Keith had already skulked off to Mom’s room to pass out. Not much I could do about it. It was a classic ask-Mom-if-Dad-won’t-give-you-what-you-want sort of thing, and Ash had already told him he could stay. I’d been hanging around the living room, waiting, trying to keep my imagination in check, wondering what the hell he’d said to her to get her to go soft, and what that might mean for our future plans together. By the time she came in, I’d worked myself up into . . . I was a mess. “What was that all about?” I asked her. “It’s nice out there. I was just hanging out. Thinking. Watching the stars. This squirrel was playing around on the roof of the shed. It was interesting.” “Not that. You know what I’m talking about.” She was playing dumb, scrunching up her face in a kind of confused expression. “With Keith.” Even though the light in Mom’s room was off, I knew he might be listening in, so I whispered this. Sort of hissed it, actually. Like I said, I was pissed.
