Painless by S. A. Harazin

Author:S. A. Harazin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
Published: 2015-01-07T00:35:58+00:00

Chapter 22

After taking Scruffy home, I unlock my front door and walk inside.

The house is quiet. Veronica’s around somewhere, maybe watching a court program on TV. It’s fine with me, but I think something else would be more interesting.

She’s not in the living room so I stretch out on the sofa, feeling my cell phone in my pocket. I take it out and message Luna. I don’t usually call or message anybody unless I have a reason.

Your parents called Joe looking for you.

I sit up and set the phone down on the arm of the couch. It’s too early to take a nap, but I’m sleepy. I close my eyes. I hear Veronica come into the living room, and I open my eyes and watch her. She dusts the TV, the coffee tables, the end tables, and then me. She doesn’t say a word, but I have a feeling she wants me to do something like get out of the way and write the thank-you cards.

I wonder what Spencer, Cameron, and Luna are doing today.

I’m almost asleep when I hear Veronica yell, “David! Answer your cell phone! Do I have to do everything around here?”

I sit and pick up my phone. “Hello.”

“Hey, David,” Luna says, sounding out of breath.

My heart speeds up. “You got my message?”

“Yeah,” she says. “I called them.”

Veronica turns on the TV. “Hold on,” I say and go into the kitchen. “Are you in trouble?”

“They were worried about me. They’re not now.”

“Your car’s fixed?” I ask.

“I dropped it off this morning. It won’t be ready until tomorrow, but at least I have a cell phone now. Can you give me a ride home?”

There’s no way I’ll say no. “Yes,” I say. I don’t know what Joe will do if he finds out. I hope Veronica doesn’t try to stop me.

Luna gives me directions.

I find Veronica in the study dusting and moving some of Joe’s stuff around. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” I say.

She looks over at me. “Why?”

“Joe said to stay out of the study.”

She shrugs. “He won’t know. I’ve put the cards and letters on the desk where you can work on them without getting sidetracked.”

“I will later, but Luna’s stranded,” I say. “I’m going to give her a ride.”

Veronica nods. “You haven’t been showing you’re responsible,” she says.

I hate looking at sympathy cards. It makes me feel like Nana died yesterday.

I go to the garage and climb into the car. I open the garage door and back out. Ten minutes later I arrive at the auto repair shop. Luna’s waiting out front for me.

It’s turning out to be a great day, and I want the afternoon to last forever.

We talk as I drive her home. Her mother cried and cried when Luna called. She thought something had happened to Luna. They were either going to call the police or come to Waterly. They showed up unexpectedly another time during the middle of the night after not hearing from Luna. They made airline reservations, took an evening flight, rented a car, and went to Luna’s apartment.

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