“Actually it is,” he said, bringing his knees up so that they sank into the outside of my thigh. I hunched down to avoid the line of fire.

“I’ll ask you again. What are you doing here?” This time he hissed the words and they skipped over my back like razor-edged pebbles.

She didn’t speak or look at him, just kept tearing little bits of her placemat off and rolling them into tiny pointed toothpicks. Then I heard her mutter under her breath. “Fat ass.”

“What did you say?” He leaned forward, toward me and Lavi and I felt his kneecap against my thigh.

“All you want is for everyone around you to be as miserable as you are.” Her face turned red and she pushed herself hard off the stool. She bent down to get her backpack, but as she stood to leave, he reached across me and grabbed her sleeve. The material collapsed in his hand like the petals of a flower and she winced.

“Stay out of this, Lavi.” His knuckles turned white as he gripped her tighter. Then, suddenly, he let go. She didn’t move, frozen, like she was still being restrained. Before I could let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding, she was gone and all I heard was the door to the diner slamming loudly behind her.

Daryl stayed where he was, his feet still hooked to the base of my stool. Then, as though he just remembered something he had forgotten, he disengaged himself and stood up to leave. “Tell my mother I had to get going and I’ll see her tonight.”

I didn’t look up, but I could feel the draft of his quick movements push past me like a wave. Sara walked over to the door and closed it. She came back and sat beside me.

“Thank you for being their friend, Matilda. I know that sometimes it’s probably really hard.” She smiled and I felt a sparkle run through me that reminded me of the millions of tiny pinpricks I often felt when my arms or legs fall asleep. I shook my head a few times until I was sure that I had erased whatever it was I thought I had felt. Then I looked back at my plate and focused all my attention on gathering as much of what was left of my pie onto my fork. I was so lost in thought when I walked out, I didn’t notice he was outside.

Waiting for me.

He grabbed me as soon as I passed the blinking neon leprechaun in the window of the Good As Gold.