“Who says I’m alone?” Carlton arches a brow and nods his head toward the prize counter, where Meredith and Mabel are turning in tickets.
“Oh,” Zayne says like it makes perfect sense. “Got it. The thought of being alone with you was so repulsive, your girlfriend had to bring her sister along.”
Carlton balls his hand into a fist. “Watch it, Silverman.”
I tug on Zayne’s hand. “Come on. Let’s just go.” Carlton’s eyes travel from my face to my hand connected to Zayne’s, and I swear, I detect a trace of pain in his eyes.
“Fine,” Zayne mutters. “Let’s go.”
“I was hoping I could have a word with you, Dot.” Carlton sounds annoyed, like he would rather be doing anything else inthe world than asking me to talk to him. But he also sounds kind of desperate.
I can’t help the curiosity that takes residence in me. I look at Zayne, trying to gauge what he thinks, and he gives me a look. One that says,it’s up to you, not me.
I sigh. “Fine.”
Zayne lets go of my hand, and I follow Carlton to an empty table. I lower myself into the orange faux leather seat, and Carlton does the same. “Thanks for hearing me out.”
“How did you know I was here?”
He purses his lips and takes out his phone, showing me a map on his screen. His contact photo for me hovers over our current location on the map. “You shared your location with me, remember?”
My memory flashes to a moment we shared in my room after he kissed me for the first time. Us exchanging contact info and locations. “Wow,” I say. “Thanks for reminding me to fix that.” My back is facing Zayne, so I glance over my shoulder to see him leaning against a pillar next to the air hockey game, his arms crossed as he waits for me and Carlton to finish talking.
“I hate him,” Carlton says, startling me, and my gaze darts to his face.
“I know. You’ve told me. What do you want to talk about?”
I can tell by his scowl that he doesn’t like that I’m rushing him, that I’m not questioning why he hates Zayne or trying to defend the reasons why Idon’tto him.
But I don’t care. My days of adjusting my personality to cater to him are over.
Carlton releases a harsh exhale of breath. “My parents are splitting up.”
I stare at him in shocked silence. Some of the tightness in my chest evaporates. “I’m sorry.” I may be angry at him, at the way he’s treated me, but I’m not going to pretend I don’t care abouthim at all. About his life, or what happens to him. After all, he was there for me during an extremely difficult time of my life.
I wonder if that’s why he’s telling me this—because he was there for me, and now he expects me to be there for him.
As if he can read my mind, he says, “I’m telling you because I need your advice.”
“Myadvice?” I furrow my brow. “For what?”
“I don’t know anyone else with a split household that I feel comfortable talking to. I know your parents aren’t divorced, but your mom isn’t home with you.”
Irritation seeps into my bones at the reminder. “Yeah. So what?”
He blinks a long, heavy blink. “I need advice,” he repeats, “on how you do it. How you cope without your mom. Because mine is about to move out for good.”
“Oh.” I lean back in my seat. Turn his words over in my mind. And then smile sadly at him. “The truth is that Idon’tcope, Carlton. I don’t cope at all. I miss my mom more than I can express.” I reach over and hesitate before patting his hand. He stares at it like it holds the answers to the world. “But having friends to spend my time with helps.”
He meets my gaze, apology and regret written in every line of his face. “Dot…”
“I know.” I don’t need him to apologize. “It’s alright.” I stand up and start walking away from the table, but then remember something and turn back. “You know where to find me.” I offer the word to him like a white flag. “If you need to talk again. But you better not press charges against Zayne.”
His stoic face remains so for a long moment, before cracking into something resembling a smile. “Fine. And thanks.”
I nod at him. When I turn around, Mabel and Meredith are standing in front of me. Meredith’s face is unreadable, butMabel beams at me, practically bursting at the seams. “Hi,” she mouths, bringing her hand up into a wave.
“Hey.” I can’t help but smile back.
