Page 8 (1/2)

I put my hands on his shoulders "Archibald Henry Bennett Pro"

"You sure?"

"Promise me!" I yelled

"Fine I prouard dogs that occasionally turned on you I was completely exhausted by this conversation By this whole day "Well, thanks for the talk, but I could use soracefully toward the door I’d learned long ago that hints get you nowhere with boys--or at least not with the ones I was related to The racefully to his feet and patted me clumsily on the shoulder "I’m here for you, Addie," he said

"And I really appreciate it" I tilted ressively toward the doorway

"Okay, okay I’ered out of the room, his to-do list lit up in neon over his head Be there for little sister Check

Once Archie was out of uidebook and flicked on the library’s dusty side laaze He hadn’t moved from his chair once, and he was still laser-focused on his phone, his hair flopping forward to shield his face

Right after Christ his hair, and no ed and threatened, he hadn’t let up Noas almost to his shoulders and a constant reene pool was My brothers all had randeneration, bypassing my dark-haired dad to land on h, and even fro bluer than usual, accented by the heavy dark circle around his left eye, courtesy of me The bruise looked really painful And final A punctuation , miserable sentence

Suddenly, a smile split Ian’s face, and a mixture of e about Ian’s senuine Ian didn’t fake anything for anyone--he never had Get hiry, you knew you were actually being an idiot

I am such an idiot

Panic bubbled in uidebook under ot swept into a conversation with the groo the side of the dance floor to burst through the doors and into the courtyard

Outside, I paused to take a few glorious breaths If I riting a travel brochure for Ireland, I’d start hat it smells like It’s a co else, so in the top secret French toast recipe

What if ernails into the thought, I startedfountain overfloith rainwater Strings of warhts crisscrossed over the courtyard’s path, the yellow bulbsnoise in the spots where they overlapped Puddles shimmered in the divots in the stone pavement, and the air ruffled in cool, sparkly perfection Hoas it possible to feel so horrible in a place that was so beautiful?

I squeezedin my chest Sometimes I didn’t know if I ether in my head of the two of us It was always the same It would be mid-September, a week or two after everyone’s start-of-school jitters wore off We’d be walking down the hall, hi casually aroundthat matters is the person you’re with Whispers would follow us down the hall That’s Addie Bennett Aren’t they cute together? I know I don’t knohy I never noticed her before either

Well, I’d gotten ht But not about what I wanted them to be