Art is the Lie (A Vanderbie Novel) by Courtney Cook Hopp Read Free Book Online

hands around my forearms, nearly yanking my arms from their sockets as he lifted me up against him.
    “Yeah, fine.” I quickly stepped back and shook my arms to be certain they were still attached and slung my bag back over my shoulder. “I’ve got to go.”
    He looked down at me hesitantly. I quickly looked away. “Um, okay, I guess I’ll catch you later,” he mumbled as his frame receded in the crowd.
    I was too distracted to react to his tone and hesitation. I pushed my way against the flow, the jostling of bodies inflaming my anxiousness. Ignorance was my choice of weapon against his unasked questions of interest. I didn’t ask for it, and I sure didn’t encourage it. I wanted nothing that would tie me to this island come the end of the school year.
    The doors to the north parking lot were in sight. I could almost taste the fresh air on the other side. My body slugged through the last ten feet.
    “CeeCee!”
    Cut short of opening the door, I turned to see Grace running to catch up with me.
    Winded, she asked, “Can I get a ride to the coffee shop?”
    “Where’s your car?” An endless afternoon of Grace chit-chat was not what I needed. Inevitably, my focus, or lack of, would be called into question, leading to a relentless inquiry as to why.
    She followed on my tail out the door. “In the repair shop again. I should have opted for an oldie like yours.”
    I sucked in a deep breath. With every step, t he cool air sliced through my lungs, expelling bits of pent-up anxiety.
    “Besides, ” she continued, “you could stand a few moments out of that fume filled room of yours,” she added.
    “I’ve just got some stuff to do.” I set my mess enger bag on the hood of my car and began the endless search for car keys.
    Undeterred by my “no,” she walked around to the passenger door and waited. “What stuff?”
    “Is this an interrogation?” I glanced irritably over the top of my car. “If you must know, I have a hot date in the city I have to get ready for.”
    She held her laughter back for all of two seconds before letting it rip. “Girlfriend, you are funny.” She was actually snorting. “You’ve given no island misfit the time of day, and now, one in the city? I don’t think so. You’re not that good at keeping secrets from me.”
    That’s what she thought. We both slid into my car at the same time. “I said I wasn’t going to the coffee shop.”
    “I know, but you can still roll your little ride by and drop me off.” She wasn’t getting out. I relented and backed out of my parking spot. “So, speaking of dates, Avery and I decided we should all go to Homecoming together as a group.”
    I glanced at her, trying to assess where this was leading. “Have fun.”
    “You’ll come.” She flipped down the visor and began a lip-gloss and primp routine. “It’s totally casual. We figure we can all watch the game together and then head to the dance. Dylan’s coming too.”
    “Is Sean coming?”
    “The last time I checked, we lived in a free country. No one’s stopping him.” I could have puckered from her tartness. She tossed her gloss back in her bag, asking, “So, you’ll come?”
    I pulled into the coffee shop parking lot and left my car idling, “Don’t know.”
    “I’m not getting out of the car until you agree to go.”
    “Get out. I’ll come.” I caved easily, figuring I’d work on an excuse when my brain was less occupied by near future events.
    “Goodbye to you, too.” She slammed the door closed and sashayed up the stairs to the coffee shop.

 

     
     
    Locked in the safety of my bedroom, I pulled open my closet and stared, daunted by the clothes hanging in the tight space. I didn’t want to care. I reached for a clean shirt to replace the one I was wearing, but instead, my hand landed on a hanger holding a black flippy skirt. I pulled it out, but quickly shoved it back in. Too much.
    An instant later, I pulled it out again and threw it on. Along with an emerald