“He’s not my friend and he never will be,” she says, resolutely.
“Then a slice of apple tart won’t change anything, will it?”
My mother’s been playing this game for years.
“Don’t you dare bring us glasses of milk.”
Now it’s Mum’s turn to unsuccessfully stifle her laughter.
“I’m being serious!” Skylar says, losing patience.
“Would a Coke be better?”
“She’s making fun of me, isn’t she?” she asks, this time turning to me.
“I can’t be sure.”
Skylar huffs, muttering something under her breath that is probably better left unheard, before storming upstairs, leaving us alone in the kitchen.
“She likes him, doesn’t she?” she asks me.
“Who? The nerd?”
She looks questioningly at me.
“I’m scared she’ll kill him if we leave them alone. It’s probably best to make them study down here.”
“Stop exaggerating.”
“You haven’t seen the way she looks at him.”
“She’s just scared. It’s her defence mechanism. She’s scared of not being accepted.”
“Probably, but come on? Saying that she likes him…”
“She reminds me a lot of you.”
“What’s that got to do with anything?”
“You used to shut people out, too.”
“But I had loads of friends.”
“Friends who were all the spitting image of you. People who followed you around, imitated everything you did.”
“What are you getting at?”
“You were only comfortable around the people who were familiar to you.”
“I was fine with anyone who had something in common with me. That’s normal, isn’t it?”
“Maybe, but I always thought that going against what everyone expected, showing a different side to yourself, would have done you some good.”
I smile at my mother. Her concerns seem to mirror everything I’m worried about for Skylar: that’s why I’m pushing her to make new friends. But I really don’t think that she likes Carter.
There’s a knock at the front door; not even a second passes before Skylar has thrown her bedroom door open and flown down the stairs.
“Don’t youdarego and open that door!” she hisses, rushing towards the living room. But I’m new to this job, being a father – and I’m also a bit of an arse. So before she can stop me, I’m already in the hallway.
