Free Never Never by Colleen Hoover, Tarryn Fisher Page A

right?” he asks. I nod dumbly. How does he…? How many times have I…?
    “The kitchen was making me a roast chicken. What do you say I share it with you guys? We won’t get busy for a couple more hours, anyway.”
    I nod again.
    “Good.” He hits the table with his palm and Janette jumps. He points to her. “Coke? Sprite? Shirley Temple?”
    She rolls her eyes. “Diet Coke,” she says.
    “And you, Charlie?”
    I don’t like the way he says my name. It’s too…familiar. “Coke,” I say quickly. When he leaves, Janette leans forward, her eyebrows drawn together. “You always get diet,” she says accusatorily.
    “Yeah? Well I’m not quite feeling like myself.”
    She makes a little noise in the back of her throat. “No kidding,” she says. I ignore her and try to get a good look around. What were Silas and I doing here? Is it a place we came often? I lick my lips.
    “Janette,” I say. “Have I ever told you about this place?”
    She looks surprised. “You mean all the times we have heart-to-hearts when we put the lights out at night?”
    “Okay, okay, I get it. I’m a really crappy sister. Geez. Get over it already. I’m extending the olive branch here.”
    Janette scrunches up her nose. “What’s that mean?”
    I sigh. “I’m trying to make it up to you. Start fresh.”
    Just then the pink t-shirt dude brings us our drinks. He brought Janette a Shirley Temple even though she asked for a diet coke. Her face registers disappointment.
    “She wanted a diet coke,” I say.
    “She’ll like that,” he says. “When I was a kid…”
    “Just get her a diet coke.”
    He holds up his hands in surrender. “Sure thing, princess.”
    Janette glances at me from under her eyelashes. “Thanks,” she says.
    “No problem,” I say. “You can’t trust a guy who wears a pink shirt.” She sort of smirks and I feel triumphant. I can’t believe I thought I liked that guy. I can’t believe I liked Brian. What the hell was wrong with me?
    I pick up my phone and see that Silas has texted me multiple times. Silas. I like Silas. Something about his soothing voice and good boy manners. And his nose—he has a wicked cool nose.
    Silas: My dad…
    Silas: Where are you?
    Silas: Hello?
    The guy comes back with the chicken and a plate of mashed potatoes. It’s a lot of food.
    “What’s your name again?” I ask.
    “You’re such a bitch, Charlie,” He says, laying a plate down in front of me. He glances at Janette. “Sorry,” he says.
    She shrugs. “What is your name?” she asks through a mouthful of food.
    “Dover. That’s what my friends call me.”
    I nod. Dover.
    “So last weekend…,” I say.
    Dover bites. “Yeah, that was crazy. I didn’t expect to see you back here this soon.”
    “Why not?” I ask. I’m trying to be casual, but my insides are jumping around like they’re being shocked.
    “Well, your man was pretty pissed. I thought he was going to blow his shit before he got kicked out.”
    “Blow his shit…?” I change my tone so it’s not so much a question. “Blow his shit. Yeah. That was…”
    “You looked pretty pissed,” Dover says. “I can’t blame you. You might have liked it here if Silas hadn’t ruined it for you.”
    I sit back, the chicken suddenly unappealing. “Yeah,” I say, glancing at Janette, who is watching us both curiously.
    “You finished, brat?” I ask her. She nods, wiping her greasy fingers on a napkin. I pull a twenty out of my purse and drop it on the table.
    “No need,” Dover says, waving it away.
    I lean down till we are eye to eye. “Only my boyfriend gets to buy me dinner,” I say, leaving the money on the table. I walk to the door, Janette trailing behind me.
    “Yeah, well,” Dover calls, “you live by that rule, you can eat for free seven days a week!”
    I don’t stop until I reach the car. Something happened in there. Something that made Silas almost lose his shit. I start the car and Janette lets out a loud burp. We both start