“Aww, Mom—”

“Eight,” her father said from the living room.

Kate looked at Tully. “They treat me like I’m a baby.”

“You don’t know how lucky you are. Come on, let’s get our bikes.”

They rode at a breakneck speed down the bumpy county road, laughing all the way. At Summer Hill, Tully flung her arms out and Kate followed.

When they got to the river park, they ditched their bikes in the trees and lay on the grass, side by side, staring up at the sky, listening to the river gurgling against the rocks.

“I have something to tell you,” Tully said in a rush.

“What?”

“My mom doesn’t have cancer. She’s a pothead.”

“Your mom smokes dope. Yeah, right.”

“It’s true. She’s always high.”

Kate turned to her. “Really?”

“Really.”

“You lied to me?”

Tully could barely maintain eye contact, she was so ashamed. “I didn’t mean to.”

“People don’t lie accidentally. It’s not like tripping over a crack in the sidewalk.”

“You don’t know how it feels to be embarrassed by your mom.”

“Are you kidding? You should have seen what my mom wore out to dinner last—”

“No,” Tully said. “You don’t know.”

“Tell me.”

Tully knew what Kate was asking of her; she wanted the truth that had spawned the lie, but Tully didn’t know if she could do it, turn all her pain into words and pass them out like cards. All her life she’d kept these secrets close. If she told Kate the reality and then lost her as a friend, it would be unbearable.

Then again, if she didn’t tell the truth, she’d lose the friendship for sure.

“I was two years old,” she finally said, “when my mom first dumped me at my grandparents’ house. She went to town for milk and came back when I was four. When I was ten, she showed up again and I thought it meant she loved me. That time she let go of me in a crowd. The next time I saw her I was fourteen. My gran’s letting us live in this house and sending us money every week. That’ll last until my mom bails again—which she will do.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Of course you don’t. My mom isn’t like yours. This is the longest amount of time I’ve ever spent with her. Sooner or later she’ll get bored and move on without me.”

“How can a mother do that?”

Tully shrugged. “I think there’s something wrong with me.”

“There’s nothing wrong with you. She’s the loser. But I still don’t get why you lied to me.”

Tully finally looked at her. “I wanted you to like me.”

“You were worried about me?” Kate burst out laughing. Tully was just about to ask her what was so funny when she sobered and said, “No more lies, right?”

“Absolutely.”

“We’ll be best friends forever,” Kate said earnestly. “Okay?”

“You mean you’ll always be there for me?”

“Always,” Kate answered. “No matter what.”

Tully felt an emotion open up inside her like some exotic flower. She could practically smell its honeyed scent in the air. For the first time in her life, she felt totally safe with someone. “Forever,” she promised. “No matter what.”