Tris & Izzie by Mette Ivie Harrison Page B

been in here too long.”
    Was he suspicious? He didn’t seem to be. He was the kind of boyfriend who trusted his girlfriend completely, and it was unfair that I wasn’t a better girlfriend. I would have been, but then the love philtre got in the way.
    â€œI’m going to wheel her out now,” said Mark. “I really do appreciate everything you did for her, Tris.” He shook Tris-tan’s hand firmly.
    I stared at the two hands, one pale, one darker. But it was the pale hand I thought about once I was back in my own room.

Chapter 13
    M ark helped me back into bed. “I love you so much, Izzie. I just want you to get better so we can be together again, all right? I’ll be here for you.”
    It was cowardly of me, but I pretended to drift off to sleep. Mark stayed with me, sitting at my bedside. When he tried to touch me, I rolled over or groaned. I didn’t want to deal with him now.
    After what seemed like forever, Branna came in. “How is she?” Branna whispered.
    â€œI think she’s going to be okay,” said Mark.
    I heard the scrape of a chair and the sound of Branna sit-ting down next to Mark. I was suddenly curious about what they were going to say about me. And you know what they say about eavesdroppers.
    â€œYou can’t blame yourself for this,” said Branna.
    â€œOf course I can,” he said. “I let her get attacked by a rabid dog, and I didn’t even know she was in trouble.”
    â€œShe was the one who walked out of the game,” said Branna.
    â€œAnd I asked her to take my garbage for me. That was the last thing I said to her.”
    â€œYou asked her to do something nice for you, and she agreed. What’s wrong with that? If she didn’t want to do it, she could have said no.” Branna sounded hostile.
    â€œI must have done something to make her mad,” said Mark. “I wasn’t paying enough attention to her. Isn’t that what girls always say about their boyfriends? That they become complacent and stop doing all the little things that made their girlfriends fall in love in the first place?”
    Mark is the kind of guy who would know something like that. He probably read a book about how to treat a girlfriend.
    â€œIf she’s not in love with you anymore, it’s not because of you, Mark,” said Branna. What was she doing?
    â€œIt has to be,” said Mark desperately. “Because if it’s not, then I can’t fix it. And I have to be able to fix it. Tell me what she wants, Branna. You know her better than I do. I’ll do anything.”
    Branna sighed.
    â€œPlease tell me. You don’t hate me, do you, Branna?”
    â€œI don’t hate you, Mark,” said Branna.
    â€œThen what should I do? Or what should I not do?”
    There was a long pause. I could have pretended to wake up then, but I didn’t. I wanted to hear what Branna would say. I had made the love philtre for her because I wanted her to be happy. I thought we were best friends, but she wasn’t acting like it now.
    â€œIf you really want to know, I think maybe you hover too much,” said Branna. “You make her feel smothered. You should give her some space.”
    Okay, that wasn’t bad. Branna was giving good advice to Mark. I never should have doubted her.
    Mark groaned. “I should have known. She feels like I’m hanging on her all the time, doesn’t she? Branding her as mine or something. I just like being with her, and I like to touch her.”
    â€œNot every girl would dislike that,” said Branna. What was that supposed to mean?
    â€œI know, but this is Izzie,” said Mark. “What else?”
    â€œWell, you could ask her about her dreams in life. What she wants to do after high school.”
    Mark had never asked about that. And I was glad, because I didn’t know what I would tell him. Mom always said that I should wait and see, that I might change