Impostor by Jill Hathaway Read Free Book Online Page A

we’re not touching. Did he mean to do that? Can’t he stand to be close to me anymore?
    I look around the room, searching for some way to get Mattie and Regina to leave us alone. My eyes fall on the popcorn bowl on the floor, nearly empty. I grab the remote control and hit the Pause button.
    “Hey, Mattie. Way to eat all the popcorn. Rollins and I didn’t get any.”
    Mattie glances at the bowl and then looks up guiltily. “Oops. Sorry.”
    “Maybe you and Regina could go make some more?” I raise my eyebrows and tilt my head slightly toward the kitchen, hoping to convey that this is an order, not a request.
    Mattie looks at me and then Rollins, and she smiles. “Oh, sure. Come on, Regina.” Mattie scoops up the popcorn bowl.
    “Hey, do you have any of that flavored powder to sprinkle on top?” Regina asks, following Mattie. “Todd used to love that stuff. He could go through a whole bottle in two days.”
    With the two gone, I turn toward Rollins. “I was hoping we’d get a moment alone to talk,” I say, my heart banging so hard I’m afraid he might hear it.
    I know what I have to do now. Somehow, I have to find the words to tell Rollins how I feel, before this thing with Anna gets going. Otherwise, I might lose him forever.
    Rollins looks down at his hands. “About what?”
    “About us,” I say, my voice small.
    Finally, he looks up. “What do you mean?”
    Jesus, this is hard. So hard that I’m tempted to just let it go, leave things the way they are. I mean, we’re best friends. Do I really want to mess that up? What if I confess my feelings for him, and Rollins denies them? What if we never speak again?
    After a long moment of racking my brain for the perfect turn of phrase, I decide maybe words are overrated. I squeeze my eyes shut tight and lean forward, my lips in a loose pout.
    Nothing happens.
    I open one eye. Rollins is staring at me like I’ve grown another head.
    “What are you doing, Vee?”
    Heat rushes into my cheeks. I pull back and try to act nonchalant. “Nothing. It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
    His eyebrows knit together in concern. “Are you sure?”
    “Yeah. I just—I don’t know what I was thinking.”
    A buzzing noise interrupts the moment.
    Rollins pulls his cell out of his pocket. It’s clear that someone has called him, but he turns away slightly so I can’t see who’s on the other line. After a moment, he stuffs the phone back into his pocket.
    “You know,” he says, rising. “It’s late. I should go.”
    “Sure,” I say, standing to walk him to the door. “No problem.”
    “Hey, you don’t need to get up. Sit down. Enjoy the movie.”
    “Oh, yeah.”
    Rollins grabs his jacket from the back of the couch and pulls it on. “I’ll call you later.”
    “Okay,” I say, mumbling. I hope it’s dark enough that he can’t see the tears welling up in my eyes. I’d like to think, if he did see them, he would stop. But he doesn’t.
    A few seconds later, I hear the door open and close.
     
    I’ve locked myself in the downstairs bathroom while Mattie and Regina finish watching the movie. Pathetic. Here I am, weeping on the toilet like some stupid girl who’s just had her heart broken. And the worst part is I should know better by now. Things like relationships just don’t go well for me. I should just accept it and move on. And become a nun or something.
    The thought of me in a habit, dancing around a mountaintop and singing or some crap, makes me smile. I hold on to the image as I blow my nose.
    The doorbell rings.
    He’s back.
    He’s changed his mind and has come back.
    I peek in the bathroom mirror and make sure my face isn’t too blotchy. Then I hurry out into the foyer. The light is on outside, but through the sheer curtain, I can barely make out the figure standing there.
    I throw the door open, ready to tell Rollins what an idiot I was being and that we should just stay best friends and that’s totally cool with me.
    But it’s not