“I don’t think she likes me,” Nick half joked.
Josie smiled at him. “You know how Pen is with . . . people.”
Her friend Madison’s meticulously groomed head of curls popped up beside Nick. “Can you believe it?” she said, slightly out of breath. “Another body!”
“I know, right?” Josie said.
A look of concern passed over her best friend’s face. “Don’t take that shortcut through the woods anymore, okay, Josie? If there’s an animal out there stalking people, I don’t want you to be the next victim.”
Josie smiled. It was sweet that Madison was concerned about her. “Don’t worry,” she said lightly. “Penelope thinks it’s actually a serial killer, so it’s cool.”
Madison’s eyes grew wide. “A serial killer?”
“Let’s not go there,” Nick said.
“Anyway,” Madison said, “Josie, what are you doing after school?”
Josie sighed. “I have to drive to Landover before my shift at the Coffee Crush.”
“Landover?” Madison said.
“Yeah.” Josie dropped her eyes. “I have to go pick something up from my dad’s new place.”
“Your dad’s new place . . .” Madison’s voice trailed off as she processed Josie’s words.
Josie sucked in a breath as she felt Nick’s hand grip her shoulder. Ugh. Better to just get it all out in the open. “My dad moved out last weekend.” The words tumbled on top of one another as they raced out of her mouth. “Movers accidentally took the old mirror my mom used to keep up in her lab. She’s dispatched me to retrieve it. That’s it.”
“Oh,” Madison said. Then her eyes widened as reality dawned on her. “Oh!” She paused. “Okay, well, I’m taking my demon little sister to dance class, but I’ll be home by the time you’re off work. So call me, okay? If you need to talk?”
Josie smiled weakly. “Will do.”
Madison nodded, then turned and headed down the hall. Josie’s smile lingered as she watched Madison go. Her friend might be a bit of an airhead upon occasion, but she was also incredibly sweet and thoughtful. Two things Josie desperately needed in a best friend these days.
Nick leaned down and whispered in Josie’s ear. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” Josie took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. She so didn’t want to drive all the way to her dad’s new condo by herself. The thought was so depressing. “Any chance you can ditch track practice and come with me?”
“Sorry, gorgeous,” Nick said with a shake of his head. “Regionals are in two weeks. Coach would kill me if I miss practice.”
Josie tried to hide her disappointment. “Oh.”
“Walk me to the gym, though?”
Josie nodded absently. “Yeah, okay.”
They navigated the halls in silence, Josie wrapped up in her thoughts. Her parents’ separation had hit hard. One day they seemed like their normal, happy selves, but practically overnight things had changed. Small fights at first, then before Josie knew it, her parents’ nightly screaming matches were the new normal around the Byrne household. In less than six months, her dad had moved out. Now Josie’s home life was a hot mess. Her dad was still in shock and, like a lovesick teen, spent most of his time trying to get Josie’s mom to take him back. Her mom had thrown herself into her work, going so far as to have a home lab constructed in their basement to avoid charges of child abandonment while she worked twenty-four-seven on her new experiment. Meanwhile, Josie could count on one hand the number of conversations they’d had in the last week that weren’t about work or—
“Did you hear me?”
Josie’s head snapped up. She and Nick were standing in front of the entrance to the boys’ locker room. His hands were folded across his chest, and his dark brows were pinched together.
“Huh?”
Nick sighed. “Josie, were you even listening to me?”
“I’m sorry,” Josie said. “I was just . . . I don’t know. Lost.”
“You’ve been like that a lot lately,” he said quietly. “Between your parents and your science project, it’s like you don’t have time for anything else.” It wasn’t an accusation so much as a statement of fact. “Do you even remember what today is?”
Josie caught her breath. Was it Nick’s birthday? Had she forgotten Nick’s birthday? No, that was in October. Josie relaxed. Forgetting her boyfriend’s birthday would have been a disaster.
“Never mind.” Nick shook his head and stepped toward her. “Look, there’s something I need to talk to you about. Something important.”
Josie looked up at him. There was an edge to his voice that made her heart beat faster. “Is everything okay?”