Where the Stars Still Shine by Trish Doller Read Free Book Online Page A

that curls up at the edge of his baseball cap. The other boy reminds me of a retriever—floppy and golden, with dark, happy eyes and a frame that’s a size too large for the trailer. He has to stoop to keep his head from touching the ceiling.
    “This place is amazing!” Kat flops down beside me and squeezes a silky pink-and-gold throw pillow to her chest. “You are so lucky! I would kill to have my ownroom, but instead I have to share it with an annoying nine-year-old.”
    Even though the cabinets are a little shabby, the trailer is nicer than most places I’ve lived. It’s clean and all the homey touches—curtains, throw pillows, a couple of hanging houseplants, and a multicolored woven rug—make it clear that Phoebe put some thought into decorating it. She couldn’t have guessed purple is my favorite color. Unless it’s always been my favorite color and Greg remembered. With him it seems entirely possible.
    “Anyway,” Kat goes on. “Callie, this is Nick Adamidis, my baseball-playing physics nerd.” The dark-haired one waves at me. “And this is his brother by another mother, Connor Madsen. He’s our token non-Greek friend.”
    “Hey.” His voice is surprisingly deep for someone with such a boyish face.
    “So, Callie,” Kat says. “The three of us are going to watch the original
Star Wars
trilogy back-to-back at Nick’s house tonight and Greg already gave his permission for you to join us. Wanna come?”
    “I, um—” I glance at the suitcase. What’s one more day? “Sure.”
    “Perfect.” Kat stands up and pushes Nick toward the door. “You two go outside and play catch or somethingwhile I help Callie get ready. I’m pretty sure I saw a football out there.”
    I look down at my red shirt. I’ve worn it every day because Phoebe has not had time to take me shopping and the only other one I own is a faded green T-shirt that bears the Girl Scouts logo with the words
Got cookies?
printed beneath it. Ancilla threw away the holey thermal I was wearing the night my mom was arrested. My red shirt has a small toothpaste stain near the hem, but maybe no one will notice if we’re watching movies. “Can’t I—”
    Kat shuts the door. “We’re not really going to Nick’s house for movies. We’re going to a party. So where do you keep your clothes?”
    She reaches for my brown suitcase. As she lifts it, the handle breaks, and when the case hits the floor, the latch opens, scattering my books, journal, and the green Girl Scouts T-shirt. “Oh my God, Callie, I’m so sorry.” She squats down and starts picking up the books, but my feet are rooted to the trailer floor and I want to cry.
    My suitcase is broken.
    “I’ll buy you a new one or fix this one or find another one on eBay,” she babbles. “Whatever you want.”
    “It’s okay,” I say, even though it’s not remotely okay. That stupid old brown suitcase—the one I didn’t even want—was a link to Mom. My way back to her.
    “Are you sure?” Kat is gentle with the books as she stacks them in a neat pile, with my journal on the top.
    I nod and hope the stretch of my lips seems like a real smile. “I’m sure.”
    “Okay, so where
do
you keep your clothes?” she asks, as she folds the T-shirt. I point to the red shirt I’m wearing and the green one in her hands.
    “
That’s it?
”
    “Yeah.”
    “Wow, um—we really need to go shopping.” Kat pulls at her lower lip. “Okay, I have an idea. Take off your jeans.” She unbuttons the red plaid schoolgirl-style skirt she’s wearing, shimmies out of it, and then hands it to me. Besides taking coffee from strangers and oversharing about her home life, she also seems perfectly at ease standing around in her underwear. “Swap me.”
    It takes longer for me to get out of my jeans. I haven’t worn a skirt since I was a little girl and I’m not sure I’m comfortable with having so much of me exposed. Still, I make the exchange. It seems easier to do this than think about my broken