Page 55 of The Perfect Steal

“Are you all right?” Kate asked during the last few minutes of class.

I tried to smile, but all it did was trigger the tears. “No, I’m not okay.”

Keeping things vague, I talked about how much I liked Nate and how now I thought he was avoiding me. We managed to leave the classroom once the bell rang, and I just focused on making my way out to the parking lot with Kate by my side, ignoring all the questioning looks as I sobbed through the hallways.

“Brynn, it will be okay. There are always rough patches in relationships, but you’ll find a way to work it out. The best part about this is it’s the break. You’ll have a bunch of days where you won’t have to see him, and then maybe you’ll feel different, or at least know you like him despite the time away.”

I nodded, running my hand under my nose. “Thanks, Kate, for asking how I’m doing. Between my mom barely speaking to me and Nate, I’m ready to find a house in the woods and never come home.”

Kate shook her head, her eyes wide with fright. “Please tell me that’s not actually one of your subconscious plans? Because I’d prefer you talking to me or one of the girls before that happens. Living in the woods is not my idea of a fun time, and you know I’d be out there, chasing you down.”

I laughed, knowing Kate wasn’t exactly outdoorsy.

“I’m going to run home and get something to eat before the game tonight,” I said, throwing my backpack onto the back seat. “Thanks again, Kate.”

38

Brynn

“Are you going to be okay?” John asked, pulling open the curtains to my window the day after Christmas. I’d tried to be upbeat for the Christmas season, but I felt like I was being followed by a raincloud. No matter how hard I tried to get out of the funk I was in, it only doubled down, making it harder to focus on anything good.

Christmas had been strange as it was, but at least there had been no fighting from my parents. We’d all exchanged gifts, and I made French toast and eggs, happy I’d finally learned how to make the kind where the yoke wasn’t all the way cooked.

I threw back the covers, trying to think of what I had to get done today. I’d survived on a strict schedule for the past two years, and it felt like a day off was misleading, like I’d forgotten something important.

“I’m fine. Just trying to survive. This day never gets easier, does it?” I glanced at the calendar above my small desk, seeing the heart I’d written there at the beginning of the year. A reminder that part of my heart was in heaven.

On a typical day, I tried to go through the motions, missing my sister but trying to trudge on, since life wasn’t waiting around for us. But today was one where I wanted to stuff my face with chocolate and not leave my room for the whole of it. I thought of how Nate had volunteered to have a party in her honor, and that made things even worse.

“No, I’ve made up my mind,” I heard my mom say outside my room.

John and I both paused, and I held my breath, wondering what this argument would lead to.

“Barb, you can’t just leave. We can work this out; just don’t go.”

I stepped over to my window, watching as my mother loaded two pieces of luggage into her crossover SUV. With the distance and the window in between, I couldn’t make out what they were saying, only that my mother kept shaking her head when my dad looked like he was pleading with her.

“What’s going on?” I asked, turning to John.

A single tear rolled down his cheek. “She’s leaving. Moving out. I saw the papers this morning. She filed for divorce.”

The news knocked me off-balance, and I landed on top of my bed, horror and terror battling through me. I’d always wondered if somehow this would happen, but I’d hoped it wouldn’t be until John and I moved out. And to leave on the anniversary of Chloe’s death?

I wrapped my brother up in a hug, and we lay there for what seemed like hours, long after my father had come back inside and the engine of my mother’s car had taken off down the road.She didn’t even say goodbye.

It was official. My life was imploding, and I no longer had control of anything.

39

Nate

I adjusted my tie under the collar of my light-blue striped shirt, wishing I didn’t have to go to this party. This had been the longest week and a half of my life, and no matter where I turned or what I did, I kept thinking of Brynn.

It was cruel to not answer any messages from her, but I couldn’t take her judgment of me, couldn’t even think about what that would do to me if the girl I liked turned on me for something I couldn’t control. Well, I could put in some more effort, but what was the point now?

Why couldn’t she just accept me for the person I was right now, instead of who I’d been in the past?

I wasn’t in the mood to be celebrating anything, and going to my grandmother’s after-Christmas party wasn’t going to help. She always knew when something was wrong, so I’d just have to stay away from her as much as possible.

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