You Knew Me When by Emily Liebert Read Free Book Online

get to theirs, so if I just sit here and watch it’ll only be a matter of time. I do
not
want to miss their arrival, because as soon as they get here I can start counting down their “time to settle in” before I pop on over with the pie. Maybe she’ll want to go for an afternoon swim at Luella’s; she says we can come over whenever we’d like. Luella doesn’t have any kids. I once asked her why and she said it wasn’t in the cards for her. I told my mom, and she said not to be such a busybody. Funny word, but I don’t see what the big deal is. It’s not like she
killed
her kids; she just didn’t have any of her own, which is fine by me, because we get her pool all to ourselves.
    â€œOkay, but do not run over the minute they get here.” She gave me a warning look, and I nodded back when she was facing the other direction. “Did you hear me, Laney?”
    â€œYes, Mom.” She gathered her purse and car keys. “You said don’t go over as soon as she gets here.”
But you didn’t say don’t get her to come to me
.

Kitty
    W e got to the house really quickly. I almost wanted a little while longer to imagine it. But here it was—big and white, with black shutters and a cherry-red door. I like a cherry-red door. It reminds me of my mom’s nails. On the way over, my dad told me that there’s a girl my age who lives on the other side of this mansion that’s next to our house. He said that when he met her mom, she said her daughter would be thrilled to have a new friend. I’m not really getting my hopes up. That’s what parents always say. And her daughter is probably cooler than I am. She probably wears tight acid-washed jeans and tortoiseshell sunglasses. Plus she probably has all the friends she needs. I thought about telling everyone in Manchester that I was very popular in Bennington, but I’m pretty sure very popular people don’t tell people they’re very popular. Although I couldn’t really say, since I’m not. Anyway, that would be lying, which I try not to do, because then I need to apologize at church.
    â€œLet’s go, Kitty Kat. Grab what you can,” my dad said cheerily. I took my pink suitcase, which I’d held on my lap on the way over, and two other small bags and followed him into the house. “So?” He looked at me, waiting to see what I thought.
    â€œWow. It’s so . . .” What was the word? “Fancy!” My mom would have loved it. She loved fancy. I felt a little sick knowing she’d never live in this house. There was a huge, shiny kitchen with a refrigerator bigger than I’ve ever seen. Connected to the kitchen was an even bigger living room. My mom didn’t cook, but I could still imagine her in this kitchen, heating up a can of beans in the microwave and looking beautiful. “Can I go see my room?”
    â€œYou bet! Up the stairs on the right.” My dad seemed happy. I knew this was hard for him too. Even if the place was gross, I would have said I liked it. And then I would have had to apologize at church.
    My bedroom was twice the size of the one in Bennington. It could fit at least six friends for a sleepover, if I made any friends. The walls were painted a light pink, my favorite color, and there were two large windows taking up one whole side of the room, with empty window boxes on the outside for flowers or plants or something. I ran back downstairs.
    â€œI love it, Daddy!” I squeezed him tight around the middle and he held me for longer than usual, kissing the top of my head.
    â€œI’m so happy, Kitty Kat. So, so happy.”
    â€œMe too!” I might have seen some tears in his eyes.
    â€œHey, there’s a letter here for you. Someone dropped it through the mail slot.” My dad handed me the purple envelope which had “NEW GIRL WHO’S 11 WHO JUST MOVED IN” written on it in red marker. I