Page 29 of The Other Half

“I don’t see why not.”

“I wish I could be with you all the time, I wish I could wake up next to you every morning,” he whispers.

Butterflies erupt in my stomach. He makes the most simple lines sound so sweet and meaningful somehow. “Me too,” I reply.

“I like you so much, Oakley.”

I smile. “I like you so much, Oliver.”

He captures my mouth with a searing kiss that leaves me wishing we had more time. Every night seems to end that way.

Chapter 25

Oakley

“Wake up, sleeping beauty!” I flutter my eyes open, not expecting to see bright rays of sun shining in through my blinds already. I guess I slept pretty hard last night.

“What time is it?” I ask my mom as I rub the sleep from my eyes.

She’s gathering up my dirty laundry in a hamper. I feel guilty, I should’ve done that myself. “Almost eleven.”

Jeez, I never sleep in this late. But I didn’t come home until about four this morning. I needed rest.

I stretch my arms and neck before reluctantly pulling myself out of bed. I see my mom holding my hoodie up to her face. “What are you doing?”

She gives me a suspicious look. “Why does this shirt smell weird?”

I’m still too tired for these kind of questions. “I don’t know? Maybe I went for a run that day?”

“It smells like marijuana, Oakley.”

Oh, shit. I was not expecting that. I had no idea the smell could be left behind on clothing. Why don’t people warn you about this stuff? “What? No, it’s just sweat, mom,” I lie, hoping my voice doesn’t sound nervous. I can’t think of any other way to cover up the truth. I’m not a good liar, and in the past I’ve hardly ever had a reason to lie.

She shakes her head. “You shouldn’t be smoking pot. You’re too smart of a girl to do that stuff.”

“I didn’t. Why would I?” I shrug. “You know I’m not interested in that type of stuff.” I keep my face even and serious.

She reaches into the pocket of the hoodie and pulls out the tiny remainder of the joint we smoked last night. My stomach drops, not only is it bad enough that I got caught smoking, I also just got caught flat out lying. “Do you think I’m stupid?” she asks, her brows pinched together.

I guess I was too high to realize I had even put it there. I thought I had given it to someone else. So much of that part of the night is blurry now, though.

“No,” I reply weakly. “It isn’t mine. A friend told me to hold it for them.” The lie fabricates itself before I can decide if it even makes sense.

Her face becomes even more shocked. “When? At school? Do you realize how much trouble you could get in for this, Oakley?” She throws her hands up in the air. “You would get suspended, the police could even get involved.” I’ve never seen her this disappointed in me. Typically she’s the one defending my case to my dad about how I’m a good kid.

“I’m sorry.”

“Who gave it to you?”

I stay silent, staring at the floor as I try to come up with an answer. There’s no one I want to incriminate, especially Oliver and his friends. She shakes her head frustratedly and rolls her eyes. “Your father isn’t going to be happy.”

I snap my head up to look at her. “Please don’t tell him,” I beg. “It was a dumb mistake, I’ll never do it again.”

She sighs and sits on my bed. “Maybe it was a mistake letting you switch schools.”

I shake my head furiously. “No, I like my new school.”

“But at St. Francis this wouldn’t have happened. None of those kids smoke pot.”

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