Page 38 of The Heartbreakers
I stared at her, trying to understand how things had suddenly gone so wrong. “Yeah, sure,” I finally said, my voice cracking.
Then I picked up the book I’d been reading and was gone.
Chapter 10
Nothing could drown out the sound of Cara’s voice, how it had been laden with anger, but the scream of Bionic Bone’s front man, Freddie K, blaring from my stereo came pretty close. Since our fight, I couldn’t stop thinking about what she said.
“Stella!”
There was movement at the edge of my peripherals, and I glanced up to see Drew. He was standing in the doorway of my bedroom, waving his hands to get my attention. He looked exasperated, and I wondered how long he had been standing there before I noticed him.
“What?” I shouted over the music. Drew’s lips moved as he said something, but I couldn’t make out his words. “What?” I yelled again.
Rolling his eyes, Drew stormed across my room and paused my iPod, cutting Freddie K off midshriek. “Why do you listen to that stuff?” he asked, grimacing as he twisted his finger in his ear.
I was sitting cross-legged on the floor, a year’s worth of old photos spread out on the carpet around me. When we moved to Rochester, I had dumped everything into boxes, and now I was sorting through the mess, organizing by date as a way to distract myself. “I find it calming,” I said, looking back down at my work. “How was orientation?”
“It was fun. Took a tour of campus, figured out my schedule. That sort of stuff,” Drew said. “What about you? How was your day?”
My back stiffened when he changed the subject to me. “It was fine.” I picked up another photograph and took a moment to examine it so he wouldn’t notice how uncomfortable I felt. “Nothing exciting. Ate lunch with Dad. Binged on Netflix.”
“Stella,” Drew said. “I already spoke with Cara.”
“Oh.” Setting the picture down on a stack of black-and-whites, I sighed. “And she told you everything?”
Drew crossed his arms as he leaned against my dresser. “Pretty much.”
“So you’re here to yell at me?” When I’d decided to defer from school, Drew had made his disapproval quite clear. He liked to remind me every time an opportunity presented itself, and I had a feeling this would be one of those occasions.
“Why would I yell at you?”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “Because you think I’m being stupid?”
“I don’t think you’re stupid, Rocket.”
“But?” With my siblings, there was always a “but.”
“This is what makes you happy,” he said, gesturing at the collection of memories that blanketed the floor. “I’m struggling to understand why you would turn down a job where you can do what you love.”
I didn’t have a response, at least not one he wanted to hear, so I lowered my gaze. “Being here with Cara is more important.”
“No,” Drew said, and the force in his voice made me glance back up. He pushed away from the dresser and crouched down next to me. “I’m not saying Cara isn’t important, but forget about her for a second. Pretend she isn’t sick. Would you still turn down the job?”
His question bore down on me, and I closed my eyes as if it would help me avoid answering. “Why does that even matter?”
“Because you’re asking the wrong question.”
“Yeah?” I said, my eyes snapping open. “And what question should I be asking, Drew?”
“Ask yourself what you’re so afraid of.”
His response shut me up, and I pressed my face into my hands as I shook my head. “How do you expect me to answer that?”
“You should take the job,” he said. “Otherwise you’re never going to figure that out.” He squeezed my shoulder and then left me with my thoughts.
• • •
I looked at my alarm clock. “Ugh, come on,” I groaned.
