Hammond.”
“Hold on.” Sasha logged on to the Internet, searched Dr. Dirtbag, and skimmed for details that Kyle had told her about the night she’d met him. New Albany was his old high school, and he’d played basketball there. One article had a photo of Kyle Hammond, and it was a picture of him, Kyle Gallagher. “Oh my God! You’re right.”
“I told you. He’s a jerk, a loser, a liar. His father’s in jail. He played you.”
“He didn’t play me,” Sasha shot back, embarrassed. She’d never been played by a boy. She played boys. “I want to get him back. How can I get him back?”
“Go tonight. Hope he comes. We’ll prank him.”
“Totally. We’ll prank the shit out of him.”
CHAPTER 34
David Hybrinski
Hey, Mom,” David said, coming into the kitchen where his mother was cleaning up after breakfast. He’d missed it on purpose. He couldn’t stop thinking about what his father had called him. He had taken Allie’s hand as an experiment, but he wasn’t attracted to her. It had kept him up all night, but he had to admit, the only person he had been attracted to last night was the new kid. Kyle Gallagher.
“What’s up?” His mother rinsed a dish and loaded it in the dishwasher.
“What’s the matter with Dad?”
“Nothing.”
David didn’t know if she knew about the money trouble. “He seems like he’s in a bad mood.”
“Not really.” His mother rinsed another dish, quickly. She had to get the twins ready to go. They had an away softball game today, and she already had her brown uniform on. The insulated cooler sat open on the island, the top unzipped.
“Mom, something’s going on with him, I can tell.”
“He’s fine.” His mother closed the dishwasher door and headed to the refrigerator, opening it. She never stopped moving, and David wondered if all moms were blurs.
“He wants to take me and Julian to a ball game. He’s never done that before.”
“That’s nice.” His mother got water bottles from the fridge, and they reminded David of last night. The vodka. Kyle. Maybe David only thought he was attracted to him because of the alcohol. Maybe David wasn’t a faggot. Kyle had made eye contact with him, more than once. Maybe Kyle was a faggot. David felt confused and angry.
“Mom, Julian told me that Dad asked his father for a loan. Do you know if that’s true? Did he tell you that?”
“What?” His mother’s face fell. “I don’t think this should be your concern.”
“But it is, because Julian’s my best friend. He told me. What do you want me to do?”
“I want you not to worry about it. It’s our concern.”
“Mom, I’m fifteen.”
“That’s my point. You’re only fifteen.”
“Just tell me.”
His mother glanced toward the door, as if somebody were listening, but nobody else was home and the twins hadn’t come downstairs yet. “Julian’s father has agreed not to charge your father rent for three months, then we’re going to take it from there.”
“How much is the rent?”
“That’s not your concern.” His mother met his eye, giving him one of her teacher looks.
“Mom, don’t you think I have a right to know? Julian is my best friend—”
“I know that, and we’re friends of the family.”
“You’re only friends of the family because of me. You know the Brownes through me.”
“What are you talking about?” His mother waved him off. “That’s how we know everybody. Our friends are all from you kids. That’s how it works.”
“But it makes it weird between him and me. It’s like I owe him something. Like he’s my boss now or something.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“How am I supposed to act with Julian?”
“Be nice to your best friend, like you would anyway.”
“But what if I wouldn’t be?” David was thinking about last night, when Julian had pulled that prank with the gun. It wasn’t funny, and now Julian wanted to keep it going tonight. Plus it was at Kyle’s expense. And David didn’t know how he felt about Kyle.
“David, you’ll understand when you get older.” His mother zipped the cooler closed. “You don’t know the pressure Dad is under, and the money doesn’t mean anything to Julian’s father. He didn’t mind it at all. Three months’ rent is nothing to Scott Browne. He has developments all over Pennsylvania. You think he cares about the rent on Hybrinski Optical? And it means so much to us.”
“What does it mean? Why do we need it?”
“That’s not your business.” His mother snatched napkins out of the holder, and it fell over. “We wouldn’t have asked if it weren’t