She jumped up and ran to her dresser, searching her drawers for the smaller serrated knife. Missing as well. And whoever had taken it had reorganized her clothing, folding everything into neat, color-coordinated piles.
There was one more. Standing on her dresser, Kylee reached up to the shelf in the closet. She probed the far corner, poking, prodding.
And there. No one had found this one, pushed back behind the wallpaper. She allowed herself a brief smile of victory. Then she sat back down on the closet floor and pushed the paring knife into the flesh at her elbow. She closed her eyes and inhaled, feeling the rush of euphoria the cut brought. She bit her lip and dug deeper, whimpering as her arm began to throb. Gasping, she dropped the knife and leaned over, cradling her injured arm to her chest.
“It’s all right,” she whispered to herself. “We don’t need anyone else. We’re okay.”
***
Kylee lay in her bed in a state of dull monotony, too disinterested to do anything. Her homework sat untouched at the desk. Her books were stacked under the desk, and she had no desire to read them. She already knew how Anne’s story ended: with love and happiness, an education, fulfillment. Kylee’s story wasn’t going that way.
She didn’t realize the day had passed by until she heard the bus pulling away outside. Price. She sat up, feeling energized for the first time since that morning.
He spotted her when she reached the mailbox. She saw the way his eyes turned from Michael to her. They stayed on her as he waved goodbye to Michael and Amy. He took Lisa’s hand and went through the gate to his house.
“Lisa,” he said, tugging his hand from hers, “go on inside. I’ll be in in a moment.”
“Sure,” she said, too young to be curious about his desire to stay outside.
He went back out to the mailbox and rested his arm on the wooden pole, not quite looking at her. “Hi.”
Kylee hugged her torso, wishing he would come around to her side and hold her like he had during the night. “I’m glad you’re home.”
He lifted his eyes and dropped them again, picking at the splitting wood in the stake. “You okay?”
Kylee ducked her head so she could see his face. “Are you okay?”
He looked away, a blush creeping up his cheeks.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, the all-too-familiar feeling of dread forming a rock of discomfort in her stomach.
He took a step back. “I should get home.”
Something had changed while he was at school. Maybe he’d rethought what happened last night. “It’s me, isn’t it? I screw everything up.”
He shook his head. “No. It’s not you.”
“Right.” Even Kylee knew how this story went. “It’s not me, it’s you. I get it.” The ache in her throat was a tell-tale sign that tears weren’t far behind, and she didn’t want to break down in front of him.
“You’re taking this all wrong, Kylee.”
“Taking what wrong?” she spat out, wishing she could just walk away with what was left of her dignity. “You haven’t told me anything.” She let out a short laugh. “It’s like everyone in the world decided to leave me in the dark.”
“Don’t make this about you.”
“Who else would it be about?” She tossed her hands skyward and turned around.
Price grabbed her arm, spinning her back to face him. She tried to jerk out of his grip, but he applied pressure on her forearm, forcing her elbow to straighten. “How did you do this?” he demanded, pressing his thumb against the new cut in her elbow joint.
Kylee didn’t respond. The answer should be self-explanatory.
He shook her arm, harder than she thought necessary. “Kylee, what’s going on?”
Still she didn’t answer, just glared at him.
He let her go. “Why? Why did you do that?” He met her eyes now, and his expression was so wounded that Kylee felt her heart clench.
“I don’t know,” she whispered, though she did. It didn’t make any sense if she explained it out loud.
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“I’m making things worse.” He took two steps backward, increasing the space between them. “I’m not helping you.”
“No, no, no.” Kylee shook her head, desperation building within her. She felt Price slipping through her fingers. “It’s not because of you.”
“I’ve got to stay away from you, Kylee.” He backed all the way to the fence, and he held up a hand to stop her when she moved forward. “You, too. This isn’t good for us.”
“What do you mean?” she choked out. She couldn’t seem to breathe. “You’re the only thing that’s good for me.”
He was shaking his head. “This is crazy. It’s ridiculous. It can’t work. You’ve got to go back. Just go back.” He turned and fled from her, speed-walking over the sidewalk, his backpack bouncing against his back. He disappeared into the house.
YYY
When Bill got home from work, Kylee saw the huge bump on the back of his head, visible through his thinning hair. But it hadn’t changed him. He opened the fridge, grabbed a beer, and slammed it.
