Page 92 of How to Walk Away

“They’ll never let me out of here for that.”

“Mom got them to okay it. It’s all official. I was waiting to tell you until it was certain. We’ll spend Saturday night at the lake. Which means you will wake up on your birthdaynotin the hospital.”

“But…” I wasn’t sure what to think. Kit wanted me to be excited, but it just seemed like such a terrible, awful, exhausting idea.

“We figured it all out. Mom’s been down there all week, cleaning so it shines. Fresh sheets, dust-free: the works. Plus a ton of groceries to stock the kitchen.”

“Is Mom coming, too?”

“No! That’s just it! I said, ‘Mom, Margaret is a young person! She wants to spend her birthday with young people!’ And Dad backed me up.”

“So who am I spending it with?”

“Me!”

This sounded worse and worse. “Kit, you can’t take care of me. You can barely take care of yourself.”

“Rude. And untrue. And Icantake care of you, because I talked your boyfriend into coming with us—and he’s going to do all the hard stuff.”

My boyfriend? “Who—Chip?” I hadn’t seen or heard from him—absolutely nothing—since the night we’d ended it. It was like he never existed.

Kit shook her head. “No. YourScottishboyfriend.”

I put my hand over my mouth. “You didn’t.”

“I did!”

“You asked him?”

She nodded.

“And he said yes?”

“I might’ve implied I could accidentally kill you.”

I leaned back against the pillow. “No.”

“Anyway, that’s your real present. Now you can have forbidden sex with your secret love.” Then she frowned and leaned in to whisper, “Your vagina still works, right?”

I put my hand over my eyes. “No secret love. No forbidden sex. Come on, Kit!”

“You think I’m an amateur? You think I can’t read that sexual tension? Sexual tension is my primary language!”

“Kit, look at me. Look at my life.”

“So?”

“This is not junior high. I’m a month into a total shit-storm of utter devastation.”

“All the more reason to have a little fun.”

“I hate fun. I don’t even believe in fun anymore.”

“You do when you’re with Ian.”

“We are not doing this.”

“It’s all arranged. He’s taking a personal day and everything.”

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