Page 1 (1/2)

Prologue

My name is Jared

My na it over and over again, trying to get o and hbors, but I was nervous

There was a kid living next door now--probably ten years old like me--and I’d smiled when I saw that she wore baseballs caps and Chucks Other girls in hborhood didn’t dress like that, and she was pretty, too

I leaned onout the house next door, alive withti tree stood between our houses, but I could still see through the green leaves

"Hey, sweetie"

I turnedon , but her eyes were teary, and her clothes rinkly

She was sick again She got sick whenever she drank the bottle drinks

"I saw that we have new neighbors," she continued "Did youback out the ishing she’d go away "They have a girl No boys"

"And you can’t be friends with a girl?" Her voice cracked, and I heard her s I kneas cohtened

"No, I can’t"

I didn’t like to talk to my mom Actually, I didn’t kno to talk to her I was alone a lot, and she pissed me off

"Jared--" she started but didn’t continue After a moment, I heard her walk away and slam a door down the hall She probably went to the bathroom to puke

My mom drinks alcohol a lot, especially on the weekends, and all of a sudden I didn’t want to irl next door

So what if she seemed cool and liked to ride bikes?

Or that I could hear Alice in Chains co from her bedroom? At least I think it was her bedrooht, ready to just forget about it and gotonight

But then I saw the girl’s curtains open, and I stopped

She was there That was her room!

And for some reason, I smiled I liked that our rooms faced each other

I narrowed my eyes to see her better as she opened the double doors but then widened the

What? Was she crazy?

I yanked up ht air "Hey!" I shouted at her "What are you doing?"

She jerked her head up, and ht when I saw her wobble on the branch she was trying to balance on Her arms flailed from side to side, and I was i into the tree after her

"Be careful!" I yelled as she bent down and grabbed hold of the thick branch with her hands

I crept into the tree while holding onto a branch at the side of ?

Her blue eyes were big as she stayed on all fours, holding onto the tree as it shook beneath her

"You can’t just climb into trees by yourself," I snipped out "You alrab her hand

My fingers instantly tingled, like when a part of your body falls asleep

She stood up, her legs shaking, and I held onto a branch above my head as I walked both of us toward the trunk

"Why did you do that?" she complained behind me "I kno to climb trees You scared me, and that’s why I almost fell"

I looked over at her as I plopped down on the thick, inner part of the tree "Sure it was" And I dusted o shorts

I stared out at our street, Fall Away Lane, but I couldn’t shake the feel of her offspread up my arm and overup, and I kind of wanted to laugh, because it tickled

She just kept standing there, probably pouting, but after a few seconds she took the seat next to ether off the branch

"So," she spoke up, pointing to my house "You live over there?"

"Yeah With my mom," I said, and I looked down at her just in tiers

She looked sad for a few seconds, but then her eyebrows ca not to cry

What did I say?

She was still dressed in the same overalls I’d seen her in earlier today when she was unloading theloose, and other than some dirt on her pants, she looked clean

We sat there for ato the wind rustle the leaves around us

She seemed really little next to me, like any minute she’d fall off the branch, unable to hold herself up

Her lips were turned down at the corners, and I didn’t knohy she was so sad All I kneas that I didn’t want to go anywhere until she felt better