The Mermaid's Pearl (Tears of the Deep Book 1) (25 page)

I shrugged. “It’s still the same ole.”

“Aunt Brooke and Uncle Joe?”

“Mom and Dad are...workin’ through things,” After my problems begun to surface, my parents’ marriage had dissolved. Having a daughter that the town hated, and who had tried to kill herself, took a lot out of a person. I supposed there was no strength left to work on their marriage.

“Aw hell, remember that time in high school when we snuck out to go on that camping trip?”

Laughing at the memory, I nodded at my cousin.

“Yeah,” I added, “and when they figured out we weren’t staying at each other’s houses, we were in so much trouble.”

Ginger jumped on the bed beside me. She covered her laughter by burying her head in the comforter.

“Oh,” I said, “and remember that boy in high school we called ‘stalker D’?”

“Yeah, wow. I had adoring fans even then.”

I rolled my eyes. Ginger had been popular and the lead in all the school plays. If it weren’t for Ginger, I would have been nobody.

“What happened to us?” I asked her. We had been so inseparable back then.

“Life,” she told me. She flipped over onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. “We each had our own dreams, but I’m glad you’re here now. I should have never left you in that town alone. I can’t explain it, but I needed to get out.”

I smiled at her confession before closing my eyes. It was nice to have a friend again. I drifted off to sleep. I had a hopeful feeling that there wouldn’t be any nightmares tonight. Just before I passed out, I swore Ginger whispered something softly.

“It wasn’t your fault.”

I wanted to believe it. It was the truth, but I wasn’t there yet.