Page 17 (1/2)

It’s surreal, looking into those big brown eyes of the little girl in the picture If it weren’t for the fact that she’s in several pictures with her mother, I’d be convinced she really was Hope

But she can’t be Hope, because Hope’s irl Unless Karen isn’t Sky’sthere "Yourthe noticeable s"

"You don’t look like her Do you look like your dad?"

She shrugs "I don’t know I don’t remember what he looks like"

She looks sad when she says it, but I’m curious why she doesn’t remember what he looks like

"Is your dad dead?"

She sighs I can tell she’s unco about it "I don’t know Haven’t seen him since I was three" It’s clear she doesn’t feel like elaborating I walk back to the kitchen and reclaiet? No story?"

"Oh, there’s a story I just don’t want to tell it"

I can see I’ht now, so I change the subject "Your cookies were good You shouldn’t downplay your baking abilities"

She smiles, but her smile fades as soon as the phone on the counter between us sounds off, indicating a text I look down at it just as she jus it open to eye the cake and I realize she thinks the sound came from the oven, rather than the phone

I pick up the phone just as she shuts the oven and turns to face h "Your cake is fine"

She rolls her eyes and throws the oven mitt on the counter, then walks back to her seat I’m curious about the cell phone, especially since she told me earlier this week that she didn’t have one

"I thought you weren’t allowed to have a phone," I say, glancing at all the texts as I scroll er down the screen "Or was that a really pathetic excuse to avoid giving me your number?"

"I’ave it tobut text"

I turn the phone around to face her "What the hell kind of texts are these?" I read one out loud

"Sky, you are beautiful You are possibly the most exquisite creature in the universe and if anyone tells you otherwise, I’ll cut the bitch" I glance at her, the textsme even more curious about her than I was before "Oh, God," I say "They’re all like this Please tell me you don’t text these to yourself for daily hs and snatches the phone out ofthe fun of it"

"Oh, my God, you do? Those are all from you?"

"No!" she says defensively "They’re from Six She’s my best friend and she’s halfway around the world and she misses me She wants me to not be sad, so she sends me nice texts every day I think it’s sweet"

"Oh, you do not," I say "You think it’s annoying and you probably don’t even read the her arms defensively across her chest

"They’ll ruin you," I tease "Those texts will inflate your ego so s on her phone and punch the nu here without her nuet it "We need to rectify this situation before you start suffering froive her back her phone and text her

Your cookies suck ass And you’re really not that pretty

"Better?" I ask after she reads it "Did the ego deflate enough?"

She laughs and places the phone facedown on the counter "You know just the right things to say to a girl" She walks into the living room and spins around to face me "Want a tour of the house?"

I don’t hesitate Of course I want a tour of her house I follow her through the house and listen as she speaks I pretend to be interested in everything she’s pointing out, but in reality I can only concentrate on the sound of her voice She could talk toto her

"My roo open the door to her bedrooh there aren’t any people eighteen or older here, stay off the bed I’nant this weekend"

I pause as I’h her door and eye her "Only this weekend?" I ask,knocked up next weekend, instead?"

She s my way into her room "Nah," she says "I’ll probably wait a few more weeks"

I shouldn’t be here Every minute I spend with her makes me like her more and more Now I’m in her room and there’s no one in the house other than her and me, not to mention the fact that there’s this bed between us that she told me to stay off of

I shouldn’t be here

I cauy So why aht now?

"I’ what she looks like when she lies in this bed