Girls Who Burn by MK Pagano

Author:MK Pagano [Pagano, MK]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2024-07-16T00:00:00+00:00

23

I hurry down the street, trying to ignore the tightness in my throat. The sky above is now a dark gray, clouds rolling in from the west.

I turn the corner and the bike rack comes into view. I stop short.

And stare at the spot where my bicycle used to be.

Now it’s just a wheel.

My throat gets tighter. Not because of the bike, even though I’ve had it since I was twelve and now it’s gone, just like that. It’s Mrs. Rodriguez.

Little whore. Just like your mother and sister.

Was she just trying to hurt me? Gen and her mom are close, since they only have each other. Gen obviously told her the details of why we weren’t friends anymore. I picture her coming home to their trailer after our big fight, the day she insulted my mom and I screamed at her never to speak to me again. Mrs. Rodriguez seeing Gen all upset, dropping whatever she was doing. What’s wrong, what happened, talk to me, and Gen spilling out how I’d stolen Jeremy away and she’d lost both of us. I can see why she’d hate me.

But there are other ways to hurt me besides insulting my family.

Why did she say that?

I’ve been putting off talking to my dad about my mom and any potential connection between her disappearance and Fiona’s murder. It always seemed like the most far-fetched of our theories, and I don’t want to hurt him if I don’t have to.

But maybe it’s time to pull that Band-Aid off.

I blink again. Swallow. Turn on my heel and start toward the road.

The sky is getting darker by the minute. The wind is picking up. All signs of an imminent summer thunderstorm. Stupid lying weather app.

I’m only a block away from the studio when the skies open up.

I wrap my arms around myself, but there’s no point. I’m soaked through in moments. At least on my bike I would’ve been home in ten minutes. On foot, it will take at least thirty. And in this rain—

Thunder booms overhead. I start to jog. My Converses are soaked. My bare legs are freezing. I notice a car out of the corner of my eye and keep going.

The car pulls up beside me and honks.

I look over to see Seth in his black BMW, gesturing for me to get in.

I don’t hesitate. I fling open the passenger-side door and throw myself into his car.

Inside, the rain is instantly muffled, pounding on the roof. Seth has the heat on, thank God. I hold my hands up to it, shivering, as he pulls off his hoodie and hands it to me.

“Th-thanks.” I wrap it around me. It’s big and warm and smells like him. “How did you—”

“Saw the storm coming. Know you have no car.” Seth pulls out from the curb and drives slowly down the empty street through the pounding rain. “Why didn’t you at least ride your bike?”

“I d-did. Someone stole it.” I tell him about locking it to the bike rack and coming back and finding just the wheel.

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