surprised but doesn’t comment. “You two look like you need some alone time anyway.” I give her a raised eyebrow.
Mom and Declan laugh. Huh, funny how they didn’t disagree.
“I’ll text you when I’m on my way home. Don’t want to walk in on anything unsavory…”
“Oh, shut up, Ry,” Mom says, still laughing. “Have fun.”
“Uh, yeah, you too, I guess.”
I grab Hope and all her stuff and practically run to the Sable, my plan taking shape with every step forward. Every step closer to Joni.
Chapter 34
Elijah’s in the garage, as always, working on a painting I haven’t seen before. It’s a series of faces that look like they’re melting. Normally I would ask him what that’s about, but I don’t have time for that right now.
“Hey, Elijah,” I say. “Is Joni home?”
He’s clearly surprised to see me. His eyes zero in on Hope, who’s in her car seat, sound asleep from the ride. “She’s really pissed at you, dude,” he says, still staring at the baby.
“I know. Just tell me, is she here?”
He nods. “She’s in her room. She hasn’t really left there all week, except to go to school. I don’t even think she’s been going to work. Probably trying to avoid your lying ass.”
I’m already on my way toward the front door. “Thanks,” I call back.
I ring the bell, and a middle-aged woman comes to the door. Joni’s stepmother. Her skin is the same shade as Elijah’s, but her hair, which is cropped close to her scalp, isn’t quite as light. She’s wearing a sweatshirt with a picture of a golden retriever puppy on it. “Can I help you?” she asks.
“I’m here to see Joni. Um, please. My name is Ryden Brooks.”
“Oh, yes. Ryden Brooks. We know allll about you.” She doesn’t look very happy with me.
“I’ve tried calling, but she won’t answer her phone. I really need to talk to her. Explain everything. Apologize,” I say.
She stares me down a while longer, arms crossed, considering. A few times, her eyes flicker toward Hope.
“Please,” I say again. “Just give me a chance.”
Finally she drops her arms to her sides. “Wait here.” She closes the door in my face.
I stand there for a few minutes, but she doesn’t come back. So I sit on the porch steps, facing the front lawn. It’s a huge expanse of green. The flowers that lined the walkway the first time I was here are mostly dead now. Stupid fall.
About fifteen minutes later, Joni’s stepmom returns. “She doesn’t want to see you.”
I shake my head. “I’m not leaving until she at least tells me that herself.” I’ll sit here as long as I have to. Really, where else do I have to be?
She sighs and disappears again.
A few minutes later, I hear Joni’s voice. “What do you want?”
I stand up and turn to face her. She’s on the other side of the screen, wearing the simplest outfit I’ve ever seen her in: baggy jeans and a gray hoodie. She’s not wearing her nose ring. She gasps when she sees Hope sleeping in her car seat by my feet. Her eyes get a little watery.
“What are you doing, Ryden?”
I reach into Hope’s diaper bag and pull out a baggie with a silver twist tie around the top. “I brought you candy,” I say, holding it up. It’s filled with Smarties and rock candy and sour gummy worms and tiny boxes of Nerds and all kinds of other stuff. “I stopped at the candy store on the way over. I figure it’s my turn to bring you a peace offering.”
She covers her face with her hands and shakes her head. “You can’t bribe me with candy and expect everything to go back to the way it was.”
“I’m not—I mean, I would never think that. I just know you like candy, so I wanted to bring you some. You bring—brought—me stuff when I wasn’t in a good mood, and it always helped.” I take a deep breath. “Actually, it wasn’t the food that made it better. It was you. You make everything better, Joni.”
She moves her hands away from her face and looks up slowly.
I take that as a signal to keep talking. “I’ve missed you so much this week, you have no idea. I know I have no right to show up here and ask you to listen to me like this, but I…I don’t know. I want us to start over. I want you to know everything about me, and I want to know everything about