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"So, let me get this straight," Kallie said, sitting next to me on her bed after lighting an incense.
I watched as a thin line of smoke began to slowly dance its way up into the air, wishing I could be just like it — mesmerizing, weightless, and free.
"Jackson, the guy you hate — which I still don't know the whole story, by the way — is going to be sleeping in the room next to you?"
I looked away from the smoke and nodded, ignoring her comment.
Kallie knew I used to have a crush on Jackson, and she knew I hated him now. But I just let her come to her own conclusions — thankfully she never pushed the subject too much.
"And you're supposed to be grounded?" She looked at me expectantly.
I nodded again, smiling sheepishly.
"Oh my gods, Debbie is going to hate me," she dropped her head in her hands, laughing slightly.
"My mom is not going to hate you," I chuckled. "You know you're basically her second daughter. Plus, Elliott said he was going to cover for me."
Kallie blew out a long breath.
"Let's just hope he does better than the time he tried to cover for us when we were hungover."
I scrunched my nose at the memory of our beach trip two summers ago.
Kallie and I found a party our first night there, and had a little too much to drink. Elliott's genius excuse for us being sick was sun poisoning.
We hadn't even been in the sun yet.
"Well," Kallie rubbed her hands together, "shall we see what the stars have to say about your situation?"
She reached over and grabbed her tarot cards from her bedside table, bracelets clanking together in the process.
Kallie and her mom were strong believers in all things spiritual. That's why Kallie said she was drawn to me on her first day here, she said our energies complimented each other.
I never really knew what she meant by that, but the fact that we grew so close, so quickly, never made me question it.
I wasn't sure if I believed in the 'magic of tarot', as Kallie puts it, but she swore by it — and it was fun.
She closed her eyes to concentrate and began shuffling the cards, while I bit at my nail and watched.
"I can literally feel how tense you are," she spoke up, opening her eyes. "Relax, otherwise we won't get an accurate reading."
"I can't. There's so much shit going on up here right now," I pointed at my head, feeling myself close to tears.
If only she knew just how much was actually on my mind. It would be so easy to tell her, but then I knew I would have to stop.
