“You really do need to tell me what’s up with that,” I said, gathering up my trash and placing it on top of my mostly empty plate.
Lucy took my tray like she was the waitress and stepped over to dump it into a nearby trash can before she returned to the table. Now that Liam was gone, and without her mother in sight, she sat back down. “I just don’t like him,” she replied with a shrug, pulling her phone out of her pocket.
I knew Lucy well enough to know that there was more to it than she was letting on, but I didn’t question her further. Regardless of what Liam had just said about me, Lucy was gorgeous. She has long, dark-blonde hair that flows past her waist and bright blue eyes. She complains that her nose is too small, but I think it’s perfect. He could’ve just as easily have been talking about her being the prettiest girl in the mall.
“Em said she wishes she would’ve come with us. Her dad is trying to help her make a note block in Minecraft, and apparently he picked some annoying Christmas song she can’t stand.” Lucy laughed and set her phone aside.
“Is it ‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree’?” I mused. Emma was an enigma. She was easily the most intelligent person I had ever met, great with computers and technology, but also the most socially awkward person, and she didn’t make any excuses for it. In fact, she had a really hard time picking up on other people’s emotions, and most of the time, she couldn’t care less if she offended someone. “I wish she would’ve come, too,” I said. The three of us were together most of the time, and it was odd not having her here, even if it was one less person I had to pretend not to know anything about my sister in front of.
“There’s my mom,” Lucy sighed. “it is about time!”
I glanced behind my shoulder and saw Mrs. Burk on her way to the table, just a few bags in her hand now, one of them Sephora.
“Sorry, hon,” she said, stopping behind my chair. “Got sidetracked. How was lunch?”
“Just peachy,” Lucy replied, screeching her chair back and standing. She rolled her eyes at me, and I knew that was for Liam. It didn’t matter, though; her mom didn’t notice and took her at her word.
“Shall we hit Aeropostale or do you have another place you wanna go?” Annie asked, her phone in her hand as she weaved between chairs. Lucy’s mom is definitely a lot cooler than mine, that’s for sure, but I think I there are some things about my mom that make her better. Like, she usually listens when we talk to her, and she would rather be home baking cookies than out spending money she didn’t need to spend. Of course, Annie was an accountant and needed to look professional, and Lucy’s parents combined probably make three or four times what my dad makes, even though he’s an engineer, and we’ve never gone without. Still, sometimes I thought Lucy’s mom was more like a friend than a parent. This was one of those times.
“Aeropostale is fine,” Lucy replied. She was on her phone, too, so we all walked along together, not paying any attention to the people we were with while they both chatted with people who were not there. It seemed a little silly to me, and I decided I wanted to make more of an effort to really be with the people around me. In light of the two recent deaths our hometown had suffered, that just made sense to me.
We were finishing up our shopping when we passed by a store I’d never gone into before. I happened to glance through the window and saw the perfect gift for the person I’d been considering purchasing something for. “Mrs. Burk, do you mind if I run in there really quickly?” I asked, touching her lightly on the arm.
“Go ahead, Cass,” she replied, stopping and leaning back against the window. “And, I’ve told you a hundred times, you can call me Annie.”
“Right,” I nodded. That seemed weird to me. She was my friend’s mom after all.
Lucy followed me into the store, and I looked carefully at the hat I’d seen from outside. It was a black ski cap, but it was made of really thick fabric, and the sides came down very low so that it would completely cover the wearer’s ears. It might not seem like much of a gift, but I thought it would let him know I was thinking about him, that I appreciated that it might get a little chilly out on the rooftops.
“Who’s that for?” Lucy asked, following me to the checkout. “Your dad?”
I couldn’t tell her. I wanted to so badly. “Sure,” I said, getting in line behind a woman who was carrying so many bags I thought her arms might fall off.
Lucy raised an eyebrow at me, and for a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of remembrance, like she knew something was missing, but she wasn’t quite sure what it was. And then it was gone. But she also didn’t think it was really for my dad. “It’s not for William White, is it?”
A giggle escaped my lips. “No. I’m not getting Liam a Christmas present.” I wondered what it would be like if I was the one planning a Christmas Eve date with the guy I had a crush on instead of my sister. Had she gotten Aaron a present?
An odd noise escaped Lucy’s lips, like she didn’t believe that either. “I’m not. I promise.” I took a step closer to the cashier as the lady in front of me fought her bags to fetch her wallet.
“Well, whoever it’s for, I hope he appreciates it,” Lucy said, folding her arms. “And if it’s Liam, I can guarantee he won’t. He doesn’t appreciate anything.”
I raised an eyebrow at her. Something had happened between Lucy and Liam, and she wasn’t telling me what it was. It was starting to eat at me. “Lucy, I really wish…” but before I could say more, it was my turn to pay. I handed over the hat and enough money to cover it and waited for the cashier to ring it up, place it in a bag, and hand me back my receipt and change. Lucy was out the door in front of me, and I shoved my change into my wallet, following behind her. It felt wrong of me to be upset at Lucy for keeping secrets when I had the biggest secret of all, and I couldn’t tell her about it either. Whatever she was keeping from me, I sure hoped it didn’t have anything to do with Liam being a vampire. Someone I cared about needed to stay human.