance I could get things back to the way they were.
“Come on,” Faith said, hooking her arm around Chloe’s shoulder. “We have to go warn Jake to expect some low-budge decorations and Costco brownies this year.” She snorted a laugh. “Later, Norm!”
I glared at her back as they sauntered off. She may have gotten a couple of zingers in, but she was wrong about one thing: Jake was going to get the most kick-ass locker decorations in history. Over the weekend A
I took a deep breath and leaned against the front railing on the bleachers as the girls hit the soccer field sideline to chat with Hammond, Jake, and some of their teammates. My heart was still pounding over the realization of my near miss. I’d almost apologized to Chloe for what had happened with Hammond all those months ago, and she hadn’t even known about it. If I had gotten out the words, if she’d found out that way, I may have lost her forever. But now I had a chance to be friends with her again. All because I’d been too chicken to just say it.
How lucky was I? I mean, maybe Chloe didn’t need to know. It hadn’t meant anything, after all. At least, not to me. I’d been emotional and confused and scared and sad. And clearly she and Hammond were still together. What would be the point of telling her and screwing up her relationship? Of alienating the one person who seemed to be happy—or at least not angry—that I was back?
I swallowed the lump of guilt that had formed in my throat and decided it was for the best. I was just going to have to continue to keep my deepest, darkest secret. I’m not just doing it for me, I told myself. I’m doing it for all of us.
jake
The Friday of the first soccer game, colorful leaves had fallen all over the walkways at school, and for the first time it really felt like fall—all crisp and clear and windy. Inside, the team’s lockers were decorated. I always thought it was stupid, having a whole club with the sole purpose of fawning all over us. But it wasn’t just soccer. We had the backslappers, and the football team had the cheerleaders. Next week there would be a huge pep rally for them and their lockers would be decorated too. That was how we did things here at OHH. We were all about the spirit.
Besides, this day meant cupcakes for breakfast. And a hot girl waiting by my locker. And this year, that girl was going to be Ally Ryan.
My friends were all sympathetic that pe
Also, it meant I was going to get to talk to her again.
When I turned down the hallway toward my locker, I almost tripped. I looked over my shoulder to make sure this wasn’t a joke. A few people were staring, but that was about it.
The entire hall was decorated. Streamers across the ceiling, attached to the wall over my locker and fa
Jake Graydon kicks! Good luck in the game tonight, Tiger! Your backslapper, Ally.
For some reason, my palms were sweating. I couldn’t believe she’d done this. That she’d gone all out like this. It must have cost her a fortune and she’d done it all for me. The girls were going to shit. Hammond was going to shit.
“You like it?”
I turned around. Ally stood in the center of the hall in a tight maroon T-shirt and denim skirt. And she was giving me the eye. I knew it. I knew she wanted me. Maybe that bitchy act the first day of school had just been a reaction to Shale’s party. But now . . . I looked her up and down. It was like a whole new her.
“It’s awesome,” I said, placing the card back in the locker and slamming the door shut.
“Cool,” she said. And smiled. “I spent my entire paycheck on it. And I baked all that stuff myself. It did not come from Costco.”
I glanced toward the back of the school. “Do you wa
A little wrinkle popped up over her nose. “Um, sure.”
“Come on.”
We walked down the hall and out the back door. No one was around. I nudged her arm and pressed her up against the wall.