Page 13 of Salvation
I’m so lost in my misery that what she said doesn’t sink in at first. My head snaps up, and I stare at her with an open mouth.
“I’m—I’m sorry?”
“Would you like a snack, dear? Personally, I’m famished.”
I look around, waiting for someone to pop out and start yelling at me, but when I look back at Della Rae, she’s smiling.
“Um—sure.”
Her eyes light up, and she waves me along. “Great. If you’ll follow me, then.”
She doesn’t look back as she walks out of Campbell’s room, disappearing out the door. I only wait a second before I scamper after her, afraid that if I don’t, whatever this is will end, and I’ll be sent back.
She’s already waiting for me when I get to the kitchen. A plate of cookies and two cups of milk sit on the countertop. Della Rae smiles when I hesitate, waving me over.
My footsteps are slow, but I force myself forward. I stop beside the seat she gestured to, and hang my head, ready for the ax to drop. “I’m sorry, Ms. Richards.”
She’s busy fussing over two plates, dividing out cookies, which makes it a little easier because I don’t have to meet her gaze, but as soon as the words are out of my mouth, she stops what she is doing and looks up.
“For what, dear?”
Her response catches me off guard, and my mouth opens and closes several times before I work up the courage to continue. “For sneaking into Campbell’s bedroom?” It comes out as more of a question than a statement, so I clear my throat and try again. “For sneaking into Campbell’s bedroom,” I say more resolutely.
“Oh, honey, I’ve known about that for months.” She returns to sorting cookies, and suddenly, my knees go out. I fall into the seat beside her, trying to understand what’s happening.
“And you’re not mad?” I ask, my voice wobbling.
Della Rae turns to face me again, scooting the plate over to where I sit. Her eyes are suddenly serious. “I know what it’s like to need a safe place, sugar. You come over anytime.”
I look down at my hands and then back up, trying to swallow the lump in my throat.
“Thank you,” I say, the words barely above a whisper.
She doesn’t say anything more. She just pats my hand and picks up a cookie, prompting me to do so too. We eat in silence until Campbell walks through the back door with his football gear slung over his shoulder and his hair a mess. His eyes dart from me to his mom, going wide with panic just like mine had. But then I smile at him, and his shoulders relax—and I wonder if maybe I’m his safe place, too.
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When his mom leaves the kitchen, Campbell grabs my hand and drags me back to his room, shutting the door behind us.
“What happened? Are you okay? Did she catch you coming in through the window?”
He throws his stuff in the corner, and I flop on his bed, sitting criss-cross apple-sauce as I watch him move about the room.
“Yeah.” I shrug. “But she wasn’t mad.”
Campbell is taking off his shirt and replacing it with a new one, but he stops midway, turning to face me. My cheeks flame hot, and I turn my face away. I’ve seen Campbell without a shirt plenty of times, but lately, something feels different about it. Like I’m seeing him not just as my best friend, but as something more. My eyes dart back, falling on his lips, and I wonder what it would feel like to press mine to his. All the othergirls at school have already had their first kiss. I overheard them talking about it, but I haven’t—mainly because the only guy I would ever want to kiss happens to be my best friend, who sometimes forgets I’m a girl.
“She wasn’t mad at all?” Campbell asks, dragging me out of my daydreams. The heat from my cheeks works its way down my neck as I realize what I’d been doing.
“Nope,” I say, flopping back onto my back and staring at the ceiling so it doesn’t happen again.
Campbell snorts, and I hear him roughly pull the new shirt over his head. “Of course she wasn’t.”
There’s so much disgust in his voice that I’m forced to sit back up to look at him.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask, cocking my head to the side to study him.
He sighs and shoves his hand through his hair, and I have a fleeting thought about what it would feel like for my hands to do the same, then I shake my head, clearing it from my mind.
