Page 33 of Until The Lights Go Out

She was staring up at the stars like they were the most interesting thing in the world.

“You’re not scared?” I asked before I could stop myself.

She turned her head slightly. “Of what?”

“Getting caught.”

She shrugged.

“A little.” Then she grinned. “But it’s kind of fun.”

I shook my head. “You’re insane.”

“Maybe,” she said. “But you still came.”

I didn’t have a comeback for that.

So I just lay back on the grass, staring up at the sky. The stars were so bright out there. For a while, we just pointed things out. Some constellations we half-knew, making up names for the ones we didn’t.

“That one looks like a kart,” she said, squinting.

“That looks nothing like a kart.”

“It does if you try.”

“You’re trying too hard.”

“You’re not trying enough.”

I huffed out a quiet laugh.

“Hey,” she said after a while, quieter now. “Can I ask you something?”

I tensed slightly but tried to play it off. “Depends.”

She rolled onto her side, propping her head up on her hand to look at me. “Why do you act like you hate me at the track?”

I blinked. Of all the questions⁠—

“I don’t hate you,” I said.

“You kind of do,” she countered. “Letter Theo is very different from in-public Theo.”

I stared up at the sky, jaw tightening. Leave it to Maisey to just say it how it was, plain as day.

“I don’t,” I repeated, quieter this time, “hate you, never have.”

“That’s good. I mean, I hoped not. If one of the Theos was fake, I’d rather it be the public one.”

I hesitated. I could hear my dad’s voice in the back of my head: no time for distractions, only focusing and winning.

“I’m not supposed to,” I said finally because I’d never had a friend, and I guess Maisey was sort of my friend now.

“Not supposed to what?”

“Be friends with you.” The words felt stupid out loud.

Maisey blinked at me. “What? That’s dumb. Who said that?”