The Truth about Us by Janet Gurtler

Author:Janet Gurtler
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2015-02-10T21:56:57+00:00

chapter fourteen

He didn’t kiss me.

The house is quiet. It’s midmorning already, but I’m still in bed going over it and over and it in my mind. I’ve rehashed the entire walk home. Am I not kissable?

I sit up and cross my legs, feeling like the biggest loser in the world. He should have kissed me. Everything pointed to it. I wanted him to. I thought he would. And then there was the abrupt good-bye, as he left me to walk to the closest bus stop.

I get up from bed, wishing there were someone to call to analyze everything, to dissect every second and figure out what went wrong. Nance is out of the question since (A) I lied to her and said we’d already hooked up, and (B) I know she won’t want to hear about me falling for a guy like Flynn. He’s supposed to be her fling.

Penny’s face flashes in my head, the way she smiled at me at the party. Frustrated, I get up, but before heading downstairs, I tiptoe down the hall to my mom’s room, open the door a crack, and see a lump on the bed. She’s sleeping.

Downstairs, I go straight to the phone and pluck it off the cradle, staring at the numbers, but I put it back down. I can’t phone Penny. It’s stupid to expect to go from nothing to everything because of one smile. She didn’t call me to chat when she hooked up with Keith.

Instead, I dial Nance’s cell number and leave a message. I pour a bowl of cereal but only eat half before pushing it away. Unfairness overwhelms me. I can’t even text her. I’m deserted and friendless in my own house. With a sigh, I wander to the living room and try to watch TV, but it’s boring reality stuff. I did this to myself. It’s easy to hate the person I’ve been the last couple of years, but I click the remote and it occurs to me—I can change channels. Why not myself?

I throw the remote down and march back to the phone, pick it up, and dial Penny’s number. It rings once before my skin breaks out in a layer of sweat and I bang it back down. My cheeks burn with embarrassment. Great. So caller ID just happened. Great.

Chicken. I’m a chicken. I miss Penny so much, but telling her means apologizing. Owning up. It can’t be that hard, can it? I think of my sock monkey, the one I gave Carly next door. For bravery. Penny gave it to me after Mom was hurt. I bought her a bigger version when her dad went through chemo, to protect her. Bill the Protector.

A creak on the steps interrupts my thoughts, and Mom walks down the stairs. She half smiles. “You’re up,” she says as if she’s not creeping out of bed at noon. “I was up earlier too,” she explains. “But I went back for a nap.”

I try to smile, but my lips don’t cooperate.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.