I stuck a hand in the air and waved without turning around. “I’m good.”
“Her bestie lives at the end of the street,” I heard Amanda say.
She would know. She’d hung out with us a few times in middle school, mostly at Georgia’s birthday parties, which her mom was famous for throwing for her only child.
I sharpened my hearing the farther I got from them, praying Colton would listen to Amanda and just get the hell out of there. I had only three more houses to hurry by before I was in the safe zone. Then a wild laugh broke free in my head. Safe zone—it wasn’t as if he would hurt me.
But as much as I didn’t want to look, my curiosity got the better of me. Colton stood in the street, watching me as Amanda hooked her arm into his. Then she flattened her hand on his chest and said something to him.
He threaded his fingers through his shoulder-length hair, and I swore a whimper came out of my mouth. I was so screwed. I wouldn’t make it through the first week of senior year. Either Colton would destroy me in a delightful way, or I was going to cave and just pull a Grady and stick my tongue down Colton’s throat. Maybe if I did, I would get him out of my system.
Other than Grady and his gross antics in the seventh grade, I’d only locked lips with one other dude, and that was in my sophomore year. Bruce Maddox had asked me to dance at the spring fling. He was nice and cute, but not someone I’d been interested in dating. Anyway, he’d kissed me that night when the music had ended, all hard lips and teeth. “Awkward” was the way I’d described the moment to Georgia after the dance.
Colton and Amanda finally got back in his truck. When he took off in the opposite direction, I let out the sigh of all sighs as I ran up to Georgia’s front door.
7
Georgia and I sat on the bleachers, watching the football team and the cheerleaders practice. After Mia was finished, the three of us were headed to the beach.
Georgia fanned herself with her notebook. “Have you recovered from yesterday?”
“What do you think?” I’d been grumpy all day because of my skateboard. When I’d gotten home from Georgia’s the night before, I tried to fix the mangled front wheel, but it was useless. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to sound like a bitch.”
She patted my leg. “It’s just a skateboard. You can buy another one.”
I narrowed my eyes at my BFF. “You did not just say that.”
She lifted a bare shoulder that was reddening from the orange ball of heat in the sky. “Skye, I’ll buy you another one.”
I should have hugged her for being the best friend a girl could have. Actually, I’d thrown myself at her the day before, crying in her arms for many reasons, not just my skateboard. “As I told you last night, my dad gave me that board. Sentimental, you know.”
She resumed fanning herself as she looked out at the field. “It’s scorching today.”
Mia and her squad of cheerleaders were practicing one of their high-flying routines while the footballers were huddled in the middle of the field, listening to the coach. I spotted Colton. It was hard not to. He was one of the taller ones among the group, and leaner than most.
I laughed. “We live in the South. You know, you’re starting to fry.” She was fair and tended to burn easily. Normally, she wasn’t one to wear a tank top for that very reason.
“I put on sunscreen. I’ll be fine.” Her tone was huffy.
I chewed on a nail, feeling like a witch for taking out my problems on her. “I know you want to help, and I love you for it. But I just want to mourn the loss of my board for now.”
She lowered her sunglasses, and her pretty green eyes sparkled beneath two coats of mascara. “I love you too, chica. But seriously, you need to let loose. You’re wound tight and I’m worried.”
I bumped her shoulder with mine. “I know. It just seems like bad things keep happening. My aunt is coming in this weekend.”
She whipped her head in my direction. “You didn’t tell me that.”
I’d been too amped up about Colton and Amanda and the murder of my skateboard. “That was the original reason I came to see you yesterday. You know my dad is preparing his trust. He wants me to go live with her.” The last part, she didn’t know. I’d been keeping it from her in the event that Dad changed his mind—and he still could, if I could convince him.
She swiveled in her seat. “No fucking way. Skyler Lawson, you are not leaving me. I’m going to talk to your dad.”
I laughed, the act freeing. “You can try. But seriously, I can’t blame him for wanting to make sure I’m taken care of when he’s gone.” I’d thought a lot about it while I snuggled with my cat, Stella, the night before. I couldn’t live on my own. Well, I could. But since I was only seventeen, adults would have a problem with that. “I told him I want to live with Nan.”
“Isn’t the house yours when he…” She couldn’t bring herself to say it either.
“It is, but I’m a minor.”
She mashed her glossy lips together. “You can live with me. My parents already said you could.”
Mr. and Mrs. Branson had offered to talk to Dad, but Dad was adamant about me living with family. “Can we talk about something else now?” I shouldn’t have brought it up. It only served to twist my stomach into knots.
Georgia nodded as tears pooled in her
