He looks surprised. “No one in this town talks about life after school. Everyone just . . . stays.”
“Is that what you want?” I ask.
He turns to look at me, and we’re so close that I can feel him breathing. For a moment, all I want him to say is No. You’re what I want. But of course he doesn’t. Instead, he says. “No one’s ever asked me that.” He hesitates. “The truth? I just want to go somewhere else. I want to have a future that hasn’t already been picked out for me. I want to go to college and live in a big city and have a normal life. But I can’t just run from the responsibilities I have here.”
“But you didn’t choose the responsibilities.”
“Neither did you. But here we are.”
“Here we are,” I murmur. And this time when our eyes meet, we look at each other for a long, frozen moment, and then Caleb leans down slowly, very slowly, until his lips brush against mine. He kisses me gently, weaving his hands through my hair as he cradles the back of my head. He tastes like cinnamon. I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect moment.
But suddenly, he pulls away, and when I blink up at him in confusion, I see pain in his eyes. “What?” I ask, still breathless.
“Shit. I can’t believe I just did that.” He shakes his head. “That can’t happen again. Do you understand?”
Before I have a chance to reply, he’s already running away, back in the direction he came from.
I stand still in the cemetery, touching my lips, my heart hammering, until the sound of his footfalls has faded into the darkness.
UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE
HarperCollins Publishers
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22
It takes me until the beginning of fourth period the next day to realize that Caleb isn’t at school, which makes the knots in my stomach twist even tighter. It can only mean he’s off training somewhere with Oscar and Patrick again, which reminds me just how much my arrival in Carrefour has disrupted his life.
On the way to lunch, Peregrine and Chloe flank me in the hallway. Peregrine’s in thigh-high leopard-print stiletto boots, and Chloe’s wearing elaborately spiky platform heels that add a good six inches to her height. I see Audowido poke his head out of Peregrine’s studded tote bag, and I shiver and inch away from him.
“So?” Peregrine asks in a sour tone. “I suppose you’re off to ask those little peons to join us?”
“Who?” I ask.
“Liv, Max, and Drew.” She makes a face. “After your big speech yesterday, I figured that I was supposed to be more decent, or whatever it was you said. So here I am, acting like a nice person by inviting your grimy friends to eat in the Hickories.”
I try not to show my surprise. Instead, I say evenly, “My friends aren’t grimy.”
“Well,” she says haughtily, “let’s just say I’ve already asked Arelia to dry-clean the cashmere picnic blanket after today’s lunch.”
I just give her a look and she giggles and walks away.
Chloe lingers for a moment longer. “So you did it?” she asks furtively. “The charm? Justin?”
“Yes.”
She looks relieved. “I thought so. Thanks, Eveny. See you in a few!”
Liv, Max, and Drew are all in line for food when I enter the cafeteria a moment later. “Unless you’re dying for congealed mac and cheese,” I say, shooting a glance at the orange globs the caf lady is lobbing onto plates, “you should all come eat with me in the Hickories today.”
The three of them just look at me. “Wait, what?” Drew manages.
“The Hickories,” I repeat. “You can eat up there today, if you want.”
“Us?” Liv asks blankly. “In the Hickories?”
Max lets out an excited whoop and dashes out of thebefore I can say anything else. Drew and Liv follow several paces behind, looking stunned.
“You’re sure this isn’t just some trick the Dolls are playing on us?” Drew whispers, hurrying to catch up with me.
“I’m sure. Things are going to be different now,” I tell him.
“Sure they will,” he says under his breath.
Liv hurries to catch up with us too. “Why, exactly, have Peregrine and Chloe deigned to allow us to eat with them?”
“No idea,” I lie. “But Peregrine invited you herself. Anyway, it’s really not a big deal.”
But judging from the horrified expressions on the faces of Margaux and Arelia as we approach, it is, in fact, a big deal.
“What are they doing here?” Margaux demands, not even bothering to address Liv, Max, or Drew directly. Liv and Drew glower at her, while Max walks around, checking out the picnic basket, the china, and the champagne bottles with a huge grin on his face.