Declan pulled up in front of the house and quietly came around to open my door for me. I climbed out awkwardly, the scrape on my leg making it a little difficult to move.
“Thanks, Declan.” I waved at him over my shoulder. “See you tomorrow.”
I headed into the kitchen to find Little Frank at the table eating a snack. Larissa wasn’t home, but Dad was. He sat at the opposite end of the table, laptop open, and papers spread out around him.
“How was school?” he asked, not bothering to look away from his computer screen.
He asked me that same question every single day, but I wasn’t convinced he actually cared. I was convinced he was doing it because he thought he had to, like he’d read it in some parenting book or something.
“Fine.” I searched in the fridge for a bottle of water.
“The other kids treating you well?”
“If by well you mean ignoring me and pretending I don’t exist, then yeah. I’m getting the red-carpet treatment.” I twisted off the top and took a long drink, hoping it would cool my rising anger.
He took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Honestly, Chloe. You could at least try to make an effort.”
“So could you,” I shot back.
Dad sighed but didn’t say anything else.
I ruffled Little Frank’s hair and headed upstairs. Once in my room, I dropped my bag to the floor and took my mother’s urn from the dresser. “I miss you. And I hate it here. So much. I—”
My cell phone rang. Setting the urn carefully on my nightstand, I dug through my bag until I found my phone. It was Abby. Again. I swiped my finger across the screen.
“Hey,” I said, faking as much cheer as I could. “What’s up?”
“You’re seriously going to act like nothing’s wrong? You’ve been avoiding my calls for days and not answering my texts. What gives?”
I sighed. So much for small talk. “I know. I’m sorry. School has been crazy, and the people here suck. I hate my classes and my teachers and my father and the sun and…” Running out of breath, I inhaled deeply, prepared to keep unloading about how horrible my life was when Abby laughed.
“You felt that way when you first moved here, too, and things got better. Give it time.”
“Time’s not going to help,” I grumbled.
There was no way she could understand what it was like to have her life—her security—ripped away from her. Twice.
“Sorry to be so miserable.” I stood and stretched. “What’s been going on at home?”
“Mom and Dad are still trying to figure out a way to get you back here with us.”
“And?” Butterflies battled in my stomach. Something about her tone was off. There was total silence, and for a moment, I thought we might have been disconnected, but then I heard her weary sigh. “Abby?”
“Don’t tell them I told you, okay?”
“Just tell me,” I snapped.
“Their lawyer said they don’t have a case, and even if they did, it would take months just to get through the court system, so if you want to come home, it’s best to just wait until you’re eighteen, but that’s okay because that’s not too far away. Just another month. You can make it that long, I know you can, and then you can come home and do your senior year here,” she said on a rush of breath.
I stood near my closet door, letting her words sink in. Deep down, I’d known this was a likely possibility, but to have it confirmed sucked. Big time.
“Chloe? I’m really sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.” It was my father’s. Everything sucky about my life was his fault.
“I miss you.” Her voice was sad, and that only made me more upset.
“I miss you, too. How’s everyone else doing?”
I never thought I’d miss anyone as much as I missed Mom, but it was a close call with Abby, Aunt Beth, and Uncle Dean. And all my friends. I wandered back over to my bed and flopped down, causing my pillow to topple over onto my face. I didn’t bother moving it. Maybe I’d accidentally suffocate myself.
“Good. Ellie and Nick finally hooked up,” she said.
My eyes widened. “No way. Seriously?”
A stab of guilt pierced my chest. I was supposed to talk to Nick, but I’d never gotten the chance. I’d have to return Ellie’s call later and get all the details—and I sort of missed her incessant rambling.
“Mm-hmm. You should see them together. They are so adorable.” She sighed. “I think Gina is jealous, though. That, or she’s mad because Ellie’s been ignoring her.”
I tossed the pillow to the floor and sat up. That didn’t sound like Ellie. Or Gina. Not that I knew Gina all that well, but she didn’t strike me as the jealous type. I was definitely going to call Ellie later.
“How are Tonya and Luke?” I asked.
“Okay, I guess. I really don’t talk to them much.”
Guess I’d have to ask Ellie about them. It would give us something to talk about other than my “glamorous city life.” Ellie’s words—not mine. She thought it was awesome that I was so close to Hollywood, and every time we talked, she’d ask if I’d met any celebrities. Maybe that’s why I’d been avoiding her. I was tired of pretending everything was okay when in reality, I was dying inside.
“Malibu can’t really be that bad, can it?” Abby asked.
That was another question I was tired of answering. Malibu wasn’t as great as everyone seemed to think.
“Ugh.” I groaned. “You have no idea. I swear, everyone at my school has more money than brains, and they are so stuck up.” My mind flitted to Olivia. “Let’s just say it’s nothing like Keene Valley.”
There was a loud rustling noise and then a crunch. “Sorry.” Clearly, she had a mouthful of food. “Maybe you can come here after school lets out. Think Frank will let you? I mean, you’ll be eighteen a couple weeks after school ends anyway, so maybe he won’t make you
