Ellie and I sat in the departure lounge surrounded by people, all of whom were either reading newspapers, faffing with their hand luggage, or talking to each other. I was in no mood for doing any of those things, so I sat beside Ellie in silence, both of us looking straight ahead as if we could hurry up the plane through the power of thought. We hadn’t really spoken in over twenty-four hours. Not since Jason and I told everyone our decision. It wasn’t just me; everyone on the bus was too uncomfortable to interact much. “I know you think I’m being overprotective, but you must be able to see why after what happened yesterday.” I shook my head. “None of the things that were written about me in the paper were as hurtful as the way you and Drew reacted.” Including the fact that my virginity was splashed all over the news for the world to read about. “We were trying to save you from that!” “It would have happened anyway, Ellie!
