“Oh, don’t give me that bull. The only time you come around is when Maya and Derek are busy. It’s a system that works for both of us.” She turned to Derek. “I’m borrowing your girlfriend tonight. Deal with it.”

“So,” Simon said. “To change the subject radically, how was your weekend? Anything exciting happen?”

“Not really,” I said as we headed into town. “Rae came back.”

“Rae? You don’t mean…?”

“Rachelle. She’s back. With her mom. They’d gotten mixed-up with a crazy group that wanted to kidnap us, but Derek, Maya, Daniel and I shut them down. Captured them. Interrogated them. Called in the Nasts to take them into custody. Other than that?” I shrugged. “A completely uneventful weekend.”

Fourteen

Fourteen

Monday night. It was Maya and Ash’s birthday, and Simon, Derek and I were hanging out with them and Rafe. Rafe is Maya’s ex. They’re still friends. Which is good to see. When couples break up, if it isn’t ugly, they say they’ll stay friends, but they rarely do. That’s one of the problems with living in a small place like this—couples get together, and, when it ends, it’s awkward, and there’s no place to escape. I saw that with Corey and Haley. With Haley and Simon, too, who dated briefly—very briefly. Really, it only happened because, of all the girls in Badger Lake, Maya and I are in relationships, Rafe’s sister Annie is twenty, Tori is Simon’s half sister and Sam is a lesbian. That left Haley, so of course Simon was going to give it a shot. It happened six months ago, and it’s still awkward between them.

The six of us were in the community center while the others put the final touches on the birthday party prep. Well, while Annie, Sam, Daniel and Corey did. I suspected Tori and Haley had found better things to do, at least until the party started. Yes, Tori and Haley were friends again, having come to a joint custody agreement on the jeans.

Rae had offered to help with the party prep. Annie had taken her along, having appointed herself Rae’s official “resident advisor” in Badger Lake. I appreciated that, because, otherwise, the job would have fallen to me, and I’m…I’m still working through how I feel about Rae.

I’d like to think we can be friends. I just…I need time, more than I thought I would. However much I’d protested that I understood what she did, it still stung, and having her around brought it back. I’d work through it and see what happened.

Daniel popped in five minutes before the party was due to start. He beckoned Ash out, with, “Need your help.”

“With getting ready for his own party?” Maya said.