The Last Boy and Girl in the World (41 page)

“I was right,” Jesse said. “Boys don't have these kinds of friendships.” He sniffed his fingers. “Eww. Change is so gross. Everything in the world should cost at least a dollar.”

Sticker after sticker came out of the machine sandwiched between white cardboard. None of them were the one I wanted. And then, eventually, I pushed in two quarters and nothing came out. I tried again. Nothing.

“This is false advertising,” Jesse complained. “They have to have the damn double unicorn there!”

Jesse turned around and crawled over to Julia, searching through all the discarded stickers on the floor, in case we'd missed it somehow. I took a more drastic approach. I stood up and stomped on the display glass with my foot. It took three times before it shattered it into a spider web of broken glass. And then I started pulling at the shards, not even caring that my fingertips were getting sliced and diced.

“Keeley, whoa! Wait a second!”

He eased me aside. With gentle hands, he carefully removed the broken glass, and then the display page with the double unicorn sticker. With a scissor, he cut out the shape with a surgeon's precision. “Put a little tape on that and she should stick to whatever you want just fine.”

“Thank you.” I was still shaking, I was so nervous. “I could have never done that as good as you did.”

“I hope it works,” he said. “Hell, if I didn't want to make out with you right now,
I'd
be your best friend.”

“I got to go,” I said. I hugged him. “Good-bye, Jesse.”

He was slow to let me go, even though I was pulling away. “This isn't good-bye,” he warned me. “I'm not leaving until tomorrow. You'll know when it's good-bye.”

Sunday, May 29

Afternoon thunderstorms, heavy at times, possible flood conditions in low-lying areas, low of 62°F

I drove over to Morgan's house with my sleepover bag packed, as if this were a normal weekend night, as if she had invited me over.

My mom and Mrs. Dorsey were at the kitchen table. They didn't hear me come in and both of them spun toward me guiltily. Both had big glasses of wine.

They had been packing up Mrs. Dorsey's kitchen, wrapping her glasses in newspaper. Not the mismatched stuff, like random pint glasses with different beer names on them, or the cups Morgan and I had collected from McDonald's when we were kids. She was only taking the good stuff. But the job was only half finished.

Mom had on one of Mrs. Dorsey's black salon capes, and her hair was slick to her scalp with dye the color of melted chocolate. Underneath, she was wearing a pair of my pajama pants. Mrs. Dorsey was in her nightgown and slippers, and she held a little cup of dye in her hand and a paintbrush in the other.

“Mom?”

“Surprise!” she said, tipping a full wineglass to her lips. Then she burst out laughing so hard she almost blew the wine straight out of the glass.

“What are you doing?”

“Getting a makeover. And don't make that face. You always tease me about dyeing my hair!”

I wasn't the only one. The three of us used to harp on her every birthday—me, Morgan, and Mrs. Dorsey. Mom had long ago decided to let her hair go gray naturally. She argued that she wasn't good at “lady stuff” and she'd never be able to keep up with the maintenance, even though her best friend was a hairdresser.

Mrs. Dorsey said, “Morgan's out, Keeley. Should I text her, tell her you're here?”

I started to cry. I was jealous that Mom and Mrs. Hewitt were having the sleepover night I wanted to have with Morgan. Their friendship would last no matter where they went. And ours was already falling apart, before Morgan even left Aberdeen.

Mrs. Dorsey rushed forward and gave me a big hug. “Sweetie, it's okay. You're here. That counts for a lot in my book.”

“Don't text her. I'll just wait. I can help you pack.”

•  •  •

I kept myself busy for the next two hours, and boxed up their living room and carried their stuff to the U-Haul parked out front.

And then I heard a car outside. I rushed to the window. Morgan pulled into the driveway. I could tell from how her hair was fixed, and her dress, that she'd been with Wes.

I went out the front door and met her in the driveway. She looked surprised to see me. And, unfortunately, not exactly happy.

“Hi.”

“Hey.”

And she walked right past me, in through the back door. I followed her, I had no other choice.

We came into the kitchen to the sound of giggles. Mom's hair was back to her original color, the color I had only ever seen in photographs. Ginger ale. She looked happy. And even though I knew Mrs. Dorsey'd had a hand in whatever had gone on between my mom and my dad, I couldn't bring myself to hate her. If anything, I envied her. She'd been able to do with Dad what I never could with Wes. I wasn't willing to tolerate Wes, but Mrs. Dorsey had supported my dad for as long as she could, solely to make my mom happy.

“I look young!” my mom said. “Don't I look young?”

Morgan and I made faces at each other like,
Oh God
, like a friendship reflex. That was the only time that night we still felt like friends. And it was fleeting. She passed me on her way through the door and headed upstairs. I followed.

Her room was all packed up.

“So, you're leaving.”

I heard her swallow from across the room. “Yeah. Did they tell you where?”

“No. They wanted to, but I thought I should hear it from you.” I sat down on her bed. “Will it be close?”

“Near my mom's sister. Mom is opening up her own beauty shop. I'm really happy for her, too. I wasn't when she first told me. But I am now.”

Mayfield. That was the name of the town. I went there one summer with Morgan's family. It was a six-hour drive away.

“That's so far.”

She nodded.

“I'm sorry about how I acted last night. I will apologize to Wes. I want to make it up to you. I want us to still be friends.”

“Do you?”

“Of course I do!”

