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Lila scrunches her eyebrows for a rin splits her face "Oh! Because I’ht?"

Stacey flinches Audrey looks at ford’s idea of political correctness is never toabout race Ever Tan skin and dark hair are supposed to be as invisible as red hair or blond hair or skin so white its ood," says Lila "We’re stepcousins My mother married his mother’s brother"

My mother doesn’t even have a brother

I don’t lift an eyebrow

I don’t sht still be in love with ismy pulse race

"Audrey," I say, because I know this script pretty well, "can we talk for a minute?"

"Cassel," says Lila "I have to cut rins at Audrey and grabs aze on Audrey, waiting for her to answer

"I guess you can talk when you get back to school," says Jenna

"She could use the shower at the dorm," Audrey says hesitantly

I am a very bad person

"So we can talk?" I ask her "That would be great"

"Sure," she says, not looking at rin "Smooth," she mouths

Audrey and I sit on the ce Her neck is blotchy, the way it gets when she’s nervous She keeps pushing her red hair out of her face, hooking it over one ear, but it tumbles loose with every breeze

"I’m sorry about what happened at the party," I say I want to touch her hair, smooth it back, but I don’t

"I’m an independent woloved hands pull at the weave of her gray tights

"I just meant that I--"

"I knohat you irls, certainly not in front of their boyfriends It’s not chivalrous"

"Greg’s your boyfriend?" That certainly explains his reaction

She bites her lower lip and shrugs

"And then I hit hih "No pistols at dawn You rins, clearly relieved I’ate her "I a," I say It’s easy to talk to her today, knowing I didn’t kill the last girl I was in love with I had no idea how heavy a burden that was until I set it down

"But he likes me better than you ever did," she says

"He must like you a whole lot, then" I look into her eyes as I say it, and a across her cheeks

She punches me in the arm "Oooh You are funny"

"Does that mean you’re not quite over me?"

She leans back and stretches "I’ back to school?"

I nod "I’ll be back"

"Tick tock," she says "I rin "Absence direat ones"

"You’ve got a good aze is focused somewhere behindtoo?" When she doesn’t react, I turn to see what she’s staring at

Lila is heading across the quad toward us in a long skirt and a sweater that she obviously talked someone out of She cut off so much of her hair that it’s shorter thanloss For adifference," Audrey says

Lila’s smile widens She walks up and links her ar me use the shower"

"No proble us, like she suddenly thinks that there’s so off about what occurred Maybe it’s just how different Lila looks

"We have to catch a train, Cassel," says Lila

"Yeah," I say "I’ll call you"

Audrey nods her head, still looking bewildered

Lila and I head toward the sidewalk, and I knohat this is The blow-off and the getaway High stakes or low stakes, the steps are the same

Turns out I’m not like my dad at all I really am just like my mother

The train station is practically ee sits on one of the painted wooden benches, arguing with a girl whose eyes look red and puffy An old wo in the far corner two girls with slender ether over a Game Boy

"We should call your dad" I fishto be in his office e get there"

Lila stares into the glass of a vending machine, her expression unreadable Her reflection wavers a little, liketo New York We have to get him to meet me somewhere else"

"Why?"

"Because I don’t want anyone but hi with Anton"

"Okay," I say, nodding After all she’s been through, a little paranoia is probably not misplaced

"I overheard a lot," she says "I know their plan"

"Okay," I say again I never thought she didn’t