Trailing Stars (Trailing Stars #1)

Me: Someone's looking for you again.

Morgan: Is it Payton? I swear I apologized.

Me: No. It's Kassie.

Morgan: Tell her I'm not around.

Me: Out of state? Across the country?

Morgan: Please and thank you.

Me: What's up?

Morgan: What do you mean?

Me: You know what I mean.

Morgan: I'm sure you already know.

Me: That Kassie has a crush on you? Like Leah a few months ago? Yeah. I know.

Morgan: Then why are you asking?

Me: Why didn't you tell me?

Morgan: I don't need to tell you EVERYTHING. But since you asked, can you tell her no? For me? Please?

Me: You mean like I did with Leah? And she stopped talking to me for months?

Morgan: Please? I'll owe you forever.

Me: So now you'll owe me two times infinity? How does that work?

Morgan: I don't know. But I'll figure it out.

Me: Fine. But you really do owe me two times infinity now.

Morgan: I think the shadow's gone.

Me: Whatever. I'll tell you how it goes.

I put my phone away when Clara climbs out onto the roof, dumping new snacks into the basket. Instead of sitting back down, she looks at her watch and sighs.

"I gotta go." She glances at me. "Wanna come to work with me? It's been pretty bearable with you there."

I smile. "Sure. I don't mind."

Clara beams. "You are the absolute best."

My smile is caught somewhere between broadening and wavering. Clara's voice is dripping with sincerity, so I know she means it, but if anyone has ever said that to me before, it's been a pretty long time. Even if I heard it on a daily basis now, it doesn't feel true. Almost like hearing Hannah tell Mom and Dad that I've been "just perfect."

I push the feelings away and follow Clara back into the building. We make sure to shut the window and turn the security system back on before heading to Poems and Tales. Clara fills up most of the silence, but every now and then, she'll try to direct the conversation to me. I manage to keep my responses to a minimum of a sentence or two without making her too suspicious.

We're just passing by the park when someone calls Clara's name. We pause and turn as a little girl waves at her. A woman and two other boys follow the girl's gaze. They all have cinnamon-brown hair to match their cinnamon-brown eyes. The oldest boy is around Kate's age, and his siblings—I'm assuming—are a couple of years younger or so.

The little girl waves both hands above her head, jumping up and down. "Hi, Clara!"

Clara laughs, waving back. "Hey, Audrey."

It looks like Audrey is about to come running toward us, but the woman—probably her mom—stops her, giving me and Clara an apologetic look. It's hard to tell with the distance between us, but it looks like her eyes settle on Clara specifically. There's the slightest dip in the atmosphere as Clara looks back. But just as quickly, she's smiling and nodding at the woman before she turns away and keeps walking to Poems and Tales.