Page 11 (1/2)

"You’re ten years ue in a playful tone "Which does ht years your senior," he corrects "I’ years on et that old, does it really even matter anymore if I add a year or two?"

He shakes his head with forced annoyance as he extends his arrabs the ashtray next to arette out in it, then his handto have you stick to herb tonight," he says, taking out a sie of weed out of his pocket He tosses it down on the counter in front ofdown to business "And I heard that the cops were going to be out a little heavier around town, so be careful"

"How do you know that?" I ask "Is your friend Glen tipping you off again? He’s such a dirty copper"

" ‘Dirty copper’?" He chuckles under his breath "I think you’ve been watching a little too many cop shows, Violet No one talks like that"

"I don’t watch cop shows," I lie, tracing one of the many cracks on the countertop "I read that expression in a book"

"What era does the book take place in? 1930?"

"No, 2012"

"You’re such a liar," he says, crossing his arainst the counter "You seriously are the worst I know and one day it’s going to get you into trouble"

"I don’t lie all the tis colorful when they’re gray"

"You are the irl I know, Violet Ha…" He trails off, probably re the one and only time I yelled at hie the subject before it can get toto let me crash here for the summer or what?"

A flirtatious smirk curves across his face "You know you’re alelcome here I’ll even share my bed with you"

I roll my eyes "Thanks, but I think I’ll take h to share a bed with?"

"No, I’m sure you are, but you know I don’t share a bed with anyone"

He leans over the counter "I know and I’d really like to knohy"

I give a one-shoulder shrug "For the sa else Because I don’t like people touchingalone--being alone in general

After I found my parents murdered, I stayed in the house with theest twenty-four hours of er I stayed in the house with the bodies the farther I sank into the loneliness and et up, but I knew once I did that it’d be over That I’d have to say good-bye Finally the silence broke ht away after the funerals It’d taken a few days and then I couldn’t stop It went on forever and I just wanted sohtet so me, help me not feel so alone, but in the end, no one wanted the job And finally I decided not to be so weak Ialone Be okay with only having myself

"Earth to Violet" Preston waves his hand in front of o to put the bag of weed in ot my jacket "Shit, I don’t have any effin pockets in this dress"

Preston cocks his head to the side and strands of his hair fall into his liquid blue eyes "Personally I like the dress…" He looks aze make me uncomfortable, but it kind of does "I have an idea" He rubs his scruffy jawline as he winds around the counter and I turn in the barstool to face hi"

I drop it in his hand and he folds his fingers around it and reaches forinstead on keepeven as his hand brushes the top of the dress

"You’re not wearing a bra" He bites his lip, his hand lingering on my chest for aaround to my back where the dress opens up and ers underneath the fabric and then tucks the bag just beneath the waistband of ers It’s not like I’ropedas it’s nothingwhen they’re just a face, think of so else, like how htest spark of e with someone emotionally and intieneral They serve no point other than to lead to disappoint for someone who doesn’t reciprocate Preston knows this about me and it makes me sort of question why he would touchis off limits with people I have some sort of relationship hether it be foster dad or friend, whichever he is to en intoas e to raet too crazy with your danceat me Then he circles the corner of the kitchen counter "There’s a party in Fairtown," he tellshappened as he digs through his cupboards for so "You should hit it up That town’s full of potheads"

I s the anger down and force my voice to coood" Withot and when faced with the choice of being entirely alone or taking this, I choose this

Chapter 5

Luke

I have a beer inht Without the nowhere I know it’s a dangerous road I’m headed down, especially because I’m a diabetic There have been a few instances where I pushed my body’s limits and doctors have told me that if I don’t stop, I could end up dead The proble without alcohol is a life I can’t live

It’s Saturday night and I’ of apart affordable anyway It’s the wrong tie students are looking for places to live so they fill up quickly If I hadto debate whether I can look past my resentment toward my father and ask him if I can come live with hi hi up, makes me feel weak I want him to have to work to be my father I don’t know for sure how much he knows about ent on, but what I do know is that for years there wasn’t enough contact fro I can do is let the ht when I closeis inthe coer over the screen It’s fro out with him and his boyfriend Greyson, since they both like to party as ht?