Page 136 of The Glass Girl

That’s what Tracy said, anyway. Charlotte and I are sitting in her office, along with Phil and Fran.

“Right here, right now, the both of you can talk it out,” Tracy says. “Charlotte, you can begin.”

Charlotte is slouched in her easy chair, her legs crossed at the ankles. She straightens herself up and looks me square inthe face.

“I’m sorry that I showed everyone the video, Bella. I think…I don’t know. I have a lot of feelings about Gideon and Holly, too. And being here. I just lashed out. I wanted to hurt somebody. That’s what I do. I’m not proud of it.”

She looks at Tracy. Tracy nods and looks at me.

“I felt violated that you showed that video. I don’t understand why you’d do that. I mean—”

My voice might be a little harsher than it should be.

Phil cuts in. “She just told you, Bella. Sometimes we have mechanisms we use when we feel scared or grieved or threatened. Sometimes they aren’t the appropriate ones. But she apologized. That’s a start. Give her a chance.”

I take a deep breath.

“I accept your apology, Charlotte. And I’m sorry for hitting you. That wasn’t the right reaction to what you did.”

(I don’t think I entirely believe this, but I say it anyway.)

“I accept your apology,” Charlotte says, blinking at me. “I am really sorry. That was a shitty thing to do.”

“We don’t have to talk about it anymore,” I say.

“Can we go?” Charlotte asks.

Phil, Tracy, and Fran look at each other.

“That was possibly the easiest resolution meeting we’ve ever had,” Fran says.

“You can go,” Tracy says.

I stand up and follow Charlotte out the door.

“Are you still hurt?” I ask. “I really am sorry.”

“Nah,” she says. “I’m good.”

She stops and grabs me in a hug, tight.

“We’re all good,” she says. “We need to stick together, right? Shit happens, but we need to stick together in this place.”

“Yeah,” I say gratefully into her pink hair. “We do.”

Day Twenty-Eight

In my dream, I’mfloating in someone’s pool. The water is warm and nice, so it must be summer, maybe July, when it gets so hot pools heat up and even by nighttime they’re still warm when you step in. Someone is whispering to me from across the pool, but I can’t see who it is and I don’t know why they don’t just shout.

Then I’m not dreaming. I’m awake. The room is dark, filled with the sounds of my roommates breathing softly in their sleep, and Charlotte is peering down at me, a grin on her face.

“Come,” she says. “Come with me. I want to show you something. You can’t say no, okay? It’s very special. Butbe quiet.”

“Where?” I ask.

“Just comeon,silly girl. Change your clothes first, though. We’re going outside.”

Her teeth shine brightly in the dark room.

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