Midnight Sun(27)



My dad gives me a funny look. I try not to read anything into it. “Meet any fun people?” he asks.

“What—no. I mean, yes. Everyone was special,” I stutter. “But no one was, like, very special. Everyone was equal. Which I guess makes them not special, technically—it was fun.”

My dad raises an eyebrow but doesn’t seem all that suspicious. I slap a big smile on my face and rush into my ask before my nerves get the best of me. “So anyway, do you mind if I go over to Morgan’s tonight?”

He looks back down at his work and says nonchalantly, “Of course. No problem.”

I grab my bag and head for the stairs before I can blow it. “Great! I’ll go tell Morgan. She wasn’t sure you’d say yes, but I knew you would. You love Morgan! We all love Morgan! Okay then. Love you!”

“Love you more,” my dad calls after me.

I would normally add Not possible here, like we always do. Instead, I turn around and head back into the den. “I’m lying.”

He nods. “You were rambling, so I kinda knew.”

I sit down next to him on the couch. “I’m going to meet a boy named Charlie Reed, whom you’ve never met, but he’s really sweet and I know you’d like him and I really, really like him. A lot.”

My dad’s jaw clenches. I can’t tell if he’s angry or just worried. Probably both.

“Are you mad?” I ask softly.

“I’m not happy that you lied to me,” he says.

A pit forms in my stomach. I hate disappointing my dad, who’s basically given up his entire life for me.

“You know you can tell me anything,” he adds.

“I know,” I say, hanging my head. “I’m sorry.”

“Thank you for telling me now, though,” he says, relaxing a little. “So let me ask you something. Do you trust him?”

I nod. I completely and totally trust Charlie. I know I can from the way he remembered my dad was a light sleeper and stopped a block before my house when dropping me off. The way he ushered me through the party last night and didn’t leave my side when he realized I was uncomfortable not knowing anyone. The way he made sure I didn’t have to drink the beer in any of the games we played, and the way he looked at me before—and after—he kissed me. “One hundred percent yes.”

A long pause. Then, “Will I hate him?”

I shake my head. “No, you really won’t.”

“And he knows about—”

I shake my head again. My dad’s opening his mouth to object, so I start talking again before he can say anything.

“I haven’t told him yet. But I will!”

“I’m not comfortable with him not knowing.” My dad’s voice is even firmer than before.

A big lump forms in my throat. I will not feel sorry for myself, not tonight, not when everything is going so well. “I’ll tell him, Dad. I promise. I just need a little longer. Of being something more than just a disease.”

“Oh, Katie,” my dad says, looking like he’s about to cry now, too. I know he wants to save me—from this disease, from potential heartbreak if Charlie walks away once I spill my secret, from my own mortality—and I also know, and he knows, too, that he’s powerless in the face of it all. He wants to help his little girl and he can’t. I imagine there could be nothing worse than that for a father.

I shrug, tears brimming in my eyes. My dad’s jaw is set like stone. We stare at each other.

“You know you’re more than that,” he says.

“Not many other people do,” I whisper, trying not to feel bitter. I am anyway.

He sighs and shakes his head. “You know I’m gonna need to meet him.”

“You will, I promise. But in a few days. Like a normal girl, right?”

I wait. I pray silently he’ll agree. Finally he nods. I throw my arms around his neck.

Just then, Morgan walks downstairs. She gives my dad a casual smile, and says, “Hey, Mr. P, is it okay if Katie and I hang out together the entire night?” She’s one hundred percent convincing. I clearly need to take lying lessons from her.

“I admitted everything,” I tell her.

“Are you serious?” She looks down at her watch. “You couldn’t last ten minutes?”

I shrug. “What can I say? I’m a good kid to the core. I’m new at this kind of thing.”

“You’re hopeless, Katie,” she says, shaking her head. “Have fun tonight. I gotta go to work now.”





13

“So, where to?” Charlie asks when I jump in his truck a few hours later.

I can see now why he’s saving for a new one. The odometer in here registers more than 150,000 miles, the fabric seats are practically worn through, and the engine makes a little chugging noise that’s definitely not supposed to be there.

“Let’s go into town,” I suggest. Morgan and I came up with a great plan before she left. I think Charlie’s going to love it.

Charlie grins. “Your wish is my command.”

He hits the gas. Chugachuga-chugachuga. We’re off.

Tiny little Purdue is practically deserted even though it’s only nine forty-five by the time Charlie pulls into a parking spot. Charlie and I stroll along Main Street, looking in windows and chatting about our days.

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