Since You've Been Gone (47 page)
Frank was driving with one hand on the wheel, the other resting on the seat between us. Without knowing I was going to, without thinking about it first, I slid as close to him as my seat belt would allow and rested my hand on his.
He smiled without taking his eyes off the road, turned his palm up, and threaded his fingers through mine. My heart started beating double-time, but it only lasted a moment, as Frank took his hand back, put on his turn signal, and took the next exit off the highway.
I glanced over at him, surprised. “Where are we going?”
He smiled at me. “You’ll see.”
I leaned forward to try and see where he was headed, but we were only off the highway for a few minutes before he turned down a narrow, unmarked dirt path. “How did you even know about this?” The sun hadn’t yet totally risen, but the path was so dense with trees that it almost looked like we were going into night again as he drove through them.
“Sloane may have mentioned something about one of her favorite spots,” he said, making another turn.
The dense trees opened up and there was a clearing that he pulled the truck into. He put it in park and turned off the engine and, like we’d discussed it beforehand, we both got out. The clearing provided a scenic viewpoint of its own, though
this one wasn’t marked for tourists, and we were the only ones seeing it. All around us was the view of a gorgeous valley, slowly being lit up by the rising sun.
Frank turned to look down at me, and he was right there, so close. “Hi,” he said.
I looked up at him. Now that the moment was here, it didn’t feel scary. What would happen would happen, and I couldn’t know or control it. But I was ready for it to begin. “Hey,” I said.
“In a well-ordered universe,” he said, and I could hear how nervous he was, “I’d be able to do this.” He leaned his head down and kissed me softly, then pulled back, making sure this was okay.
I smiled at him. “Then we must be in one,” I said. And as the sun rose behind us and he bent his head down to kiss me again, I leaned forward.
Toward him, and to whatever came next.
© Meredith Zinner
Morgan Matson
received her MFA in writing for children from the New School. She was named a
Publishers Weekly
Flying Start author for her first book,
Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour,
which was an ALA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults. Her second book,
Second Chance Summer,
was the winner of the California State Book Award. She lives in Los Angeles. Visit her at
morganmatson.com
.
Simon & Schuster • New york
authors.simonandschuster.com/Morgan-Matson
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Also by Morgan Matson
Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour
Second Chance Summer
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2014 by Morgan Matson
Jacket design by Lucy Ruth Cummins
Jacket photography copyright © 2014 by Meredith Jenks
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Book design by Lucy Ruth Cummins
The text for this book is set in Bembo.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Matson, Morgan.
Since you’ve been gone / Morgan Matson.
pages cm
Summary: Quiet Emily’s sociable and daring best friend, Sloane, has disappeared, leaving nothing but a random list of bizarre tasks for her to complete, but with unexpected help from popular classmate Frank Porter, Emily gives them a try.
ISBN 978-1-4424-3500-1 (hardback)
ISBN 978-1-4424-3502-5 (eBook)
[1. Self-reliance—Fiction. 2. Best friends—Fiction. 3. Friendship—Fiction. 4. Dating (Social customs)—Fiction. 5. Family life—Connecticut—Fiction. 6. Connecticut—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.M43151Sin 2014
[Fic]—dc23
2013041617
Chapter 2: Apple Picking at Night
Chapter 3: 55 S. Ave. Ask for Mona
Chapter 5: Share Some Secrets in the Dark
Chapter 7: Sleep Under the Stars
Chapter 10: Ride a Dern Horse, Ya Cowpoke