Damage Read Online Free PDF Page A

think of Han Solo. “So this friend. You said she works in the movie industry?”
    â€œI think so. I mean, that’s why she moved here.”
    â€œShe’s from Portland?”
    Ronnie nodded. “We were in high school together. She posted something on Facebook awhile back about getting a part in a movie.”
    â€œLike, acting? Cool.”
    â€œYeah.” She gave me a sideways look. “Joelle’s gorgeous.”
    Which for some stupid reason made me blush.
    It took us awhile to find Joelle’s apartment, and the closer we got, the more my heart sank. The neighborhood looked like the kind guidebooks advise you not to walk through after dark: empty storefronts, overflowing dumpsters, graffiti and a distinct lack of trees and grass.
    â€œThis is it,” Ronnie said, parking the car. “She said the entrance is around the back. It’s a basement suite.”
    â€œRight,” I said. “Of course it is.”
    She gave me a sharp look but said nothing as she unbuckled Zach and lifted him onto her hip. I grabbed my bag from the backseat and her backpack from the trunk, and followed her around the side of the building to the back door.
    Ronnie knocked loudly. “I hope she’s home. My credit card’s almost maxed out.”
    â€œIsn’t she expecting you?”
    â€œUm, sort of. I mean, not today, exactly. But she’s always saying on Facebook that I should come visit LA.”
    My heart sank even further. I wasn’t sure that qualified as an invitation. “What if she’s not here? I mean, I’ve got about four hundred bucks in the bank. But that’s not going to last long if we have to get a hotel room.”
    She raised one eyebrow, and I remembered how she had put her hand on my thigh when she was telling me about Max. I felt my face getting hot. “Not that, you know, I’m saying we would get a hotel room, necessarily. I mean, not together. But—”
    To my relief, the door opened before I could make matters worse.
    â€œRonnie? Ronnie Gleeson? Oh my god!” A tall, very blond girl stood in front of us. From the tousled hair and the fact that she was wearing nothing but a pink T-shirt, I gathered we had woken her up. “What are you doing here?”
    â€œJoelle!” Ronnie gave her a one-armed hug. “This is my baby, Zach! Isn’t he gorgeous?”
    â€œHe’s a doll,” Joelle said. She had long legs, smooth and tanned, and the T-shirt she was wearing didn’t cover much at all. I tried not to stare.
    â€œWe just drove all night,” Ronnie said. She looked at me, laughed and turned back to Joelle. “I can’t believe we’re here.”
    â€œMe neither.” Joelle looked at me. “Hi. I’m Joelle.”
    â€œSorry, sorry.” Ronnie shook her head. “I’m a bit out of it. This is my buddy, Theo.” She giggled. “Get this, Jo—I used to babysit him.”
    I really wished she hadn’t just said that. “It was a long time ago,” I told Joelle.
    She looked me up and down, not even trying to hide that she was totally checking me out. Then she turned to Ronnie and raised one eyebrow. “I guess so,” she said, grinning. “Come on in, you guys. I’ll make coffee.”
    Joelle’s apartment was a dive. I’m no neat freak, as my mom often points out, but it’s one thing to leave clothes lying around and another thing altogether to let dirty dishes and overflowing ashtrays and beer and wine bottles take over every horizontal surface.
    I moved an empty pizza box off a chair, and Ronnie deposited her stillsleeping toddler, who promptly woke up and started to cry.
    I’d never met a kid who cried so much, but maybe toddlers always cried when they woke up. I was no expert.
    Ronnie pulled a box of Ritz crackers from her bag, which seemed to cheer Zach up, and Joelle put on a pot of coffee. She eyed my duffel bag and