Current Impressions (40 page)

“Come in,” she called. She already knew it
was her mom. Brendon was thirteen and would never knock that
softly, or even knock at all.

Beth McCarthy came into the room and sat at
the end of the bed, wearing a fuzzy nightgown. One Eden was sure
she’d prefer for her daughter to wear as well. Stretching her legs
down into her covers, Eden knew she’d hate being twisted up in that
during the night.

She set her book aside and waited.

“Sweetie, how are you doing? With the move
and all?” her mom asked, her hazel eyes penetrating.

Eden knew what her mom really wanted to ask.
Are the kids teasing you again? Are you finding friends this
time?

When her dad’s engineering firm went
bankrupt, their family downsized, leaving their home next to the
Hawkins to move into a small apartment two hours south. Her dad had
found work as a water treatment engineer in the naval shipyards.
Eden had been ten at the time and had never given any thought to
popular verses unpopular. She’d only known Micah, her best friend.
Hitting a growth spurt that left her lanky, and needing glasses as
well as braces, changed everything. Receiving the brunt of jokes,
she turned inward, escaping in books and academics.

“I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? You haven’t said much about
your first week of school.” Her mom tilted her head to the side,
her dark brown curls framing her chin. Eden wished she’d gotten
some of her mom’s natural curls, but Brendon inherited that gene.
Already taller than her mom and sharing the same blue-gray eyes as
her dad, the only one thing she’d gotten from her mom was a wide
smile.

“It’s been great,” she lied. Since running
into Micah, she’d yet to see him the rest of the week at school,
though she’d seen Megan one too many times, each time receiving a
fake smile. She saw Willow and Chase less frequently, but it was
equally uncomfortable. Being a sophomore, her locker was upstairs,
along with most of her classes, but to get to trig, she had to
cross the junior hall, the longest walk of her life. The only
highlight so far was her new friendship with Jessie, who was indeed
her neighbor, living two doors down.

Her mom continued to gaze at her. “Just know
you can tell me anything and I mean anything, ok? I moved a lot as
a kid and I know it’s tough.”

“Ok, thanks, Mom.”

Her mom kissed the top of her head. “Good
night, sweetheart.”

“Night, Mom.”

She left, closing the door behind her, and
Eden stared at her bulletin board, counting the number of pushpins
on it. She slid off her bed and began pacing back and forth.

I’m faking sick. There’s no way I’m going
tomorrow night. I’m almost sixteen, old enough to stay home by
myself.

The ride over to the Hawkins was quiet as
Eden pressed her face against the glass.
So much for faking
sick.
Since she rarely was ill, she knew it’d look suspicious
if she tried, and probably raise questions of why she wouldn’t want
to see Micah.

Surrounded by tall, arching trees, the
highway was more like a tunnel of thick foliage pressing down on
them. The sun was setting, dripping down from the sky like a
magical paintbrush, smearing its hues across the trees. Then, as
the sun sank beyond the horizon, the vibrant colors were gone,
leaving the forest dark and ominous.

Eden shifted away from the window, goose
bumps crawling down her arms. She saw the Ram’s Gate sign as her
dad slowed the car. This was the Hawkins’s neighborhood, her old
neighborhood. Memories flooded in her mind as lights pierced
through the trees’ silhouettes, the shadows of the night hiding the
southern mansions tucked deep in the woods. They passed the
Johnson’s, the Moody’s, the Myers—homes she knew well and had
targeted with Micah for toilet papering on more than one
occasion.

As the SUV veered right, her pulse
quickened. The circular drive leading to the colonial estate with
white wicker furniture on an oversized porch was all too
familiar.

I cried so many times to come back here
as a kid,
she thought.
But Micah’s not my partner in crime
anymore.
He’s a stranger to me. His social life’s a polar
opposite to mine.
Obviously handsome and popular, he was
ashamed of his nerdy friend’s return.

The car stopped and she sighed, yanking the
door handle back.
Guess I have no choice but to get this over
with.

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