“Because I feel like ever since high school started, things have been different between us. You've held me at arm's length for a while now. And maybe I should have said something earlier to you. But after the way you were acting at Secret Prom, and that stuff you did to Bundy, I feel like I don't know who you are.” She dropped her chin to her chest and stared at her floor. “Maybe this is just the way it goes sometimes. Friends grow apart, and it can be long and painful to disentangle from each other. But with Aberdeen going under, it doesn't have to be that way for us. It can just end. A clean break. No hard feelings.”

“Please don't say that, okay? That's crazy. You sound completely crazy right now.”

“You've always been there for me. Always. You were there when my dad left, you were there when I was sad about Wes. But I don't feel close to you anymore. A friendship is a give-and-take. I feel like I only get this jokey version of you. I'm looking at our friendship and thinking,
Can we even survive a move
? I want to believe we have a future, Keeley. But right now, I just don't see it.”

It was the perfect opening. I pulled out the double unicorn sticker and presented it to her in my cupped hands like the special, magical thing it was.

“Oh my God,” Morgan gasped. “Is that what I think it is?”

“Yup,” I said, coyly. I smiled, but Morgan didn't see it. She'd already turned her back on me.

“I can't believe you actually thought a stupid sticker was going to fix this.”

•  •  •

I didn't leave, and Morgan didn't tell me to go. I don't think either of us could bear the thought of having to explain to our moms that our friendship was over. I never fell asleep that night. I'm not sure if Morgan did either, which almost makes what I did worse.

Sometime in the middle of the night, I got up and quietly went through her moving boxes, looking for that sticker book. I didn't want her to have it, not when she was so willing to let me go. But I couldn't find it.

And then I realized why. Because she'd already thrown it away.

I crept back into the bed we were sharing and shut my eyes until morning.

Monday, May 30

EMERGENCY BROADCAST SYSTEM ALERT:
A Flood Warning is now in effect for Aberdeen County. A Severe Storm Warning is also in effect. Heavy rains will continue intermittently throughout the day, with the heaviest band reaching Aberdeen County after 7:00 PM. All residents are asked to seek shelter immediately. Stay tuned for further updates and instructions.

Mom drove us both home as Morgan and her mom loaded the last of their things into the U-Haul. She knew things had gone badly—that must have been why she didn't ask me what happened.

I helped her get her things into the car.

“I'm going to stay and help Dad. He's going to need it. I don't think he's packed anything.”

“I know this is hard for you, Keeley. It's hard for me, too. But we have to let Dad be in charge of Dad. We can't save him, just like he can't save us. Do you understand?” I nodded. “I want you with me by this afternoon, Keeley. Before the worst of the rain gets here.”

I hugged her and kissed her good-bye. Then I went inside our house, and instead of helping Dad like I'd promised, I lay in bed just like him.

•  •  •

My phone rang an hour later. I checked it, thinking it might be Jesse, but it was Bundy. This time I picked up.

“Keeley! Thank goodness you answered! They won't let me in to get him!” She was frantic.

“Freckles looked fine. He was under the front bushes. I tried to grab him—”

“He ran away. Of course. He's a very skittish cat. Can you please try again? He loves to chase string. Or a shoelace. Bring something like that with you. I bet you can grab him.”

“I'll try.” I might as well try to make things right with someone.

“Thank you for being decent enough to answer. I wasn't sure if you would be.”

And then,
click.

•  •  •

I spent the rest of the afternoon at Bundy's house trying to get Freckles out from underneath her porch. The cat was a monster, it didn't trust me at all, I guess for good reason. After an hour cooing at it and waving a damn shoelace around like a white surrender flag, I basically backed it into a corner. The thing hissed and bit my hand, but I managed to wrestle it into a cardboard box I'd brought with me.

Got him. We're leaving sometime this afternoon. I'll let you know when and we can figure out a place to meet.

Thank you, Keeley. Thank you so very much.

I wanted saving Freckles to make me feel better, but it barely lifted me up at all.

I was walking home with him under my arm when Levi came along. He wasn't on his bike, he was in a car.

“So you do have your license after all.”

He reached across and opened the door. “Climb in.”

I did, and the box in my lap mewed.

“Should I ask?” he said.

“Don't. Just know that in this box is the one thing I've done right.”

He stared at me. “That can't be true,” he said, and then smiled. “I'm glad you're okay, Keeley. And I'm glad I get to see you before everyone takes off for good.”

“I'm anything but okay,” I told him. “But thank you. I'm glad too.”

“Do you want me to take you home?”

I didn't. Because I knew that this might very well be the last time I saw Levi Hamrick. “You're working?” He nodded. “Can I ride along with you?”

“Sure. I don't know how long I'll be out here. They're going to call us in eventually. But so long as I am, you can stay with me.”

•  •  •

An hour later, we pulled up to Morgan's house.

I'd seen it on his clipboard. Her address. And once I did, I spent every second thinking,
Can I do it?
I settled on that I
should
do it. I should go inside and see it for the last time. Otherwise my last memory in that house would be so horrible. It would be that sleepover where we couldn't look at each other.

I peered in the front door. I'd hardly ever used it, except for last night. The front door was for the mailman. Or a stranger. Levi stepped past me and opened it.

I took a shaky step backward, as if I might get sucked inside against my will. It was a big step, and I sort of fell backward, down one step lower.

Levi looked confused.

“Are you not coming in?”

I turned away from him and sat down on the stairs. “No.”

“Keeley—”

“I can't,” I said. I still wouldn't look at him, but I know my voice told him everything.

“Okay. I'll be out as soon as I can.”

I kept my eyes pinned on the house across the street. Another dark, empty one. Where Morgan's neighbor lived, with all the dogs. They'd bark constantly. But it was quiet today.