I glanced at Hayden, and a small, secretive smile graced his lips. That kind of smile usually set my skin aflame, but ice was building in my stomach.

* * *

Later that night, I talked things through with Mom. That went well meaning I had a twenty-minute long conversation with myselfbut I no longer held it against her. This wasn’t just about my dad, or me, or even Olivia.

Mom would never talk to me again. She’d only see Olivia, and from what I understood, she hadn’t been doing much of that lately. Olivia didn’t understand why and honestly, neither did I.

Before supper, I drew with Olivia. Besides absolutely refusing to stay on the paper, the kid had talent, more than I’d had at that age. Then again, Olivia’s talents were more than just her gift. She was sort of perfect.

I checked my email, more out of habit than anything else, and straightened my room while I waited for Hayden to show up. Yesterday, he’d removed all the plants from the room, except the snake one. I kept that one on my desk as a reminder of my success.

It still hadn’t died and well, I sort of loved that plant.

The soft sound of my door brushing over the carpet drew my attention. I turned off the computer and swiveled around in my desk chair. My stomach did the weird fluttery thing at the sight of his lopsided smile.

“No plants?” I asked.

Hayden shook his head and shut the door. “Thought we’d do something normal for a change.” He pulled a DVD out of his waistband and tossed it to me.

I caught it and flipped it over. “Didn’t this just come out in the theaters?”

“I cannot answer that question.” He tugged off his hoodie with a sly smile and dropped it on the floor. The long-sleeve shirt he wore underneath rode up a couple of inches. “Em, if you keep looking at me like that, we aren’t going to watch any movie.”

Blushing, I jumped up and busied myself putting the DVD in. It wasn’t my fault that I stared a little. He had that kind of effect. We started off watching the moviehonestly. But it was way too hard to pay attention from the moment Hayden tugged my ponytail down and started messing with my hair.

“I like your hair down.” He twisted his fingers through the curls.

My eyes drifted shut as I relaxed next to him. “It’s a mess. I need to get a haircut.”

Hayden’s fingers stilled. “No. You shouldn’t cut your hair. It’s beautiful.”

I would never cut my hair. Ever. “Pay attention to the movie.”

“I am.”