White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson

Author:Tiffany D. Jackson [Jackson, Tiffany D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780063029118
Google: 3dQOEAAAQBAJ
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2021-09-13T23:00:00+00:00

Fifteen

STARING UP AT the ceiling is how I do my best thinking. The vast blankness helps me sort out all kinds of stuff. Like how to chuck my little stepsister into a nearby dumpster without anyone knowing.

Piper refused to apologize for the phone fiasco, and Alec “doesn’t feel he should force his daughter to do anything she’s not ready to do” or some bullshit like that.

But if I’m honest, there’s a small piece of me that wonders if it really was her. Unless she snuck in here like some super ninja while I was sleeping for those measly two hours, I can’t see how she pulled it off. And I had my phone with me the entire night.

Except . . . when I went downstairs and the lights turned off. It was just lying on the bedroom floor so perfectly, as if placed there.

Ice prickles around my neck and I pull up my hoodie. So much happened in the last twenty-four hours. But none of it would bother me if I was high. I’d gladly give Piper all my passwords to any device she wanted just to have some numbness. Which reminds me, I need to go check on the secret garden.

Mom opens the door just as I change into my run gear. “Yep?” she asks, full of eagerness.

I tilt my head, pulling my shirt down. “Yep what?”

She frowns. “You didn’t just call me?”

“No.”

“Huh? I guess I must be hearing things.”

“Ugh, don’t go losing it, Mom. You can’t leave us alone with Alec.”

“I’ll try to keep that in mind. Her smirk turns serious. “You feeling okay? Anything you want to tell me?”

I can tell this morning’s fight with Piper has Mom on red alert. I plaster on a fake smile.

“I’m fine. Totally in control.”

“Hm. Well, where are you off to?”

“A run.”

Mom nods, impressed. “You’ve been really on top of your game here.”

“Have to be,” I say, doing a quick stretch.

“So why won’t you try out for the track team again?”

Immediately, I want to run in the opposite direction of this conversation.

“It’s just not my thing anymore,” I say, keeping my voice light, hoping she’ll drop it.

“Mari, what happened with David and school . . . don’t let it railroad your whole life. It’s okay to let go. It was an . . . accident.”

“Yeah. But I was the only one punished for it,” I snap. Unintentionally, but I couldn’t help it. Just the mention of his name makes me want to break the floorboard with my heel.

Mom twists her lips. “You’re right. It’s not fair. Life is not fair. But we keep moving forward. We moved to this new town so you could have a fresh start. And a fresh start also means doing the things you used to love. Like track.”

She’s right. We only moved here because of what I did. If it wasn’t for me, we would still be where I loved and was once loved.

She kisses the side of my head. “Just . . . think about it, okay?”

“Sure,” I mumble, and head out the door.

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