Page 16 of Wicked Dreams

“It was a long time ago,” I finish.

Some streets seem familiar, like I used to drive them in a dream. Others… Well, things change, I guess. I’m getting a weird sense of déjà vu.

“The mall is the place to be,” I repeat. “Who should we expect to see?”

“The most elite of Emery-Rose Elite.” She makes a face. “And us.”

Great.

She turns onto the mall driveway. We zip up a steep hill, and suddenly the mall looms in front of us. We circle around it, giving me perspective of the size. I don’t remember it from my childhood. Can’t remember going as a kid.

Finally, she parks in a space near a side entrance.

“I need a birthday present for my mom,” she says. “Something classy. Dad gave me his credit card.”

I shake my head. Imagine a world where someone handed me a credit card and said,Pick something nice out for your mother. Maybe in another life.

Inside, we’re greeted with pop music playing through overhead speakers and a lot more people than I was expecting. I guess I just assumed that malls were kind of a dying thing—but the first thirty seconds of being in one is absolutely proving me wrong.

“Wow.”

There are some people I automatically recognize from school.

I duck my head, pulling Riley to the side. “I’m not ready for this.”

“You totally got this,” she says. “Head high, yeah?”

“I’ve got the urge to turn invisible.”

She shakes her head. “This is your public debut. There are no golden boys here looking down on you—just mean girls and their boyfriends.”

I snort. “I think that’s worse.”

“Arguably. But we can’t let that stop us, otherwise we’d never leave our houses. Let’s go check out the makeup—I loved that lip stain you wore the first day.”

Right. That lip stain helped stop me from chewing on my lips, which tends to be one of my responses to anxiety. The urge to trap my lower lip between my teeth comes over me again. It seems like people are staring, but thathasto be my nerves.

Paranoia, even.

I follow Riley from store to store, although I’m hesitant to spend the money Robert gave me. It feels almost too precious, like I need to stash it away in case something bad happens. In the next four months… or beyond. Once I’m out, I don’t really know where I’m going to go.

Will I even have a chance to finish out the school year at Emery-Rose?

Will I even want to?

In the end, I walk out of the shoe store with new boots in a bag and tennis shoes laced on my feet. My old pair goes directly in the trash.

That’s one thing I had to splurge on. Riley practically insisted, bouncing on her heels next to me when I caved and brought the two pairs up to the register.

“Ready to eat?” she asks.

“Only if we can get froyo after.”

For the first time, I feel light. I make a mental note to call Claire and Hanna, to make sure they’re okay. It’s been a week, and I don’t even know where they might’ve been placed.

“Do you ever think of seeing your dad?” Riley asks.

We grab food and find an empty table.

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