She’s quiet as she studies me. Then she wraps her arm around me, pulling me close. “Let’s have fun. Jason and I were about to ride the roller coaster.”
It’s my favorite ride in the entire festival, but I’m not feeling it right now. And anyway, I don’t want to be their third wheel. Again. So much for hoping things would be different this year.
“Pass,” I say. “I’m going home.”
Her jaw drops. “No. Nope. No way. I’m not letting that jerk ruin today for you. You always look forward to the festival every year and your parents worked so hard on it. You’re hanging out with me and Jason, no objections.”
I sigh, knowing all too well she won’t let me get out of this. So I let her wrap her arm around me and tug me to where she left my brother. At the pizza stand. Of course. He already got his pizza and is holding two plates in his hands.
When he sees us, curiosity crawls onto his face. “Hey.” His eyes move to me. “What’s up, sis?”
My best friend yanks me even closer. Any more and our bodies will fuse into one. “Her date ditched her, but it’s okay. She’s over him.”
“Date?”
I roll my eyes. “It wasn’t a date. Just two friends hanging out.”
Jenna snorts. “Friends? Last I checked, friends don’t ditch one another.”
“Jenna, you’re blowing things out of proportion. Ryan and I met here and decided to hang out. Then he had to leave. It’s no big deal.” I give her a look, telling her to keep the truth a secret from my brother.
She plasters on a fake smile. “Right. Ryan had to leave. Iamblowing things out ofproportion. Only because I know how much you liked him.”
My brother lifts a brow. “Liked?”
“Yep, she’s totally over him.” She grabs one of the pizzas. “Thanks, babe.”
Jason holds the second one out to me, but I wave my hand. My appetite left along with Ryan. My eyes dart to the entrance, hoping for some silly reason that he’ll return. But of course he won’t.
I spend the rest of the day with my best friend and brother. It’s fun, I guess, but I’m not really in the mood.
Why do I keep hoping he’ll come back?
Chapter Nine
Artemis
Monday morning rolls around, the day I’ve been dreading all weekend. Because I’ll have to face Ryan. I know it’s not a big deal. It’s not like we dated or anything. But the more I think about it, the more it hurts. We were having a good time, at least I thought we were. And then he just left, like I meant nothing. Like the dance meant nothing.
Maybe I’m just hopeless, wishing to have this epic romance like the characters in my books. Real life isn’t like that.
I spend about an hour buried in my books and I’m not ready to face the real world. But when Mom calls me down for breakfast for the hundredth time, I know I need to get today over with. I need to forget about him. Maybe my best friend is right and he’s not the guy I thought he was.
But why do I feel deep down that there’s more to him? Ugh. Iamhopeless. For my own sanity, I need to let him go.
“Artemis, you have two minutes to get down here!”
I slide my last-minute school stuff into my backpack and zoom down the stairs. The entire family is in the kitchen, munching on waffles. Dad’s on the phone, probably taking care of mayor stuff. Jason’s texting, most definitely Jenna. And Mom’s watching the news on TV.
“Morning,” I say as I sit down and cut into my waffles. They’re cold, but I guess that’s my fault for being late.
Mom turns to me. “Are you feeling okay, honey? It’s not like you to oversleep.”
Ha. If only she knew I overslept because I hardy got any sleep last night. I kept replaying everything over and over in my head. The good stuff and the bad.
Anyway, I’m done with him. If he wants to be rude, then let him.
But why can’t I stop thinking about him, wondering what he’s doing, if he’s thinking about me. Sure he is.
