Free Don't Kiss Him Good-Bye by Sandra Byrd Page B

Times , and I was starting to worry that she was developing a hoarding disorder.
    “Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked her. “I mean, that’s what big sisters are for, you know. To help.” Wish I had a big sister , I thought. I was on my own. “Want to talk about the dog show? I could take some new pictures of Growl—Giggle.”
    She shook her head, went to the bathroom, got a tissue, and blew her nose. I noticed she had a couple of tiny, veiny scratches on the back of her right hand. She saw me looking at them and put her hand into her pocket.
    “Want to play a game, then?” I asked. “Monopoly? Scrabble?”
    She looked up. “Scrabble would be okay.”
    “Good!” I reached into the armoire below the telly—it was still on and blaring Top Gear —and pulled out our Scrabble board. “You can even go first,” I said.
    I dumped all our tiles into a bucket—we had combined three games’ worth so we’d have lots of letters—and then we each chose our stack and spread them across our racks. Louanne spelled her first word across the red star in the middle. W-O-R-R-Y.
    “Good job!” I said. “Lots of points there.”
    She smiled and drew five replacement tiles while I puzzled out my word. W-R-O-N-G, I spelled down from her W .
    F-E-A-R was her next play, using one of the R s in WORRY .
    Y-O-K-E-D, I put down. A sense of dread began to steal across the room as twilight fell.
    Louanne played D-I-E- and then looked at me. “Are you having fun, Savvy?”
    “Sure . . .” I looked her in the eye, a little shocked at her last word. “Well, not really.”
    “Me neither,” she said, upending the board. “Let’s play another time, okay?”
    Just then my phone beeped. I had a text message. From Rhys. “Sure,” I answered my sister before looking at the text. “Ice cream in half an hour?”
    Louanne nodded, and I left, taking my phone with me. The room seemed brighter, and my head was a little light. Rhys hadn’t contacted me for a long time. What could he want?
    Do you have time to talk? I could call you.
    My fingertips tingled as they hung over the dial pad for a minute before I texted back.
    Okay.
    I headed upstairs and barely made it into my room before the phone rang.

Chapter 31

    “Hi,” I said, shutting my door.
    “So I was just checking in,” he said.
    Rhys never just checked in.
    “I’m fine.”
    I was trying to think of small talk to lighten things up. Talking on the phone seemed way more serious than texting. “Just getting ready to work on science. We’re culturing bacteria.”
    He laughed, but his laugh had a sharp edge. “So appropriate. Reminds me of a lot of people at this school. Bacteria is the only culture they have.”
    I didn’t say anything.
    His voice softened. “How was your April Fools thing the other night? I’m sorry I couldn’t make it.”
    I noticed he didn’t say why, and I didn’t ask. “It was good,” I said. “I think we raised a lot of money for good organizations.”
    “Was anyone a fool?” His voice had a hint of sarcasm to it. I wasn’t sure if he was referring to my faith, but in case he was, I thought I’d address it right away.
    “Not that I know of,” I said. “But I don’t mind being a fool for Christ.”
    “I like that about you, Savvy. You’re different—you’re strong. Which is why I’m calling you. I was wondering, well . . . do you have a date for the May Day Ball yet? And if not, would you consider going with me?”
    I sat there waiting for a few seconds before finally speaking up. “Wow, Rhys, I’m really surprised. Surprised you don’t already have a date . . . and surprised you’d ask me .”
    “I could have asked other people, Savvy—I still could. But you’re my first choice. I like you . . . a lot. Think about it for a few days. And then let me know, because it’s getting pretty close and I can’t wait forever, all right?”
    “Right,” I agreed. That seemed fair. I wondered who else he could ask. Who