“I’m sorry,” I say. “I’ll go.”
“You’re not going anywhere,” Gemma says at the same time her mom says, “Good.”
Gem glares at her mother. “Hannah saved my life last night. You can’t just throw her out of my room. I’d be dead right now without her.”
“I’m your mother,” Mrs. Goodwin replies, voice so stern it makes me want to disappear. “I have every right to send away the girl who put you in danger in the first place.”
“Oh my god, Mom. Stop it. I told you, someone hitus. It wasn’t Hannah’s fault.”
“She’s a bad influence on you. Always has been. I told you to stay away from her.”
“That’s bullshit, Mom, and you know it.”
“Language, Gemma,” Mrs. Goodwin snaps. She stands from the bed and rests her hands on her hips. “This is exactly the kind of thing I don’t want you picking up from her.”
“Are you sure?” Gemma’s voice is deceptively sweet. “Or are you worried I’ll catch her gayness?” The whole room goes dead. Silent. Frozen. “You used to love Hannah,” Gemma continues, her voice soft. “And things have been weird since she came out. I went along with your new rules, because I thought you needed time to adjust. But you’re not adjusting. You’re getting worse.”
“Gemma...” Mrs. Goodwin says, but she doesn’t seem to have any direction for her thoughts.
“I’m sorry, Mom, but you need to get over yourself. Hannah’s my best friend. I love her like a sister, and I’m not letting you push her away. Especially not right after she saved my life.”
A strange feeling warms my chest. Relief, I think. I didn’t realize Gemma noticed all the ways her parents have treated me differently over the past year. I didn’t know how much I needed her to stand up for me like this.
But the relief doesn’t last. Despite what she thinks, Iamthe reason she’s hurt. My magic is the reason her leg is suspended in the air and her face is pale and mottled with bruises.
Mr. Goodwin reaches for his wife’s arm. “Let’s give the girls a moment alone.” He steers her out of the room, and she lets him.
As soon as the door clicks shut behind them, Gemma’s piercing gaze turns on me. “What the hell happened last night?” she snaps, her tone still sharp from her fight with her mother.
“I wish I knew.” I sit on the edge of her bed and reach for her hand. “My dad thinks it might have been a drunk driver.”
“Bullshit.” Gemma hurls the word at me like a weapon. “That wreck was intentional. And then you...” She struggles to continue, and a sick feeling squirms in my stomach. “How did you do that?” Her tone tells me she remembers. Everything.
Which means I am so fucked.
Someone knocks on the door. Panicked, I blurt out, “Don’t say anything. To anyone. We’ll talk soon.”
“But—”
“How are you feeling, Miss Goodwin?” Detective Archer steps into the room armed with his notebook. “Ready to give your statement?”
Gem stares at me. For a moment, I worry she’ll spill everything, but then she sighs and gives me a shallow nod. “Sure thing, Detective. Hannah, let’s talk later.” The look in her eye leaves no room to disagree.
“Of course. As soon as you’re out of the hospital.” I thrust a thumb toward the door. “My mom’s ready to take me home.”
I don’t wait for either of them to dismiss me. I hurry out the door, my heart threatening to burst from my body and flop onto the hospital floor.
•••
Worry picks at my brain as we drive home.
I keep reaching for my phone to see if Gemma has texted yet, demanding answers to questions she shouldn’t know to ask, only to remember that both of our phones met a watery end. Then I stress about Detective Archer and what he knows about mytransgressions this summer. If he’s guessed the things Gemma saw me do.
And then there’s Morgan. I wonder if she messaged me. If she’s at home, cursing my name for ghosting her right after I apologized for the first time I ran out. It’s like the entire universe is conspiring to keep us apart. First, the Hunter interrupts our date by attacking Veronica, and then he runs me and Gem off the road moments after I apologize. At least I’ll be able to message and explain my silence once I get to my computer.
Dealing with Gemma’s questions will be a whole lot harder.
Mom turns left, and we near Veronica’s neighborhood. A thought tingles at the back of my mind. I certainly don’t trust her enough to mention what Gemma saw me do, but Veronica is the only other person who’s faced the Hunter head on. She’ll at least understand the worry picking at my mind.
