Tragedy Girl - Christine Hurley Deriso Page 0,9
a suggestion,” Blake says, moving subtly closer until his eyes are level with mine.
“Sure.”
There. I said it. Surely Melanie and Lauren won’t mind. Melanie even has a crush on Jamie, right? Maybe this will turn out perfectly. Maybe I could take a breather from overthinking every little thing. Maybe my senior year of high school will actually be less than hideous. Except …
“What?” Blake says, and I cringe at apparently being so transparent.
I shrug nervously. “You’re sure you’re up for a … bonfire?”
Blake’s face darkens, and my heart sinks.
“I didn’t mean anything by—”
“It’s okay,” he says quietly. “It’s just … I thought maybe you were the one person who didn’t know … the one person in this school who wouldn’t define me by … ”
My eyes prod him to continue, but he looks down in defeat and murmurs, “I guess that’ll follow me the rest of my life.”
I shake my head. “No,” I insist. “I just happened to overhear. I’m so sorry I mentioned it … ”
“Forget it,” he says, finally meeting my eyes again. “I don’t mean to sound so defensive. It’s just … you know, over two months have passed since it happened, and even though it’s on my mind every second of the day, I’ve started thinking, ‘Maybe I can finally move on.’”
“I get it, I get it,” I assure him, oblivious to the students brushing past us on their way to class. “In fact, I don’t just get it … I live it.”
Blake studies me closer. “What do you mean?”
I take a deep breath and offer my hand. “Tragedy Guy, meet Tragedy Girl.”
He takes my hand, but simply holds it instead of shaking it.
“Perhaps you’ve heard,” I say in response to his curious expression. “My parents died in a car crash last spring. That’s why I’m here; I moved in with my aunt and uncle right before school started.”
He squeezes my hand tighter. “I’m sorry.”
I nod and swallow hard as Blake’s index finger gently rubs the top of my hand.
“So I get it … you know?” I say, pushing past the lump in my throat. “I don’t want to be defined by my tragedy, either. I want to move on too. Not forget, of course … just move on.”
He lets my hand drop, then places his palm lightly against my cheek.
Our eyes lock for a second, but I look away when I realize someone is glaring at me. Natalie is walking toward me as she makes her way down the hallway, pressing her books against her chest and narrowing her dark eyes. I actually hear her huff as she scurries past me, deliberately jostling my arm. What the hell … ?
“So, tonight,” Blake says, clapping his hands together, seemingly oblivious to Natalie’s shot of frigid air. “It’s a date?”
I pause, then smile and nod.
I guess that clears one thing up:
It’s a date.
Lauren and Melanie catch up with me as I head toward class. “Still coming with us to the bonfire tonight?” Melanie asks.
“Um … ” I fidget with the rings under my shirt. “Sure. A couple of other people want to join us too, if that’s okay.”
They exchange stymied glances. “Who?” Melanie asks.
“Blake and Jamie? I hope that’s okay. If it’s not, I totally under—”
“Jamie? ” Melanie says, her eyebrows widening. “Hells yeah!” She gives me a fist bump. “Girlfriend, we should have added you to our posse ages ago,” she teases as we wind our way to our seats.
“Easy for you to say,” Lauren grouses. “What am I, your chaperone?”
“Oh, I think Blake’s brother is coming too,” I say as we settle into our seats. “Not like it’s a fix-up or anything. Really, guys, I hope this is okay. I totally didn’t mean to take over your—”
“Garrett?” Lauren interrupts.
I shrug. “I don’t know his name.”
“Of course Garrett,” Melanie says. “Blake only has one brother.”
She turns toward me. “Lauren just broke up with her boyfriend,” she says.
“Um, technically, I got dumped,” Lauren clarifies. “His loss.”
“You have to come with us,” Melanie beseeches her. “You know I’ve been crushing on Jamie for months now—since even before he started lifting weights and got hot. And who knows? You might really click with Garrett.”
Lauren shakes her head. “I don’t want to be fixed up.”
“Fine!” Melanie says, presenting the palm of her hand as an oath. “We’ll just go as a group.”
Lauren deliberates a moment, then says, “Whatever. I’ll go. But only as a group. No pairing up and leaving me stranded with the junior.”
“Absolutely,” I say, feeling guilty that