The Dead Place. Rebecca Drake

from him, dashing half-blind across the park. It might have ended there, but he’d chased her, yanking so hard on her arm that afterward she had a bruise. He told her that he loved her, told her that she could get to him like nobody else, told her that she was his true love. She noticed that he didn’t promise to stay away from Vogue Girl, but when he literally kissed the tears that ran down her cheeks, she’d been willing to forgive him anything.

      He probably still saw other girls, but she didn’t ask. It wasn’t like she could complain anyway, since she was the one who had to sneak around just to see him at all. It had been easier when she lived in the city, easiest after her mother had been attacked. There’d been several weeks when her mom barely got out of bed, and Grace had taken advantage of that to escape and see Damien.

      It wasn’t like that in Wickfield. Her mother was still acting weird, but it wasn’t like before. She didn’t hide in bed, she was just super-security-conscious. She’d gotten freaked out about some missing college girl, and now she was insisting on watching Grace walk to the bus stop. It was embarrassing, and it also made it hard to slip away and head for the train station instead.

      She hated Wickfield. Besides Damien, Campbell and all of her other friends were back in the city. She knew her parents wanted her to make new friends. She could feel the pressure in all their questions. How was your day? How was school today?

      “You look ugly when you frown.” Damien glanced over at her, then back at the road. “What’s your problem?”

      “No problem.” She turned up the radio and closed her eyes, letting the music drown her thoughts. “No problem at all now that I’m with you.”