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Not I was afraid to call, so that’s why I didn’t

Just: Holy shit

"Pretty much," I say, since it’s the only response I can think of At thatFunny how silence can be the loudest sound of all

"I’et out and hug s practically to his ja He’s tan--he ain, like he did last summer His eyes are still the sa closer to gray, like the fifteenat him still makes me want to puke and cry and kiss him all at once "I really didn’t expect to see you"

"I live around the corner, in case you forgot," I say My voice sounds harder, angrier, than I’d ain

"I thought you were gone," he says He keeps both hands on the steering wheel, squeezing tightly, like he does when he’s trying not to fidget Parker always used to joke he was like a shark--if he ever stoppedanyone"

"Yeah" He’s watchinginto the sun This way, he can’t see the scars, still angry and raw-red, flattened across ured you didn’t want to see ht," I say quickly, because otherwise I ht say what I really feel, which is: not true

He flinches and looks away, returning his attention to the road Another car passes, and has to pull out into the onco traffic to avoid Parker’s car He doesn’t seeer, an oldrude The sun is war between Parker and Nick last summer in Upper Reaches Park on the day after school ended, while Parker read out loud all the weirdest news he could find from around the country--interspecies relationships; bizarre deaths; unexplained agricultural patterns that could only, Parker insisted, be caused by aliens--inhaling the s, I could stay here forever What the hell changed?

Nick My parents The accident

Everything

I suddenly feel like crying Instead I wrap my arms around h his hair, which is back into place "You need a ride so?"

"No" I don’t want to tell hi anywhere except away I can’t even go back forreasons to complain about the fact that I wasn’t there to cheerlead her arrival