“Why would you say that?” Even after everything she said, I was still searching for a reason to forgive her. A reason to forget all of the awful things she’d just said.
“I need to go or I’m going to be late,” she said, pushing past me.
She walked a few steps as I processed the shock of her brushing me off. Then with my hands in fists, I pounded my foot into the ground. “Stop it. This isn’t like you.”
She kept walking and with every step she took I felt half of my heart being ripped away from me. She tugged one half with her, tearing it in two. But it was worse than that. She might as well have stomped on it, beat it up, and left it mangled somewhere I wasn’t going to be able to find it.
“I’m not done talking to you!” I yelled, pleading for her to turn around.
All I needed was an ounce, a crumb of remorse, and I’d forgive her. A small signal that the girl I cared about was still there.
But she kept walking.
She walked right out of my life.
16
EMMA
By the time I make it out of the library and back to the front of the school, Mallory is gone.
I roam the parking lot, but her car isn’t here. Maybe she thought I’d gone home since she didn’t see me waiting for her.
Either way I start my trek back to the house alone.
My mind is focused on the paper and the look on Mallory’s face when she spoke to Myles. I’d never seen that look before. Mallory was cold sometimes, and I was used to her disappointment, but that expression sent a shiver down my spine. Mallory is kind. She took care of me after Mom left without being asked, and I’m not the only person she looks after. She makes Dad’s meals and runs next door in an instant if our neighbors need help.
Whenever I was sad growing up, she knew exactly what to do or say to make me feel better. From our ice cream trips to the nights she read to me underneath her bedsheets, she was loving.
But that look wasn’t kind. It was almost vicious. Like she was being controlled by emotions she’d never had before.
It doesn’t make sense, but I know there’s an explanation. I start running because I need to see what’s on that paper. It’s the missing piece I need to understand why Myles and Mallory have been acting so strange.
The sun beats down on me as I chance it and run through Mr. Campbell’s field. His dogs bark, but I push harder, sprinting to the other side with sweat on my brow. I don’t stop running until my house is in sight.
Mallory is getting out of her car. Her shoulders slump forward as she turns, and I wonder if it’s from the weight of her backpack or if she has something heavy on her mind.
She turns as I rush to catch up. “I thought you were already home.”
“I got distracted.”
“Ah,” she says, like she isn’t surprised at all. To be fair, I get distracted very easily, so I don’t take it personally. Besides, it’s better than her knowing I’d spied on her. She’d throw a fit over that.
I follow Mallory into the house.
“What are you going to do?” I ask.
She slips off her shoes. “What do you mean?”
“What are you going to do now that you’re home?”
A perplexed frown stares back at me, making me second-guess the question. Was it really that odd for me to ask it? But thinking back, I’d never asked her that before. I’d kick off my shoes and keep myself preoccupied while she took care of the house.
“I’m going to grab a snack, and then I’m going to go next door for a little bit to check on Mrs. Meyers.” She looks meup and down. “When I get back, I need to try and get the stains out of your clothes.”
I peer down. “It’s not that bad.”
She lifts the corner of my jacket. “Not that bad?”
