I had just enough money to cover the cost.
Until they added the tax.
“Dammit,” I muttered, desperately scraping the lint out of my pockets, praying for a hidden, mangled dollar bill.
“Here.” Pip thrust his lunch money into my hands. “Last time I ate at the food court I had the shits for a week.”
The salesclerk groaned.
“You sure?”
“Yeah, take it,” Pip insisted. “Is it for the girl?”
“Her birthday’s coming up.”
“Take it,” he said again.
I accepted the money and finished paying for the bracelet.
“Thanks, Pip.” We walked into the mall, and I glanced left and right. “Anywhere you want to go?”
“Nope.”
We had just enough money left over to buy two sodas. There wasn’t much time before we had to meet up with the rest of the group, so we sat and waited.
“Thanks for doing that,” I said.
“You really like this girl?”
I couldn’t hide my excitement when I thought of Juliet. Liked wasn’t nearly strong enough to describe what I felt for her. “Oh yeah.”
“Is she hot?”
“She’s beautiful.”
“When can I meet her?”
“I don’t know.”
He wiggled in his seat, as if he couldn’t contain his enthusiasm. “I’ll be in high school next year. If you’re still together, I can eat lunch with you guys.”
I snorted and leaned over to ruffle his hair. “You got it, Pip.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Juliet
I woke up the morning of my seventeenth birthday with a crushing weight on my chest. More than anything I wanted to yank the covers over my head and go back to sleep until the next day.
I never liked birthdays. It just seemed like celebrating that you’re one day closer to death.
My own birth had caused my father to disappear. When I started school, I was always that girl. The one who got excluded from the other kids’ birthday celebrations. My mother and aunt had died when they’d gone out to celebrate a birthday. My cousin died after giving birth. Birthdays were bad news in my family. Every year, it seemed like yet another reminder that no one loved me. My aunt and uncle barely acknowledged my existence, let alone my birthday.
Buzz!
I flung my hand out and grabbed my cell phone off the nightstand.
Uncle Dex: Happy Birthday, Julez!
That forced a hint of a smile onto my face.
Even though he was in and out of my life, Dex usually remembered my birthday.
Daisies! He remembered how much I love daisies.
The dark hunter green matched the leather of my jacket—my favorite color. I ran my finger over the embossed leather, tracing the carved lines of each petal. “It’s beautiful. I love it so much. Thank you.”
He brushed his knuckles over my cheek. “Nothing’s as beautiful as you and you’re welcome.”
Tears pricked my eyes. I couldn’t believe how sweet and thoughtful he was.
“Juliet, is it okay? You look like you’re going to cry.” He sounded so distressed, I forced a smile onto my face.