The Art of Breaking Things by Laura Sibson

Author:Laura Sibson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2019-06-17T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

—

As soon as I’m back at my house and know that my car is safe, I call Ben’s house. He hasn’t answered any texts or calls to his cell phone, and I can’t deal with Keith knowing more than me.

“Mrs. Schwartz?” I say. “It’s Skye.”

“Hello, Skye. How are you?” Mrs. Schwartz sounds like there’s a chain around her throat.

“Okay, I guess,” I say. “Is Ben home? He’s not answering his cell. And I’m worried.”

Mrs. Schwartz is quiet.

“Mrs. Schwartz?”

“He’s gone away, Skye.”

Even hearing his mother’s statement, I’m still not ready to believe it. “Away?”

“To straighten out.”

“Oh.” So, Keith had it right.

“The call from the police was the final straw,” Mrs. Schwartz says.

Final straw? Ben always acted like his parents didn’t care that he partied so much.

“Well, how can I reach him while he’s . . . straightening out?”

She’s quiet again and I don’t know if I’m supposed to speak, but if she expects me to agree that Ben needs straightening out, she’s going to be waiting a long time.

“I think that Ben needs a . . . different influence right now.”

I wonder if Mrs. Schwartz has given the same talk to Keith and Ashton or if it’s just me that everyone agrees is the bad influence. I pick at the Arthouse Scream Machine sticker on my mirror and press it back again. I’d helped Ben design the logo. We’d chosen an art deco outline font in small caps that had a retro feel, but also had curves that suggested movement (since a scream machine is basically a roller coaster). We’d stacked the words and right justified them. I figured that once the band got a record deal, a pro would create a more polished logo. But for now, it was perfect.

“So, you don’t want me to call anymore?” I ask.

“His father was going to force him to leave the band,” she says, like it’s an explanation. And then with apology lacing her voice, “He needs this.”

By this I don’t know if she means the band or the rehab, but either way it doesn’t matter, because her message is the same. According to Mrs. Schwartz the one thing Ben doesn’t need is me.

As if she’s reading my thoughts, Mrs. Schwartz says, “Skye, I’m sorry. But you know how it is. The band means so much to him.”

“Right,” I say, and we hang up.

I hate that Mrs. Schwartz thinks I’m a bad influence. It’s not as if I’m the one who introduced Ben to weed or coke. But I know how much Arthouse Scream Machine means to Ben. Obviously. I can see him agreeing if they made rehab a condition for staying in the band. Toby and Marcus wanted him clean anyway, so they’re probably fine with it. But it’s killing me that Ben will be gone for four whole weeks and our last night together ended with insults and tears. And I don’t even know if he believes that I broke our promise.

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