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Teeks fro injury and, for theto feel normal I inded easily and my ribs and arm ached nearly every second of the day, but the bruises on er hurt
And I was alive
I was currently walking circles around the kitchen table, partly because I was now supposed to be up anda proble jarred the ribs, but it was the kind of pain I was getting used to
Lori was peeling an orange and the citrusy scent filled the kitchen “So, did you know Dad is still in town?”
I stopped, halfway between the fridge and the sink Mom had mentioned that she’d talked to hione back to Seattle “What?”
“Yep” She dropped the peel on a paper towel beside her “He’s staying at one of the hotels that have suites You know, the kind for, like, extended stays or so”
“How long is he staying?”
A shrug “Don’t know I’ht You should come”
I laughed and ih hurt “I’ll pass Thanks”
Lori rolled her eyes as she carved out a slice “That’s not nice”
Walking again, I ignored that coet expensive”
“He’s doing okay,” she replied “And he’s been saving up money You’d know that if you actually talked to him”
“Oh, so he’s doing well enough to afford to stay in a hotel for an extended tirabbed a soda “That’s swell”
Lori popped the final piece of orange in herthat bad either”
“It hasn’t been easy,” I shot back “You know that”
I walked into the living roo down on the couch, I started flipping through the channels Lori followedroom, but before she could sit, there was a knock on the front door
“I’ll get it” She pivoted and disappeared into the small foyer
It couldn’t be Sebastian He’d coht—since Monday, but he should still be at football practice Every Night
“She’s in here,” I heard Lori say
A second later, Dary ca room “Hey” She waved “I’m bored”
My lips twitched into a srin that felt weird, and I realized that I hadn’t sht “So you decided to come over?”
“Yep” She sat down in the arht I’d come over and—” she squinted at the TV “—watch the Battle of Antietam with you”
Lori snorted as she sat down on the couch “You’re gonna wish you stayed home”
“Not likely” Dary curled her legs under her “Mo, but no, I’ot home So, I lied and told her that I had to help you with schoolwork I walked over here, which, by the hy is it so damn hot in September?”
“Global war” Lori picked up the remote and muted the TV “Where’s Abbi?”
I winced Abbi had stopped by only once since Monday, on Wednesday She hadn’t stayed long, leaving Dary here She hadn’t texted or called
“She’s with her parents,” Dary said “They’re doing so today”
I said nothing to that because I kneas a lie Her s had been going for her parents, I doubted they were having a family day
The banana I ate earlier soured in my stomach Abbi didn’t want to see me and there were so many reasons why she probably felt that way I couldn’t blame her for any of them
“Are you starting school on Monday or Tuesday?” Dary asked