Essential Maps for the Lost by Deb Caletti

Author:Deb Caletti
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon Pulse

Chapter Fourteen

Mads sounds strange. She’s out of breath or something. He told himself he wasn’t going to be some weird stalker, but, Jesus, the whole weekend passed, and now it’s Monday, and he thought he’d never hear from her again. Not that he just sat there all weekend checking his phone or anything. He saw Casper both days, and on Saturday, there was this bonfire at the beach at Golden Gardens, and Sunday was his mother’s birthday. He and Gran walked around sad all day until he wanted to run away and join a fucking rock band or something.

Still. Every time he looked at his phone and there was no call, no text, nothing, he wondered if he’d gotten it wrong. That Friday-night call—it seemed like something important had happened between them. He just feels this pull toward her. Maybe it’s only his pull and not her pull, but that’s not usually how it works with pulls like that. Not that he has a lot of experience, but it seems like a pull is fate and fate is mutual.

“Are you all right? I can barely hear you.”

“I said, I didn’t want to give the wrong idea. By calling.”

“We’re friends, right? That means you can call anytime.”

“I don’t know, Billy.” She sounds like she might cry.

“Is this okay? I mean, I don’t want to be pushing you into something you don’t want.”

He remembers the time Leigh broke up with Alex. Quentin brought over this stupid book about dating and knowing when to move on. He thought he was doing some intervention. He read parts out loud until Alex got pissed, and then they just played Night Worlds, and Alex used Barbarian Rage to wipe Quentin out. But Billy never forgot what that book said about girls who don’t make any moves back. Man, love drives you crazy.

She says something he can’t quite make out. The barking dogs in Heartland aren’t helping. He heads outside. “What was that again?”

“I said, I just need you to be the one to call.”

He tries to make sense of this. He sits down at the curb in front of the Rescue Center. He watches a garbage truck pass; a couple of guys swing off and bang some cans around. One of them shouts something bossy. “You need me to call so it’s kind of like my idea and not yours?”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“I can do that!” He sounds way too eager. He needs to bring it down a notch. “You know, whatever.” On her end of the phone, he hears a bunch of kids screaming and running around. She’s probably at the park with Ivy. Her voice still seems different, though. Like she’s bent over, upset. “You sure you’re all right?”

“Better now. A lot.”

Amy’s at the window, watching him. She looks mad, probably because of the big smile on his face. The Better now makes him feel pretty damn great. It isn’t just any old Better now. It means better now because of him, and this plus Amy’s pissed-off look .

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