Perfect Girl by Tracy Banghart

Author:Tracy Banghart
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

CHAPTER TWELVE

For me? I’m not sure what he means. Maybe he can tell, because he clears his throat and adds, “I mean, um, for dinner. I wanted to ask you to dinner.”

“Oh, right, sorry about that,” I stammer. Tiny was right, then. I’m not really sorry, except that David’s a lot nicer than I realized and I do feel bad for embarrassing him.

But I’m here now. Maybe I can make it up to him.

Mrs. Woodlock pulls out a chair for me. “I’ll go get the teapot. Lucky that we’ve got a wood fireplace in the kitchen. My late husband thought it was silly and wanted to brick it up, but I wouldn’t let him. Comes in handy when the power’s out.”

I sink into the chair and place my bundle of wet clothes on the floor. The sideboard crowds behind me, so tight at my back it makes me a little claustrophobic. Through the lacy curtains drawn across the windows, lightning still flashes.

“Can I use your phone?” I ask. Tiny is out there in this storm, scared and maybe even hurt … and Johnny’s driving in this weather, emotional, erratic … please don’t let anything happen to her, please … I send up a little prayer.

David holds out his phone, blank screen toward me. “I’m sorry. It’s dead. Signal searching drains it so fast out here.”

I nod. Haven’t I been whining about the same problem all night? But that doesn’t help the sick feeling coiling in my stomach. “What about your mom? Does she have a phone? I’m really worried about Tiny.”

He shakes his head. “She uses the landline. I keep telling her she should get one, but she says it’s a waste of money.” Before I can ask, he adds, “Our phones went out with the power.”

“Yeah, ours did too,” I say. My nerves are a tight scribble of worry and dread. I’m glad I’m here with Mrs. Woodlock to take charge, but even so I feel like I should be doing something.

I tap my glasses higher on my nose. How can I get access to a phone? Our landline is out, and my phone is dead—Ryan. His phone was still working. And he can charge it in his car if he needs to. When Alexis and I get back to the house, I can ask him to drive back to the gas station and call. It’ll take a long time, too long, but it’s the best I can think of right now. And it does settle me a little, having a plan, even if it’s not an ideal one.

I hope Ryan isn’t freaking out too much. Hopefully he’s back at the house with Josh by now. Or maybe he’ll show up here looking for me. That would be good. I might need help getting Alexis home, and Mrs. Woodlock and David have already done so much.

David sits down at the head of the table and switches off his lantern. “To conserve batteries,” he explains.

The two tall red candles on the table are now the only source of light.

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