Page 7 of Between Never and Forever
“I was trying to help, ma’am. Connor Lawson tried to attack Sava—”
“I do not care about Savannah Shaw or the trouble she causes. You shouldn’t have involved yourself.”
“But he was saying bad things about her mom—”
“And I’m sure they were true.”
I close my eyes and try again.
“I was just telling the truth. Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do? Stand up for what’s right? Savannah was only talking to Connor to try and get my study guide back for me—”
“And how did Savanah know that Connor had your study guide?”
My shoulders fall, and my breath whooshes from my lungs. NowI’mdead.
“She was sitting with me at lunch.”
My mother doesn’t say anything for a long time. She just stares at me with narrowed eyes and pursed lips until she stands. She pushes the Bible toward me, along with a stack of paper and a pencil.
“Matthew 15:4,” she says, even though I already know.
“How many?”
Her nostrils flare, angry that I asked.
“Until your father comes home.”
When she leaves the kitchen, I glance at the clock on the stove. It’s four. My dad won’t be home until eight. I close my eyes and stifle a groan. If she hears me complain, she’ll make me go longer, or worse.
Maybe God will be merciful, and my dad will come home early.
I pick up my pencil, and I write the verse from memory.
2
Savannah’snot at school for over a week.
I heard she got suspended. That’s not a surprise, but it’s bothering me that I haven’t seen her. I’ve kept my curtains open and my window unlocked since the day of the fight, but nothing.
Sav disappears often. Usually, I just wait around until she decides to return. She’s kind of like a stray cat. Unpredictable and wild. She comes and goes as she pleases, but I always feel a little lost when she’s gone.
I don’t even know how it happened. Sav’s always been around. The girl my parents warn me about. The one everyone sneers at and whispers about. I used to watch her out of the corner of my eye. I’d study how straight her back was, how high she held her head, even when everyone was talking about her. I’d watch her, but never outright, until one day she pushed me off the swing without any explanation. I didn’t tattle. I just watched her skip off from my place in the dirt. Then, the next day, she sat down beside me at lunch. That’s where she’s been sitting ever since.
I don’t have any other friends, but I don’t really have an interest in other people.
Just Sav.
My mother is cheery as ever. She’s all smiles every morning I have to wait at the bus stop alone. The bus sucks, but the only time I really miss my bike is when Sav is absent.
Connor comes back after a week with greenish bruises under both eyes and his lip still swollen and purple. I heard someone in the hall say Sav broke his nose with the math book, and one of his teeth cut through his lip.
I smile a little at that. I shouldn’t, but I do.
Sav is like five foot nothing, and Connor plays varsity baseball. She beat him up without even breaking a sweat. Not for the first time, my fear for Sav mixes with my awe of her, creating something that makes me feel a little confused. I shouldn’t like her attitude so much—it’s wicked and sinful—but that doesn’t stop me from wishing I could be a little more like her.
If I had her nerve, I’d stand up to my mother and father.
If I was brave like Savannah, I wouldn’t be pushed around so much at school.
