She smiled. “Of course.”
That Sunday, AJ triedto slip out before her family noticed Noah’s Camaro, but Libby had the reflexes of a trained assassin.
“AJ,” she said knowingly. “Is that who I think—”
“Goodbye,” said AJ, heading out the door.
“PROWL JAYDE,” Libby shouted after her.
“What did she just call you?” asked Noah as AJ buckled herself in.
AJ shrugged. “I don’t know. She says things.”
As they drove through the mountains toward the Mass Pike, AJ did her best not to stare at Noah’s hands. The closer they got to Simmons, the harder he gripped the wheel.
“Where did your parents meet anyway?” AJ asked to distract him. “Like, why do you exist?”
Noah smirked. “Yale. Shakespeare and Ethics. I guess my mom schooled my dad on the Dark Lady sonnets, and that was it. She touredwith him until they had me, then he dropped us off at Drew House, which lasted all of a week. God, he was fuckinguseless.Mom had no family of her own, so we stayed nearby so Eudora and Ezell could watch me while she finished her PhD.”
AJ considered. “She sounds like a badass.”
“She is.” His fingers drummed the wheel as he chose his next words. “She, um, can totally understand what’s going on. It just might take her a minute to respond.”
Simmons was an industrial matrix of antiseptic halls coated in lemon Lysol. The nurse at the front desk knew Noah by name and gave AJ an extra-big smile.
“It’s this way,” said Noah. AJ had never seen him so agitated; he was trying not to show it, but she could feel the fitful bursts of his anxiety. She wanted to reassure him but was increasingly skittish herself. She had no idea what they were in for.
They took the elevator up one floor and walked down a fluorescent-lit corridor. When they stopped at the third door on the left, Noah was breathless.
“This is it,” he said, his hand on the knob. “Thank you in advance for doing this.”
“Of course,” said AJ. Her mind went blank, as if they were about to start a scene.
Noah pushed the door open to reveal a small blue-toned room. Sunlight filtered in through a single window. A few machines whirred unobtrusively in the corner.
“Hey, Mom,” he said quietly.
Noah’s mother was propped up in bed, a wan, skeletal figure beneath a shock of black hair. AJ hadn’t been prepared for how thin she would be—Noah took after her dark coloring and high cheekbones, making her gauntness that much more striking by comparison.
Books littered her bedside. A large communication chart containing the alphabet lay discarded to one side. She was rocking back and forth, her face twitching as she met AJ’s eyes.
“Professor Bell,” she said, inching closer. “I’m Noah’s friend AJ.”
Noah’s mother looked at her without recognition, continuing to rock. AJ could feel Noah tensing behind her. After about a minute, the professor took a breath.
“Lorraine, please.” She spoke as if her mouth were full of marbles—AJ was relieved to find she understood. It took the professor another minute to push out, “Noah says you like movies.”
AJ smiled nervously. “I do like movies.”
“Maybe you can help Noah,” she said. “He has terrible taste.”
AJ laughed in delight. “He really does.”
“Hey!” said Noah.
His mom shrugged while pitching forward. “You’re no fun,” she managed as her arm flailed.
Noah glowered. “I’m fun.”
