In an Instant Read Free Page A

up almost the entire floor space. It’s everything you need for a full-fledged hangover antidote.
    Getting up here is a challenge sometimes when I’m wasted, but anger was my trajectory tonight. Honestly, almost every night.
    Just as I pull my springtime flower sheets that I have had since I was a kid over my head to drown out the rest of the world, I hear a knock from underneath me. I ignore it and cocoon myself farther into my soft sheets, feeling the cool cotton envelope my skin.
    “Dani? Are you in there? Actually, I know you’re in there. Can I come in?”
    I knew it was Jake before I even heard his voice. For almost our entire lives, our backyards have kissed each other’s, one fence separating his backyard from mine. This tree house was as much mine as his growing up. We both would come here to get away from whatever it was we needed to escape. This was where we first practiced kissing in the fourth grade, where he came when he first discovered his dad wasn’t as faithful as he’d vowed he would be to his mom in the seventh grade, and where he first admitted he liked my best friend Mel in the tenth grade. What’s spoken in the tree house stays in the tree house; that’s our rule.
    Jake and I have always been close. It has been a protective, older brother kind of close, even though we are the same age. Where he went, I went. As kids, we were inseparable, which was a definite perk when I discovered boys since I always had Jake’s friends surrounding me. His best friends have always been his teammates, so I had the top choice of boys to pick from. For a long time, it was “Hands off Dani.” Thankfully, his friends didn’t follow that rule, and neither did I. What Jake didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him was our motto.
    My name is Daniella, although almost everyone calls me D. Jake, on the other hand, has always called me Dani. He was the only one at first, and now a few other people use it.
    The night he told me he liked my best friend Mel, everything changed between us. No longer would I let him protect me or set “rules” for me with his friends. I may have gone a little overboard, but I didn’t care. Deep down, I think I wanted him to see what he was missing. I know that now.
    Then Marcus came along. He was different. He cared about me, not just about getting me into bed for the night. It was what I needed—to be wanted, cared for, loved for once—and I love him for it. I’m just not sure I’m actually in love with him. Sometimes, I think I am.
    The makeshift floorboard door pushes open.
    “Can I come in?”
    I pull the sheets even farther over me as I turn so my back is to him. “You know you don’t have to ask.”
    My head is starting to feel the effects of what I put into my body tonight, and the slow, steady throb is starting. I know this is going to be a full jackhammer pounding soon, so I pop two Advil, unsure if I even took any before.
    The side of my bed dips down from the weight of his body, and he gives a deep sigh. The tree house is small for his six-foot-three frame, so it’s funny to see him try to fold his body into this tight space now.
    I don’t have to look to know his head is buried in his hands as his elbows rest on his knees, his fingers running through his messy, dark brown hair. I know Jake so well, and he’s pretty predictable.
    “It’s over.” He finally speaks. This isn’t what I expected him to say, so I perk up a little. Still, I’m cautious not to let him know, and since I’m currently under the sheets, I can easily mask it.
    “What’s over?” I try hard to sound as uninterested as possible.
    “Me and Mel.”
    This is not at all where I thought this was going. They seemed perfect tonight, every night.
    “You guys seemed fine earlier.” I’m not taking this bait, if it is bait. I learned a long time ago not to take sides.
    Then I feel him lean over my body, his face so close to mine I feel his breath through the thin layer of cotton separating us. “I