“Ugh. Yeah. Better come up with some excuse to get out of it.”
“They’ll never let me stay in the house by myself that long, and I don’t have anyone else to stay with,” Caela said.
“Don’t be stupid, Cae.” Bonnie picked up a rock and tossed it at someone’s reindeer yard decoration. “You can stay with me.”
“Really?”
“Of course.” She reached over and flicked the little dagger earring in Caela’s ear. “My mama’s pretty much never home, so it ain’t like she’ll care. You can crash on my couch.”
“Thanks. I … I really appreciate that.”
Bonnie had pretty much become Caela’s entire world over the past few months, and the friendship they’d formed had consumed her. Bonnie was the only person who smiled at her in this whole town and actually meant it, the only person who wanted her around, her escape from the judgmental glares of her stepfather or the scolding of her mother. Even the neighbors whispered about Caela. They’d all heard she was a troublemaker, probably straight from her mother and Rob themselves.
Caelaspent as much time with Bonnie as she could. She skipped classes to hang out with her. She lied about how late she had to work so they could hang out after. And when they weren’t together, there was a constant string of calls and texts to keep them connected.
But this was the first time Bonnie had invited her to her home. Even if it was a hypothetical, a scenario to occur only if Caela’s family were going out of town and would allow her to stay behind, it still meant something. Considering how unwelcome she felt in her current home, knowing there was a house where she’d be warmly invited in was like a light at the end of a tunnel. Some piece of comfort to cling to like a life raft.
Before Caela could say anything more, though, or tell her how much that offer meant, Bonnie was holding out an arm to stop Caela from walking any farther.
“What is it?”
“Check it out,” she whispered, pointing ahead to a driveway with a black Honda sitting in it. “Y’know who lives there, right? Whose car that is?”
Caela shook her head.
“Mr. Linman.”
“The high school principal?”
“Yeah.Always hated that guy.” She moved forward, approaching the Honda. “I doubt you’re a fan, either.”
A couple of lights in the house were still on, but the porch light was off. Caela had learned that, around here, that was a sign that the family was heading to bed and no longer accepting guests. At least, that’s what Rob said. Caela never really understood that in a time when everyone had cell phones and, as far as she knew, called ahead of a visit anyway.
“Ha!” Bonnie turned to her, half crouched by the window of the Honda with a huge grin on her face. “Idiot left his keys inside.”
Caela shrugged. “I’ve seen a lot of people do that around here. Guess it’s a pretty safe neighborhood.”
“Not while we’re in it.” Bonnie reached down and gently tugged on the handle of the car door.
“What are you doing?”
“Wanna go for a joyride?”
“What? Bonnie, I have a car. If we wanna go somewhere, we can go back to the parking lot and get Jennette—”
“It’s not a joyride if it’s your own car,” Bonnie said, eyes rolling as if this was the most obvious statement in the world. “Come on. It’ll be fun.”
“Idon’t know, Bonnie.”
She laughed, pulling the car door open and sliding into the driver’s seat. Caela glanced at the house again, but nothing had changed inside. It didn’t seem like anyone was paying attention, and the street was quiet.
“Don’t be going soft on me now, Cae. Not after everything you’ve already done,” Bonnie said. “I know you’re cool. You wouldn’t be my bestie if you weren’t. Let’s have a little fun at the tyrant’s expense. Get in.”
It was true that Caela didn’t like Mr. Linman. She’d been called into his office a few times, and he’d seemed nice enough at first, asking why she was skipping class, if something was wrong. But when she’d tried to explain how miserable she was, how some of the other students treated her and how the guidance counselor dismissed her, he’d dropped the friendly facade. It became clear she was nothing more to him than an inconvenience, and she wished so badly he’d been the one who had to scrub her words off the side of the school building.
But Caela didn’t care about Mr. Linman just then. Shedidcare what Bonnie thought of her. And Bonnie thought Caela was cool. She wanted to prove her right.
SoCaela jogged over to the passenger’s side, yanked the door open, and climbed inside.
