“It’s only your first week back at school.”
“Exactly.I can’t allow myself to get any further behind.”
Tori’s never been good at hiding her feelings.Even now, I can read her like a book as she wrestles with herself.“I’m scared you’re trying to do too much.”
“Well, don’t be,” I insist, but then she says the thing I could see in her and Grace’s faces yesterday.
“You know, maybe your parents and Mrs.Sinclair have a point.It might actually be better for you—”
Tori falls silent as I stand up: I’m suddenly freezing.“For me to what?”I repeat.“Not to be with you all anymore?What’s better about that?”
“No, not that, Olive.But for you to get back to your old self slowly.”
“I’m back already, in case you hadn’t noticed.”I have to force myself to stick to an indoor voice, and I hate myself for snapping at my best friend.Again.Breathe.Cool it.
“Livy, we’re just worried about you, don’t you see?”Tori says quietly.She’s still sitting on the bed, and she takes my hand.
“I know,” I whisper as she pulls me back down to the mattress.“I’m sorry.”
“Hey, I’ve known you long enough.You don’t have to keep stinging me away, Mrs.Scorpio.”
I can’t help smiling despite myself.Tori’s obsessed with astrology.I’d love to get her to guess Colin’s star sign.If there’s anything in her theories at all, he must be a Scorpio too.But then he’d be the same as me, and that’s the last thing I want.I have no desire to think about Colin Fantino at all.
So instead, I say, “Huh, according to you and your star-sign shite, I have no choice.”
“Sure you do.And you’re learning.”Tori slips back so she can rest against the wall.Suddenly a burning pain stabs through my shoulder.I bite my bottom lip and try not to wince, but of course Tori spotted it.
“Sorry,” she says at once.“Did I hurt you?I keep forgetting...”
“Me too,” I say instead of answering her question.
Tori doesn’t reply, and when I turn to her, she meets my eyes.
“Don’t make me cry now,” I manage.I know my best friend.If she keeps on looking at me like that, she’ll say something like “I’m so glad you’re here,” and I’m not in the mood for more tears.
“I wouldn’t dare,” says Tori, starting to plait my hair.That doesn’t make it much better, because she started doing that in the hospital when I couldn’t manage any of the hairstyles I used to be famous for.To plait your hair properly, you have to be capable of holding both arms above your head for several minutes, and the sad truth is that I’m not anymore.
“So how’s the theater club going?”
“Pretty cool.We’ve just started planning the auditions.I can’t wait to see who’ll play the leads this year.”
I think back to the performance in the summer when Tori and Sinclair made the best Romeo and Juliet I’ve ever seen at this school.“Like there’s anything to decide,” I say.“Or aren’t you and Sinclair auditioning?”
“We are,” Tori answers.“But Mr.Acevedo might want to give somebody else a chance.”
“Would you mind?”
“A wee bit, maybe,” she admits.“But whatever will be will be.And we were lucky to get the chance to audition a year early last time around...So how have your first nights back been?”she asks.
“Dire,” I say without hesitation.“On Sunday night I had a panic attack.I couldn’t stay lying in bed, so I got up.”
“I still can’t believe that was you with the trophy cabinet.”I stay stubbornly silent.“And Colin has a photo of you?”Tori persists.“Why was he even there?”
“No idea,” I say curtly.“Coincidence.”
“Did he try to stop you?”
I give a dry laugh.“Not really, no.”
