Pushing Send Read Online Free PDF Page A

only makes his eyes stand out even more. “Need a ride?”
    I sit up, a bit dazed, and shake my head. I look around for Lana, expecting her to have put him up to this.
    “Come on; it’s pouring.”
    “I’ll wait it out,” I answer, without looking at him.
    He sits down next to me. “She didn’t mean it, you know.”
    Still, I say nothing, but emotions burn and then swell in my eyes. I wish he would just go away. I really wish he hadn’t mentioned the incident at all.
    “She was angry. She does feel bad.”
    I glance over out of the corner of my eye, giving him a “ yeah, right ” look.
    “Well, she will when she stops being pissed at you for being pissed at her.” He shakes his head, and his lip curves up on the corner. “Girls.”
    “Girls?” I ask, wondering what that is supposed to mean.
    “Emotional.”
    “Right,” I huff.
    “Let me give you a ride.” He stands and offers his hand.
    I shake my head again.
    “I won’t leave until you say yes.”
    “Boys,” I retort, as I stand on my own.
    “Boys?”
    “Stubborn.”
    “Hey, whatever works.”
    Deciding to give in, I ride with him to school, but no words are exchanged.
     
     
    ~*~
    I spend the rest of the week avoiding everyone at school. I still sit next to Lana, but neither of us say a word. I hide in the bathroom at lunch and refuse eye contact. Bee and Skylar seem to know what’s going on, and they give me space. Or they give her what she wants, which is fine since she was here first. Pax refuses to be ignored, though. Every day, he has picked me up after dropping off Lana, and every day, I have tried to ignore him.
    Today, I don’t try.
    “Wow, you’re just gonna get right in? No telling me you’re fine. No—”
    “You don’t listen, anyway,” I say, as I pull the seatbelt over my shoulder and buckle it.
    He laughs, putting the car in drive.
    We pass by Blue Valley High and hang a left, going toward the lake. I haven’t been here yet, just driven by. It’s bigger than it looks from the road and surrounded by trees. The water is pretty clear as far as lake water goes.
    After we cross over the railroad tracks, he pulls into the park in front of the inlet. I say nothing as my heart beats out of my chest. With no idea why he brought me here, I look down at my phone, avoiding him as he gets out of the car.
    “Come on.”
    I don’t move while he walks around the car and opens the door.
    “Why are we here?”
    “Why not?” he asks, pulling his aviator sunglasses down to cover his eyes.
    “I don’t—”
    “Hadley, walk with me.”
    I get out and follow him as he starts walking toward the well-maintained lawn by the water. We make our way to the dark brown sandy part, and I expect him to stop, but he doesn’t.
    “We moved here three years ago when I was your age, and Lana was twelve. Our parents had just gotten married. Small towns like this will eat you alive if you let them, so you don’t let them. You focus on who you know you are and not what their small-minded misconceptions of you are. They make up what they want to, and there is absolutely no sense in fighting it. Lana took a lot of crap when we moved here. She was twelve, at a new school. Everything was new, different, and scary. I’m not making excuses for her behavior, but she has been through a lot.”
    I look up at him, confused. “With Claire? Why are you with her then, if—?”
    “I’m not with her. We’re friends. I am friends with everyone. It makes life easier.”
    I nod, kind of understanding.
    “I guess what I am getting at, Hadley, is she has never been happier than she is when she is with you. I really hope you can forgive her. She’s a good girl.”
    We are standing on the little peninsula by the lighthouse, overlooking the lake. The water is rough, mirroring my emotions.
    “Claire isn’t mean to me, and she never says anything bad about Lana to me.” I hope it doesn’t upset him, but why should it? He seems to keep her close, too.
    “She’s