trunk. He just handed them to me in angry silence and, before I was even done unlocking the first set of locks to the building, he’d torn off.
“Bastard,” I muttered as I lugged my bags up the four flights of stairs. What right did he have lecturing me on my relationship with my dad? It wasn’t like he had the most stellar track record with his. Did I ever lecture him? No.
Thankfully, Rainbow didn’t poke out to say hello as I let myself into my apartment. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with her excessive cheeriness and pleas for attention.
After I locked myself in, I went to my bedroom and dumped the contents of the bags on my bed. I organized everything into the proper piles. The count tallied to four pairs of pants, two skirts, nine tops (including two sweaters), and the red jacket.
I left everything where I’d folded them and put on the jacket.
Okay—I had to admit it. Even though I raised a fuss and didn’t want to have the new clothes, underneath it all there was a tiny spark of excitement. I hadn’t had anything new in so long.
Except for those pants that were so tight, I really liked the clothes. Luc chose well (as much as I hated to admit it)—most of the clothes were classic.
But the jacket ... The jacket was perfect—the way it fit as well as how it looked on. Going into the bathroom, I examined my reflection in the old hazy mirror. The color made my skin and eyes glow.
Suddenly I remembered a dress I tried on for the prom—red velvet. I’d wanted it so badly. I’d gone to the store every week to make sure it was still there. I even took Luc there to show it to him. He’d offered to buy it for me but I wanted to earn it myself. I worked extra hours babysitting but I’d had to use the money to pay for our electricity instead. Not that it mattered—my date ended up canceling on me anyway.
Funny—I couldn’t even dredge up my date’s name. I frowned in thought. He was on the basketball team with Luc, that much I remembered. At the time, I had my suspicions that Luc had put him up to asking me out. After all, why would a popular boy choose to take me to the prom?
Luc came over after he found out I’d been stood up. He dismissed any question of what he did with his date (Jenny Sheridan, the head cheerleader— that I remembered in vivid detail) and hung out with me the rest of the evening. He said he should have taken me himself.
But Luc didn’t count, because he was my friend before he was the most popular boy in school. Or maybe he counted more than anyone.
“Wonder if he remembers that dress,” I mumbled to my reflection. I stroked my hands down the front of the jacket.
Somehow, I was sure he did.
Chapter Eight
Lydia was too busy to meet with me Monday morning, which was a relief, to tell the truth. I hadn’t made a great amount of progress over the weekend. In fact, looking back, it’d been the most decadent weekend I’d had since I was seven and my dad took me to Las Vegas (we’d stayed at Circus Circus and I watched movies all weekend while he gambled away our rent for the next two months).
I closeted myself in my office and worked on finalizing the research on Easter for the chocolate account. I was tempted to lock the door—there was a lot of commotion going on this morning. But I didn’t. No one ever visited me. Not unless they forgot the brooms were in a new location.
And I didn’t want to talk to anyone anyway. I was still upset about the fight Luc and I had. I picked up the phone to call him a few times, but each time I set it back down. Once I even let it ring two times before I hung up.
I hated this people stuff. Facts were so much more straightforward. A fact was a fact. No guessing. No gray area. People were so complicated.
Around two o’clock, my phone buzzed, causing me to jump and knock my knees under the desk. I snatched it up before it made that obnoxious noise again. “Research. Kather—”
“There’s a delivery for you,” a voice
“Bastard,” I muttered as I lugged my bags up the four flights of stairs. What right did he have lecturing me on my relationship with my dad? It wasn’t like he had the most stellar track record with his. Did I ever lecture him? No.
Thankfully, Rainbow didn’t poke out to say hello as I let myself into my apartment. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with her excessive cheeriness and pleas for attention.
After I locked myself in, I went to my bedroom and dumped the contents of the bags on my bed. I organized everything into the proper piles. The count tallied to four pairs of pants, two skirts, nine tops (including two sweaters), and the red jacket.
I left everything where I’d folded them and put on the jacket.
Okay—I had to admit it. Even though I raised a fuss and didn’t want to have the new clothes, underneath it all there was a tiny spark of excitement. I hadn’t had anything new in so long.
Except for those pants that were so tight, I really liked the clothes. Luc chose well (as much as I hated to admit it)—most of the clothes were classic.
But the jacket ... The jacket was perfect—the way it fit as well as how it looked on. Going into the bathroom, I examined my reflection in the old hazy mirror. The color made my skin and eyes glow.
Suddenly I remembered a dress I tried on for the prom—red velvet. I’d wanted it so badly. I’d gone to the store every week to make sure it was still there. I even took Luc there to show it to him. He’d offered to buy it for me but I wanted to earn it myself. I worked extra hours babysitting but I’d had to use the money to pay for our electricity instead. Not that it mattered—my date ended up canceling on me anyway.
Funny—I couldn’t even dredge up my date’s name. I frowned in thought. He was on the basketball team with Luc, that much I remembered. At the time, I had my suspicions that Luc had put him up to asking me out. After all, why would a popular boy choose to take me to the prom?
Luc came over after he found out I’d been stood up. He dismissed any question of what he did with his date (Jenny Sheridan, the head cheerleader— that I remembered in vivid detail) and hung out with me the rest of the evening. He said he should have taken me himself.
But Luc didn’t count, because he was my friend before he was the most popular boy in school. Or maybe he counted more than anyone.
“Wonder if he remembers that dress,” I mumbled to my reflection. I stroked my hands down the front of the jacket.
Somehow, I was sure he did.
Chapter Eight
Lydia was too busy to meet with me Monday morning, which was a relief, to tell the truth. I hadn’t made a great amount of progress over the weekend. In fact, looking back, it’d been the most decadent weekend I’d had since I was seven and my dad took me to Las Vegas (we’d stayed at Circus Circus and I watched movies all weekend while he gambled away our rent for the next two months).
I closeted myself in my office and worked on finalizing the research on Easter for the chocolate account. I was tempted to lock the door—there was a lot of commotion going on this morning. But I didn’t. No one ever visited me. Not unless they forgot the brooms were in a new location.
And I didn’t want to talk to anyone anyway. I was still upset about the fight Luc and I had. I picked up the phone to call him a few times, but each time I set it back down. Once I even let it ring two times before I hung up.
I hated this people stuff. Facts were so much more straightforward. A fact was a fact. No guessing. No gray area. People were so complicated.
Around two o’clock, my phone buzzed, causing me to jump and knock my knees under the desk. I snatched it up before it made that obnoxious noise again. “Research. Kather—”
“There’s a delivery for you,” a voice
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