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Micha

I’h I’m not a fan of parties Never really have been I just like how they block out all the noise inside ht’s will block out the sound of ot back to our houses, o with her, but she declined and took Lila instead I let her be because I sensed she needed space I was fine with her taking so as it wasn’t the space of five hundredon the car to plan the party After a es are sent out and a couple of keggers ordered by Ethan, we’re good to go

We’re hanging around in the kitchen, waiting for people to start showing up when clouds start rolling in and thunder rattles at the s

"Can I ask you so?" Ethan asks abruptly

I take out a frozen burrito from the freezer and drop it on a plate "Sure What’s up?"

"Don’t take this the wrong way" He tips back in his chair "But what is it with Ella? Why are you so fixated on her? You have like a ton of girls falling at your feet all the time and you used to totally be all into it Then suddenly you weren’t and it was all about her"

"I wasn’t ever into the girls falling at my feet I was just bored" I pop the plate into the rabs a handful of chips fro on the table "Okay, but that still doesn’t answer my question"

I cross my arms, uncomfortable with the aard heart-to-heart moment "I’m not sure, but why do you care?"

"I’m just curious because you’ve never talked about it"

"Yeah, but we don’t talk about a lot of stuff"

He lets the chair legs reconnect to the floor "Look, I’s out toweird I just want to understand because I’ve known both of you practically forever"

The ht of the snowboarding incident That’s when I realized things were different"

"When she broke her arm?" he asks "And you had to take her to the hospital"

I nod "You reet up right away and certain people were yelling that she was dead"

"Hey, I was drunk," Ethan gripes because he was the one yelling "And she looked dead to me"

"Well, that’s when I knew" I take the burrito out and set it on the counter "Thinking she was dead was seriously thethat’s ever happened toMore thanto"Okay"

I slam the microwave door shut and sit down at the table "Hey, you asked"

He taps his phone on the table "What do you think of Lila?"

"She seee and then toss one to Ethan "And she seeuess"

He taps the top of the can, and then flips the tab "Yeah, but she barely knowsmy soda, I sit back down "Everyone barely knows you"

He shrugs, staring out the"I never really understood the point of that whole get-to-know-you thing"

The house phone rings and our conversation ends I inhale the rest of the burrito as the answer e is for Micha" It’s e of the table

"Look, Terri, I understand that he’s pissed at me, but I need to talk to hi up on ed him to call me?" He sounds frazzled "I don’t know look, I’s up

I release the table froe from the phone When I turn around, Ethan is on his feet The hole that I punched in the wall hasn’t been fixed and I think about haet our shit picked up before it rains," Ethan says, staring at the sky through the

I pop my knuckles and walk for the door "Sounds like a plan"

Ella

I find my dad at the bar It’s the first place I look, but it’s disappointing that it was so easy Lila waits for me in the car, because I ask her to When I walk in, I spot him slumped over in a barstool with an e down the counters with a rag When he sees me in the entryway, he holds up his hand

"You’re going to need to show me your ID, before you co over his shoulder and walks around the counter toward me

"It’s me, Denny," I say "Ella Daniels"

His eyes widen "Holy shit You’re back"

I nod "I am, but only for the suh his curly brown hair "Where were you anyway? No one really see to school" I point at "

Denny glances back atI wasn’t even opened up yet, but he was already too drunk to understand when I tried to explain to him that ere closed"

"I’ll take him home," I tell him and he lets me by "I’m sorry he’s been soon the counter and helps et my dad to his feet He smells like he showered in a bottle of Jack Daniels

"I don’tto feel guilty about it For the last few ht have a problem"

"He’s had one for a while" I drape my dad’s arm over my shoulder and Denny does the same with his other arm

My dadabouthim outside and Lila hops out of the car She doesn’t say anything as Denny and I lie my dad down in the back of the Firebird

It’s starting to sprinkle and lightning snaps across the sky

"Thanks for helpingmy eyes from the raindrops

Denny rubs his neck tensely "Have you ever considered getting him some help?"

"What do you mean? Like rehab?" I shout over the thunder

He shrugs "Or AA Soether"

I scratch my head, confused Why hadn’t it occurred to s about my mother’s death consu me a pat on the arm "And if you need any help, you knohere to find ain and ju, but when she opens her

"My older sister was a drug addict," she says quickly "For like a year"

I stop chewing on um "I didn’t know that"

"I know Not a lot of people do My fa our dirty laundry to ourselves" She rotates in her chair to look aton the backseat "But I wanted to tell you so that you know that I understand how hard it is to watch someone you care about hurt themselves"

I turn the car down my street and the tires splash puddles onto the hood as they hit the potholes "Why did you never tell me before?"

"Why didn’t you tell me about your dad?"

"I don’t know" Who is this girl sitting next to me? "So my life doesn’t scare you?"

She arches her eyebrows and sits forward in her seat "I wouldn’t go that far, but your personal life doesn’t"

There are three large Keggers on Micha’s back porch e pull up toThe rain is pouring down and flooding the sidewalk and the tree next to the house sways in the wind

"Theyit" Lila smacks her hand on her knee and a s forward to watching Ethan bent over the hood"

I snort a laugh "Well, that wasn’t really et hi to have Micha help"