All the Broken Pieces (18 page)

25

Liv walked up to the two Goth girls. “Hi.”

They stared at her.

“I know I don’t really know you, but I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and say hi to new people.”

One eyebrow cocked higher than the other, the short-haired girl crossed her arms. “Are we supposed to feel lucky?”

Liv shrugged. “I just wanted you to know that I think it’s cool you guys have your own style and stick to it, no matter what people say. So anyway, there’s that, and I guess I’ll see you around.”

Okay, it wasn’t enough to make up for throwing gum in someone’s hair, but it was a start. Today her goal was to be kind to everyone. Even Sabrina.

Wanting to make sure she started off on a good note, she headed for Spencer’s locker to get her daily dose of his cute face.

Then she saw him. Talking to some girl. It wasn’t Sabrina. It wasn’t a girl she’d seen before. The girl was short and wore her hair in a choppy blond bob.

Liv’s heart dropped.
I thought he didn’t talk to anyone but me.

Blondie leaned in close, grinning up at Spencer. In order to keep her being-nice-to-everyone goal, she decided to head the opposite direction. It’s not like Spencer couldn’t have other friends; she just thought he didn’t.

She reached her locker and tossed her backpack in. When she turned around, Clay was right behind her.

“So what did your parents say about tomorrow night?” he asked. “I’ve already seen the only movie playing and it was lame. There’s not much else to do here, so I’m thinking we’ll head to the party.”

Going out with Clay had completely slipped her mind. “About that…my mom was in a wretched mood last night, so I didn’t get a chance to ask.”

“Oh.” His blue eyes met hers, and she noticed again how good-looking he was. The only thing stopping her from agreeing to go out with him was her feelings for Spencer.

Except I don’t even know how he feels. Maybe he likes the short blond girl.

“So the party? Is it always at the same place?”

“Usually we have it at The Gulch. We light a bonfire and just hang out.”

“Sounds like an adventure.”

“It depends on who comes.” Clay pulled a pen out of his pocket, grabbed her hand, and wrote a phone number across it. “So you can call and let me know.”

“I’ll definitely give you a call. Either way.” The halls had cleared and her class was on the other side of the building. “I better get going, but I’ll see you later.” She shot him a smile and headed down the hall.

But halfway there, she noticed she’d grabbed the wrong book. She was debating whether to head to class without it or go back to her locker when the bell rang.

I’m already late anyway. Might as well get the right one.

The dream she’d had popped into her mind again. All morning she’d been bothered by it. In the few weeks of school and hanging out with Spencer, she’d felt like her life was clicking back into place. But every time she had one of the strange dreams that were hard to distinguish from reality—or, well, she didn’t want to say hallucinations, but it was hard to deny when she kept hallucinating—she couldn’t help feeling like something was majorly wrong with her.

A giggle brought her back to the present.

The short blonde and Spencer stood in the hall.

Spencer glanced up as she got closer. “Liv. Hey.”

“Hey back,” she said, trying to keep the irritation out of her voice.

“What are you doing?”

She lifted her book. “Grabbed the wrong one.”

The blond girl pursed her lips and crossed her arms, looking put out by the interruption. She was much prettier than Liv would’ve preferred. Tiny waist, clothing that showed she was into fashion, and big blue eyes.

I wouldn’t mind if a giant wad of gum landed in
her
hair.

Shoot, I’ll help you put it there.

“Natasha and I are headed to the library,” Spencer said. “We’ve got this project in US history. Any ideas what subject we should attack?”

“You know me. I’m not the greatest with history.” What she really wanted to know was how much of a history he and Natasha had. Most mornings he came and talked to her before class; today, he’d chosen Natasha.

Well if he wants a stupid girl, he can have her. I’ve got other options.

She thought about the way Clay had grabbed her hand and written on it. How he was always smiling and confident.
Other very cute and charming options, thankyouverymuch.

Natasha tugged on Spencer’s sleeve. “We better get
going.”

Options or not, that girl bugged her. The day had barely begun and her goal of proving she would never be mean to anyone was already starting to crack.

