After Ever After (9780545292788) by Jordan Sonnenblick Read Free Book Online Page B

answer in real time. You know how many nights I’ve come home tired after a long day of classes and band practice, and then had to e-mail Jeffrey back before I could start my three hours of studying? So many times I’ve thought about just blowing him off for a day, just until after the big accounting exam or until I finish the huge paper for English or until I just get some freaking sleep. But then I picture him the way he looked the first time he ever came home from the hospital, when he threw up on my shoes. Remember that?”
    It was silent downstairs for a while, and I thought really hard about leaving the closet, closing the door, climbing into bed, and covering my head with my pillow so I’d have no chance of hearing any more. But I stayed.
    Dad broke the silence. “Steven, we all remember that. But it was a long time ago, and … listen, why don’t you just take the semester off and stay around here? Don’t roll your eyes, son, I’m serious. I could get you a job at the firm, and you could getan apartment in town. You could earn some money, get a head start on paying back your school loans. We could promise to leave you alone, and Annette … well, she would be in New York, wouldn’t she? So you could live your life for a while.”
    â€œNo, I couldn’t. Being in town is the worst. Every single person who ever sees me says, ‘Hi, Steven. How’s your little brother feeling?’ Or ‘Hi, Steven. How’s Annette? Have you popped the question yet?’ Nobody ever says, ‘Hi, Steven. How are you doing?’ I just want to be in a place where people look at me and see me without all this baggage around my neck. Is that so terrible?”
    Mom said, “No, it’s not so terrible. But … Africa? That’s so far away.”
    â€œThat’s the point. No computer. No cell phone. Just me and the drums.”
    Mom’s voice broke then. “Steven, I understand why you’re upset. We should have understood it a long time ago, I guess. But I don’t know whether I can handle this. You, out of touch, in Africa ? You were the child we never had to worry about.”
    â€œWell,” Steven said, “maybe you should start worrying.”
    My family has always been big on the italics.
    Â 
    The letter assignment was even easier. I banged it out in one sitting a few days later.
    TO: [email protected]
FROM: [email protected]
    Hi Steven —
    I know you don’t want to hear from me, and that you probably won’t even be reading your e-mail until God knows when. But I have some stuff going on, and I just want you to listen. Or at least I want to pretend you’re listening.
    If you were around, I would have a million questions for you. I feel like this is the most confusing year of my life, and it’s only the second week of school. I mean, you know I’ve always had trouble with the actual school part of school, but this year everything else is upside down, too.
    I guess the first thing I want to know is, have you ever lied to Mom and Dad? Or not exactly lied, but didn’t tell them something really big? I don’t want to tell you about it, because you would probably kill me, but I sort of have that kind of situation going on. Anyway, I’m writing to youbecause Miss Palma is making us write to someone we admire. I picked you, and one thing I have always admired is that you always tell the truth, even when it’s hard to do. I can’t imagine you would ever keep anything secret from M&D. But then again, I can’t picture you breaking up with Annette and running away to Africa, either. I mean, I’m not mad or anything. I’m just wondering if maybe there’s other stuff I don’t know about you.
    Speaking of people who always tell the truth, even when it hurts, Tad is being all weird. He made me make this deal with him: He would tutor me in math and I would train him so he