A Girl Called Dust by V.B. Marlowe Page B

didn’t feel like going into the death thing that day. I was
getting my friend back. I told her all about Bailey and our sleepover. For some
reason, Scarlett didn’t seem happy for me. She looked at me and pursed her
lips.
    “What?” I asked. “You’re the one who
wanted me to make new friends.”
    “I did. New friends, and that’s not
exactly what Bailey is.” Scarlett paused for a moment. “I’m a little concerned
about your neediness when it comes to her.”
    I sat up. “Excuse me? My what?” I had been
called a lot of things, but never needy.
    “Your neediness. You seem to be desperate
for some kind of attention from people who have told you they can’t give it to
you.”
    Why was she making me sound like some kind
of loser begging for love? That wasn’t what I was doing, was it?
    “So,” Scarlett continued. “Let’s talk
about Bailey. She’s spent over two years ignoring you for no good reason,
according to you. Now she wants to hang out, and you just take her back with no
questions asked?”
    My cheeks warmed. “Bailey messed up, but
if she wants to fix things, it’s my choice whether or not I want to forgive
her. We were best friends for seven years. She was more like a sister to me
than my real sisters are, so I can’t just write her off that easily. It’s not
like I have a crowd of people banging on my door wanting to be my friend.”
Okay, maybe that sounded needy.
    Scarlett typed something on her laptop
while not taking her eyes off me. How did she do that? “I’m not saying you
shouldn’t give her a chance, Arden. I just want you to think and be aware. How
should a real friend treat you? People can’t use and take advantage of you
unless you let them.”
    I shrugged. No one was taking advantage of
me, and I wanted her to stop speaking to me as if I were stupid.
    “Do you still have a crush on your friend
Fletcher?”
    I shuddered. I hadn’t told her about
Fletcher, but I had written about him in my journal. She must have read more of
it than I thought. Why did I have to write down everything? “A little, but I
know it can’t happen.”
    “There you go. Fletcher was very
forthright and honest with you. He told you that he didn’t see you in that way,
so why haven’t you moved on?”
    “You say it like it’s so easy. I can’t
just shut off my feelings. And Fletcher didn’t say that he didn’t like me like
that, he said he couldn’t. He’s not capable.”
    Scarlett gave me a small smile. “Do you
really believe that? That he’s incapable of loving someone. Humans just aren’t
built that way.”
    I wasn’t so sure about that. Scarlett had
never met Fletcher, and if she had, she would have noticed immediately that he
actually was wired differently and very well could have been telling the truth.
Of course I hadn’t told her how Fletcher had healed himself that day in front
of Gerdy’s, but if she knew about that, she might believe what I was telling
her.
    Scarlett put her laptop to the side. “I
want you to put things in perspective when it comes to Bailey and Fletcher,
that’s all.”
    I was over Scarlett trying to turn me
against the only people who wanted to hang out with me. She had no idea what it
felt like to be me. “I think we should end this session early.”
    Scarlett watched me over her purple-rimmed
glasses. “Arden, you can’t do that.”
    I jumped up from the couch and slid my
backpack over my shoulders. “Watch me. Maybe I need to find a new shrink. One
who knows what the hell they’re doing.”
    “Arden—”
    I stormed toward the door, already pulling
my phone from my dress pocket. I needed Dad to pick me up early.
    Somehow Scarlett moved a lot faster than
me and threw herself against the door. “Arden, please. I want you to take a
deep breath and have a seat.”
    I shook my head. “I’m never sitting on
that couch again. How much are my parents paying you to judge me and my
friends? You don’t even know them.”
    “No, I don’t,” Scarlett