"Yeah, but I didn't do anything to deserve it. And you? You didn't even care about being suspended. ButIdid."
"So?"
"So it cost you nothing. And it cost me everything." In a quieter voice, she added, "At least as far as school."
"Yeah, well." I shrugged. "That was a long time ago. So like I said, get over it."
"Get over it?" she repeated. "Do you even remember how awful you were that day?"
I didn't want to talk about. I didn't want tothinkabout it either. But hey, if she was gonna toss it in my face, maybe I'd do some tossing of my own.
"Yeah?" I said. "I was awful. And you wanna know why?"
"Why?"
"Because my mom had just told us – in a fucking letter, no less – that she wasn't coming back."
Arden froze. "What?"
"That's right," I said. "She told us she found someone she liked better."
"Better than who?" She hesitated. "Your dad?"
I laughed. It wasn't a happy sound, but fuck it. "No. Dad was long gone by then."
Her eyes filled with sympathy. "You mean dead?Thatlong ago?"
"No. I mean, he ran off."
"But—"
"He died after. No big loss, the wayIsee it."
From the look on Arden’s face, she didn't agree. And hey, maybe I didn't agree either. But it was better to hate both of them than to mourn the parents they'd never been.
"So…" Arden hesitated. "When your mom said she found someone better, she meant…?"
"Better than us kids."
Arden sucked in a breath. "No."
With a bitter smile, I replied, "Yeah."
Arden moved closer. "But if that's the case, who were you living with? Back in high school, I mean."
"Nobody. It was just us."
"You mean…" She shook her head. "You and your brothers?"
"And Willow."
"Oh, right. But about your mom – not coming back, I mean – you found outbeforeyou met me at the lab that day?"
"That's what I said."
"But…" Again, she paused. "If that's the case, I'm kind of surprised you showed up at all. So, why did you?"
"Because I told you I would."
