I rake the leaves, do the dishes and the grocery shopping. Laundry, homework, disappearing act. Whatever needs doing. I don’t sleep in the middle of the bed anymore on the chance Waverly might appear out of the dark and get in next to me. I wake myself up reaching for her. When I roll over, there’s nothing there. In the locker bay during passing periods, Ollie never asks why I don’t go out back to smoke anymore. He seems strange lately, or like a stranger, but I can’t tell which one of us is different. Sometimes it seems like we both are. We’re standing at our locker after lunch when the little freshman shuffles by and smiles at him. Ollie smiles back, a small, offhand smile, and waves. Once, like it’s no big deal. “So you’re friends with her now?” He shakes his head. “I walked her home from the dance, is all.” “Are you high? I mean, you don’t like her, right?” For a question, it sounds more like an argument, and I elbow him harder than I mean to. “Do you like her?”
What do You think about Places No One Knows (2016)?
