Dark Hope by Monica McGurk Read Free Book Online Page B

intersection.
    “Left,” I said. Almost simultaneously he flicked the signal, as if he had anticipated my response.
    “So what’s your story, Carmichael?”
    “Huh?” I darted a glance at him. He was looking at me, amusement on his face.
    “It’s not a trick question. You know how I came to the lovely burg of Dunwoody. What brings you here?”
    He pulled up to a T stop and signaled for a right turn, not waiting for my confirmation.
    “You need to go left,” I said, a note of suspicion in my voice.
    “Relax, Hope. It’s a circle drive. I can’t make a wrong turn. And don’t duck the question. Why’d you transfer to Dunwoody High?”
    I squirmed in my seat. “It’s a long story.”
    “We’ve got some time. Go ahead.”
    I sighed. He was persistent, so I might as well get it over with.
    “My parents have been separated for a long time. They never really divorced, but they might as well have. My dad always had custody of me because my mom travels a lot for her job. But I decided I wanted to move back with her, so here I am.”
    “Just like that? Here you are? Your dad didn’t have anything to say about it?”
    I looked at Michael. His eyes seemed full of genuine interest. I found myself wanting to trust him.
    “He sort of screwed up. So no, he couldn’t really do anything about it. He isn’t even allowed to talk to me for a while.”
    Michael let out a slow whistle. “That had to be some sort of screwup. What did he do, if you don’t mind me asking?”
    I looked at my hands, twisting in my lap. How to explain my father without having to go through my whole past?
    “Ever since I was really little, he’s been very overprotective of me. He sort of controlled my every move. I guess I managed to deal with it until recently.” I stopped then, unsure if I should continue.
    “What happened?” Michael gently prompted me. His voice was soothing and smooth.
    “There was a new kid in school. Everyone was fascinated by him—you know, that new kid thing—and for some reason he took an interest in me. I lied to my dad and snuck out of the house so I could meet him at the movies.”
    I closed my eyes, remembering how excited I’d been. Danny was the first new kid at Holy Innocents since I’d arrived, the only one at school who didn’t know my story. He was my chance for a real friend, if I didn’t screw it up. I’d been so hopeful, thinking my father would believe my story about staying after school for homework. I was desperate for him to believe it, even though it was so transparent.
    “I thought I’d tricked him, but he showed up at the movie theater and made a scene.”
    “What kind of scene?” Michael prompted.
    I could still remember the feeling of Danny’s fingertips bumping into mine as we burrowed into the bucket of greasy popcorn. The angry stir of the crowd as the crazy man started spouting Bible verses at the top of his voice from the back of the theater. My horror when the crazy man started calling me by name, stalking down the aisle to claim me from my seat and pull me to his waiting car.
    My embarrassment at that moment had paled in comparison to how I felt when I had to deal with the ridicule I’d later faced in school. I’d gone from tolerated misfit to ridiculed pariah in the time it took Danny to spread the story around. I couldn’t blamehim. He recognized the opportunity to shoot to super-popularity on the back of someone else’s misfortune. It happened all the time in high school. It had just never happened to me.
    “It doesn’t matter,” I said, trying to shrug off the feeling of hopelessness that engulfed me whenever I thought about that time. “He’s just super religious and strict and kind of went too far. So that’s why I wanted to come back to Atlanta. I just needed some space from my dad.”
    I blinked my eyes open, and realized with a start that we were parked in front of my house. I turned to Michael, startled.
    “How did you—?”
    He laughed and flipped up