Past Midnight. Mara Purnhagen

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СКАЧАТЬ rolled her eyes. “I’ll take a vegetarian with extra mushrooms.”

      I could hardly wait until Avery arrived. I went upstairs and took off my sweaty T-shirt, then debated for a while on what to wear. The sun was setting and my room was feeling cooler, so I decided to put on Annalise’s pink sweater. It wasn’t on the box where I’d left it, though. Instead, it had been folded and placed on my bed. I was annoyed that Mom had come in my room, even if it was just to fold a sweater. It was as if she was silently scolding me to keep things neat.

      The doorbell rang and I bounded down the stairs. Mom got to the door first. “Hello, I’m Karen Silver,” she said, her voice sounding exactly as it did on her TV specials.

      “Avery Macintosh. I live down the street.”

      “We’ll be back in an hour,” I told Mom as I brushed past her.

      “Have fun. Drive safe!”

      I was embarrassed, but Avery nodded seriously. “I’m a very safe driver, Mrs. Silver. You don’t have to worry.”

      Avery’s car was an adorable green Mini Cooper. “I love it!” I said. “Is it new?”

      We got in. “It was a present for my sixteenth birthday, future graduation and next three Christmases combined.” Avery checked her rearview mirror, then looked over at me. “And I meant what I said—I’m a safe driver, so buckle up.” She said it with a smile, but I could tell she wasn’t joking around.

      “Absolutely,” I said, clicking the belt into place.

      The drive took longer than I thought it would. Avery seemed to take a lot of deserted back roads instead of the main street that led downtown, but I told myself that I just didn’t know the town or its shortcuts yet. When we finally arrived at Giuseppe’s, I was starving. We slid into a corner booth and ordered a large cheese and pepperoni, and I placed a carryout order for my parents.

      I looked around. “This is a neat place.” It was tiny, with stone walls and arches that made it feel as if we were sitting inside a warm, well-lit cave. I breathed in the scent of garlic and a slightly woodsy aroma.

      “They have an actual brick oven,” Avery said. “That’s what makes it so good. I come here all the time with people from school.”

      “Are you ready for school?” I asked her.

      “Not really. Schedules come out next week, and I’m hoping I made the yearbook staff.”

      “I’m just hoping all my credits will transfer and I won’t get stuck taking gym.”

      Avery sipped her drink. “So why’d you guys move here?”

      I gave my standard response. “My parents’ jobs.”

      The answer seemed to suffice, and Avery didn’t ask anything else about it. She talked about our school, Lincoln High, and which teachers to avoid. “Seriously, if you get Abrams for math, try to get your schedule changed. All he does is yell.”

      Our pizza arrived and I was happy to discover that it was absolutely the best I’d ever had. “And I’ve been to Italy,” I told Avery, “so I know what I’m talking about.”

      Avery put down her drink. “Really? That’s so exciting! When were you there?”

      I immediately wished I hadn’t said anything. I didn’t want her to think I was bragging, and I certainly didn’t want my parents’ career to come up. “It was a few years ago. We went there on vacation.”

      “I’ve always wanted to travel abroad,” Avery said. “My boyfriend went to Rome with his family last Christmas. He said it was amazing.”

      “What’s your boyfriend’s name?”

      “Adam. He was a senior last year.”

      “So he’s away at college now?”

      “He got into Michigan.”

      I picked up my pizza. “That’s far. But you can see him when he comes home to visit at holidays and stuff, right?”

      Avery hesitated. “His family moved out of state a couple of months ago.”

      Her voice sounded heavier, and I realized her relationship with Adam was a difficult subject for her. I tried to think of something to say, but she beat me to it.

      “What about you? Did you leave someone behind when you moved?”

      “I wish.” Moving around so much had meant that my love life was constantly interrupted. Even when I did date a guy, it never lasted more than a few weeks, and I didn’t bother to keep in touch after my family left a place. What was the point? Eventually, I’d have to hear about how he’d met someone else, and I hated the idea of being so easily replaced.

      Avery and I chatted and ate. I was just starting to feel really comfortable with our conversation when her cell phone rang. She pulled the phone out of her purse and checked the number.

      “Sorry, it’s my mom,” she said. “I have to answer it.”

      I polished off another slice as Avery took the call. She asked a lot of questions, like “what?” and “when?” and I got the impression that something bad had happened. She flipped her phone shut.

      “I’m so sorry, but we have to go.”

      “Is something wrong?”

      She bit her lower lip. “It’s Dante. My mom said he’s really sick. I need to take him to the emergency vet.”

      “I’m sorry,” I said. “I hope he’s going to be okay.” I offered to go to the vet with her, but Avery said no. We boxed the rest of our pizza and picked up my parents’ order. On the way home, Avery drove on the main road back to our neighborhood, which took less than half the time and made me wonder why we had gone the long way to begin with.

      “I hope Dante will be okay,” I said again before I got out of the car. “If there’s anything I can do, let me know.”

      “Thanks, Charlotte. I’ll see you later.”

      I delivered the pizzas to my parents, who were in the living room discussing footage with Shane.

      “I’ll start with EVPs this time,” Shane said as he reached for the meat pizza. “I think we got something at the restaurant.”

      “I’d like to hear it.” Dad wiped his mouth with a napkin. “I want to determine if there was a correlation between the ion readings and possible EVPs.”

      I didn’t want to listen to their boring conversation, so I went upstairs to unpack boxes of clothes. My room was cold, and if I didn’t locate my own stuff, I would be wearing Annalise’s sweater until it fell apart. As I sat on the floor and refolded some shirts, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was strange Avery’s dog had gotten sick just hours after I had announced that I didn’t like him. It made me feel as if I was somehow responsible.

      “I don’t hate Dante,” I said out loud. “I want him to СКАЧАТЬ