Page 86 of The Lookback

I need to get these papers signed and send Tommy Collins packing, or he’s going to find out just how pathetic I really am.

But when we get back to my place where the papers are waiting, there’s another car parked in the drive. Lately my house feels like the parking lot of the True Value.

I prepare myself, because I know Amanda’s not going to be happy with a handshake and a brush off. She’s going to hang around until she’s made a complete nuisance of herself, and if I’m not very careful, she’ll slip and spill my lie. Probably not intentionally, but I wouldn’t put it past her to tell him as payback.

She’s still angry about the whole pretending-I-was-dead thing, and she knows I was with Tommy while she thought I was gone. Sometimes, when she gets upset, her rational thought just goes AWOL.

“Uh, it looks like my—Amanda Brooks, er, Dutton is here.”

Tommy’s smile is broad. “I’m excited to meet her. Anyone you’re willing to fake your own death to set on the right track must be an amazing person.”

“It did get her head back on straight,” I say. “Although, my idea might have been a bit extreme.”

Tommy laughs. “You really haven’t changed in sixty years. If there was ever a person I knew who would fake her own death so that her loved ones would live a happy life, it’s you.”

I’m not sure that I like how he’s implying that fooling others is some crucial part of my character, but it bodes well that he doesn’t find it despicable. Just in case he does find out the truth. “Well, brace for impact. Amanda is a lot.”

“All the best women are.”

But when we climb out of the car, it’s not Amanda who hops out of her BMW SUV.

It’s Maren. “I want to live with you.” She folds her arms and huffs.

“Maren,” I say. “Does your mother know you have her car and skipped out on school?”

She rolls her eyes. “Well, she took mine to get an oil change, supposedly, but I think she just took it so I’d be stuck. Well, joke’s on her. I walked home and found her keys.” Her nostrils flare. “Any way to control me, she’ll take.” She shakes her head. “I can’t handle her anymore.”

“You did just sue her,” I point out. “She might be justified in being a little irritated with you.”

She throws her hands up in the air. “She won’t let me record an album, and not because I’m a bad kid. Because my stupidstepdad’s an alcoholic!”

I don’t think I’m brave enough to tell Amanda, but I almost agree with Maren. “She’s blocking you from doing that because she loves you, though. Plenty of kids have it much worse.”

“Do you know the attention span of TikTok?” Maren starts pacing, and as if the wind is on her side, it’s whipping her ponytail up into the air. “I have,maybe, another month before they forget about me, and then it’s game over.” She shakes her head. “If I don’t get this album recorded soon, I may never have another chance.”

“Well, your parents are fairly well known,” I say, “and?—”

“My parents are ancient,” Maren says, “and they’re pushing their stuff off on me.” She’s still shaking her head. “You have to help me. You’re the only one they listen to.”

“Abigail might be a better?—”

“Aunt Abby’s worse than they are!” Maren’s shouting now. “She’s the one who moved the whole thing toUtah.” She says the state name like she would saypoopy diaper. “Mom probably got the whole idea from her. She wanted to force her own son to go to college when he didn’t want to, just so she wouldn’t be embarrassed. They don’tgetit. Life is short, and you have to do what you want to donow.They think they can make us like them, but they can’t. We have to be who we are.”

“I mean, life isn’t really that short,” I can’t help saying. “Look at me. I’ve been around forever.”

“Speak for yourself,” Tommy says. “I’m eighty-two years young.”

“But that’s why you lied to Mom, right? Because she needed to live her life, just like me.”

She does have a point there.

“Actually,” Tommy says, “that’s why I’m here, too.”

“What?” Maren, sensing another possible ally, turns to face him. When her eyes widen and her jaw drops, I realize that she may not have even noticed he was here. She’s not usually quitethisself-centered, but she does have a lot going on. “Whoa, you must be Tommy!” Her mouth makes a tiny o. “You’re the guy Mandy liked who moved away and never came back.” She whistles. “So now it’s time foryouto seize the day, too.” She steps a little closer. “Let’s do it together. You start dating Mandy, and I’ll record my album.”

I’m going to strangle her. “Maren Brooks, you will get in that car and go home, right now.”

She glares at me for a moment, and then tosses her head. “You’re just mad that I told him you liked him, but I’m doing you a favor.” Her head snaps back to Tommy’s face. “She liked you during the play, she liked you during prom, and she liked you during that gameshow thing.” She shakes her head. “Life is short, Mandy. Live it.” Then she climbs back in her mom’s car, revs the engine, and screams down the driveway.

---