small smile.
“So humor me then.” I cocked my head, meeting her eyes.
Neri was silent. Finally, she rolled over to her schoolbag which sat next to the sofa on the floor. Shuffling around, she pulled out a letter and handed it to me. I looked at her, both confused and curious.
“I got accepted into a pre-medicine course offered by Yale. It pretty much guarantees a full scholarship there to study medicine.” I stared at her in disbelief. That was the reason for her sullen mood? How would she react if she were excited about something?
“Neri! That’s amazing news!” I reached over and hugged her limp body. “Why is this a bad thing? You look like your dog just died.”
Shit. My hand flew to my mouth when I realized what I’d said. I could add that to my list of things you don’t say to a teenager whose mother is missing.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean-” Neri waved me off.
“It’s fine.” She smiled. “It’s not that it’s bad news. It’s great news. I was so happy when I found out.” Neri fiddled with her fingernails. “The fact that it costs ten grand is the bad thing.”
“Oh.” The penny dropped. There was no way in hell we could afford that, and Neri knew that. “Crap Neri. I’m sorry. It’s still such an accomplishment to be accepted.” Not that that would make her feel any better. I reached over and hugged her.
“It will all work out, I promise.” She hugged me back and smiled.
My phone buzzed. I picked it up and saw it was Devon. I rolled my eyes at Ara.
“What?” She asked, peering at the screen of my phone. He face lit up, then she frowned, almost immediately. “Are you going to call him back?”
“No.”
“What if it’s something to do with your mom?” I hesitated. That wasn’t fair. I didn’t want to speak to him, but I had no choice.
“I just want him to leave me the hell alone.” I grumbled, throwing my phone down the other end of the couch.
“Really?” Ara raised her eyebrows. She knew me too well. The last thing I wanted was for him to leave me the hell alone.
“No.” I ached for him. That was the truth. I couldn’t handle just an occasional physical fling with him, and that was all he could offer me right now. It was better for me just to stay away. Only it wasn’t that easy. The one time I ignored his call, I knew it would be about mom. Sighing, I scooped up my phone and dialed his number.
“Hey, Kait.” He sounded happy to hear from me. I melted into the couch at the sound of his voice. What was this guy doing to me?
“Hello. You called?” I said, getting straight to the point.
“Uh, yeah.” He almost sounded disappointed. “I need you to come with me to your mom’s house. There are some things I need to know about and you seem like the most logical to ask.”
“Sure. Can I meet you there?” Driving myself was a much, much safer option.
“You can.” He began, “Or I could pick you up? I want to go over some stuff with you too, which we can do on the way.” I sighed. “Is everything okay, Kait?” I nearly laughed.
Okay? Things would be fine if he would leave me the hell alone.
“That’s fine, pick me up in fifteen.” I said, purposely ignoring his question.
“Right, well I’ll see you then.”
“Sure.” I slammed the phone shut. “Fuck Ara. What am I going to do?” I lay back on the couch, my head in her lap. Her sympathetic eyes looked down at me.
“Tell him, Kait. Tell him how you feel.” She stroked my hair, he fingers felt like magic against my tension filled scalp.
“I’m pretty sure he knows how I feel about him.” I replied dryly. The worst thing was I knew he felt something too. It was there, in the way he looked at me, the way he kissed me. And the way he’d held me after we’d had sex.
“Okay, so if he makes another move, blow him off.”
I blushed. “I’m sure I will end up blowing him, but it won’t be off.” Ara grabbed a cushion and swatted at my head. I giggled, glad for the release of some tension.
“Kait!” She cried, laughing hysterically. “You’re so dirty sometimes.”
“Me?” I raised my eyebrows. “You think I don’t hear you phone-sexing Luke every night?” I giggled at the look of horror on Ara’s face. She flushed, her hands flying up to