“I thought your name was Garrett.”
“It is.”
He gestured to the bedroom door with his head. “They call you Rett.”
“It’s a nickname. I don’t like my full name.”
His eyes narrowed. “Why?”
I scowled. How dare he give me the third degree? I wasn’t the one who’d vanished. “Because if Garrett were a color, it would be khaki. With pleats.”
The corner of his mouth twitched, but he kept a straight face. “Colors don’t have pleats.”
“Garrett does,” I muttered.
He laughed.
I crossed my arms over my chest and scowled.
“How do you know Haz?”
Oh goody, the third degree continues.
“He’s my neighbor. Well, he was, but now he’s my friend.”
Surprise arched his brows. “You’re half-pint’s neighbor?”
Did he just have nicknames for everyone, then? Was it not just a me thing? Disappointment deflated my insides.There’s nothing special about you.“Kieran will probably shoot you if he hears you call him that.”
I might stay to watch.
Ghost crossed two fingers and showed them to me. “Nahhh. Kieran and me are besties.”
“He doesn’t seem like the type to have friends.”
“I’m special.”
“I’m leaving.” I decided, scooching toward the end of the bed.
He caught my hand. “So you, ah, have aplace to live now?”
I tugged free. I couldn’t think when he touched me. “Yeah.”
“And a job.”
“That’s what I said.”
“Doing what?”
The nerve, coming back here after two years and acting like he had any kind of right to information about my life.
“Who’s Dora?” I blurted. If I had to answer questions, then he did too! It wasn’t exactly what I’d planned to lead with, but I’d been wondering for two whole years.
He looked up. “Who?”
“Dora,” I repeated. “You said every Dora needs a backpack.”
His perfectly white teeth flashed. “Dora the Explorer.”
