“New brace?” I sat across from her and snatched up an old school newspaper.
“I got it at PT yesterday.” She gave me a wry grin. “You really don’t remember much of yesterday.”
“The details are a bit fuzzy. Sorry for calling youDream Crusher.”
She flinched and didn’t respond.
My heart sank and my stomach churned. So much had changed in such a short time, including me. Skipping school and getting drunk had helped me blow off some steam. Drunk Preach wasn’t the real me. But part of me didn’t want to be the old me anymore.
Ugh, and then there was the realization that I’d blabbed about my mom’s gambling thing. Brodie had cornered me last night and asked me more details.
I hated telling him, but it did kinda feel good to get it out. If anyone understood, it was him. But soon everyone at school would know. It was a shocker Mom and Dad had been able to hide it this long in this rumor-driven town of ours.
Heat steamed my cheeks. Grace had been in the car, so that meant she’d heard it, too. Not that I cared what she thought of me, but yet, I kinda did.
“Since you skipped out yesterday, we have to do two hours today,” she said as she picked up an old yearbook.
“Fantastic,” I muttered as I opened an old, frayed newspaper. “What are we supposed to do with all this?”
“Mr. Grayson said to make a recycling and trash pile, and he’ll take care of it tonight.” Grace cracked open the yearbook. “OMG. This is from 1982!”
“Your favorite era for movies, then, huh?”
“Very funny, Cher.Cluelessis 1995. But yeah, the eighties were good for movies, too. You’ve gotBack to the Future,Die Hard,Terminator…oh, andThe Goonies. That’s one of the best movies of all time.”
“That’s an interesting mix.” I chuckled. “I think we’re more living theJumanjimovie. You know, the one with The Rock in it?”
“Detention… Oh my gosh, you’re right. What’d they get stuck doing?”
“Staples.” I couldn’t help but smile. “Removing staples from magazines so they could be recycled.”
“Yes. To turn the room into a new computer lab.” She tossed me a glance, then the smile vanished from her face and she cleared her throat. “Hope we don’t get sucked into another world while we’re down here. Not sure I want to go on that kind of adventure with you.”
“Ouch,” I replied.
She smirked. “Whatever, get to work,Cher.”
“Says the girl casually thumbing through the pages of an old yearbook.” I tossed the newspaper to the side, starting my trash pile.
“Hello, it’s called blackmail photos. I mean, some of our teachers could be in here, right?”
There’d probably be some pretty incriminating photos for sure, but what got me the most was the fact that she wasn’t bringing up what I’d said yesterday. About my mom, about college.
That was cool.
“So…what happened to that other brace?” I asked.
She kept her focus on the yearbook, but her face tensed, the muscles rippling along her jawline. “This one’s fitted to me. Supposed to help…things.”
“Meaning?”
“Why do you care, Preach? I’m pissed at you. This is your fault.”
Her shoulders stiffened and she took in a deep breath.
It seemed like every time we had a somewhat normal moment together, it got followed up by her making a snarky comment or blaming me for everything.
I bit back a retort, because, once again, she wasn’t wrong. My Jeep had smashed into her hand. But she wasn’t the only one who lost something during the crash.