The Smoking Lamp by Kimberly Loth

Author:Kimberly Loth [Loth, Kimberly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-09-12T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

Liv

I didn’t even question Gabe walking me to school the next day. He waited for me on the front porch and made light conversation. Neither of us spoke of the creepy man the night before. He knew Gabe, but one thing I was quickly coming to realize—I was safe when Gabe was around.

I liked that feeling. Kole always treated me as if I were his property. Gabe treated me exactly the opposite.

At lunch, Gabe sat right next to me and plopped down a Burger King bag. “I got you a chicken Whopper and onion rings.”

“How did you know I liked those?” Anytime Ty wanted to go out for dinner, I always asked for Burger King. Gabe shouldn’t know this, and it unsettled me.

Scarlett sank down on my right, and Penny took a seat next to Ali, but she wouldn’t meet his eyes. Today the twins donned short blue medieval dresses and tiaras. I ignored Gabe, trying to think of how to handle him. So far, I had nothing.

His actions were noble, and they confused me. Every time I turned around, he was doing something nice for me that I didn’t deserve.

I focused on the twins. “You know, that’s a stretch for Rowena Ravenclaw. Your dress should be long.”

Scarlett flipped her now black hair. She and Penny were identical. “After the robes last week, I swore nothing long again. You knew who I was. It’s enough.” She leaned across me to Gabe. “It was sweet of you to bring Liv lunch, even if she’s being rude about it.”

“I am grateful. I’m sorry.”

Gabe shrugged. “I know. You’re welcome.”

There was a disturbance by the door. Kole was trying to wrangle a dozen silver and gold balloons through. He hobbled along in that boot. It looked so odd for a rocker boy like him to be doing something so sweet. Oh gosh. It was prom season. I sank down in my seat. This was not something Kole usually made a big deal of. Apparently he would for Nora though.

“What’s Kole doing?” Penny asked.

“He’s not heading this direction,” Scarlett replied. “At first I thought maybe he was about to make a big deal out of an apology.”

Of course, he wasn’t. He was heading straight for Nora. I should have left, or simply not watched. The door wasn’t that far from me. If I bailed now, no one would even notice because everyone was watching Kole.

Somehow, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him treating her like a princess. He handed her the balloons, and she squealed. Then he pulled out a big sign so everyone in the lunchroom could see it. This wasn’t just for Nora. It was meant to humiliate me. Just when I thought he couldn’t hurt me anymore.

The sign said “Who needs silver and gold when I have you. Will you go to prom with me?”

She said yes, and there were several whoops and whistles. Lots of eyeballs in my direction. I buried my head in my arms on the table. I didn’t want to see anyone.

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