Things I'd Rather Do Than Die by Christine Hurley Deriso

Author:Christine Hurley Deriso
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Coming of Age / Romance / Contemporary / Diversity & Multicultural
Publisher: North Star Editions
Published: 2018-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

Nineteen

Jade

I’m sitting in front of my mirror brushing on mascara as I wait for Gia to pick me up. I guess if I’m gonna be her pity date, I can at least look halfway presentable.

Someone knocks on my door.

“Syd?” I ask.

“It’s Lena,” a voice calls back. I guess she hasn’t gotten the “call me Mom” memo.

“Come on in,” I say.

Lena walks in, squeezing her arms together in an oversized sweatshirt, and closes the door behind her.

“Dress warm tonight,” she says, sitting on the edge of my bed. “Cold snap.”

“Mmm.”

“So, you’re going out with Gia?”

“Mmm-hmm.” I continue stroking on my mascara.

“Well, be careful.”

I peer at her cryptically through my mirror.

“O-kay.”

“I mean . . . really careful, Jade.”

Uh-oh. Surely Pierce didn’t mention my drunkfest?

“I’ll be careful,” I murmur, avoiding eye contact.

“No drinking, please?”

My heart sinks. I turn to face her. “Pierce told you?”

She surprises me by laughing. “Well, if he hadn’t, you’d have just done an excellent job of busting yourself.”

My head swirls with emotion. I’m furious at Pierce for ratting me out, irritated with Lena for initiating a Very Important Conversation, and ashamed of myself for setting all this in motion.

“Lena, please tell me Dad doesn’t know.”

She considers my words, then arches a brow. “I know.”

She holds my gaze long enough to convey her message: She matters, too.

I lay down my mascara wand and fumble with my fingers. “I just meant . . . I’d hate for Dad to have one more thing to worry about.”

Lena pauses, then folds her hands in her lap. “I don’t keep secrets from your dad,” she says. “But I’ll let this one slide if you promise me it won’t happen again.”

“It totally won’t,” I assure her. “And I’m really sorry, Lena. I think I still had a little post-traumatic insanity going on.” I’m betting I can milk a bit more sympathy from the robbery.

The ceiling fan whirs overhead as I wait to determine whether this was a safe bet.

“I know you’ve got a lot going on,” Lena finally says, and another alarm bell flashes in my mind. She doesn’t know about Mom, does she? I haven’t breathed a word to anyone except Ethan. But now that Pierce has declared himself the town crier . . .

Lena continues, “We’ve all got a lot going on.”

“Mmm,” I say noncommittally, not wanting to make another unforced error.

“Sydney’s taking Dad’s diagnosis harder than she’s letting on,” Lena says, and my muscles relax a tad. At least the conversation about Mom isn’t on the table. For now, anyway.

“Jade, Sydney looks up to you so much,” Lena continues. “It means a lot that I can count on you to be a good role model.”

Okay, this is the point in conversations with Lena when my attitude generally turns pissy. (Well, pissier, I guess.) Here we were talking about me (not that I was really loving that whole vibe) when she makes it clear that it’s Sydney, not me, she’s really concerned about. Or at least that’s how it comes across.

“Sydney might not

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