Little Do We Know(66)

“There’s more,” he said.

I didn’t want to hear any more. “What?”

“Her dad wants me to speak at some admissions thing next week.”

I knew all about their Admissions Night. Hannah and her parents had begged me to go freshman year. And sophomore year. They’d trot out their best students and make high school feel like a day at a theme park.

“You don’t even go to school there.”

He had a strange look on his face, as if he’d been wondering the same thing. “I guess he thinks people will connect with my story anyway, you know? I’m a normal guy and this, like, miracle happened to me.”

“Is that what happened?” I rolled my eyes. “He’s using you, Luke.”

I got it. Completely. Luke was perfect. He was charming. Articulate. Handsome. An all-American boy talking openly about his life-altering experience, how he didn’t believe in heaven, and now he did, or at least he thought he might.

“It’s not like that. And so what if he is? He and Hannah saved my life. I have no idea why speaking at his school thing will help, but he seems to think it will. And I kind of owe him one, don’t you think?”

I didn’t think he owed Pastor J a thing, but I couldn’t figure out how to tell Luke that without sounding like I was jealous. And I could tell he needed my support on this.

I picked at some lint on my jeans. “Can I come?”

He nodded. “I was hoping you would.”

That made me feel a bit better. “When is it?”

“Friday.”

“Next Friday?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s opening night of Our Town.”

“Oh. It is?”

Oh? I wanted to punch him.

“But the play is on Saturday night, too, right?” he asked. “I can do both.”

It felt like he’d punched me instead. He’d miss opening night? For this?

“I’ve been working on Our Town for five months. You’ve known Hannah and her family for, like, two seconds.”

I stood up and walked away. I heard him call my name, but I didn’t stop. I marched across the lawn, unzipped the tent, and gathered the map and my books.

I couldn’t believe this was happening. And it wasn’t only about the fact that he’d confided in Hannah. As much as it hurt, I could see why he would. It was the other thing. The thing I couldn’t tell him. The thing Hannah knew and no one else on the planet did.

“Emory!” he yelled. I could hear him struggling to get up.

I grabbed my things and marched back to him. “Did she tell you what our fight was about? What started it? Did she tell you?”

He shook his head. “No. She keeps telling me to ask you.”

I pressed my books against my chest.

He stood, taking slow, cautious steps in my direction. He took the books, set them on the couch, and then gripped my arms with both hands. “Tell me. Please. What was your fight about? Talk to me.”

I wanted to. I honestly did. But telling him would be like lighting the fuse on the first stick in a room full of dynamite. It would be unstoppable, and it wouldn’t end well.

“Why should I talk to you when you couldn’t talk to me?” I asked as I jerked my arms out of his grasp.

That shut him up. I left the books where they were and headed for the sliding glass door. As soon as I was inside the empty house, I reached for my phone and called Tyler.

He picked up after the third ring. “Speak.”

“Can you come get me?”

“Be right there,” he said.

I walked through the living room, past the wall of photos of the Callettis, out the front door, and down the driveway. I rounded the corner and waited on the other side of the tall hedges that lined Luke’s property, out of sight from the house. As I stood in the dark, I thought about Hannah and the ten minutes it took for her to come get me that night. Ten minutes. Those ten short minutes had changed everything.

When Tyler finally pulled up, I got inside and fastened my seat belt. “Everyone’s at the diner,” he said. “Want to go there?”

I nodded.

Tyler and I drove in silence for the next two blocks. Eventually, he broke it.

“What one question would you ask a time traveler about the future?”

I thought about it longer than Tyler normally would have allowed, but there were too many questions swirling around in my mind to pick just one. And every one of them had to do with my future with Luke. I ignored all of them and took it in the direction I knew Tyler intended.

“Are we living on other planets?” I said. I let my head fall to one side.

“Does McDonald’s still make the Shamrock Shake?” Tyler asked.

It felt good to laugh.





Alyssa was waiting for me at my locker at lunch on Monday. “Hey, you.”

“Hi.” I dialed my combination and started unpacking my books.

I hadn’t told Alyssa about Luke. If I told her about the video, she’d want to see it. If I told her about his testimonial, she’d want to listen to him rehearse.

“Did you hear? Aaron canceled SonRise practice today.”

“He did?” It was unlike him, but it wasn’t like we really needed to work on the two songs we were singing at Admissions Night anyway. And if the sanctuary was going to be empty right after school, Luke could come by even earlier.