Proof of Forever Read Free Page A

when all four girls were inseparable, Tali was always tumbling, or later, running track, while the other three girls were huddled together on Zoe’s bunk bed, whispering.
    She starts to type a response when her tires hit something and the car thumps. The wheel practically jerks out of her hand, and she gasps, dropping her phone, her heart staggering in her chest. She grabs the wheel, slamming on the brakes, while the car shudders like a wild beast in a panic. The guardrail races toward her as the car skids into the gravel on the side of the road and finally comes to a complete stop.
    Holy fuck.
What just happened?
    The text. Zoe
fucking
Albright. Zoe and Joy, and probably Luce, too. They’re all going to be there tonight. She did
not
plan for that. She had only planned for Blake. And now this. If Zoe hadn’t texted her completely out of the blue, she wouldn’t have been so thrown off, wouldn’t have lost control.
    Tali opens the car door and stands up. Her legs are shaking just slightly, but otherwise she’s fine. No injuries. No big deal. But the car hasn’t fared so well. The right front tire is totally busted—it looks like a saggy black carcass.
    Okay, think
, she commands herself
. It’s only a flat tire.
How hard can it be to change a flat tire?
She pops the trunk, but there’s no spare in there. She remembers taking it out because it didn’t leave enough room for her and Ashlynn’s shopping bags.
    Crap
.
    Her first instinct is to call her parents. She starts to dial, then remembers they obviously can’t help; they’re in Belgium. She’s tempted to call anyway, but it’ll just worry her parents too much—her mom cried before she left for Europe this summer; even though they’re always traveling, she never seems to get usedto leaving Tali behind. But Tali’s usually fine with it—she adores her parents, they’ve always been there for her when she really needed them, but it’s kinda nice to have a big house to herself and the freedom to party and go out whenever she wants.
    She sighs. The best option at the moment is to call a tow company and wait for them to come.
    Luckily her phone has service. With a quick online search she finds the closest place and calls, keeping her voice steady and professional, like she’s heard her mother do a zillion times when she wants something. After she hangs up, she gets back into the car, turning on her lights and radio to drown out the sound of other people racing by her, toward their own destinations, totally oblivious to the girl sitting alone as night comes.
    The sun has completely sunk and Tali’s starting to get creeped out by the time the tow truck finally shows, its wheels making a hungry crunching sound against the gravel. When the driver pulls over and climbs out, she’s surprised to see he’s not that much older than she is. Maybe nineteen or twenty. Scruffy facial hair. Clear green eyes. Grease-stained T-shirt and ratty jeans. Blue baseball hat. He smells like car oil.
    He squints at her, then gapes a little.
    â€œDon’t I know you?” he asks as he loads up her car, then opens the passenger side of his truck for her.
    â€œI seriously doubt it,” Tali replies, hardly giving him a second glance. She climbs in while he’s obviously getting a good look at her ass. Guys always say shit like that to her—ever since shesprouted the twins, boys will say anything just to get a conversation going.
    â€œI’m not hitting on you,” the guy says, looking faintly amused, and basically reading her mind. “You just look really . . . familiar.” She stares at him for a brief second. He’s actually a little cute, if it weren’t for the grease stains and facial hair, and there
is
something vaguely recognizable about his features, but she can’t pinpoint it. How
would
they know each other? He’s a tow-truck driver! It’s