Be the Girl(43)

“I remember you telling me about him,” he grumbles. “I don’t remember telling you to bring him home with you.”

“It’s just for the night. Murphy’s been in that shelter for over six months, and he looked so sad going into that tiny little cage in the horrible dark, lonely room.” I lay it on thick as I reach down to scratch the dog’s graying head. “I thought he’d like a change of scenery and you might like the company. He’s easy and quiet, and don’t worry, I’ll walk him later tonight, and tomorrow morning.”

Uncle Merv grunts. “Does Debra know about this?”

“I thought it would be a nice surprise?”

I get a bark of laughter in return. “It’ll be a surprise all right,” he mutters, watching Murphy mosey up to his armchair and sniff his pant legs.

“So … I’ll be upstairs doing my homework if you need me. Cassie, you need to go home.”

“Bye, Murphy!” Cassie waves to the dog, waits a few beats as if expecting him to respond, and then trudges off across the front lawns.

I take my time climbing the steps, bending to steal a glance between the railings. Murphy has settled onto his haunches beside the chair.

“You’re an old guy, aren’t ya?” Uncle Merv finally reaches over and scratches Murphy’s head. “Old like me …”

I smile to myself as I dive onto my bed and pull out my phone. I have hours of math and biology homework to do tonight. But for now, I need a few moments to stare longingly at the screenshots of Emmett’s face that I stole from Holly’s Instagram.

Only to see that Emmett has sent me a follow request.

Butterflies stir in my stomach as I approve it, bumping my total follower count to two—the Hartford children.

He hasn’t added any new pictures, but I spend a few minutes scrolling through his feed anyway. On impulse, I switch to Holly’s, curious to see if she’s posted anything post-breakup. If she has finally acknowledged it.

All the pictures of Emmett are gone.

Every last one of them. She has combed through her collection and removed all traces of her ex-boyfriend.

Maybe that means she’s finally moving on.

Maybe she’ll stop trying to murder me with her eye-daggers.

I smile at the tacky stars above my head. Tomorrow is my first cross-country mini-meet, against Baylor Oaks Secondary School. And tomorrow night I’m going to the Fall Fair with Emmett.

And Cassie and Zach.

But … Emmett.

I’m still smiling up at my ceiling twenty minutes later when the front door creaks open. My mother’s home.

I brace myself.

“Aria!”





Swirls and flashes of blue, green, and red neon carnival lights compete with the steady stream of brake and headlights, as cars slowly snake in and out of the Fall Fair parking lot—nothing more than a grassy field in the middle of nowhere, along dark, quiet roads. Traffic controllers in fluorescent orange vests wave batons, directing us down the long, bumpy makeshift laneway to the available spots.

I find myself smiling at the chaotic scene as I climb out of the back seat of Zach’s car, fragments of a distant memory resurfacing—of me, dangling from my father’s hand, my other hand gripping a bag of cotton candy, of our laughter. Long before he decided he wanted a new life, a new family. Does he take his stepdaughter, Charlotte, to the fair?

I’m sure he’ll take my half-brother, Teddy, when he’s old enough.

I push those dark thoughts aside because I have a new life, too, and so far it’s shaping up to be everything that I could ever want.

“So, what’s your favorite ride, AJ?” Zach tugs on his black toque and zips his jacket. A bitter cold front blew in last night, bringing with it a forecast of single-digit temperatures and the threat of frost, according to Uncle Merv, who is fretting over his pumpkins and squash, and whatever is left in the garden that my mother hasn’t managed to bake into a loaf.

“I don’t think I have one?” I huddle in my quilted vest, wishing I’d worn a hat, and peer up at the Ferris wheel. “Not that.”

Emmett grins down at me. “Why? You afraid of heights?”

“No,” I deny, too quickly to hide my lie.

In the next moment, he’s stooping to wrap an arm around my thighs, and then I’m off the ground and falling over his shoulder. I squeal with a mixture of surprise and delight, all while demanding that he put me down. Cassie’s howls of childish laughter carry through the parking lot.

He sets me back down again with deft hands, so fast that it takes me a moment to regain my balance. I stumble a touch, and he grabs onto my shoulders.

“Sorry. I forgot you had the meet today. Are your legs sore?”

“No. They’re fine.” They’re tired. Tomorrow they’ll be sore. But if Emmett wants to throw me over his shoulders, I’ll gladly let him.

I placed third, which isn’t first but it also isn’t fifth, which is where Holly landed, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy beating her, even if she’s on my team. So much for me being “so slow.”

“Good.” He grins and I lock my legs before my knees buckle.

“Hey, guys, I am not going in the haunted house,” Cassie declares, fussing to adjust her scarf and mitts. It’s the fifth time she’s said it since Zach pulled into our driveway tonight.