Page 106 of The Otherworld

“That! You’re doing that, aren’t you?”

I burst out laughing and put all the windows down, all the way. Fresh air whips through the Mustang, blowing Orca’s hair around her beaming face. Next, she discovers the radio—and you can imagine how that goes. She spins, spins, spins the dial, going through all the stations at least three times, her mouth hanging open in astonishment.

“This is amazing!” she screams over the rush of the wind.

She stops at an Oasis song—“Hey Now!”—and I crank up the volume while Orca sits back, sticking her face out the window like a dog. The wind tangles her hair into a beautiful mess as she watches the new sights fly past.

That’s when I realize: it was worth it. Just to see that look of wild joy on her face.

The conversation with her dad might not have been too great, but he backed down eventually. All’s well that ends well, right? Not that it ended well, exactly… But Orca has forgotten about it. She’s so distracted by the newness of everything, she hasn’t had a moment to regret what happened back on the island. And I’m sure as hell not bringing it up again.

As far as I’m concerned, it’s all water under the bridge.

But there’s something I haven’t considered: Mom and Dad are going to ask me about it. I can imagine Mom’s disapproving frown when she finds out what I did behind everyone’s backs. Dad will be disappointed in me, too—double demerits for lying to Mom about going to the marina when I wasn’t.

We need a plan.

I reach over to the radio and turn the volume down. “Hey, Orca?”

“Yes?” She pulls herself away from the window, her cheeks rosy from the wind.

“I was just thinking… we should probably figure out what we’re going to tell my parents.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we can’t let them know how your father was so against you leaving.”

“Why not?”

Because I’ll get my ass whooped. In front of you.

“Because they’ll want you to go back,” I say, not untruthfully. “They’ll side with your dad and make me take you back right away.”

Orca thinks about it, pinching her lip between her fingers. “Well, he did tell me to go. At the end…”

“Yeah, so let’s just tell them about that part,” I suggest, nodding convincingly. “Let’s say we asked his permission, and he was okay with it. And you’re going to stay with us for a week or so, then go back home.”

Orca narrows her eyes. “Isn’t that lying, though?”

“It’s just a white lie.”

“What’s a white lie?”

“Harmless. For their own good. For your own good. It’s better that they don’t know, right? You want to stay here and explore the Otherworld with me, right?”

Orca nods. “Of course I do.”

“Well, then. That’s what we’ll tell them.”

* * *

Adam’s truck is still gone when we pull into the driveway and park. He must have gotten stuck in rush-hour traffic or something. Orca looks bummed out to hear it, but I assure her that Adam will be back soon.

Our conversation ends as soon as I step through the front door, and Mom cries, “Jack Stevenson, where in the world have you been?” She looks ready to read me the riot act until she spots Orca hovering behind me. “Who is this? I didn’t know we’d be having company this evening.”

I grin, introducing her with a flourish. “This is the one and only Orca Monroe.”

Mom blinks in disbelief, looking her over. “But you… your father…” She cuts me a sharp look. “You flew out there, didn’t you? That’s what you were doing. You weren’t at the marina—”

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