I decided to walk to CVS instead of riding my bike. It was a nice morning, warm and not humid, and I figured I’d use the time to delete all the angry mom messages from my phone. When I got to the last one, I was just turning the corner into the parking lot. My thumb was about to come down on the seven button for delete, when I heard Jenny’s voice whispering through the ether. I quickly brought the phone to my ear. She was midsentence.“. . . wanted you to know that Cooper didn’t mean what he said. He really had a bad night and he was a lot more wasted than he looked. He gets like that sometimes . . . scary like that . . . when he’s mad at my mom. Usually he just yells at me, but— Well, anyway. He’s not a bad guy. That’s all. I know he really likes you. He just has, you know, stuff that gets to him sometimes and he needs to, like, blow off steam, I guess. Anyway. That’s it. Sorry for rambling. Call me back if you want to. Okay. Bye.”I paused outside the CVS window, feeling shaky and not all there. It was weird, hearing Jenny’s voice on my phone in Orchard Hill. Thinking about Cooper on the very spot I’d kissed Jake at least a dozen times when he’d picked me up from work. Being here made the LBI world feel like it didn’t actually exist. And I guessed in a few weeks, it wouldn’t. Not really. I got that chill brought on by deep thoughts and the anticipation of change—school and fall and seeing everyone again. Then I shook it off—we weren’t quite there yet, and I had other things to deal with—and walked inside.Annie was sipping Yoo-hoo behind the counter.“Hey,” she said, straightening up. “Whoa. You look like ass.”“Thanks.” I shoved my phone into my back pocket and leaned my forearms into the red Formica countertop. Part of me wanted to tell her what had happened with Hammond, but I didn’t feel like dealing with all the questions. Instead, I decided to get right to the point. “So tell me about Jake and Chloe.”My throat gradually closed over the words, so that the last syllable barely came out.Annie took a long sip of Yoo-hoo and avoided my gaze. “Jake and Chloe?”Something deep inside me squirmed. “I know you didn’t tell me everything before, so spill. What’s going on? Are they, like, together?”Annie clucked her tongue and placed her bottle down. “I don’t know exactly.”I scoffed. “Please. You know everything.”She preened a bit, cocking her head to one side. “Thanks . . . but this one’s unconfirmed. All I know is they’ve been taking a class together, and she’s been driving him around a lot, but he’s grounded off his car, so that could be why. They have been spending a lot of time together.” She reached for her bag under the counter. “I can give you exact stats if you—”Someone walked by with a cart full of toilet paper, the wheels squeaking loudly.“That’s okay,” I said, pinching the top of my nose. “I don’t need the gory details.”“The weird thing is, Chloe’s also been hanging out a lot with—”“Ally!”David and Marshall came swooping toward me and gathered me up in a two-way bear hug. They smelled so clean and looked so bright-eyed and healthy it made me want to cry. I’d really been hanging out with a lot of grungy, lazy stoners, hadn’t I?“What’re you guys doing here?” I asked as they pulled away.“I kind of told them you were coming,” Annie said apologetically.“We’re taking you out for breakfast at the diner,” Marshall said, slinging his arm over my shoulder. “Our treat.”“What? You can’t go for pancakes without me,” Annie whined, wide-eyed.“We’ll bring you back a doggie bag,” David said as he tugged me toward the door. “So how’s the shore? How’s your mom? How’s Shannen?”Annie groaned and rolled her eyes, but I couldn’t help laughing. It was nice to be among real friends again. No matter how briefly. If anyone could distract me from thoughts of Jake Graydon, David and Marshall could. In a few hours I’d be back at the shore, back with the Cresties, and seriously grounded. I could spend a couple of hours sipping coffee at the diner.It would be kind of like the calm before the storm.

