Her feet kept moving and her head kept spinning and she didn’t see the skateboarder veering into her path until he was right in front of her. She leapt to the side, and the weight of her messenger bag dragged her to the ground. Her left hand and knee took the brunt of it, but she hopped right up, brushing off the dirt, no time to even let herself feel the pain of it.

When she finally arrived, she caught sight of Sadie across the room in a black sleeveless dress, looking older than eleven, like a young Lucy, if it weren’t for the red hair.

Shame infused Maddie’s every step, and she slowed as she made her way to Sadie. She tried for a smile as she asked, “How was it?”

Sadie crossed her arms in front of her chest and shrugged.

Maddie turned to the woman beside her whose own red hair suggested she was Sadie’s mom. “Hi, I’m Maddie, I’ve been—”

“Oh, I know,” Sadie’s mom said. “My monkey hasn’t stopped talking about you all summer.”

Sadie glanced at her feet.

“I’m Rachel, and you’re really sweet for taking time to help my daughter.”

“It was my pleasure. And actually, I should be thanking Sadie.” Sadie looked up at Maddie from under her eyelashes. “I would have been way more homesick without her.”

A hint of a smile betrayed Sadie’s stoic face and pushed Maddie to again ask, “How’d the presentation go?”

“She kicked ass.” Rachel side-hugged Sadie. “Tell her all about it, hon, while I go outside to call your MIA brother and revoke his car privileges for the weekend.”

A flicker of hurt darkened Sadie’s eyes at the mention of her brother, and Maddie promised herself that, no matter what her future held, she wouldn’t ever let Danny feel like this.

Sadie’s mom pecked her daughter’s head. “Course then we’ll be stuck with him, won’t we?” She sighed but gave a little smirk. “Sometimes parenting is a no-win situation.”

After she left, Maddie nudged Sadie’s foot. “Kicked ass, huh? I’m just that good, I guess.”

Sadie clutched her arms tighter.

“Right. Okay . . .” Maddie sucked in a breath. “I’m sorry, Sadie. Truly sorry. I messed up. I wanted to be here, I promise.”

Sadie lifted her head. “Why weren’t you?”

“I . . .” Maddie rubbed her hand against her shorts, trying to ease the sting of the scrapes from her fall and from the look in Sadie’s eyes. It might have been Sadie’s brother and Maddie’s parents, but it didn’t matter; Maddie knew what it was like to be let down by those you trusted most. “The truth is, I have no excuse. I was too busy having a pity party for myself.”

“Is everything okay?”