It was getting dark out when Jeremiah leaned overand said in a low voice, “You know, if you wanted to, you could leave tonight. You could just take my car. I could pick it up tomorrow, after Conrad’s done with his exams. We could hang out or something.”
“Oh, I’m not leaving yet. I want to go with you guys tomorrow.”
“Are you sure?”
“Sure, I’m sure. Don’t you want me to come with you?” It was starting to hurt my feelings, the way he was acting like they were imposing on me, as if we weren’t family.
“Yeah, course I do.” He paused like he was going to say something else.
I poked him with my highlighter. “Are you scared that you’ll get in trouble withMara?” I was only halfway teasing. I still couldn’t believe he hadn’t told me he had a sort of girlfriend. I wasn’t entirely sure why it mattered, but it did. We were supposed to be close. Or at least we used to be. I should have known if he had a girlfriend or not. And how long had they been “broken up” anyway? She hadn’t been at the funeral, or at least I didn’t think so. It wasn’t like Jeremiah had gone around introducing her to people. What kind of girlfriend didn’t go to her boyfriend’s mom’s funeral? Even Conrad’s ex had come.
Jeremiah glanced over at Conrad and lowered his voice. “I told you, Mara and I are done.”
When I didn’t say anything, he said, “Come on, Belly. Don’t be mad.”
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about her,” I said, highlighting an entire paragraph. I didn’t look at him. “I can’t believe you kept it a secret.”
“There wasn’t anything to tell, I swear.”
“Ha!” I said. But I felt better. I snuck a peek at Jeremiah, and he looked back at me with anxious eyes.
“Okay?”
“Fine. It doesn’t affect me one way or the other. I just thought you would have told me a thing like that.”
He relaxed back into his seat. “We weren’t that serious, trust me. She was just a girl. It wasn’t like how it was with Conrad and—”
I started, and he broke off guiltily.
It wasn’t like how it was with Conrad and Aubrey. He’d loved her. Once upon a time, he’d been crazy about her. He had never been that way with me. Never. But I had loved him. I loved him longer and truer than I had anyone in my whole life and I would probably never love anyone that way again. Which, to be honest, was almost a relief.
chapterfortyJULY 6
When I woke up the next morning, the first thing I did was go to my window. Who knew how many more times I would see this view? We were all growing up. I would be at college soon. But the good thing, the comforting thing, was the knowing that it would still be here. The house wasn’t going away.
Looking out the window, it was impossible to see where the sky ended and the ocean began. I’d forgotten how foggy the mornings could get here. I stood there and tried to get my fill, tried to make the memory last.
Then I ran over to Jeremiah’s and Conrad’s rooms, banging on doors. “Wake up! Let’s get this show on the road!” I yelled, starting down the hall.
I headed downstairs to get a glass of juice, and Conrad was sitting at the kitchen table, where he’d been when Iwent to sleep around four a.m. He was already dressed and making notes in a notebook.
I started to back out of the kitchen, but he looked up. “Nice pjs,” he said.
I flushed. I was still wearing Taylor’s stupid pajamas. Scowling, I said, “We’re leaving in twenty minutes, so be ready.”
As I headed back upstairs, I heard Conrad say, “I already am.”
If he said he was ready, he was ready. He would pass those exams. He’d probably ace them. Conrad didn’t fail at anything he set his mind to.
An hour later, we were almost on our way. I was locking the glass sliding door on the porch when I heard Conrad say, “Should we?”
I turned around, started to say, “Should we what?” when Jeremiah came out of nowhere.
“Yeah. For old times’ sake,” Jeremiah said.
Uh-oh. “No way,” I said. “No freaking way.”
The next thing I knew, Jeremiah was grabbing my legs and Conrad took my arms, and together they swung me back, then forth. Jeremiah yelled, “Belly Flop!” and they flung me through the air, and as I landed in the pool, I thought,Well, there, they’re finally united on something.
