Raising the Dead Read Free Page B

I was confused. Why wasn’t Avery excited for me?
    She sighed. “I don’t think it’s a sign of anything, Charlotte.”
    “But—“
    “Look, I know you like him, but I think you’re setting yourself up to get hurt.” She cleared her throat. “I need to tell you something. You’re not going to like it, which I why I didn’t tell you earlier.”
    I listened carefully as Avery described an encounter she had with Noah during the homecoming dance. She had watched as Noah and I danced to a slow song. When the song ended, I had gone over to talk with Callie and some of our other friends while Noah went to get us drinks. Avery went up to him. She mentioned that we seemed to be hitting it off, but Noah had shaken his head. “We’re friends only,” he said. His voice, Avery said, was emphatic. “She knows that, right?” he’d asked her. “That we’re friends and nothing more?” Avery said that I did know that. She then asked Noah to go out to her car and get a jacket for her. “I wanted to talk with you right away,” she said, “but then Jared and I started talking and I got distracted.”
    “Oh.” The giddiness that had consumed me earlier evaporated.
    “This is a good thing, Charlotte.”
    “How is this a good thing? The guy I like wants nothing to do with me.”
    “That’s not true. He likes you, but not in the way you want.”
    “Again—how is that a good thing?”
    Avery was quiet for a second. When she spoke, her voice was softer. “Charlotte, now you know. Now you can move on and find someone who wants to be more than a friend. Instead of focusing on a relationship that will never happen, you can open to the possibility of someone else.”
    “You sound like you’re speaking from experience.”
    “Not exactly.” She sighed. “I tried setting up Callie with someone once. She was really into him, but he didn’t return the feelings. It was a disaster.”
    Now it was my turn to be quiet. Maybe Avery was right. It was time to accept a nice, simple friendship with Noah and put my romantic energy into someone else.
    “You’re my friend,” Avery said. “I don’t want to see you get hurt. That’s the only reason I’m telling you this.”
    “I know.” I could hear everyone in the dining room discussing the storm. Then I heard Noah walking down the stairs. “I have to go. Noah’s awake.”
    “Sure. And remember—there’s nothing wrong with having a great guy friend.”
    “Right.”
    “Besides,” Avery continued. “Callie says she knows a football player who would be good for you.”
    We said goodbye and I hung up. Noah walked into the kitchen, his hair pressed to one side from where he’d slept on it. I resisted the urge to brush my fingers through it.
    “How was the nap?” I asked.
    “Good. I’m starving, though.”
    I got up from the table. “I’ll reheat the pizza for you.”
    He sat down, still looking sleepy. “Thanks.”
    “No problem.” I took the pizza out of the fridge. “After all, what are friends for?”

Chapter Three
    The rain stopped roaring on Sunday night. By Monday, it was barely a drizzle. The sky still loomed gray and bloated clouds moved fast and low, but the worst was finally over.
    “I guess we’ll be leaving,” Trisha announced after breakfast on Monday. I had gotten used to having everyone around. We had developed a cozy routine revolving around simple meals and old movies. The house would seem empty without our guests, but part of me was relieved: it was difficult to be around Noah all the time. I kept noticing little things about him that I liked, such as the way he was careful to always clean up after himself and help my mom, and how he laughed at something on TV. It would be easier to see him as just a friend, I decided, once there was some distance between us.
    With school officially canceled, I focused on helping my parents, who had reached out to overwhelmed authorities and offered to assist in their casket cleanup efforts. Over two dozen