The Girl in Between (Next Door #2) by Miranda Silver

Author:Miranda Silver [Silver, Miranda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-06-21T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Diana expected her own personal fireworks display once she got home with her parents. Instead, everyone was very quiet, which was worse. The three of them sat down at the kitchen table in ominous silence.

“All this time,” her mother finally burst out. “All this time, you’ve been telling us you were out with your friends every night. Was it always a lie?”

“I’ve been with my friends too,” Diana muttered. “But yeah, I’ve been spending time with Ian.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Because I knew you’d react like this.”

Her mother threw up her hands. “When you came home late that one night, Dad said you didn’t seem like yourself, but we thought we were imagining things. He got you high, didn’t he? He’s giving you drugs.”

Jesus. She clutched her hair, then pulled off her glasses and skidded them across the table.

“You can call him Ian, okay? You can say his name. I really was with friends that night. I was making my own choices. Ian wasn’t there. He had nothing to do with it.”

“Your friends?” Her father looked at her in disbelief. “Your school friends? You were smoking pot with them?”

“Not Marissa,” her mother broke in.

Diana fiddled with her glasses, then put them back on. The last thing she wanted was to get anyone in trouble. But this was so ridiculous.

“We were hanging out. I took a couple of hits. It’s fine. We’re adults.”

“No, you’re not,” her father said.

“All this time, we thought there was nothing to worry about—” her mother began. “We’ve given you freedom because we thought you would never get in trouble.”

“Now you’re upset?” Diana exclaimed. “Where were you when I was in sixth grade?”

Her parents glanced at each other.

“What happened in sixth grade, Diana?” her father asked.

“Nothing that was my fault,” she mumbled.

An uncomfortable silence hung over the table. Her parents’ gazes were fixed on her, and she stared stubbornly back. Finally, she couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Please just trust me. I’m eighteen. I know Ian, I know myself, I know what I’m doing.”

Her father coughed. “Do you know Ian? Of course, you grew up together. But you painted a very rosy picture of a boy who’s reckless. Impulsive. Maybe even dangerous. A troublemaker who’s never taken anything seriously. Of course, he’s an excellent athlete. But the attitude, the grades, the partying, the pranks, all spell bad news. Though actually—” Her father’s voice warmed. “I heard about one prank that was really a feat of engineering, and very impressive to actually pull off—”

Mrs. Cooper shot her husband a warning look, and he trailed off.

“When Ian was growing up, he broke a different bone every week.” Her voice rose. “In high school, he was with a different girl every week. I’m sure it’s only gotten worse in college. You have focus, Diana. You are going places. So is Brendan.”

“Mom, don’t even,” Diana interrupted.

“You need to think long-term. Everything you’ve worked so hard for, all your accomplishments—”

“Ian’s accomplished.” She glared at her parents. “You know what he does every day? He gets up, goes to the gym, and works out.

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