“How’s your uncle holding out at home?”

I sigh, sitting down next to her and drawing my knees toward me. “It’s weird having him rolling around the house in a wheelchair. Beverlee converted the downstairs bedroom that used to be her crafts area, into their new room.”

“Oh yeah,” Daisy says with a small grimace, “I guess he can’t very well make it upstairs right now.”

I shake my head solemnly.

There’s a ton of people out here tonight and not just regulars; seems most of the people who used to hang out at The Cove on the river have migrated over here, too. Last month, The Cove got busted. Cops were everywhere and from what I hear, about six people were arrested that night.

It sucks because the people that hang out at The Cove are a different breed than we are around here. And it shows more blatantly than Tori’s girly parts underneath her skimpy, flashy wardrobe choices. The Cove people like to walk around with a beer bottle super-glued to one hand and the girls are a lot more open about their sexual preferences, and more nauseatingly, their availability.

“Oh no,” Daisy says, covertly averting her eyes to the left and I immediately look over. “No…don’t look!” she whispers harshly. “It might draw her over here and honestly I think that girl gives me mini anxiety attacks.”

Cecilia, still as annoying as ever, is walking through a small group of Cove people all standing around with their girlfriends latched on their sides.

“She’s harmless, Daisy,” I say, though agreeing with her about not wanting to draw attention to ourselves.

Cecilia’s smile lights up when she spots us; two deep dimples carving into her cheeks as she walks toward us. She has a pixie haircut a lot like Zia’s, except her hair is plain-Jane brown and she hasn’t got the same perfect handle on her style as Zia does.

No one’s hair is as perfect as Zia’s.

“Here-she-comes,” I say harmoniously under my breath.

The girl isn’t so bad, she just has an extreme personality that for some, is hard to overlook. When I first met her last September, she probably jotted me down on her List of Girls to Hate Just Because, until she saw me punch William Vargas in the mouth and I was suddenly her best friend.

I feel kind of sorry for her, I’ll be honest. She’s an attention leech. She’s a lot like a girl I knew back in Georgia who didn’t have any friends because she was different from the norm.

Cecilia is definitely different from a lot of norms.

“Hey!” she says, bright-eyed. “I was looking all over for you two!”

“Hi Cecilia,” Daisy and I say in unison.

Cecilia’s short frame drops right between me and Daisy on the grass and she goes right into her usual random spiel, which never fails to confuse me in the first two sentences.

“I told her,” she says as if I already know who she’s talking about, “but she did it anyway—Marc is like a bad acid trip—.” She looks over at me determinedly. “Not that I know what that’s like, or anything. I’m just not good with analogs.”

Mine and Daisy’s eyes lock without moving our heads.

“You mean analogies?” I correct her, though as nicely as I can.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Cecilia says and goes right back to her story. “Anyway, she started going out with him despite my warnings. It’s gross seeing her all over him like that. I never did that when I went out with him. She’s just making herself look slutty.”

Cecilia still isn’t over her ex-boyfriend and I guess by bashing whoever is going out with him now, it’s helping her to cope with the breakup.

I can’t stand this relationship gossip stuff. This person hates that person. That girl is sluttier than the other girl. That guy is the hottest thing in Hallowell. That same guy (a month later) is the biggest jerk in Hallowell.

All of it repels me.

“Yeah…ummm, so what have you been up to, Cecilia?” I say, quickly changing the subject to something more generic before I feel compelled to hang myself. I throw Daisy a desperate look, hoping she’ll not leave me alone in this conversation. Daisy smiles, but still doesn’t offer herself up to being any part of my misery. I’ll have to have a talk with her about that later.

Cecilia stretches her legs out in front of her and leans back, holding her body up by her hands pressed into the grass. “Not much,” she says. “Can’t wait for school to be over—I’m going to Portland to spend the summer with my dad when school’s out.”

Portland. Hmmm. Coincidence? Or is fate being cruel? I ponder what I’m about to say for an extra lengthy moment. Daisy’s big doe-eyes are wider now. She must be thinking the same thing I am. Should I tell Cecilia that we’ll be there, too?

I notice Daisy’s head move side to side in an intense, solid motion, but to my semi-surprise, Cecilia saves me and continues rambling.

“My dad’s awesome,” she says, shaking her feet crossed at the ankles, back and forth as if she can’t sit still. “I think he’s getting me a car for my birthday.”

I smile over at her.

Suddenly, Cecilia’s face falls and she leans back up from her casual lounge and crosses her legs in front of her again; her shoulders fall over into a slouch.

Of course—Tori and her minions. Tori doesn’t seem to like Cecilia, either, even though she really isn’t part of the I Hate You Because of Sebastian group. The fact that she’s sitting with us right now only makes Cecilia that much more target-worthy.

