her morose reverie.
“Seeing him? Every time I look at him I want to tear my eyes out,” Helen replied honestly.
“There! Right there! That’s what I don’t get,” Claire exclaimed. “You have never hated anyone before, not even Gretchen, who’s been nasty to you since fifth grade. You just walked away from her like it was nothing, and you used to be just as close to her as you were to me. But this thing with you and Lucas? It’s eating you up! You have been so angry since he moved here. I don’t understand it at all. It’s like the only explanation that makes sense is what everyone’s been saying.” Claire stopped herself abruptly.
“What is everyone saying?” Helen asked, pulling up short. They had been jogging at a slow pace to begin with, but Helen needed to get a straight answer. She forced Claire to stop and look at her. “What are they saying?” she repeated. Claire sighed and got it over with.
“That you and Lucas met randomly on the beach right before school started and slept together. Then he lied to you and said he was just on vacation so he wouldn’t have to call you. That’s why you flipped out when you saw him in the hallway, because he used you and you were in love with him.”
“Wow. That’s pretty dramatic,” Helen said, feeling detached.
“Yeah, but is it true?” Claire said, her eyes pleading. Helen sighed and put her arm around Claire, leading her to a walk.
“First of all, Lucas and I never even met before that day in the hallway, let alone slept together. Secondly, I would have told you if I’d even kissed another boy since the disaster with Matt in the closet in seventh grade. Third, and probably most important, I was never as close to Gretchen as I am to you. You’re my best friend, Gig.” Helen squeezed her until Claire gave in and smiled. “I’ve been strange lately, I know it, and I’m really sorry. Some weird stuff is going on with me. I want to tell you everything about it, but I can’t because I don’t understand it yet. So please, please just stay on my side, even if I am angry and miserable all the time.”
“You know I’m always on your side, but do you want me to be completely honest?” Claire stopped again and turned to face Helen. “I know I’m supposed to say that this is nothing, and that it will all work itself out, and feed you all that supportive nonsense, but I can’t. I don’t think this is going to get better on its own, and I’m worried about you.”
After track practice, Helen went to hold down the store. She had offered to give Luis the night off so that his marathon weekend manning the store while Kate and Jerry were in Boston would start on a full night’s rest.
Customers were still looking at her funny as news of her meltdown made its way to every year-rounder on the island, but she had too much to do to get bent out of shape about it. By the time she was done cleaning and setting everything up for Luis in the morning it was after midnight.
There was a moment while she was locking up and walking to the Pig when she was alert and listening for danger, but it passed by the time she was backing out and on her way home. She had been cautious, but that didn’t matter. It was after she had parked in her driveway and was walking toward her house that she got jumped.
The first thing she felt was gratitude. At least the Delos clan had waited until Jerry was safely out of the way before they came to kill her. A wiry arm wrapped around her neck, simultaneously pulling back and pressing down until Helen fell to her knees. Her breath was cut off, and she was bent forward in such a way that she could see nothing of the person behind her. She wondered who had won that whole “she’s mine” argument, Lucas or Hector? White and blue blobs bloomed across her field of vision from lack of oxygen. Then she pictured her dad coming home to find her dead body in the driveway, and she knew that no matter how outnumbered she might be, she had to fight back. She couldn’t let him lose another person he loved. He’d never get over it.
Helen crooked her arm and rammed her elbow