Page 126 of Heartbeat

I let out a breathy sigh but didn’t speak. I simply shook my head.

“Are you better?” she asked.

“Again, I really think you should be the one telling me that.”

“Don’t you think you’ve made any sort of improvement since leaving the hospital?”

“Sure.”

“Doesn’t that answer the question?”

“I don’t know; it was your question.”

She looked amused, which wasn’t the same as being satisfied with my answer. “Did switching schools help?”

I nodded.

“Why?”

“Magnolia was like a memory I’d lose myself in every day.”

“And your new school?” she asked.

“Isn’t.”

She tilted her head, waiting.

“My new school has turned out better than I thought it would.”

“Why?”

“I made friends,” I told her. “I met…him.”

She smiled. “I want to talk about him. But first, I want to talk about these new friends. Are they different than the ones you had before?”

“Of course they are.”

“I don’t mean literally, Thomas.”

“Me neither.” I smirked.

“How are they different?” she pressed.

“First, I thought it was because they didn’t know my history.”

“And now?”

“I think they just demand different things.”

“Is that good?”

“It doesn’t take as much.”

“But your old friends do?”

“Now, see, if I say yes, it’ll sound ungrateful. If I say no, it’ll be inaccurate.”

“Be accurate, then.”

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