“You jerkhead!” I smack his shoulder, rubbing the back of my head. “That hurt!”
Alex rolls off me, laughing until he can’t breathe. “You should have seen your face.”
“You scared me. I thought you were a witch!”
“There’s no such thing, Annalise. Monsters aren’t real.”
“You said they were.”
“That’s because your nose gets all scrunchy when you’re scared.” He bops my nose with a dirty finger. “It’s kind of cute.”
I huff, propping up on my elbow.
“I guess I win,” he declares. “You never would have found me.”
“You shouldn’t hide in the woods. What if a bear ate you?”
“You’d protect me.”
“I’m too small. Only nine years old.”
“Yeah, but you’re brave. And I always feel safe when you’re around.”
A smile forms, goofy and crooked. “That’s true. You’re my best friend.”
Alex sits up, his knees bent, as he reaches for a stick and draws pictures in the dirt. “Do you think we’ll get married one day?”
“Duh. That’s what best friends do.”
He draws a heart, then adds our initials in the center.
AA + AA.
Annalise Adams and Alex Anderson.
I beam.
“We can have a wedding by the ocean,” he says, brushing inky black bangs out of his eyes.
Nodding brightly, I sit up straight and cross my legs. “Right at sunset. With mermaids and dolphins and colorful fish.”
“Definitely.”
“Monkeys too.”
“Monkeys?” He snorts a laugh. “That’s stupid. Besides, I don’t think they like the ocean.”
“We can bring one. As a pet.”
Alex draws a monkey in the dirt, but it looks more like a disfigured dog. He looks up at me then, the smile fading. “You’ll never leave me, right?”
I frown, confused. “Why would I leave you?”
“I dunno. People leave when they don’t love you enough. Sometimes I think my mom and dad might leave.”
“They wouldn’t leave. They love you.”
He nods, but his grip tightens on the stick, carving lines in the dirt like he’s trying to dig a hole deep enough to jump into. His voice drops, almost too soft to hear. “Promise you won’t ever leave.”
