Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli

Author:Becky Albertalli [Albertalli, Becky]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2018-04-24T04:00:00+00:00

19

I WAKE UP TO THE patter of rain on Caitlin’s balcony. Abby’s already awake. She’s sitting cross-legged against the headboard, reading Harry Potter.

A wave of panic hits me. It’s hard to explain, but the thought of Abby watching me sleep makes me want to throw up. Not that she was watching me. I mean, she’s pretty absorbed in her book. But right now, my brain is dead set on reminding me how gross I look when I’m sleeping. My mouth was probably hanging open. I was probably snoring.

“Oh, you’re up!” Abby says, folding down the corner of the page.

I gape at her. “Did you just dog-ear Harry Potter?”

“Oh boy.” The edges of her lips curve up. “Should have known you were one of those people.”

“One of those people? As in, I’m not a monster?” I shake my head slowly. Like, you look at Abby, and she’s the picture of innocence: spiral curls, lavender pajama shorts. But no.

“Okay, this may blow your mind,” I say, “but have you ever heard of—”

“Bookmarks. Yes. I know.” She rolls her eyes. “Nick used to give me so much shit. I honestly think he bought me a hundred bookmarks while we were dating.”

“So where are these hundred bookmarks now?”

“Well, obviously, I had to get rid of them.”

“Because . . .”

“Because we broke up?” She shrugs. “I don’t know. Nick stuff makes me sad. Is that weird?”

“Why would that be weird?”

She smiles wistfully. “I broke up with him. I’m not allowed to be sad.”

“You can feel however you want.”

“No, I know. But it’s complicated.”

And suddenly, she looks like she’s going to burst into tears. Maybe Simon was right. Maybe Abby and Nick were never meant to break up.

“So, it’s raining,” Abby says.

“Yeah, I hear it.”

“Do you think they’ll cancel the tour?”

“I don’t know.”

“I mean, probably not, right? And maybe it will clear up by this afternoon.” She sighs, glancing at her phone. “Anyway, the boys are leaving Boston. I just heard from Simon. Apparently Nick just found out he got a scholarship to Tufts, and he really likes it there, so.”

“Where are they going next?”

“Wesleyan—they’re staying with Alice. And then tomorrow’s NYU.”

“That will be fun for Simon.”

“Yeah.” She stretches. “He’s so funny. He’s, like, so adamant that he doesn’t mind doing long distance with Bram, and it’s just a coincidence that he chose New York.”

“Yeah,” I say, and Abby smiles faintly.

I feel myself starting to calm down, heartbeat dialing back to normal. We make our way from the bed to the couch, and by noon, we’re dressed and jacked up on Froot Loops. The rain has slowed to a drizzle, so I guess it could be worse. Of course, Abby brought wellies—bright green with polka dots.

“Did you know it was going to rain?”

“No. I just like them with this outfit. Is that weird?”

“It’s pretty weird.”

She pokes me in the arm.

But she doesn’t look weird. She looks perfectly collegiate. I’ve always been so jealous of the way Abby layers clothes. She makes it look intentional. Case in

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