What Light by Jay Asher

Author:Jay Asher
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2016-09-14T15:20:53+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

After I buckle in, Caleb starts the truck. We pull out of the diner’s parking lot and he says, “Now it’s your turn. I’d love to hear about a time you completely lost it.”

“Me?” I say. “Oh, I’m always in control.”

The way he smiles, I’m glad he knows I’m joking.

We drive onto the highway in silence. I look from the oncoming car lights to the impressive silhouette of Cardinals Peak just outside the city. I look back to him, and his profile flickers from silhouette to a happy expression, and then from silhouette to worry. Does he wonder whether I feel differently about him now?

“I gave you a lot of ammunition back there,” he says.

“To use against you?” I ask.

When he doesn’t answer, I’m a little upset he thinks I would possibly do that. Maybe neither of us has known the other long enough to be sure of anything.

“I would never do that,” I say. It is entirely up to him now whether he believes me.

We drive over a mile before he finally responds with a simple “Thank you.”

“I get the feeling enough people have already done that,” I say.

“It’s why I stopped telling most people the truth,” he says. “They’re going to believe what they believe, and I’m tired of explaining. The only people I owe anything to are Abby and my mom.”

“You didn’t have to tell me either,” I say. “You could have decided to—”

“I know,” he says. “I wanted to tell you.”

We drive the rest of the way back to the lot in silence, and I hope he feels less burdened now. Whenever I get painfully honest with any of my friends, I always feel a sense of lightness. That occurs only because I trust them. And he can trust me. If his sister says she forgives him, why should I hold anything against him? Especially knowing how much he regrets it.

We pull into the parking area of the tree lot. The snowflake lights around the perimeter are turned off, but the lampposts are still on for security. The lights inside the trailer are off and all the curtains are shut.

“Before you leave,” I say, “there is something else I need to know.”

With the engine running, he turns toward me.

“When it gets closer to Christmas,” I say, “will you be leaving to visit Abby and your dad?”

He looks down, but soon a smile appears on his lips. He knows I’m asking because I don’t want him to leave. “This is my mom’s year,” he says. “Abby’s coming here.”

I don’t want to hide my enthusiasm entirely, but I try to maintain some cool. “I’m glad,” I say.

He looks at me. “I’ll see my dad over spring break.”

“Will he be lonely at Christmas?”

“A little,” he says, “I’m sure. But another good thing about Abby living there is she forces him to get into the holiday spirit. She’s taking him out to get a tree this weekend.”

“She really is feisty,” I say.

Caleb faces the front window. “I was looking forward to doing that with them next year,” he says, “but now I don’t know.

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