"Girls like what?"
"You know the type," he said. "Girls from the wrong side of town who pretend to be something they're not."
I felt my body stiffen. That didn't only describe Brittney. It described me, too. Still, I made myself ask, "What's she pretending to be?"
"I dunno. Some socialite, I guess. Take that sorority thing. Get this. She doesn't even go to college."
"Not now? Or not ever?"
"Not ever. And probably never will."
"You're kidding."
"Nope."
"How do you know?"
"One night at my place, she got totally trashed. It was just the two of us, and she started telling me how much her life sucked, and how lucky Amber is, compared to her. "
"So Amber's the real deal?"
He shrugged. "Far as I know."
"Does Amber know about Brittney, that she's just pretending, I mean?"
"She's got to," Lawton said. "I mean, they claim to be in the same sorority. And they've got this sister act thing they do."
I recalled the first night I'd seen them. I knew exactly how far that act extended. I felt my jaw clench. "That's seriously messed up."
"Yeah. I guess."
"But she told that same lie tonight," I said. "About the sorority, I mean. Why would she do that if you knew the truth?"
He shrugged. "She probably forgot. Like I said, she was pretty trashed."
"But why didn’t you call her on it?"
"Because I didn't care. I figured you wouldn’t either. I mean, c'mon, it's pathetic, right?"
In spite of the cold, I felt color rise to my cheeks. I slipped my hand out of his and started walking again.
Lawton fell in beside me. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing."
Somehow, in the last few minutes, I'd almost forgotten my vow to keep him at a distance. A very long distance. Like from Michigan to the Moon, in spite of the fact we shared a fence.
But after the things he told me, I was having a hard time keeping everything straight. Plus, I was seriously sleep-deprived. It was nearly dawn, and I'd been awake for most of the past twenty-four hours.
"Chloe?"
"Yeah?"
His voice was very quiet. "Will you give me another chance?"
Chapter 24
We were getting closer to the Parkers'. It wasn't actually my home, even if I was living there. I was just the house-sitter, dog-walker, plant-waterer, mail-getter, whatever.
