Chapters (38)
- Front Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Contents
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Back Cover
“Because if I do, she’ll tell them something terrible I did.” A sob caught in Maren’s chest. She’d been so sure that telling someone would make her feel better, but it just made the situation clearer. She turned away and picked up an empty plastic soda bottle, not for a dream, but to recycle it when they went back.
“How terrible could it be?” said Amos. “You didn’t kill anybody, right?”
“No.” Maren blinked her tears away. “But if I tell, other people will be in trouble, too.”
“That stinks,” said Amos. “But if you do decide to tell and you want somebody to be there with you, let me know.”
Maren’s laugh came out barbed. “Right, because you’ve done such a great job of standing with me in the past.”
Amos had the grace to look away. “I never wanted to hurt you. But you cut me off and I didn’t know what I was supposed to do.”
Maren stepped over a half-submerged, rotting beam. “You were supposed to choose me. Not Curtis.”
Amos’s betrayal seemed like such a small problem compared to the gargantuan catastrophe she faced now. But it wasn’t nothing.
“I wish I had,” said Amos. “I’m sorry.”
“The only way I’ll accept your apology is if you do something the next time he starts harassing somebody,” said Maren. “Not just me. If you don’t, then you’re just as bad as him.”
Amos nodded. “I swear I won’t let him get away with that stuff anymore. If you’re willing to hang out with me again, I promise to be a better friend. My mom misses you, too. She keeps nagging me to invite you over for dinner.”
Maren’s lips twitched toward a smile, even though she hadn’t completely forgiven him. Maybe one day this would all be over and she’d have dinner at Amos’s house like a normal person. “I’ll think about it.”
“I’ll even volunteer to test out these nightmares for you,” said Amos. “To prove how serious I am.”
Maren laughed. Amos hated nightmares even more than she did. “I appreciate that, but it’s not necessary.”
“Okay, well the offer’s out there if you change your mind.” Amos put on a serious face and held out his hand, which Maren shook with her muddy one. For the first time in a long while, her chest glowed warm.