Page 19 of Valley Girls
Rilla took a sip of the water and nodded. “Right.” Her throat felt dry. She took another drink, and her phone lit with a notification. A friend from home had commented on her photo.
You can take the girl away from the Skidmores, but you can’t take the Skidmore away from the girl.
Rilla made a face.The hashtag was supposed to be funny, Bobby Jo. A joke. West Virginia got involved and suddenly Rilla felt tragic. Rilla put the phone down.
Thea’s neatly wrapped chignon bobbed briskly as she lectured, flipped pancakes, and made three other plates.
“Aw, shit,” one of the women said, coming out in a hooded sweatshirt that hit her knees. “Bacon!” She grabbed pancakes off the pile.
“Rilla, this is Jessica. Jessica, this is—”
“The baby sister,” Jessica said, eyebrows high on her forehead like she had finally hit on something interesting while channel surfing. She seemed around the same age as Thea. “Hey,Rilla.”
Rilla forced a smile.
Another woman came into the kitchen, smiling at Rilla like she already knew her.
Rilla pressed her lips tight and glared at Thea’s back. When had Thea turned into a person who toldeveryoneher business?
“I’m Lauren,” the smiling woman said. She had shoulder-length black hair and tattoos covering one arm.
“Hi,” Rilla said curtly.
Thea turned, giving Lauren a look Rilla didn’t understand.
“Still settling in. Got it,” Lauren said, taking her plate. She gave Rilla the universal look ofoh shit, you’re in trouble, and disappeared.
Thea resumed her lecture as she finished cooking the pancakes. “It’s stupid that you waste your brain like this ... this is manageable. If youwork hard... I know you can do this. You just have towantto do it.”
As if Rilla didn’t try and still, somehow, didn’t get it right. As if she wanted to fail. It almost made her not hungry for the fluffy pancakes Thea piled on her plate. Almost. Rilla dumped syrup over the pools of melting butter.
“My schedule is on the calendar on the fridge,” Thea said, wiping off the griddle. “When I’m not here, you need to be doing your schoolwork. I’ll leave my computer on the counter. Don’t leave the Valley. Be smart. Be safe. And be home by nine thirty.”
Homewas in West Virginia. Rilla couldn’t feel like California was home—there was nothing here to make it hers, and it would be ripped away whenever Thea decided. Rilla stuffed a bite into her mouth and tried to shift the conversation. “Do all rangers have to work this much?”
It was the wrong question. Thea’s forehead creased. “I don’t work that much. They’re just long shifts.”
“How did you get into this job, anyway?” Rilla asked, cutting her pancakes. “Do you have a boyfriend, or is this basically your life?”
Thea shrugged. “I like this. I don’t know what you mean byis this my life?You can have a life without a boyfriend.”
Rilla poked at her pancakes.This wasn’t going well. New direction. “Walker says you climb? I went with them up to this hole in the cliff. The water was so cold it gave me a headache jumping in, but ...” She paused to shove a mouthful of pancake into her mouth, and continued talking over it. “I mean, I didn’t hate it. Walker tried to show me—”
Thea looked up from where she flipped through mail. “Walker is great as a person, but he’s not a guy to get involved with. You know that, right?”
Rilla blinked, fork midair. Was she that obvious?
“I worked with him all last year. I mean, I’d say this to his face and he knows it—he goes through girls quickly. Plus, you definitely don’t need to be involved with anyone right now.” Thea raised her eyebrow. “Don’t you think?”
Rilla’s pancakes now tasted like shame. “Sure. Yeah, totally,” she said, and finished eating in silence.
Layla hadn’t replied yet.
After breakfast, Thea left for work and Rilla went back to bed. She woke covered in sweat. This weather made no sense. Stripping off her pajamas, she sat on the floor in her underwear, staring at theseenreceipt on Layla’s unanswered text. There were more comments on her Instagram.
OMG, girl, you’re going to kill yourself.
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro, huh?
