Losing Hope

shoulders in case she feels faint again. I’d feel like the ultimate jackass if I just let her bust the pavement like I did yesterday.
    She shakes her head no, then pushes my hands off her shoulders. “I’m fine,” she says.
    She’s pissed about something. I try to think of what I might have said, but nothing seemed offensive. “Did I say something wrong?”
    She drops her eyes to the pavement and starts walking again, so I follow her. “A little,” she says with a miffed tone. “I was halfway joking about the stalking yesterday, but you admitted to looking me up on Facebook right after meeting me. Then you insist on running with me, even though it’s out of your way. Now you somehow know how long I’ve been in public school? And that I was homeschooled? I’m not gonna lie, it’s a little unnerving.”
    Shit. What the hell is wrong with me? How do I admit that I learned most of what I know about her based on overhearing Grayson at a party and through speculative rumors from Daniel? She doesn’t need to know that. I don’t want her to know that.
    I sigh and continue walking toward her house with her. “I asked around,” I say. “I’ve lived here since I was ten, so I have a lot of friends. I was curious about you.”
    She focuses on me as if she’s trying to figure out how I know so much about her. I’m not about to admit the things I overheard Grayson say, because I don’t want to hurt her. But I also don’t want to admit that I begged Daniel for more information, because I don’t want to scare her off. But based on the skeptical look spread across her face, she’s already formed a good amount of distrust in me.
    I take her by the elbow and she stops walking. I turn her so that she’s facing me.
    “Sky. I think we got off on the wrong foot at the store yesterday. And the talk about stalking, I swear, it was a joke. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable around me. Would it make you feel better if you knew more about me? Ask me something and I’ll tell you. Anything.”
    “If I ask you something, will you be honest?”
    I look her hard in the eyes. “That’s all I’ll ever be,” I say. And I intend to be completely honest with her, unless I think it’ll hurt her.
    “Why did you drop out of school?”
    I sigh, wishing she had asked me something a little less complicated. I should have known things wouldn’t be simple with her, though.
    I start walking again. “Technically, I haven’t dropped out yet.”
    “Well you obviously haven’t been in over a year. I’d say that’s dropping out.”
    That comment makes me curious if she’s heard the rumors about me . Of course I’ve been to school in the past year, it just wasn’t this one. But she didn’t ask about the rumored stint in juvi, so I’m not going to offer up unnecessary information.
    “I just moved back home a few days ago,” I say. “My mother and I had a pretty shitty year last year, so I moved in with my dad in Austin for a while. I’ve been going to school there, but felt like it was time to come back home. So here I am.”
    She squints like she’s trying to scowl at me, but the expression she makes is too adorable to find intimidating. I keep my smile in check, though, because I can tell she’s taking this school thing seriously. “None of that explains why you decided to drop out, rather than just transfer back.”
    She’s right, but only because I really don’t know the answer to her question.
    “I don’t know. To be honest, I’m still trying to decide what I want to do. It’s been a pretty fucked-up year. Not to mention I hate this school. I’m tired of the bullshit and sometimes I think it would be easier to just test out.”
    She stops dead in her tracks again and glares at me. “That’s a crap excuse.”
    “It’s crap that I hate high school?”
    “No. It’s crap that you’re letting one bad year determine your fate for the rest of your life. You’re nine months away from graduation, so you drop out? It’s just . . . it’s stupid.”
    She’s really taking this seriously. I laugh, even though I’m trying really hard not to. “Well, when you put it so eloquently.”
    She crosses her arms and huffs. “Laugh all you want. You quitting school is just giving in. You’re proving everyone that’s ever doubted you right.”
    Her eyes drop to the tattoo on my arm. I’ve never wanted to hide it until this moment, but something about her reading it seems like an invasion of privacy in a