“You know,” Tori says, stopping a few feet from us with a hand propped on her hip, “I think maybe you should watch what you say about me around here.” She’s glaring down at Cecilia and I’m quietly trying to figure out where this is going. “Marc dumped you because you’re a freak. He’s with me because I’m not. Get over it.”

Okay, I don’t generally get involved in this leftover Jr. High angst stuff, but I’ve had just about enough of Tori’s ridiculous, immature antics.

Cecilia may be annoying as hell, but….

I’m probably going to regret this.

“Tori,” I say glaring up at her, “why don’t you get over yourself? Just back off.”

Tori sneers down at me like I’m a bad outfit, but I seem to have successfully gotten my point across because she scoffs and walks away. I’m completely surprised; I expected a bit more hostility from her, but I’m not complaining.

I notice out of the corner of my eye Daisy grinning.

Cecilia watches Tori and her friends for a disparaging moment and then she looks back at me. I’m scared of that overly thankful, I-like-you-now-more-than-ever look on her face right about now.

Yes, I’m already regretting it….

“Isn’t she vulgar?” Cecilia says with a misshapen expression. “One time, she….”

I don’t know what she’s rambling on about, but somehow my ears have closed off all sound coming from her. I look over at Daisy, who still hasn’t bothered to jump in. She’s staring off toward the skate bowl now, watching Harry speed back and forth across the concrete.

It might’ve been worth it to see what Daisy would do if Tori hadn’t backed off. Tori I can handle, but trying to hold off three at the same time might not end as well. Daisy, on the other hand, can take on anyone out here. Funny how soft and sweet Daisy comes off to people, but the reality is that to piss her off is a serious death wish.

“Hey girl,” Cecilia says, waving her hand in front of my face, “I said here comes your man-candy.”

I snap back into Cecilia’s voice, glad that she’s done with her little gossip tirade.

“I really would like to know how you managed to snag that one,” she adds, watching Isaac approach us from the parking lot. “Does he have a brother? Seriously—I’ll take his second cousin.”

“Yeah, he has a lot of brothers,” I say rising to my feet and not really paying much attention to her. Definitely not realizing what kind of damage my off-hand answer has probably done.

Isaac smiles the whole way across the pavement and the grass. He takes me into a kiss, pulling me a little off the ground with his hands locked firmly on my hips. Instinctively, I pull away and scan him over, looking for any signs of new scars, or anything that might tell me his time in the mountains wasn’t an entirely decent one.

“Not a scratch,” Isaac says with a grin, knowing what the investigation is all about.

“I’m Cecilia,” she introduces herself, again. They’ve met before, but like I said, Cecilia is quite eccentric. “I hear you have a big family.”

I freeze up, my eyes bulging. Isaac looks right at me curiously, probably wondering just what I’ve been telling Cecilia.

“I uh…I was just telling her that you have a lot of brothers.” My face is hot with a twinge of embarrassment.

But Isaac’s smile just gets bigger and he pulls me toward him again, encircling me in his arms.

“Yes, Cecilia, I do have a big family,” he says smiling, and I feel his arms tighten around me as if to let me know he’s fully aware of the reason behind Cecilia’s harmless inquiry.

Cecilia’s face stretches into the biggest shit-eating grin I have ever seen. I’ve never noticed how straight her teeth are.

I wonder if Isaac knows exactly what’s he’s getting himself into, but I just leave it alone. If anything, it’ll make for some interesting predicaments that might be fun to watch Isaac try to worm himself out of later.

Daisy stands up and is staring off toward the road, but I don’t think anything of it at first.

The dizziness comes out of nowhere again, but it’s only mild. I reach over and hold onto Isaac’s arm for balance.

He notices right away. “Adria, what’s going on with you?”

“Nothing,” I say, letting my vision pull together properly. “Really,” I add because Isaac doesn’t look like he’s buying it, “I’m fine now; just a head-rush.”

“Oh shit…” Cecilia grumbles. “My brother’s here, I have to go. He’s such an ass—Mom probably sent him out here to look for me.” She puts her hand on Isaac’s shoulder and says with a smile, “Don’t be such a hermit—and bring a brother next time!” And then she scurries off in the opposite direction of the tall, brooding guy walking our way and looking as if he’s searching for someone.

“Isaac,” Daisy says with her gaze still fixed out ahead, but finally she tears her eyes away from the road and I’m not sure I like the look on her face.

I look to and from them both as they stand with their eyes locked.

“What’s going on?” I say.

Nathan’s Cruiser comes tearing around the corner toward the skate park. I feel Isaac’s hands tighten around my arms.

“Seriously,” I say, my chest swirling with unease, “Isaac what’s going on?”

Still, neither of them answers, but I’m getting the feeling that as Nathan gets closer, practically ramping the speed bumps, they are still trying to figure it out themselves and just don’t have a solid answer for me yet. Isaac pulls me along with him toward the parking lot where Nathan squeals his tires into two parking spaces.