Part 34 (1/2)

”You make me want to be a better person,” he says softly. ”To deserve you. I want you to know how right you feel to me.”

I swear the birds in our neighborhood sing brighter. His lips are perfect. Soft. Warm. Thrills run through me. All over me. I could stay like this forever. Freeze time. Stand in front of my house and kiss Adam for the rest of my days.

”Keys,” he demands. I stumble, still connected to his lips, trying to rummage inside my purse to find the keys. I concentrate on his fingers stroking my back. I'm incapable of thinking straight, but my fingers locate the keys and I hand them over. We step apart and he unlocks the front door and holds it open and we both step inside the front foyer. The lights are off and it's dim, and he pulls me by the waist until I'm pressed up against him, and I drop my purse, slip off my shoes, and he steps out of his.

234.

sixteenthings.indd 234 9/9/13 2:21 PM.

1 6 t h i n g s i t h o u g h t w e r e t r u e We walk into the living room, not speaking as we move to the couch. We kiss and my head rides through wave after dizzy wave.

A throat clears.

”Um, Morgan?” says a squeaky voice.

We both snap our heads up.

”Oh my G.o.d. Amy?” It's the equivalent of a cold shower. I sit up and move away from Adam. He coughs and sits up too. Amy's on the couch opposite ours, pulling on her s.h.i.+rtsleeves and looking at the floor.

She gets to her feet. ”I'm totally sorry. I tried to get your attention but you were kind of busy.” Her face is scrunched up and her chin is quivering and she rubs at her forehead.

”What are you doing here?” I ask.

”I wanted to talk to you.” She glances at Adam, and her bottom lip quivers even more. ”I've been texting and tweeting, but you haven't answered.”

”I'm so sorry- I didn't have my phone.” I can scarcely even believe the words I'm saying. When have I ever gone so long with- out my phone?

”When I came by to see you, Jake was here. He told me you two went out but that you wouldn't be long, and I could come in and wait. I guess I fell asleep. When I woke up, you two were all...” She sniffles and hiccups another sob. ”I'm sorry. I'll go.”

She's shaking and obviously upset as she hobbles toward the door.

I stand and go to her side, taking her arm. ”Amy? What's wrong?”

”Amy,” Adam says. ”It's okay. We can all talk.”

”No,” she says, fluttering her hands around and then stopping 235.

sixteenthings.indd 235 9/9/13 2:21 PM.

J a n e t G u r t l e r in the front hall to slip on pink Uggs with a sparkly design of Miss Kitty on the side. ”I wanted to talk to Morgan. No offense.” She runs out the front door. I watch as she hurries down the walk, wondering how Adam and I missed the yellow Mazda parked down the street.

Something is wrong. I glance at Adam and then run out after her in my bare feet. I catch her pretty easily and grab her by the arm.

”Amy,” I say. ”Please. Something's obviously bugging you. Come and talk.”

She folds against me. ”Would you ever lie to me?” she asks me.

My breath catches. After all this time, has she found out what I've been hiding? About the video? My part in it? ”Not about anything that I thought was really important. Why?” I ask.

”Well, I mean. I think of what your mom did, and how you'll have to find some way to forgive her. And that's not fair...for you to find out that I did too? That I left something out. Something important. That's kind of like a lie of omission?”

I open my mouth. My cheeks warm. She doesn't know the truth about the video. The truth I've been hiding from everyone. This isn't about me. I lead her back inside.

”I want you to know the truth about me,” she says.

I take a deep breath. ”Okay. Okay.” Adam's standing in the middle of the living room. He stares at us as we walk to the couch.

Amy sits first and her shoulders slouch over. I sit beside her and put an arm around her shoulder. She's so tiny.

”Do you want me to go?” Adam asks. ”So you two can talk alone?”

236.

sixteenthings.indd 236 9/9/13 2:21 PM.

1 6 t h i n g s i t h o u g h t w e r e t r u e Amy looks up and stares at him, long and hard. ”Are we friends?”

she asks him.

He nods.

”I mean real friends?”

”Of course.” Adam nods solemnly.

”If you and Morgan fight or break up, I'm taking her side,” she tells him, lifting her chin.

I duck my head to hide my smile.

”Deal,” he says. ”But we can still like each other in secret.” He winks at her.

”You can stay,” she says to Adam. She takes a deep breath and sits up taller on the couch. ”I have an appointment tomorrow. With my oncologist.”

The phone rings, but I don't even look at it.

”I've been in a holding pattern. It was a good run.”

Adam and I glance at each other. My face flushes. The hair on my arms stands on end. I turn back to Amy, frowning. The phone rings again.

”I'm pretty sure my cancer is back,” she says slowly.

Things happen for a reason, I hear my mom say. I close my eyes.

”No,” I say. ”No.”

She pats my hand. My breath is gone. I can't breathe. I open my eyes and stare at her face. ”You're going to be fine,” I tell her.