Chapter Twelve

First thing I did when I got up the next day was check my e-mail. No reply from Leo. I called his house. His mother said he was still asleep. I could tell from the tone of her voice that she knew something was up. She sounded pretty cold—but she never liked me much anyway. I asked her to get him to phone me when he woke up.

I was in the kitchen, fuming, when Dad came in. He asked what the problem was. I almost told him about Devin and the e-mailed photos and everything, but I changed my mind. Dad’s not crazy about me going away to art college next year. He thinks I’m not ready to leave home, that I couldn’t handle myself in the big city. Hearing about Devin would only make things worse. So I said, “Nothing.” Dad just figured I was in one of my moods, I guess.

I called Kyla. Her brother said she was babysitting the Haney kids. He thought she’d taken them to Crescent Beach. I grabbed a sweater and headed out to find her. I needed to tell someone.

I shouldn’t have been surprised to run into Devin on the way. I knew what he was up to by then, but I still jumped when he slid out from behind the war memorial.

He said, “Hey, Frances!” like it was some big shock that we ran into each other. “Did you get my photos?”

I nodded. That was all I could do. I was so mad I was paralyzed.

“Do you think I have any talent?”

It took me a couple of seconds to get my mouth to work.

“Oh, you have talent all right,” I said. “For lying.”

He gave me this “shocked and appalled” face. I almost expected him to say, “Well, I never!” like he was some rich old lady on a sitcom.

I didn’t let him say anything.

I went on, “Don’t even try to deny it! I talked to Tom. He doesn’t know who you are. I checked on the Internet. There’s no mention of you—or all those wives and kids you told me about. You’re lying!”

Devin laughed. Did that ever piss me off.

“What’s so funny?”

“You’re so gullible!” he said. “You believe everything you read on the Internet? Of course Tom denied it! Of course he hid it! He’s got all this money and he doesn’t pay child support to anyone. Not a cent. You can imagine how bad that would look for someone in his position. Do you think he could have built that nice house if he actually paid alimony?”

He was just babbling away. Saying anything that came into his head. Making up more stupid stories. What did he think? That I was an idiot?

“Shut up,” I said. “I don’t believe you.”

“But you believe Tom?!?” He threw his arms up in the air. “Why do women always fall for that guy?”

“Shut up!” It all just came pouring out of me. “Quit the acting! I don’t believe anything you ever told me. Not about Tom. Not about the recording contract. Not about the weather. Nothing. I don’t want to listen to you anymore. I don’t want to see you. Stop following me. Go home.”

“This is my home now,” he said. Suddenly he was talking to me like he was the youth minister at the Baptist church. He’d gone all calm and blissed out.

“Devin,” I said. “I’m serious. Go home. You need help.”

“I need you,” he said and tried to take my hand. “And some day you’ll realize you need me too.”

I swatted him away.

“Don’t touch me!” I said. “If you come near me again, I’ll scream.”

He chuckled like I was being such a silly little girl.

“I mean it!” I said. “Don’t touch me. Don’t call me. Don’t follow me. Do me a favor. Just forget we ever met!”

“I can’t do that!” he said.

I wanted to slap that stupid smile off his face.

“Sure you can!” I said. “I have!” It wasn’t true, of course, but it sounded like a good way to end our little conversation.

I took off.

My heart was going wump, wump, wump, wump, wump. I was shaking. But I felt good too. I felt like I’d done it. Like I was finally rid of him.

I didn’t even bother trying to find Kyla. I was desperate to see Leo. I was ready to do something I should have done weeks before. I was going to be totally honest with him. I was going to tell him all about Devin. Then I was going to apologize and apologize and apologize until Leo was ready to forgive me.

I tried all his usual hangouts—his house, the rink, the school, the Dairy Maid, the football field, his grandmother’s, everywhere. There was no sign of him. I left messages with everyone, telling them to say I was sorry. I didn’t care how pathetic that looked. I just wanted us back to being the way we were before.

The more I looked, the worse I felt. I was pretty sure Leo was avoiding me. Who could blame him? He must have hated me when he found that picture. I spent all this time telling him he had no reason to be jealous—then he gets hit with that. He probably felt like as much of a sucker as I did.

I’d pretty much given up hope of finding him by the time I got home.

Then I saw the package leaning up against the front door.

It was a bouquet of red roses, all wrapped up in pink paper. There was one of those little typewritten cards on it, the kind you get from the flower shop. It said, “We’ve both done things we regret. Let’s work it out. XXXXX.”

I was so happy.