Page 52 of Light Up My Life

“We should’ve asked him to walk with us,” I said.

“Or I could’ve asked him to ride with my friends. Maybe he could’ve thrown candy canes.”

I pictured that with a laugh. “He might’ve liked that.” I moved to the French doors at the back of the living room and stared out at his yard. From this angle it looked even bigger than it did from my window. “I’ve always liked your backyard.”

“You look at my backyard a lot?”

“Enough,” I said.

“Well, I had nothing to do with it.” He gave me a slow smile from where he stood in the kitchen. My cheeks felt hot. With my coat and scarf on, I was actually feeling very hot. But I wasn’t sure if I was staying, so I’d left them in place. I unwrapped my scarf to let my neck breathe.

The action seemed to remind Ryan he was wearing his coat as well, and he unbuttoned it, slid it off, and hung it on a hook by what I assumed was the garage door. He pointed to an empty hook and raised his eyebrows at me. So I was staying for a while? He obviously knew his parents’ schedule better than I did.

I nodded and took off my necklace first, still lit up, and set it on the island. Then I relieved myself of my coat and scarf, hanging it next to his. It felt weirdly intimate, our coats hanging next to each other in his house.

On the wall nearest to where I stood was a large framed family picture. The three of them—Ryan and his parents—sitting on the couch in this very room, smiling at the camera.

Next to that photo were some framed magazine articles and newspaper clippings about his dad. Top forty under forty attorneys in the state of Colorado. And another one about professionalism. Another article about being a top defender.

“He’s done a lot,” Ryan said. “It’s hard to measure up.”

“Are you trying to? You’re only seventeen.”

I knew it couldn’t have been the first time he was told that or the thought crossed his mind, but his shoulders seemed to relax with me speaking the words out loud. “True.”

“I get it, though,” I said. “I’m always comparing myself to Fiona. She’s so creative.”

“You’re creative,” he said, nodding to my necklace.

“I’m crafty.” I smiled. “That makes it sound like I’m evil. I’m probably that too.”

He shook his head. “You’re too sweet to be evil.”

“Sweet?” I scoffed.

“Is that bad?”

“I don’t know that it’s accurate.” I wasn’t feeling sweet lately. I was feeling sneaky.

Across the room was a set of windows with a view of my house. The curtains were open. His parents must’ve left before the sun went down. I could see our yard, the soft glow from my snow globe.

I was about to say something, like maybe we should close the drapes in case my moms happened to open ours, when I heard the unmistakable sound of the automatic garage door sliding up. Ryan heard it too, and his eyes turned panicked.

Without thinking, I ducked behind a set of curtains to my right. This was the wrong hiding place. I needed an exit, a door, the back doors maybe? Just when I moved to leave, the door leading from the garage to the house, the one not ten feet away from me, opened. I smashed myself closer to the wall and held my breath.

Chapter 19

“Mom, Dad!” Ryan said in an overly loud voice. He was standing in front of me, probably trying to hide my feet or the lumpy curtains. “You’re home early.”

“I know!” his mom said. “And we should’ve stayed longer because we had to park a mile away and walk. We’ll have to get the car later.”

“Oh, right,” Ryan said, like it hadn’t occurred to him that they hadn’t driven. It hadn’t occurred to me either because they’d come in through the garage door, but of course they couldn’t have driven. It was a walking night. No cars allowed. No wonder they’d come in so quickly after we heard the garage door—they weren’t in a car. “They open the streets back up in fifteen minutes.”

Was it already almost nine o’clock?

“Yes, we probably should’ve just waited it out,” his mom said.

“Was the party not fun?”