“There’s no food,” he said.
Kylee felt a pricking of guilt. She should have made dinner, but her mom had gone to bed and not roused herself all day. Kylee hadn't realized there was no food until a minute ago.
“I’ll make something,” she told Bill. “Just give me a minute.”
But he wasn’t giving anyone a minute. He stormed down the hall and started yelling at Theresa.
Kylee grabbed her copy of The Story Girl and stalked out of the house.
She felt him before she saw him. Kylee turned her head as she crossed to the side of the house and saw Price outside with Sisko. His eyes were on her. Kylee started to smile before she remembered their last conversation, the one where Price said it would be better if they stayed away from each other. She forced herself to look forward again.
She stayed out at her tree in the woods until it got too dark to read. Her ring glowed, but only a soft, deep blue that didn’t give much light. She walked back to the house in the dark, stumbling on the outlying tree roots and underbrush. First she’d been pulled from school and her friends quit talking to her. Then her mom and Bill got weird, and now they were giving her the silent treatment.
And finally Price. For whatever reason, he also felt like he shouldn’t talk to her anymore.
Something tapped against her window. She paused, pulled out of her imaginations. More pattering followed, unrandom enough for her to realize someone was at her window.
“Kylee!”
She recognized Price’s voice and pushed the blankets off her legs. Price yelled again, louder this time. “Kylee!”
She dashed to the window and pulled. She must’ve shut it hard last time, because it took more effort to lift it. The colors on her ring swirled from blue to red, lighting up her room like a cop car.
She got the window up and ducked before she got a face-full of gravel. “Price? What are you doing?”
He stood three feet from her window, hand still cocked behind his head, ready to throw his ammo. The hand dropped, the rocks falling unused to the dirt. “I wanted to talk to you.”
She leaned her head out and propped her chin in her hands. “I thought we weren’t talking anymore.”
It was hard to tell in the dark, but she thought he cringed. “Can you come outside?”
Of course she could. Climbing out the window was easier than going out the front door. But it felt like Price should have to work harder at this, if it were some sort of apology. She gestured at her sweats. “I’m in my PJs. Why don’t you come in here?”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
He shifted his weight from one leg to the other. “Listen,” he said, “I’m sorry about the other day. I know I said some things that didn’t make sense to you. It’s just—I can’t explain it—I’m—” He shoved both hands through his hair, spiking it up further. “I can’t even tell you, Kylee, because you’re so—you don’t know—”
He was right about one thing: he was making no sense. She didn’t remember any altercation from the other day, but she remembered a few hours ago. Kylee pulled her ponytail around the front and played with the ends. “You said we shouldn’t see each other anymore. That we’re not good for each other,” she said, hoping he at least explained those statements. Or take them back.
“Yeah. I shouldn’t feel this way. It shouldn’t happen.”
“Feel what way?”
“The way I feel about you!”
The last words exploded out of him, so loud that Kylee shrank back into the room. She listened, holding her breath. When no sounds came from the living room, she stuck her head back out.
“Why can’t you feel something for me? Because I’m poor? Everyone at school makes fun of me? Your dad and sister won’t acknowledge me?” She gave a strained laugh. “Yeah, those are some pretty strong reasons.”
“Kylee, would you just come out here?” He sounded frustrated, even a bit angry. “Can we go somewhere and talk?”
“No,” she whispered, swallowing back tears. “You’ve said enough.” She backed away from the window. “It doesn’t matter what we feel. We’re not good for each other. I get it.”
“Why do you have to make things so difficult?” His hands grasped the windowsill, and he hefted himself into the room. She took two steps backward to make room for him.
He glanced around the small sleeping quarters before focusing on her, the dim light from the hall casting his features into shadow. “I don’t know what to do about us. Okay? The only thing I know is I can’t get you out of my head, and it’s crazy, and it’s making me crazy. But I have to be near you.” He closed the distance between them and grabbed her hands.
Kylee sucked in a breath. Price made her feel something she’d never felt before. Safety, security, happiness, peace. Was that love?
“Say something,” Price murmured.
The light in Kylee’s room turned on. She turned to see Bill standing in the open doorway.
He took one look at Price and roared.
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