Free Small Town Sinners by Melissa Walker Page B

smiling.
    “Starla Joy, that lipstick looks so pretty on you,” she says, talking over me.
    “Why, thank you, Mrs. Byer,” says Starla Joy. “And your broach is just beautiful.”
    I sit quietly between them as they go back and forth. My mom and Starla Joy have always bonded over superficial things. And even though I can’t pull off Starla Joy’s bright red lips, I am wearing lip gloss today so I should get some credit. I’m glad when Pastor Frist starts his sermon.
    This Sunday, I pay less attention to the streaming sunlight from the stained-glass windows and more attention to the feeling I have, like someone is looking at me from the back of the sanctuary. I finally turn and glance behind me, and Ty’s sparkling eyes make my heart jump. He smiles at me. I feel a blush rising as I turn back to Pastor Frist, and I hope Mom and Starla Joy don’t notice.
    After the service, there are homemade cookies and cups of red punch in the lobby where people gather to mingle. I didn’t see Ty on my way out—he must have left early—and I’m disappointed for a few minutes as I make small talk and try to hold people’s gazes even as I want to scan the crowd for his curly blond hair.
    Eventually, I see Ty come into the lobby from outside. I try to catch his eye, but he heads straight for my dad and starts talking to him. Maybe he’s asking about me, about us dating. Dad would like a guy asking for permission to date his daughter. Maybe Ty will win him over. I pretend to stare at the blue-and-red lettering on the homemade potluck dinner poster behind my father’s head for a minute or two, but when they don’t turn my way, I decide to approach them. That’s when I discover they’re not talking about me.
    “… just drove him home, but he’s definitely upset,” Ty says.
    “And you’re sure it was the Parsons boy?” asks Dad.
    “Yes, sir,” Ty says. “I know punishment isn’t the church’s role, but I just think that with him getting such a big part in Hell House … well, it isn’t quite fair after something like this.”
    “Something like what?” I ask, not worried about eavesdropping when this sounds so serious.
    Dad looks at me with sad eyes. “Lacey Anne, don’t worry,” he says. “If you want to miss the Youth Leaders meeting today to go see Dean, I’ll make your excuses.”
    “Miss the YL meeting?” I ask. “Why would I do that? And what’s going on with Dean?”
    I look over at Ty.
    “I found him in the art room,” he says. “Lots of the props he’d built had been painted with 666, the symbol of the devil.”
    What?
    “What?” I ask, but my voice falters because I’m freaked out. “Why? Who was it?” I look at my father. “Dad, what’s going on?”
    “Now, Lacey, don’t you worry,” says Dad, putting a hand on my back. “You just go see your friend and make sure he’s okay.”
    Ty puts his arm around me, and I’m too upset to even care that we’re right in front of my father. “Let’s go,” he says, and I nod. Dad doesn’t stop us as we push a path through the post-worship social hour. On the way out I see Starla Joy talking to Mrs. Wilkins, and I catch her eye. One look at my face and she knows to make her excuses.
    She hurries over to us.
    “What is it?” she asks.
    “It’s Dean,” I say.
    “We’ll explain outside,” Ty says.
    Starla Joy follows without a single question.
    By the time we get to Dean’s—a two-minute drive—Starla Joy is as caught up as I am. Ty isn’t being very forthcoming, though.
    “I want you to know what Dean wants you to know,” he keeps saying when we ask him who did this. I don’t tell him that I heard him mention Geoff Parsons, but I can’t help feeling confused and a little hurt. Since when does Ty know more about Dean’s life than Starla Joy and I do?
    When we pull into Dean’s driveway, Starla Joy opens her door and jumps out before the BMW’s fully stopped. Her ballet flats kick up gravel in the driveway as she runs up the