Page 79 of Icing Hearts

“I already won.”

“Why didn’t you want to go swimming with the rest of us?” he asks.

No.

No. No. No. He suspects something.

I work very, very hard to remain casual. “Didn’t feel like it.”

He narrows his eyes, seeing straight through my façade.

“How’s your head?”

“Perfect. Yours?”

“Swimming. What’s your favorite color?”

“Morally gray. You?”

“You’ve been reading too many books. Pink.”

“Not possible. Clara…” he trails off.

Here it comes. I’m on the train tracks, staring down the blaring light from the train, trying to convince myself I’ll jump out of the way in time. “Last week you said you were bringing a different bikini for each day. You said you couldn’t wait to lay out on the beach and get a tan.” He says the last part slowly. Too slowly. Slow like someone who is putting the wrong puzzle pieces together.

“What’s the question?”

“You’re in long sleeves and pants.”

“Still not a question.”

“It was eighty-five degrees out today.”

It’s then that I’m certain, my feet are tied to the tracks. The rush of the wind from the train kicks up my hair. And I brace for impact.

“Ask me a question, Tory.”

Chapter 48

Victory

Seconds tick by. She’s terrified. It’s the last thing I want. I work a different angle, just like in hockey. “Tell me, Clara, why do you work so hard at school?”

“Wanting the best for myself isn’t enough?”

“You can’t answer a question with a question. It’s in the rules.”

“Since when do you follow rules? You’ve been breaking them this whole game.” I’ve been breaking them for a lot longer than this game.

“I always follow my own rules. Answer the question. There’s more to it than that. I can tell.” My impatience gets the better of me and I ask, “What are you not saying?”

“At home…it’s a—a bad situation. I want out.”

“You dropped the water bottle.”

“What?” She furrows her brow and shakes her head slightly.

“At that game your dad came to. When you finally saw him, you dropped the water bottle on the ground.” Wrong puzzle pieces fall into the right places, forming a picture I don’t want to believe—don’t want to be true. Have I known all along and refused to admit it? “You…you flinch when Vince puts his arm around you. You’re shivering, and you won’t just change your clothes.”

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