like yuppie, suburban moms to a Starbucks.
As Lucy had said, cliques ruled at Blackwell Falls High and having a town, let alone a school, named after you increased your popularity tenfold. It didn’t hurt that Asher played center on our hockey team. I’d surmised from the others’ gossip that Charlotte was a sophomore, younger than me. At sixteen, she had confidence the rest of us lacked, and I couldn’t imagine her with acne or worrying about her weight.
With Asher gone, I relaxed and listened to Lucy’s friends make plans for that evening. Temperatures had dropped low enough that the town’s waterfall had frozen over. A bunch of students had decided to go see it, and the trip was quickly becoming an impromptu party.
Susan asked if I’d go, and Lucy cajoled, “Come on, Remy. Let’s go. It’ll be fun.” She ended on a singsong tone.
I returned her smile. She really was nice to the core, and I was dying to get out of the house. “Sure. Sounds like fun.”
That evening, Lucy worked miracles with my makeup, an easier task since the bruises had faded to a pale yellow. I’d helped them along a little, anxious to skip the phase of healing when the bluish bruises morphed into a revolting green. With a little assistance, mine had gone from blue to almost nonexistent.
My remaining broken rib no longer required taping, either, since I’d healed it the day before. My voice remained throaty despite my best efforts. Whatever Dean had done, the damage appeared permanent. Since I wasn’t planning on a career as a singer and it no longer hurt, I’d decided not to stress about it.
Later, I laughed with Lucy as we headed down the stairs to meet Brandon, who’d arrived to pick us up. Ben and Laura grinned at us, and I wished I didn’t like it that we gave the appearance of a happy family.
Raucous noise filled Brandon’s van. He had picked up Greg and Susan on the way to our house, and we set off. When we arrived at a steep cliff at the edge of the woods, we piled out of the van and followed a worn path downhill toward the small roar of about sixty kids letting loose.
Someone had cleared away mounds of snow to get a fire started. A huge pile of wood from broken crates, pallets, and fallen trees blazed in the dark, the fire illuminating some faces, while others remained hidden in darkness. The effect was kind of creepy, and I huddled my shoulders in my jacket.
As we neared the fire, Susan wandered off with Greg, dating or on the verge of it. Brandon headed for the keg. I looked over at Lucy and watched as her eyes locked on a stranger who wasn’t handsome so much as boyishly cute with his auburn curls and dimples.
Shoving an elbow in her side, I teased, “Someone’s been holding out.” When Lucy blushed, I grinned.
“That’s Tim,” she said. “He graduated last year.”
“An older man? And you gave me hell for merely looking at the town Romeo?”
She flushed in embarrassment and muttered, “Shut up, Remy” without any heat, her eyes returning to the boy. He’d spotted her, too, and strode through the sand to meet us.
“That’s my cue to make myself scarce.”
Lucy spared me a grateful glance. “Thanks. You going to be okay?”
I smiled to reassure her. “You forget. I’m used to it. I’ll catch up with you later.”
Moving closer to the fire, I shivered and experienced a fleeting relief that we were shopping for a warmer coat this weekend, because I’d freeze to death in the dumb excuse for a jacket I had. It had been thin when new three years ago. I moved as close as I dared to the large blaze, seating myself on a log. The spectacle before me was worth every frozen inch of my backside. Rushing water had frozen as it tumbled toward the small creek below it, so that it looked like some demented artist had carved a floating sculpture. My hands slid into my pockets as I stared up at the obsidian sky speckled with dots of light. The heat curled into me and my eyelids drooped.
“You shouldn’t
As Lucy had said, cliques ruled at Blackwell Falls High and having a town, let alone a school, named after you increased your popularity tenfold. It didn’t hurt that Asher played center on our hockey team. I’d surmised from the others’ gossip that Charlotte was a sophomore, younger than me. At sixteen, she had confidence the rest of us lacked, and I couldn’t imagine her with acne or worrying about her weight.
With Asher gone, I relaxed and listened to Lucy’s friends make plans for that evening. Temperatures had dropped low enough that the town’s waterfall had frozen over. A bunch of students had decided to go see it, and the trip was quickly becoming an impromptu party.
Susan asked if I’d go, and Lucy cajoled, “Come on, Remy. Let’s go. It’ll be fun.” She ended on a singsong tone.
I returned her smile. She really was nice to the core, and I was dying to get out of the house. “Sure. Sounds like fun.”
That evening, Lucy worked miracles with my makeup, an easier task since the bruises had faded to a pale yellow. I’d helped them along a little, anxious to skip the phase of healing when the bluish bruises morphed into a revolting green. With a little assistance, mine had gone from blue to almost nonexistent.
My remaining broken rib no longer required taping, either, since I’d healed it the day before. My voice remained throaty despite my best efforts. Whatever Dean had done, the damage appeared permanent. Since I wasn’t planning on a career as a singer and it no longer hurt, I’d decided not to stress about it.
Later, I laughed with Lucy as we headed down the stairs to meet Brandon, who’d arrived to pick us up. Ben and Laura grinned at us, and I wished I didn’t like it that we gave the appearance of a happy family.
Raucous noise filled Brandon’s van. He had picked up Greg and Susan on the way to our house, and we set off. When we arrived at a steep cliff at the edge of the woods, we piled out of the van and followed a worn path downhill toward the small roar of about sixty kids letting loose.
Someone had cleared away mounds of snow to get a fire started. A huge pile of wood from broken crates, pallets, and fallen trees blazed in the dark, the fire illuminating some faces, while others remained hidden in darkness. The effect was kind of creepy, and I huddled my shoulders in my jacket.
As we neared the fire, Susan wandered off with Greg, dating or on the verge of it. Brandon headed for the keg. I looked over at Lucy and watched as her eyes locked on a stranger who wasn’t handsome so much as boyishly cute with his auburn curls and dimples.
Shoving an elbow in her side, I teased, “Someone’s been holding out.” When Lucy blushed, I grinned.
“That’s Tim,” she said. “He graduated last year.”
“An older man? And you gave me hell for merely looking at the town Romeo?”
She flushed in embarrassment and muttered, “Shut up, Remy” without any heat, her eyes returning to the boy. He’d spotted her, too, and strode through the sand to meet us.
“That’s my cue to make myself scarce.”
Lucy spared me a grateful glance. “Thanks. You going to be okay?”
I smiled to reassure her. “You forget. I’m used to it. I’ll catch up with you later.”
Moving closer to the fire, I shivered and experienced a fleeting relief that we were shopping for a warmer coat this weekend, because I’d freeze to death in the dumb excuse for a jacket I had. It had been thin when new three years ago. I moved as close as I dared to the large blaze, seating myself on a log. The spectacle before me was worth every frozen inch of my backside. Rushing water had frozen as it tumbled toward the small creek below it, so that it looked like some demented artist had carved a floating sculpture. My hands slid into my pockets as I stared up at the obsidian sky speckled with dots of light. The heat curled into me and my eyelids drooped.
“You shouldn’t
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