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lurched. Her eyes were definitely red and glazed with tears. She
was
crying. He couldn’t believe it. Something must be very, very wrong. The nagging guilt he carried around with him at all times suddenly tripled.
    â€œI’m. . . it’s just—I’m not trying to be. . . ,” she stammered with a catch in her throat.
    â€œIt’s
okay,
” Sam assured her. He had no idea what to do. This outpouring and uncertainty were all so new, so disturbing. Without even realizing it, he found himself closing the gap between them, putting his arms around her, bringing her head to his chest and holding her tightly. She didn’t resist. . . not exactly. But it was as if every part of her were willing his arms away from her waist. They were like two repelling magnets.
    He pulled his arms away, knowing the moment offered him no other choice than to step back from her. And then they stood in silence, focusing on the smaller details of the sidewalk—the bright red canvas of a baby stroller, the tires of a parked car, looking anywhere but at each other.
    â€œI better go,” she said finally.
    â€œSure.”
    Sam thrust his hands into his pockets and looked away toward the street. He preferred not to watch Gaia walk away again. He’d experienced that enough already.
    Close Proximity
    IT HAD BEEN A VERY LONG TIME since Ed Fargo had seen the tops of people’s heads. As he hobbled down the hall, struggling on his crutches, he madesure to avoid everyone’s glances —those stupid patronizing smiles and “okay” signs. Instead he focused on the parts of the hall he’d never noticed before. There was a strip of black rubber that lined the top of the puke green lockers. There were wads of chewing gum that had probably been stuck atop those lockers for twenty years. Why hadn’t he noticed back when he was walking? Had he
grown
since the last time he walked? He realized that quite possibly he had. He found himself literally looking down at a lot of his classmates.
    He had only two goals, what with his bag dangling from his right hand, knocking against his crutch with every frustrating step.
    1. Keep an eye out for Heather. The inevitable confrontation was fast approaching, and Ed would need to be prepared.
    2. Find Gaia. She was the only one in that entire school who would treat Ed like he was Ed. No thumbs-up. No idiotic gawking. No congratulations. Just the usual banter. Business as usual. Ed needed somebody to swat him back to reality. And if there was one thing Gaia was good at, it was that.
    Finally,
Ed thought. He managed a grin—not an easy feat, considering the crutches were digging into his armpits and his legs felt like they were about to fall off. But there was Gaia, trying to stuff a huge bag intoher locker as her books fell out on the floor. He took two giant strides, crashing into the lockers with his shoulders—and nearly toppling over—as he landed next to her.
    â€œYou are the person I needed to see,” he grunted.
    Gaia nodded, smiling tiredly. “Same here,” she mumbled, finally cramming her bag into her locker and slamming it closed. “Say something nice, Fargo. I’m having a lousy life.”
    â€œSomething nice, Fargo.”
    â€œYou know, I should have seen that coming,” Gaia muttered, but she laughed as she picked up the books that had fallen onto the floor. “If it’s going to be something funny, then it should actually be funny. But I asked for something nice.”
    â€œYou’re the sister I never had?” he offered, with just a hint of sarcasm. It was more of a question than a statement.
    Gaia rolled her eyes. “You
have
a sister.” She cracked the locker back open and shoved the books back in, one at a time.
    â€œDon’t remind me,” Ed grumbled. He placed his hand on the locker door just above Gaia’s head, helping her to hold it firm as she slipped the last book back