I wiped away my tears and glared out of the side window. What was the point of arguing back if she was just going to shut down everything I said?

“So, you’re telling me that I won’t regret it if I let you stay at home on Friday, and I don’t need to send you to your father’s for supervision?”

“I can guarantee that. Also, Brooke hates me, and I have no friends anymore, so there’s nothing I’d want to do even if I was going to break the rules.”

“Wait, what happened with Brooke?” Mom asked.

I turned back to give her a look. Something akin to horror crossed her face. My point couldn’t have been made more effectively if I’d tried. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I spent all last night crying in my bedroom; I guess I figured you’d notice and ask. By the way, your advice caused it. And I shouldn’t have listened to you, because you didn’t know the full story, and it all went to shit.”

“Uh, that would be because you didn’t tell me the full story.”

“I didn’t feel like I could! I knew you’d be mad at me about the locker.”

“Well, of course I am, I—” She broke off, took a deep breath, and started the car. “This conversation isn’t over, okay? We need to discuss this when we’re both feeling calmer. But … it’s not okay for you to feel like you can’t talk to me about things. So.”

Yeah. We’d see if she ever brought this up again. I wasn’t holding my breath, though.

As she pulled the car out of the parking lot and waited for traffic, Mom’s downturned mouth was touched by a tiny smile. “Ten letters a week,” she murmured to herself, shaking her head. “Good god, girl.”

EIGHTEEN

With Mom gone on Friday, and the house empty, Ainsley and I settled in for a night eating junk food, watching Netflix, and feeling sorry for me.

To add to my misery—something that felt oddly satisfying—I distracted myself throughout the movie by scrolling through pictures of prom as they were uploaded. There was a picture of Winona, looking stunning in a figure-hugging, glittery pink gown. Ray with a group of her friends, wearing a magenta jumpsuit. Brougham, Finn, Hunter, and Luke, posing with a group of senior guys, laughing at a joke I’d never hear.

Brougham’s smile met his eyes. I loved how that looked.