Daily Field Journal of Annie Johnston Sunday, August 1Position: Counter at the Apothecary.Cover: Looking for a zit cream that won’t dry out my face. (I have no zits at present, but the woman behind the counter is still willing to sell me fifty bucks’ worth of cream to zap them.)Observations:1:15 p.m.: Subject Mrs. Appleby walks in. She passes by all the fancy displays, stops at the counter, and nods at the woman behind it. The woman hands over a bag. Subject Mrs. Appleby walks out. No words are exchanged. No money is exchanged either. (Query: Do the wealthy just get free stuff around here? Is that why they’re so frickin’ wealthy?)1:27 p.m.: Subject Mrs. Shale walks in. Her skin looks like leather. She walks to the counter and is given an even bigger bag than the one Subject Mrs. Appleby got. Again, no words or money exchanged. (Assessment: Maybe the Apothecary is actually a front for a prescription drug ring!)

“Hey, Mr. Ryan.”I went over to the computer to clock out. He’d just come in the back door and was putting his stuff down on the desk.“Jake. Off so soon?” he said. He sounded tired. He hadn’t sounded like that once since I’d known him.I hesitated. “My shift’s over.”“Right. Of course,” he said, waving a hand. “I apologize. I’m just out of it.”I hit the enter button and stood up straight. “Everything okay?”He looked over at me, then down at some paperwork on the desk. “No, actually, since you asked. Turns out I’m getting a divorce.”My stomach kind of fell out of my body. “Oh.”Ally must have been freaking out. Shit. She must have been so upset.“I’m . . . sorry?” I said, cracking a knuckle.“It’s okay. I mean, it’s not okay. But it’s going to be okay.” He shrugged hugely and pressed his fingertips into the desktop. “I screwed up. Apparently there’s no going back.”I tried to swallow, but my throat was dry. All I could think about was Ally. Ally crying, Ally curled up in a ball on her bed. My heart actually hurt.“Anyway, I just figured I’d tell you because I know Ally’s been having a hard time of it this summer,” he said, turning to look at me. He folded his arms across his chest. “She could probably use a friend.”My heart skipped a beat. Was that his way of giving me his blessing or something? Did he not know that Ally and I hadn’t even spoken since July Fourth?“So what do you say, Jake? You gonna be there for my daughter?” he asked.Suddenly, I saw Chloe’s neck tilted to the side as my lips moved to meet her skin. Her light brown hair tangled around my fingers. That stretch of thigh that went on forever. I felt a prickle on my neck, and started to sweat.“Yeah, I don’t know if she really wants me to be there for her,” I said, chewing on my lip.“If you’re worried about that kid she was seeing down the shore, don’t be. They broke up.”“They did?” I said.“Yeah. And I happen to know that she’s grounded, so if you were to drive down there, say . . . this Friday night when you happen to be off, you’d probably find her home.”My brow knit. “Mr. Ryan, why are you telling me all this?”He took a couple of steps toward me. “Because you’re a good kid, Jake. And I know from what her mother has told me that Ally really likes you. I just think it’d be nice if something worked out for her. I couldn’t give her her family back. Maybe I can . . . I don’t know . . .”“Give her me?” I said.He laughed. “Something like that. Just think about it.”He turned and walked out onto the floor, leaving me alone in the office. I sat down on his rickety desk chair and blew out a sigh. I couldn’t believe this was happening. Ally had broken up with that surf loser? When? How? Why hadn’t I heard about it from Hammond or Faith? I wondered if this was before or after Chloe and I . . . Before or after we . . .I felt like I very much needed to curl into a ball and die.I hadn’t talked to Chloe since that night. She’d blown me off for class both Monday and today, and I hadn’t tried to call her, either. Every time I thought of her, I felt guilty and embarrassed. I shouldn’t have gone over there. I shouldn’t have done what I’d done. But what was I supposed to do with her standing there all half-naked and grabbing me and kissing me like that? I didn’t know a single guy who could walk away.“Okay, don’t think about that,” I whispered to myself. “Think about Ally. What are you gonna do about Ally?”I imagined myself going down there. Knocking on her door. Her opening it and seeing me. And then . . . what? I beg her to take me back again? Could I really be that guy? And what if she said no? I had a feeling another rejection from her might kill me.But I guess . . . I guess I could just do what her dad said. Not beg her to take me back, but just be there for her. Give her a shoulder to cry on or to hit or to yell at or whatever she needed to do. Because I knew her heart had to be broken and the thought made me sick. I wanted to help her fix it. Even if she didn’t take me back.