“I need to go, too. I’m late enough as it is.” As fast as she could move without actually running, she headed for her locker. She told herself if Spencer got a girlfriend—a girlfriend who wasn’t her—she’d survive.

Somehow.

…

You’ve got to be kidding me
, Liv thought as she walked into the cafeteria.

Natasha and two other girls were seated by Spencer. As Natasha talked, she gestured wildly with her hands.

I can’t deal with this right now.

First period she’d gotten in trouble for being late; second period she’d been preoccupied thinking about Spencer and missed an easy question; and now—well, now that Natasha girl was starting to piss her off.

Sabrina stepped up next to her. “That’s Spencer for you. One day it’s you, the next there’s someone else.”

“He and Natasha are working on a history project
together,” Liv said, burning jealousy churning in her gut.

“Yeah. That’s what it looks like.” Sabrina tilted her head toward her normal table. “Care to join us?”

Liv sighed. “I think I will.”

Sabrina offered a smile—one that actually seemed sincere.

I’m in Opposite World. Spencer’s surrounded by people, and Sabrina’s being nice.

“Isn’t this a pleasant surprise,” Clay said as she sat next to him. “I knew you weren’t as immune to my killer good looks as you were pretending to be.”

Liv shook her head, but she couldn’t help but smile. “Keep that attitude up and I’m not calling you at all, just to teach you a little humility.”

He grinned back. “Who knew there was such a sassy girl underneath that sweet face?”

“Is that a compliment or an insult?”

Clay leaned closer, eyes fixed on hers. “It’s definitely a compliment.”

The flirting thing was pretty easy once she got started. Clay didn’t hold back; he told her exactly what he was thinking. And it was nice not to have to decode everything. Now and then she’d glance in Spencer’s direction, but every time, Natasha’s mouth and arms were moving.

Spencer didn’t exactly look happy. His eyes were glazed over, and the more minutes passed, the farther his shoulders slumped.

Liv caught the tail end of Sabrina’s story. “. . . told my mom that as long as she keeps ruining my clothes, she’s going to have to spring for more. Usually they’re just faded or she puts them in the dryer too long and they shrink. But this time, there was a big bleach stain across the back of my favorite shirt.”

“The red one?” Candace asked.

“Yeah. Now it’s ruined.”

Guilt crept through Liv. Maybe she was meaner than she thought she was. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to admit to everyone that she’d been the one to bleach Sabrina’s shirt. Not now, when they might almost be kind of friends again.

She finished eating, and as she stood to leave, she glanced at Spencer’s table again. He was looking directly at her. He raised his eyebrows, seemingly asking a silent question.

Taking her tray, she headed toward the exit. She dumped the food she hadn’t eaten, put the tray away, and walked into the hall.

A hand gripped her arm. “Are you mad at me?”

Liv twisted to face Spencer. “It just looked crowded.”

“Like where you sat wasn’t. You seemed pretty cozy next to Clay.”

“I was planning on sitting by you, but then I saw Natasha was there and I didn’t want to intrude. I’m sure you’ll have to spend a lot of time together for your project.”

Spencer sighed. “It’s just a history assignment.”

He looked frustrated, which she hated, so she decided to change the subject. “My parents are going out to dinner tonight, so I was thinking we head to my house after school, relax for a while, then put in a little study time before our test. What do you say?”

“I’m down. But do we really have to do the math part?”

“I do. I can’t get a bad grade in my best subject.”

They walked to class together, and it was almost like everything was back to normal. Almost.

…

“Are you sure you don’t want me to make you something?” Mom asked as Dad tried to lead her out of the house.

Liv turned away from the books she and Spencer had spread out on the coffee table. “Mom, I’m smart enough to feed myself.” She made a shooing motion. “Now go. Have a good time.”

“Call if you need anything.”

“Good-bye, Mom.”

Mom sighed and stepped out of view. Dad waved, then followed her into the garage, closing the door behind him.

Spencer dropped his pencil and sat back on the couch. “All day I’ve been going back and forth if I should tell you something. So I’m just going to spill it.”

Liv tucked a leg under her and twisted to face him.

