Brooklyn Thomas Isn't Here by Alli Vail

Author:Alli Vail
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Post Hill Press
Published: 2024-03-15T17:08:08+00:00

Chapter 14

As we turned onto my street, Emmalee waves at me from under a street lamp. I nearly wave back before I realize Henry doesn’t see her. When I glance back, she’s gone.

Henry stops the car and turns off the engine.

“So,” he says.

“So,” I echo back, awkwardly.

“Museum wasn’t boring?”

I shake my head, and my hair gets stuck in my sticky lip gloss. Graceful, as always.

“It was probably the best day I’ve had in a while,” I say, and try to pick out the hair without Henry noticing.

He exhales deeply and stares out the windshield. “Me too,” he says, so softly I’m sure I’ve misheard. I’m hardly great company, what with my sad story and general sorry state.

I reach out and pat his arm, part thank you, and partly because I’ve wanted to touch it all day.

“Brooklyn!” Henry yelps. “Your hands are freezing. You should have said something. I would have turned off the air conditioning.”

“I didn’t notice,” I say. He’s right, though. My hands are so cold that my dexterity is limited, which is probably why I’m struggling so much to pull the hair off my mouth.

“You’d better go inside and warm up.”

It’s a dismissal, albeit a sensible one. Who knows what sort of spell would be woven if we continued to sit here, breathing in and out in the dark with barely any space between us? The drive home had been bad enough. I’d practically had to sit on my hands to stop myself from grabbing the one Henry kept casually on the shifter between us. The air had been heavy with tension, and we’d both studiously avoided looking at each other. I might be a hermit, but I’m not totally oblivious to interest, even if it mystifies me that it exists.

“Goodnight, Henry,” I say, and open the car door. I swing my legs out the side, but before I entirely escape, Henry’s hand wraps around my wrist. For the first time since we exited the ferry, I flick my gaze to his. A zap of electricity shoots up my arm from where his fingers form a bracelet.

“I’m so glad you came,” he says. “You were my first choice.” He looks marginally ashamed of himself, and Kashvi looms larger than she has all day. We’re both walking a fine line of appropriateness. I don’t want to be this person, hurting another person, even if she doesn’t know. I hurt enough people when I dated Kyle. I said horrible things to classmates. I even said horrible things to Kyle because of the spurt of power I’d felt when I cut him down.

The silence thickens. It would be easy. I could lean toward him. He’s already leaning toward me because he had to reach for my wrist. But I’ve worked very hard to not be unnecessarily cruel. My family has Spencer for that.

“I’m glad,” I blurt. Then I flee.

I head upstairs to where my parents are instead of into the basement, in case Emmalee is waiting for me. I want to enjoy being normal for a few more moments.

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