really close, and that helped I think. Somehow she was my mom and my best friend at the same time.”
“My mom and I used to be pretty close, but we’ve grown apart since my dad left. So who do you live with now?”
“I live with my aunt and cousins. We all get along pretty well. I’ll only be at home a couple more years before college anyway.”
“Where do you want to go? I was thinking of going to UCLA, but I don’t know if they’ll let me in,” he said jokingly. “I’ve been a bit of a trouble maker, as you might have noticed.” Lily smiled despite her best efforts not to.
“California would be fun. I’m not sure where I want to go. I think I might apply to some New York schools. Malaya and I have always wanted to go to New York. We had thought we might go for a senior trip, but if we went to college there we would have even more time to experience big city life.”
“I think I’m more of a beach lovin’ guy myself, but that sounds fun too.” Their conversation flowed from subject to subject so easily. Lily was amazed at how comfortable she felt talking to him. Normally she broke out in a sweat when she conversed with people outside her immediate circle of friends and family. It just made her so nervous coming up with something meaningful to say. That’s how it usually was, but not now. She didn’t worry about what she was going to say to him, because she didn’t really care a whole lot. This was the Slade she was talking to. This was a onetime deal. He was being nice because he rammed her down a flight of stairs. That was all.
“So have you had any visitors since you’ve been home?”
“Just Malaya, but she’s my best friend. She comes over as often as she can.”
“Well, would you like any visitors?”
“Sure,” she answered not even thinking he was referring to himself.
“When is a good time to come?”
“Any time after school is usually fine.” Lily’s thoughts were beginning to swirl around and around. Did she truly just invite this guy over for a chat? She wasn’t thinking clearly. Maybe it was from the bump on her head.
“I can’t believe I just did that,” she thought to herself, warping her face in horror.
“Okay, I guess I’ll see you after school tomorrow,” Landon said cheerfully.
“Okay, see you then.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.”
***
“So he’s coming to your house tomorrow,” Malaya asked casually tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Lily nodded, staring at the wall hopelessly.
“I don’t understand why, I mean, I know he must feel bad about what happened, but if it had been me, I would rather just crawl under a rock and hide forever. I wouldn’t want to put myself into a situation where I was just going to feel horrible all over again. It just doesn’t make any sense to me.”
“Maybe he doesn’t feel bad anymore. You did say you forgave him, after all. I think you should give him a chance, Lily. I think he really is a nice guy who simply acts like an idiot at school to fit in with his friends. I bet he just wants some civil people to hang out with. I mean, just look at us,” Malaya said confidently, gazing at herself in a compact mirror, “we’re gorgeous. Anyone with eyes would be fools not to hang with us. Besides, what harm could it do?”
“That’s what my mom told me,” Lily said thoughtfully. She had already filled Malaya in on her near death experience with her parents and was relieved when Malaya unquestionably believed her.
“What did she say?”
“To give him a chance. I know I should but I keep wondering if this is all a plot to some major prank and he’s just going to stab us in the back.”
“That did occur to me at first too, but after spending some time with him I don’t feel that way anymore. I think he’s nice. Oh, I forgot to tell you, he smiled and waved to me in the hall today. Even if he wasn’t a nice guy before, maybe he is now. Maybe this accident turned him around.”
“Maybe.”
***
Landon rang the doorbell to Lily’s house anxiously. He wasn’t usually nervous around girls. Well, he was never nervous around girls. For some reason this girl made him feel like his stomach was full of knots. He really didn’t know anything about her, but there was