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I pointed to the bruise on his face "That looks bad"

But Zach shook his head "It isn't He--"

"Hits like a girl?" I teased

But Zach didn't s in the air between us as he said, "Not the girls I know"

I thought about the boy I'd met in DC--the kid who'd teased es with the boy who stood before h But on the other hand, he'd offeredthat htlike after all That maybe it wasn't his fault his arone, so I didn't let s had been different After all, trust is a hard thing for any girl--especially a Gallagher Girl--and this is the life I've chosen These are questions and doubts that will probably follow me for the rest of my life

I turned slowly, started to walk away--toward my friends and my future and whatever was supposed to come next

"Oh, and Ca to hear hi I expected was to feel his ar upside down as Zach dipped me in the middle of the foyer and pressed his lips to mine

Then he smiled that smile I'd come to know "I always finish what I start"

He stepped toward the open door and the war to burst into summer, a new season Another clean slate

"So this is good-bye?" I asked

"Coher Girl" Zach turned to me He winked "What would be the odds of that?"

He walked outside and got in the van, and as far as I could tell, he never looked back--

Because neither did I

I didn't think about the rules we'd broken or the time asted I didn't dwell on the questions that had see-lost note in a heavy rain

There are secrets in my world They stack side by side like dominoes, and last September they'd started to fall--all because I'd said hello to a boy Noas saying good-bye to another one But now, at least in Zach's case, I finally knew the truth Well…most of the truth

And it had set me free

The whole summer lay ahead of us--time to rest, time to wait And when the future comes--no er I'll be ready