Ashes to Ashes by Jenny Han Page B

stomach. I want to explain, but what can I even say?
    â€œAnybody else have shit they want to say?” Reeve says. “If so, say it now to my face, because I’m not dealing with any whisper-behind-the-back bullshit.”
    â€œThis is sickening,” Ash spits out. Then she bolts up and leaves our table. Derek follows her. PJ shakes his head sadly, and he gets up too. Now it’s just Reeve and me at our end of the table. Reeve blinks. I know he wasn’t expecting that.
    He pulls my chair closer and hugs me to him. I guess he can feel how nervous I am, because he says, “Don’t worry. We aren’t doing anything wrong.”
    We both know that isn’t true. If we weren’t doing anything wrong, why were we sneaking around all this time?
    â€œI’d do anything for you, Cho.” Reeve squeezes my hand. “You’re with me, right?” There’s an urgency in his voice, a weakness I’m not used to hearing.
    Am I with him? Are we really doing this? I’m scared what people will think, what my sister will think. My parents. Ash. But it’s too late to worry about all that now. There’s no going back. And I do want to be with him. So I let him hold me. But I still can’t get the look on Alex’s face out of my head.

Chapter Eighteen
KAT
    I ’M HUSTLING OVER TO THE cafeteria when I run right into Alex. He looks like he wants to murder somebody. Uh-oh. “Hey, Alex—” I say.
    â€œI can’t talk right now, Kat,” he says, and steamrolls past me.
    So much for no regrets.
    In the cafeteria Reeve and Lillia are sitting at their table alone. She’s got one long-stemmed red rose on the table in front of her. I know Alex is gone, but where are the rest of their friends? There’s, like, three trays of uneaten food left behind. I plopdown in the seat across from Lil, where there’s a chicken sandwich and fries.
    I help myself to a fry and glance over at Reeve. I don’t particularly want to dish about Alex’s feelings in front of him. “Hey, Reeve, can you get me a drink?”
    He makes a disgusted face as I eat another fry. “There are five open sodas in front of you. Why don’t you mooch off one of them?”
    Ugh. I turn my chair away from him and lower my voice. “Did shit just go down?” Pointing to the single rose, I say, “Is that from Al?” I was expecting something bigger. Though maybe he did a rose and, like, sang one of his songs for her or something.
    Lillia shakes her head and hands me the card that came with the rose.
    â€œOh.” I say. “Wait. I thought you and Reeve were keeping things on the down low?”
    Reeve looks from me to Lillia. “Wait a minute—DeBrassio knows about us?” I give him a Cheshire cat smile. “I thought we were keeping this a secret from everyone !”
    Defensively Lillia says, “First off, I only told Kat, and I swore her to secrecy. And what right do you have to be mad at that? I’m not the one who sent you a valentine in front of everyone!”
    I dip a fry into some ketchup and nod my head in agreement. “She’s got a point.”
    Reeve lets out a frustrated sigh. “I thought I could send you a rose and it would get lost in all the other ones you get in homeroom and you’d be the only one who knew. I definitely didn’t expect it to be delivered in the middle of lunch with everyone around.”
    â€œNo. I mean . . .” Lillia picks up the rose and puts it to her nose. “I know it was an accident. I just wish you hadn’t been such a jerk to Derek.”
    â€œWhat else could I do? I’m not going to sit here and not say anything while Ash is a bitch to you.” Reeve glances at me before he says, “It’s none of their business anyway.”
    â€œAsh was a bitch? What did that bobblehead say?”
    Lillia’s chin trembles. “Ash said that Rennie’s