“No,” I lied. He didn’t seem able to look at me. I couldn’t think of anything to say. “Do you want your T-shirt back?”

Jack glanced toward the stairs. He didn’t want it mentioned. “No. Keep it. I don’t want it.” It was awkward.

“Pink fucking flamingos?” Thomas walked back into the rec room, holding Sage’s beach towel. I’d forgotten how pink it was. We all laughed.

Jack took a few steps toward me and reached out his hand. Oh my God, he’s going to pat my head. He pulled something from my hair. My hand instinctively pressed against the side of my head. I almost said “What the hell was that for?”

He was holding a leaf in his hand. He had taken a leaf out of my tangle of hair, and he turned to Thomas, still holding it. “Libby in her leaf world,” he said. I knew that there was some kind of rejection happening, that the gesture of pulling the leaf from my hair was supposed to make it like before, when he was just my older brother’s friend. The gesture was for Thomas, sort of a joke at my expense.

“Okay. We’re heading out. You’ll tell Mom? Jack’s mom is going to call her later in case she’s upset or whatever.”

I said okay and watched as they walked toward the door. Jack was still holding the leaf. It was from the magnolia tree.