Page 108 of The Otherworld

Now Dad gives in, too, welcoming Orca and thanking her for helping Adam. She’s my lucky charm, I guess. If I didn’t have her sweet smile to soften the blow, Dad would be tongue-lashing me into the middle of next week.

“Where is Adam?” Orca asks, glancing around the living room.

“He had a doctor’s appointment,” Mom says, “but he called a few minutes ago to say he was running late. Traffic is always crazy at this time of day. Are you hungry, sweetheart? Dinner will be ready soon. Jack, why don’t you offer Orca something to drink? I need to go see if the guest room is ready.”

“I’ll give you a hand,” Dad offers, which can only mean one thing: my parents want to have a private conversation about this turn of events.

With that, they both disappear down the hallway and leave me alone with Orca, who doesn’t look remotely interested in dinner or drinks. She wanders through the living room, gazing at everything like she’s in a museum—the wood-paneled walls, the plaid couch, the coffee table scattered with books, newspapers, and an abandoned coffee mug. Mom has pine-scented candles burning, which makes the whole place smell like Christmas.

I can’t help but notice that Orca is fidgeting—pulling tangles out of her hair and blushing as she glances at the clock.

“I thought he’d be here already,” she murmurs, more to herself than to me. “I didn’t think I’d be the one waiting for him to show up.”

I grunt a laugh. “You nervous?”

“A little,” she confesses. “But not in a bad way. I just miss him.”

I shouldn’t feel a sting of jealousy when she says that. I shouldn’t. It’s nothing. It’s stupid to feel jealous over nothing. Adam told me they were just friends, that’s it. He said they talked about philosophy and boring stuff like that.

“Has he missed me?” Orca asks suddenly, turning to look up at me with hopeful eyes. “Has he talked about me at all?”

I brush aside the irritated prickle at the back of my neck. “Uh, I mean, we’ve talked about you. A few times. About the whole… situation. With your father.” I shrug, sticking my hands in the pockets of my bomber jacket. “We haven’t really seen eye to eye on it.”

Orca frowns. “Did he not want you to come to the island? Is that why you waited till he was gone to take his plane?”

I can tell the truth will hurt, so I sugarcoat my answer a little. “You know Adam—he hates to cause trouble. Me, I don’t mind. I’m always causing trouble. People expect it of me at this point.”

That gets her to laugh.

“No joke—this is my lot in life. Troublemaker Jack can’t leave well enough alone.” I shake my head. “But leaving you stuck on that island wasn’t ‘well enough’ for me. It was torture.”

Orca squints at me, smiling like she isn’t sure if that was a compliment or a joke or me flirting with her. Third one, definitely. To make it more obvious, I step closer and catch a strand of her hair, gently working out one of the tangles.

“Adam is always playing by the rules,” I say, focusing on her knotted hair and trying not to think about how badly I want to kiss her. “He’s obsessed with doing the right thing.”

Orca’s cheeks go even pinker. “There’s nothing wrong with trying to do the right thing.”

“No,” I whisper, lost in her eyes. “But I’m glad I broke the rules this time.”

36

Entropy

ADAM

As I predicted, the checkup is a waste of time—then I get stuck in traffic on the way home, which is yet another waste of time. All I have to show for it is a bottle of pain medication and another large medical bill.

It’s after seven by the time I pull into the driveway. The lights are on inside the house, and as I approach, I hear my family’s laughter and voices drifting through the half-open windows.

They’re in the middle of eating dinner when I walk in.

“There he is!” Mom says, and I reply with a murmured, “Sorry I’m late.” I cross the kitchen to wash my hands at the sink, catching a glimpse of a girl sitting at the table next to Jack. I figure it must be some new girl he’s met, and I immediately feel a sense of relief.

It’s exactly as I expected. He’s getting over Orca.

I wish I could say the same.

As I finish washing my hands, I notice the conversation at the table has died upon my entrance. Jack starts laughing like he does when he’s pulling a prank on someone.

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