Free All Falls Down by Ayden K. Morgen Page A

shaking my head when she asks if she's smeared her make-up.
    She offers me a quick hug and exits as quietly as she entered. My burden is a little lighter when she goes, as if talking to her has lifted some of the weight off my shoulders. Kit and Maddi will be okay. They have Lexi. Somehow, I just know she'll get them through this.
    And if I have to avoid being alone with Jared in the meantime?
    Well, I'll figure out how to deal with it.
     

     
    "Do you remember Tyler Rollins?" Kit asks, her blue eyes sparkling with mischief as she looks up at me from her seat on the floor. She selects a nail polish bottle from her kit and holds it up for Madeline's approval.
    "Good choice," Maddi says before turning back to the magazine on her knees. Justin Bieber's face is pictured front and center. I really don't understand the appeal of the boy, but her room is full of posters of him.
    Kit arches a brow at me and I nod my head, giving her permission to continue her assault. She and Maddi have decided that we're having girls' night while Lexi and Jared are out. I'm not sure if their ambush was more for my benefit or their own, but either way, I couldn't tell them no.
    Kit dips the polish wand into the bottle and then smears the bright red color across my big toe.
    "He got Morgan Wright's cousin pregnant last year," Maddi announces, dropping her magazine onto the couch beside her and curling up. "Morgan was furious."
    My mouth opens into a little o of surprise.
    Kit nods vigorously. "You should have heard her screaming at him at Tori's wedding rehearsal," she says. "He just stood there and listened while she screamed and threw things. When she finally shut her trap, he told her that he was marrying Liz. She stormed out and ran off to L.A. Came home three weeks later and wouldn't even acknowledge Tyler or Liz."
    "Wow," I say. Morgan was always a spiteful bitch, but she and Tyler dated for years. I never would have suspected that he'd be the one to cheat. "That's crazy."
    "Right?" Kit says, shaking her head. "I never really cared for Morgan, but I feel bad for her. I mean, her ex-fiancé and her cousin are married and have a baby now. That has to suck."
    "Big time," Madeline yawns.
    We fall silent.
    Kit continues working on my toes.
    I don't really want to sympathize with Morgan, but as Maddi grabs the blanket from the back of the sofa and tosses it over her legs, I can't help but feel for her. It sucks enough to be dumped by a loser for a friend. To be dumped for a family member though?
    That has to hurt.
    "What do you think?" Kit asks a few minutes later, twisting the cap back onto the nail polish.
    I glance down to find my toes tipped in bright red.
    "Not bad," I murmur. I glance over to ask Maddi's opinion, only to find her fast asleep, a hand tucked under her cheek. "She still does that."
    "Hmm?" Kit drops the nail polish back into the kit with the other bottles and snaps the lid closed.
    "Maddi," I say. "She still falls asleep in two seconds flat."
    "Yeah." Kit glances over at her little sister. A sad smile twists at her lips. "I envy her that ability."
    Don't we all? I want to say. Instead I reach out and squeeze Kit's fingers.
    She leans back against the couch and sighs.
    "I think I'm going to move back to campus this weekend."
    "Really?" I arch a brow, surprised. This is the first time she's mentioned it.
    She nods her head. "I need to catch up before finals, and I don't know, I guess I just need a break. Being here… I'm constantly waiting for Daddy to walk through the door, and every time I realize he isn't going to, it kills me all over again. And Lexi won't tell me what's going on. Being here right now is so hard. Maybe it'll be easier if I have a little space, you know?" She chews on her bottom lip, her forehead wrinkling. "Is that selfish of me?"
    "No," I answer carefully. "You lost your dad and your life changed, Kit. But that doesn't mean it has to end. Neither of your sisters would want you to drop everything you've worked