Page 99 of Faking Forever 1
“Is there something I can do for you? What’s with the look?”
234
GREATEST PRIZE
he grills me.
“My bad, Mr. Monroe. Spacing out. That’s all.” I shake my head, “Idohave something I want to say, though.”
We stand across from each other, feet apart, in the middle of each walkway. I was okay with saying what I wanted, just at a distance.
“Okay, so say it.” he declares.
“Right, um—well, it’s Paisley,” I pause to think of what to say next, “I know you don’t think we’re a match made in heaven, and I can’t force you to accept it, but I can’t act like I’m not in love with her to please you.” I raise a hand to the back of my neck, “It makes sense for you to feel like I’m a bad guy, but with all due respect, I’m improving day by day. If you try to keep us away from each other now, I’ll be hung up and chasing her forever.”
He stays mute like a brick wall, and the more seconds that pass in silence, the more nervous I get. He was making thinking faces, but they didn’t seem bad. Then again, what do I know anymore? I waited for him to run across the lawn and bust my cap at any time here.
“Okay,” he says, “I hear you, kid.” he finally speaks.
With that, he calmly walks away, leaving me there. No fight.
Stunned as all hell, I stand there, recounting his words.
At least he heard me.
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a warning
PAISLEY
I hate when my dreams feel too real. Once, when I was about seven, I had a dream that was being chased by a man who looked like my dad. Consciously, I was aware that it wasn’t him, though his face was hidden. He wasn’t chasing me like a dad would, either, being friendly and sweet. He was on my heels like a killer in the night. I want to mention that it was storming at the same time—holding me back by soaking my clothes. I was stuck to my bed like a sweaty guy on a leather couch.
Spoiler alert, the man got me in the end. In the form of my raging phone alarm, wailing in my ear.
Hurricane warning.
The real nightmare was looking at the time and seeing that I was way late for the banquet. While everyone had agreed to meet there, I wasn’t even close to being ready to leave. And now that I pretty much sweat out every good smelling pore I 236
A WARNING
had, a shower was needed stat.
I prop my body up, sliding to my bedside, my head heavy from the large curlers I had in overnight. I should say, for a few hours, considering it took me until six in the morning to achieve anything relatively close to what a good curl looks like. I wanted to look pretty for Josh, which sounds terrible out loud, now that I think about it, but I’m trying to accept whatever I feel. It’s what happens when you’reactuallyfalling in love, I assume. Besides, if I’m not going to speak to him, I can at least be his eye candy.
Looking out the window, it seemed like the hurricane had already come and gone. Unlike every other day this summer, hot, dry, and immensely stuffy—today was the day the town decided had taken a turn, I guess. The skies were scarily gray, and there were so many clouds that it looked like it would takecenturies to dig through them to get to the sky. The wind wasn’t too friendly either. The windows of our house were rattling to the point where it seemed like my dad had even second-guessed going on the porch for his morning coffee and cigarette as his ashtray was empty. That’s scarier than any of this put together. He’s a man who will die proud before giving up his strict daily routines.
Though it looked like the city of Gotham outside, my mom still wore her sparkly dress with the annoying glitter and even left a trail of it all down the hallway for me. I could hear her singing and packing things for the banquet. Dad and Tate picked out matching ties when I got downstairs, showing me the minute I reached the bottom of the stairs. Everyone was readying themselves to leave.
How long did I sleep?
“See. New tie.” Tate waves it in my face so that I can see 237
FAKING FOREVER
all the fishing hook details. I purse my lips, gently pushing his hand from my face, ignoring him. I haven’t forgotten about him ratting me out, but I wasn’t as upset about it as I was before. Now, I was thinking about how to resolve things between Josh and me without him thinking I was after Nick.