“I looked up your parents on my computer last night. There are a couple of places where you can see if there are complaints against doctors and that kind of thing.”

Every muscle in her body tensed, and it suddenly took all her effort to keep the air going in and out of her lungs. “And?”

“They were clean. Tons of glowing reviews, actually. There was something about a trial your Mom was doing on Huntington’s disease. I skimmed through it, but it was way over my head. Mostly, it was stuff about the brain. How it works, how the disease affects it—that kind of thing.”

What was it Mom had said last night during her fight with Dad? She’d mentioned quitting the trial, but she couldn’t remember anything other than that.

Spencer ran a hand through his hair. “Anyway, I wasn’t sure if you’d think it was good news or bad news.”

“I… Of course it’s good news.” The more information she got, the surer she was she’d jumped to the wrong conclusion. “Maybe I was wrong about my parents. After talking to my dad yesterday, I realized how hard the wreck and my recovery was on them. I think it just freaked them out.”

“I’m sure.” Spencer put his hand on her knee. “You good, then?”

Liv nodded. “Yeah. Thanks for looking into it.”

“No problem. Now, the next question is, what are you going to cook us?”

She raised an eyebrow. “Who said I’m cooking
you
anything?”

“Let’s go see what we can find, then. I’m starving.”

They walked into the kitchen and she headed to the fridge. She opened the door and stared inside. “My mom made this tomato soup yesterday that was good. The leftovers are in here.”

“She made tomato soup instead of opening a can?”

“These days she makes everything from scratch.” Liv grabbed the jar out of the fridge.

And then her arm spasmed.

The jar fell to the tile floor and cracked open, splattering red liquid everywhere. For a couple seconds she just stared, feeling like an idiot. “Somebody kill me now.”

“It’s not a big deal,” Spencer said. “Just watch out for the glass.”

“It is a big deal. I haven’t had an arm spasm in forever, but of course it happens when I’m holding a glass jar.”

“Spasm?”

“From the accident. I’m really messed up. Every time I think I’m normal again, I get proven wrong.” The spasm. The voices. The crazy dreams and hallucinations. Even blaming Mom and Dad for everything that was wrong.

Liv grabbed a paper towel and tried to soak up the soup. It barely made a dent.

“Where’s your dustpan?” Spencer asked.

She pointed to the small closet. He opened the door, got out the dustpan, and scooped up the mess. In no time, the remains of the jar and soup were in the trash.

After wiping the floor with a rag, Liv moved to the sink to wash her hands.

“Doesn’t it look like my finger’s bleeding?” Spencer said, shoving his hand in front of her face.

She swatted it away. “Stop it. I don’t want to see.”

“No, look. Blood.” He lifted it higher.

Cupping her hands, she filled them with water and tossed it at him. The water hit his face, leaving large drops on his glasses.

“Oh, it’s on now.” He lunged at her, wrapping his arms around her.

She screeched as he tipped her toward the running water. “No, Spencer! Don’t!” The faucet got closer and she hooked her arms around one of his, squeezing in as close as she could to keep from getting wet.

“Not so funny now, is it?”

Water sprayed off the side of the sink, sending drops onto her cheek. “I won’t do it again, I swear. Don’t get me wet!”

His smile faded and he ran his thumb down her neck. Where her scar was.

She lifted a hand to cover it.

“Is that from the accident?”

“Yeah.”

He eased her back down, then leaned forward to turn off the water, bringing their bodies together again. Her heart sped up as she felt the warmth of his body. Her breath caught as his eyes met hers. She put her hands on the sides of his waist, willing him to kiss her.

He stepped back and took off his glasses. Lifting his T-shirt, he rubbed the lenses clean, then put them back on.

Whatever was going on between them was starting to drive her insane. One minute she’d be sure he felt the same. Then nothing. “Spencer?”

“Yeah?”

“You know I like hanging out and doing things on the list, but…” Her determination faded, but then she thought about Clay. About Natasha.

I have to know.

“Is there something more going on between us?”

“More?”

She crossed her arms. “Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about. I’m the socially stilted one, not you.”

“It’s not that I don’t… It’s just…” He blew out his breath. “I can’t.”