Artemis talks about our science lesson as we make our way to her house. Her brother can’t drive us because he and Jenna are off on some romantic outing or whatever. I’m glad we’re walking, since it gives us some more time to hang out.
“Are you even listening to me?” Artemis demands.
Not really. All I’m thinking is how I couldn’t concentrate on that science lesson because of her. She’s taken up a huge part of me now, and I can’t get rid of her. Not that I want to. The last thing I want is to erase her from my life.
For so long, it felt like I was wandering through a dark tunnel. She’s the light at the end, lame as that might sound. But she brings out a part of me I didn’t know I still had. It may not seem like it, but she makes me happy. I just wish she knew it.
“Ryan,” she groans. “It’s rude to space out when someone’s talking to you.” She places her hands on her hips, giving me an exaggerated annoyed look. I see the playfulness in her eyes, though, as if shecan’tbe mad at me.
“Sorry, just have a lot on my mind,” I tell her.
“I get it. We all have stuff we’re distracted with.” She gives me a look. “But you’d better not be distracted by the movie.”
“I won’t.”
She studies me.
My hands shoot to my hair like I’ve got something in there. “What?”
“I just wish you’d smile.”
I turn away from her. I want to smile, too. I want to be the guy I once was. And while she’s helping me get there, I’m not sure I’ll ever be a hundred percent myself again.
“Sorry, there I go being all nosy again,” she says.
The rest of the walk is quiet, except for Artemis telling me her favorite spots in town, like the ice cream shop, pizza place, arcades she used to go to with her brother and Jenna when they were younger.
“What about you?” she asks. “Where did you even move from? I feel like I don’t know anything about you.”
Yeah, because I did a good job keeping myself and my life private. Shoving my hands into my pockets, I shrug. “I moved from New York City—Brooklyn. There really isn’t much to tell about me.”
Her eyes widen. “New York City? Is it as amazing as everyone says?”
Sure, theoretically. But I left so many negative memories behind, it’s hard to see it as a great city.
Besides, my family lived in a poor neighborhood in Brooklyn, and we didn’t go to the city often, only on special occasions.
Artemis waits for me to elaborate, probably to gush about my life there, but I don’t. It’s too painful.
We end up walking in more silence until we reach her house. Sure enough, her parents aren’t home.
She shrugs. “Let’s go to my room this time. My parents shouldn’t be home until really late.”
I follow her up the stairs, taking in the many portraits and paintings on the walls. Most are of Jason and Artemis in different stages in their lives. They look so happy, like they have the perfect life. I used to feel the same, until everything was destroyed.
Artemis flings the door to her room open and I take a step inside. One shelf against the wall is lined with stuffed animals. The shelf on the other side has different figurines, and snow globes, probably from all the trips she and her family took. My family and I didn’t have the money for expensive trips, but I never felt like I needed them. I was fine with just the three of us. I was happy.
Her queen-size bed is pushed against the window. A large stuffed elephant sits in the center of the bed, comfortable on her huge pillow. A TV lines the wall opposite the bed, and there are countless closets and dressers. The walls are plastered with different posters of books and movies, all centered around Jane Austen and other books from that time era.
It’s a room made for a princess. And honestly, Artemis is a princess. Not the spoiled, selfish kind, but sweet, nice, with a good heart.
“So…what do you think?” she asks, cheeks a little pink. “I know, I know. It’s a room of a ten-year-old girl.”
“No. It’s perfect. It’s you.”
Her cheeks redden more. “Is that a good thing?”
“Yeah.” I move deeper into the room and sit down on the bed. It’s the comfiest thing I have ever sat on in my life.
