Page 219 of Wild Card 13

I stared at a candid picture one of my classmates had sent overfrom graduation earlier that day. Dad’s arm around me. Arlo making a face over my shoulder. Ty standing beside me in his gown, grinning at me instead of the camera because he never did understand basic directions when I was nearby.

“He’s at Mase’s,” I said.

“Ty?”

“No, the ghost of Abraham Lincoln.”

“Okay, you still have sarcasm. That’s promising.”

I looked down at my blouse, at the careful buttons, the fabric I had chosen for a mother who could not make it across town. “I told him to go.”

“Good.”

“Good?”

“Yes.” Naomi’s voice sharpened, practical and immediate. “Because you meant it when you told him. And now your mother ruined your night, so I am going to say something outrageous.”

“I’m afraid.”

“You should go to the party.”

I blinked. “Absolutely not.”

“Compelling argument.”

“I’m not showing up at a hockey party because my mother canceled dinner.”

“No. You’re showing up at a summer party where your boyfriend is, because sitting in your room staring at a text from your mother sounds like a terrible evening plan.”

“I don’t feel like being around people.”

“You don’t have to be around people. Be around Ty.”

“I don’t want to make it a thing,” I said. “I don’t want to make the whole night about my shitty mom.”

“Then don’t. Put on shoes. Drive to Mase’s. Find your boy. Let one person who actually loves you be happy to see you.”

My eyes burned.

Naomi exhaled softly. “Luce.”

“I know.”

“You don’t have to punish yourself because she disappointed you.”

I looked at the phone in my hand. At the unanswered text. At theversion of myself reflected in the dark window, dressed for someone who had not shown up.

Mase Keller’slake house was impossible to miss.

Cars lined both sides of the gravel road leading down toward the property. Music drifted through the open windows, louder as I parked near the edge of the drive beneath a pine tree. The last of the light was draining from the sky, but the house glowed gold from every window. Lights hung across the deck. The lake beyond it reflected broken pieces of brightness, trembling with the movement of people on the dock.

For a few seconds, I sat in my car with both hands on the steering wheel.

I should have texted Ty.

I had not because some small, foolish part of me wanted to see his face when he noticed me. Wanted one uncomplicated thing after a night that had made me feel stupid for hoping.

The air outside was thick and warm. Early summer wrapped around my bare arms as I stepped out, carrying the smell of lake water, smoke, beer, cut grass, and someone’s coconut sunscreen. Laughter burst from the deck, followed by Simon Keller’s voice rising above everyone else. “Absolutely not! That is a structural failure!”