off. Crazy, I could deal with. Slutty, not so much.
“You need to go,” I told him firmly.
“You need to think about this. This is obviously different for you than it is for everyone else, and I understand that. So I’ll give you time to think about 74
it.” He turned and opened the window. “But there is a place that you belong.
There is a place where you have family. So just think about it.”
“Definitely,” I gave him a plastic smile.
He started to lean out the window, and I walked closer to him so I’d be able to shut the window behind him. Then he stopped and turned to look at me. He felt dangerously close to me, his eyes full of something smoldering just below the surface. When he looked at me like that, he took all the air from my lungs, and I wondered if this is how Patrick felt when I persuaded him.
“I almost forgot,” Finn said softly, his face so close to mine I could feel his breath on my cheeks. “You looked really beautiful tonight.” He stayed that way a moment longer, completely captivating me, then abruptly he turned and climbed out the window.
I stood there, barely remembering to breathe, as I watched him grab onto a branch of the tree next to my house and swing down to the ground. A cool breeze fluttered in, so I closed the window. In case he still might be lurking somewhere outside, I pulled my curtains shut tightly. Feeling very dazed, I staggered back to my bed and collapsed on it. I had never felt more bewildered in my entire life.
Naturally, I barely got any sleep. What little I had was filled with dreams of little green trolls coming to take me away. I laid in bed for hours after I woke up, trying to put everything in perspective. Everything felt muddled and confusing. I couldn’t let myself believe that anything Finn had said made sense, but I couldn’t discount how badly I wanted it to be true. I had never felt like I belonged anywhere. Until recently, Matt had been the only person I had ever felt any connection with.
Lying in bed at six-thirty in the morning, I could hear the morning birds chirping loudly outside my window, probably sitting in the same tree that Finn had used to get to my room. Everyone in the house was asleep, and it was completely silent. I thought of my brother, laying in his bed a few doors down, and Maggie across the hall from him. Both of them sleeping contentedly, unaware of anything going on.
75
Quietly, I got up and crept downstairs. I didn’t want to wake them this early. Matt got up with me every day to make sure that I was awake and drove me to school, so this was his only time to sleep in. Maggie didn’t get up until nine or ten most days, but I had never faulted her for that. Matt had always been a morning person, but Maggie and I couldn’t stand them.
For some reason, I felt desperate to find something to prove we were family. All my life I had been trying to prove the opposite, but as soon as Finn had mentioned that it might be a real possibility, I felt oddly protective. Maggie and Matt had sacrificed everything for me. I had never been that good to either of them, but they had loved me unconditionally, as they proved time and time again. Wasn’t that evidence enough?
I crouched on the floor next to one of the cardboard boxes behind the couch in the living room. Maggie’s pretty cursive had scrawled across it the word “memorabilia.” That was her code word for family stuff. Matt had more of a revulsion for our family than I did, so Maggie used less offensive words to keep him from getting riled up. She never actually unpacked any of the pictures or anything, because the last time she had Matt had smashed all the picture frames. Admittedly, that had been almost ten years ago, but I was betting that his reaction now would have only lessened slightly.
Underneath Matt and Maggie’s diplomas and lots of Matt’s graduation photos, I found several photo albums. Based on the covers, I could tell which ones had been
“You need to go,” I told him firmly.
“You need to think about this. This is obviously different for you than it is for everyone else, and I understand that. So I’ll give you time to think about 74
it.” He turned and opened the window. “But there is a place that you belong.
There is a place where you have family. So just think about it.”
“Definitely,” I gave him a plastic smile.
He started to lean out the window, and I walked closer to him so I’d be able to shut the window behind him. Then he stopped and turned to look at me. He felt dangerously close to me, his eyes full of something smoldering just below the surface. When he looked at me like that, he took all the air from my lungs, and I wondered if this is how Patrick felt when I persuaded him.
“I almost forgot,” Finn said softly, his face so close to mine I could feel his breath on my cheeks. “You looked really beautiful tonight.” He stayed that way a moment longer, completely captivating me, then abruptly he turned and climbed out the window.
I stood there, barely remembering to breathe, as I watched him grab onto a branch of the tree next to my house and swing down to the ground. A cool breeze fluttered in, so I closed the window. In case he still might be lurking somewhere outside, I pulled my curtains shut tightly. Feeling very dazed, I staggered back to my bed and collapsed on it. I had never felt more bewildered in my entire life.
Naturally, I barely got any sleep. What little I had was filled with dreams of little green trolls coming to take me away. I laid in bed for hours after I woke up, trying to put everything in perspective. Everything felt muddled and confusing. I couldn’t let myself believe that anything Finn had said made sense, but I couldn’t discount how badly I wanted it to be true. I had never felt like I belonged anywhere. Until recently, Matt had been the only person I had ever felt any connection with.
Lying in bed at six-thirty in the morning, I could hear the morning birds chirping loudly outside my window, probably sitting in the same tree that Finn had used to get to my room. Everyone in the house was asleep, and it was completely silent. I thought of my brother, laying in his bed a few doors down, and Maggie across the hall from him. Both of them sleeping contentedly, unaware of anything going on.
75
Quietly, I got up and crept downstairs. I didn’t want to wake them this early. Matt got up with me every day to make sure that I was awake and drove me to school, so this was his only time to sleep in. Maggie didn’t get up until nine or ten most days, but I had never faulted her for that. Matt had always been a morning person, but Maggie and I couldn’t stand them.
For some reason, I felt desperate to find something to prove we were family. All my life I had been trying to prove the opposite, but as soon as Finn had mentioned that it might be a real possibility, I felt oddly protective. Maggie and Matt had sacrificed everything for me. I had never been that good to either of them, but they had loved me unconditionally, as they proved time and time again. Wasn’t that evidence enough?
I crouched on the floor next to one of the cardboard boxes behind the couch in the living room. Maggie’s pretty cursive had scrawled across it the word “memorabilia.” That was her code word for family stuff. Matt had more of a revulsion for our family than I did, so Maggie used less offensive words to keep him from getting riled up. She never actually unpacked any of the pictures or anything, because the last time she had Matt had smashed all the picture frames. Admittedly, that had been almost ten years ago, but I was betting that his reaction now would have only lessened slightly.
Underneath Matt and Maggie’s diplomas and lots of Matt’s graduation photos, I found several photo albums. Based on the covers, I could tell which ones had been
Similar Books
