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He hands the phone to lare

"Hi, Mom"

"Why couldn’t you ask ot a hundred percent on ?"

"I’ht"

"You’re not going to be drinking over there or anything, are you?"

"No, Mom Chris said his parents will be there"

"Well, you know the Ellorys They et it I’ll see you after school" Yes

"No, no, no," she says quickly "Go and have a good time I’m proud of you, Parker--for the test And I didn’t know you and Chris were still on speaking ters Go have fun Your father and I love you"

I close ure out what’s stoppinghome while they stand in front of the shelf full of new releases, trying to decide what roup It makes me sick I head over to the horror section and try to remember how to breathe and that’s where Jake finds ers

Breathe in

"We’ve picked thenow"

"Okay" In I open my eyes

He extends his hand, like for me to take, and when I don’t, he drops it and it’s aard That’s what happens when you sort of tell someone it’s okay if they’ve kissed you and it’s okay if it happens again, but you don’t tell thes like hold hands and, I guess, care

"Okay," I repeat "Let’s go"

"Wait"

"Stop following et away from me!"

I turn my head in the direction of the noise It takes such an effort, I think II feel like it I blink slowly, several times, until I can sort of focus on a pair of people silhouetted by theis going on between me and Jenny Morse--"

"That’s not what Parker said!"

I closeParker’s word for this? She’s drunk off her ass! When we dragged her in here she was telling us what a beautiful person Becky is! I a Jenny Morse!"

"Oh, really? Because that’s not what Jenny Morse told me and she wasn’t drunk off her ass when she said it!"

She starts to cry

"Oh, Jesus, Jessie Don’t cry, please"

"I can’t even look at you right now Get out"

"No, please, Jess--we can figure this out I’ this room until we do Don’t do this Please"

"There’s nothing to figure out, Evan"

"What does that mean?"

Silence

"I asked you what that meant"

"What do you think it means? I don’t want you here Get Out"

All of a sudden I’ht My stomach lurches I try to tell whichever one of them it is to stop and leave me alone, but I can’t move my mouth

"Parker, sit up You can’t stay on your back because if you get sick--" Jessie sobs and taps my cheek, once, twice, three times Stop I want to sleep "Parker, come on"

"I hope she chokes"

"Nice, Evan Would you just leave?"

"Not until you talk to me about this" "If I talk to you about this now, I’ll just say so that you really won’t like--"

Their voices disappear and so does everything until seconds,hly by the shoulders

I try to push hi

"--Because you couldn’t keep your goddamn mouth shut--"

"Jessie"

I open ainst Jake’s left side and the flat screenthe end credits for the hten up Chris and Becky stare at uys to pick the rumble

"It kept the rest of us awake"

I lean forward, rest my head in my hands and try to shake the sleep off

"Who were you drea about?" Chris asks

My eyes travel fro to get so out the bubbly"

"Really?"

"Coke’s bubbly, isn’t it?"

Becky giggles and rests her head against his shoulder He puts an arrowth