Free Redesigned by Denise Grover Swank Page B

say? I like Vogue .”
    “For the pretty pictures.” Reed drones.
    “Why did he come?” I snap.
    Now Lexi looks worried. “He’s our ride.”
    “I have a car in perfect working condition.” But that’s not entirely true. The car is twelve years old and barely on life support. I’m replacing a quart of oil every other day and the brakes are sketchy.
    I pray it lasts until I graduate and get a job. If I get a job. All the more reason to keep my mouth shut and ignore Reed’s taunts.
    Lexi shoots an annoyed glance to the front, but Reed stares straight ahead and doesn’t notice.
    Why in the hell is he here? I realize the only time I’ve seen Lexi without her brother is last night in the coffee shop. I’ve heard of close families, but this borders on creepy. Why would she want to spend so much time with him when he’s a total ass?
    Lexi turns toward me. “What made you want to go into fashion design?”
    I give her my standard answer. “Clothing is an expression of people’s personalities and designers can help draw those nuances to the person’s exterior.” It sounds pretty and most people are impressed, even my advisor. But the fact is that it’s a lie.
    I’ve given the explanation so many times I’ve begun to believe it myself, but after my conversation with my mother, my entire world seems to have shifted off center. Not enough to shake up my life, but enough to throw everything off.
    “People actually believe that?” Reed asks.
    “Reed!” Lexi’s voice is harsher than I’ve heard from her, but Reed doesn’t seem to notice.
    My shoulders straighten and I look into the rearview mirror so I can see his face, even if he’s not looking up. “And what do you have trouble with, Mr. Pendergraft?”
    “ Draw nuances of a person’s personality to their exterior ? It sounds like something you’d find on a freshman college entrance essay.”
    “What? And I’m sure you have some perfectly logical reason as to why you want to get a graduate degree in mathematics?”
    “Of course, I do.”
    “And it is…?” I lift my eyebrows and glare into the mirror.
    Reed’s gaze lifts and I lock eyes with his in the reflection.
    His focus returns to the road. “I like the logic of math, and I think the world needs more logic instead of fluff answers such as drawing nuances of a person’s personality.”
    I’m surprised I’m not hurt by his rude behavior, but I’m too furious for hurt feelings to rise to the surface. “The world needs more beauty and kindness, not rude behavior thinly disguised as logic.”
    Lexi’s face pales and I’m sure she regrets bringing me along.
    Strangely enough, Reed remains quiet for the next few minutes until he pulls into a small parking lot in front of a series of houses that are painted the same dark tan with black shutters. Yellow chrysanthemums fill neatly tended flowerbeds in front of the houses. A sign in the yard reads: Middle Tennessee Children’s Charity .
    Reed wastes no time parking and jumping out of the car before Lexi and I get our doors open.
    Not that I’m in any hurry to get out. I need to pull myself together before I go inside and meet the director.
    Lexi senses my hesitation. My hand stretches across the cracked leather of the backseat and Lexi’s hand covers mine. “I’m sorry. I know he can be rude, but he’s not usually this bad.” She sighs.
    “You seem to bring out the worst in him.”
    I laugh, but it’s more of a snort. “Lucky me.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    I pull my hand out from underneath hers. “Stop saying you’re sorry. He’s the ass. How does that make you responsible?”
    She wrings her hands in her lap. “I invited you … and he came….”
    “Lexi, stop. I was happy you invited me. Now let’s go inside.”
    I’m not really ready to go in, but what I need is a few minutes to myself, and that isn’t happening.
    I push my door open.
    I refuse to let Reed ruin this for me. When Lexi first asked me to come, I hesitated because