Sweet Liar (Candy #2)(84)

“I love you.” I said this to him as he started the engine. My chest swelled with such an intense feeling, one that had to be love, even though I’d never felt this way before. I felt it so strongly and needed to tell him.

He stilled, not moving for several long moments.

Nerves bounced around my stomach as I second-guessed myself. Had I said it at the wrong time, or made him feel guilty because he didn’t feel the same way anymore? As devastating as that would be, making him feel any worse was the last thing I wanted to do.

When Jonah finally turned and looked at me, his eyes glittered in the darkness. He leaned in and placed a soft kiss on my lips. “I love you too, Candy,” he whispered.

I blinked against the tears that gathered in my eyes and smiled at him, but he didn’t smile back. He looked away.

“But other than my feelings for you,” he said quietly, “all I feel is empty.”

I stared at his profile, his words echoing in my head. Of course he was devastated, but empty? That sounded so much worse. As he drove away from the house, I couldn’t let that statement hang there like an ominous cloud.

“That’s how it feels now, but it will get better with time.”

Jonah glanced at me but said nothing in response. My words were insignificant in the face of everything that had happened. Just as I’d gotten my father back and my world began to brighten, Jonah’s world had darkened. I didn’t know how to comfort him because it was my life that had cast the shadow over his.

The ride to the hospital was quiet, and so was the time we spent sitting in the emergency room, holding hands as we waited. The wait was so long that my father arrived before we’d been seen by anyone, and a short while later, Lorraine came too. My father must have called her.

I watched in fascination as they embraced. Lorraine sobbed as she threw her arms around him, and my father’s eyes closed as he held her, like it was something he’d waited a long time to do. Despite the way my heart twinged at the idea of him with anyone but my mother, I could see that he cared about Lorraine, and was glad he’d found her.

I looked at Jonah to see his reaction, but his face was oddly blank. It stayed that way when his mother came and hugged him too as he sat in the plastic waiting room chair.

My name was called before Jonah’s, and I didn’t want to leave him. I had this terrible feeling that something awful would happen if I walked away.





That premonition was confirmed when I came back out again an hour later.

Jonah was gone.

Neither my father nor Lorraine knew where he was. When no one was looking, he’d slipped out of the hospital.

***





Three months later





It was nearly April, but Ryberg must have missed the memo. Even though all the snow was gone, it still felt like February outside, and I made sure to choose a desk far from the drafty windows of the classroom. I hadn’t realized how old and dingy Ryberg High was until I saw Glenn Valley High.

But I wasn’t going to school in Glenn Valley anymore because I’d moved back to Ryberg. My father and I both moved this time, and that was part of the reason why I didn’t hate this town so much anymore. The other reason was sitting across the aisle and two desks up from me.

Theo. He was here too.

While my history teacher droned on about the French Revolution and Napoleon, I yawned widely and stared down at my fingers. Last month, my father had driven me down to Glenn Valley to see Dr. Fox and finally get the bandages off. Now that they were gone, I couldn’t help but stare at my misshapen fingertips. Chunks were missing from them, and the skin was raw and pink.

That night at Jonah’s house had been the final straw, when I was out in the cold running through the Christmas trees. The frostbitten parts of my fingers became infected, and the verdict was that the black skin had to come off. Now my ugly hands were even uglier, but I wasn’t devastated the way I thought I would be. My hands still functioned, and with everything else going on, their appearance didn’t matter at all. Neither did the dime-sized scar on my calf where the tree branch pierced my skin. It would forever remind me of that terrible night, but it also proved to me that wounds could heal, no matter how deep and painful. I was healing, and I hoped someone I missed terribly was healing too.

A note flew at me from across the aisle. Glancing up, I stuck my tongue out at Theo. He rolled his eyes and pointed to the crumpled-up note on my desk.

With a sigh, I unfolded it, smoothing out the crinkles as I crouched low behind the kid in front of me so the teacher couldn’t see it. The note read:





I dare you to stand up and walk out before you pass out from boredom. There’s twenty bucks in it for you if you do.





I shot him a look that clearly said, Are you serious? Had he forgotten who he was dealing with here?

Seconds later, I gathered my things as I stood. There were still ten more minutes left of class.

When the teacher asked me what I thought I was doing, I said, “Female problems.” Giggles erupted as I slung my bag over my shoulder and sashayed out of the classroom without a backward glance.

When class let out, Theo found me at my locker, sitting on the floor with my eyes closed, waiting for my money.

“Here.”

I peeled my eyes open and saw the twenty-dollar bill he was holding in front of my face. Grabbing it, I slipped it into my pocket with a smug smile as I stood.