Epilogue

IF December was the cruelest month, the first few days of January were heaven on earth. And by the looks of things, the New Year was poised to set a record in the happiness department.

And it was all thanks to Mick. Like the stand-up guy he’d always been, he handled the Lars situation with class and integrity—not to mention a little tough guy bravado. The result: Lars was gone. He’d vanished. From my life. From the Fisks’. From Punxsy High. From, well, everywhere. And even though the details were a little sketchy (for example, some people thought he’d been arrested, while others claimed he’d been personally escorted out of the country by the mob), I knew Mick had put the wheels in motion. He’d done it—whatever it was—to protect me. Because he loved me.

“Flora! Mick’s here!” my mother called up the stairs.

Huh. That was strange. I hadn’t even heard the doorbell ring. “Coming!” I yelled, darting over to the mirror for a final hair and makeup check. As silly as it was, I still wanted to take my sweet, sweet Mick’s breath away. And with two quick swipes of shimmering raspberry lip-gloss, my transformation was complete. I’d become the girl Mick deserved; I could only hope I deserved him too.

Ready or not, here I come, I thought, as I turned the corner to our dining room. Because the truth was, my life was about to change. Maybe forever. And I could already feel the sands of my future shifting under my feet.

Mick got up from the table and pulled out a chair for me. “Hi,” he said—all nervous and twitchy—shooting me an uneasy grin.

My anxiety came in the form of a speech impediment. “Ee…aah…hee…aah…hi,” I finally spat.

On that moronic note, Will burst out laughing like a drunken hyena, which sort of made sense since I’d almost nailed an entire line of Old MacDonald Had a Farm.

“Will!” my mother chastised. “Please! We have company.”

Well, well, well…the tables had turned. And to be honest, I had an evil urge to take advantage of the situation. I mean, it was the first time in memory that my parents had sided with me over my brother, so I had a lot of catching up to do.

Only I couldn’t.

“That’s okay,” I said, excusing Will’s boorish behavior. “I was dumb, and it was funny. So everything’s cool.”

Niceness. It was the price I had to pay for what Will had done. After all, it was only fair. If he hadn’t convinced our parents that Mick was a wonderful, trustworthy, protective guy, my boyfriend and I would have been stuck skulking around like alley cats instead of strutting our peacock stuff in plain view.

“So, Mick, how are you enjoying your classes?” my dad asked. He nodded toward the gigantic wooden bowl in the middle of the table. “Will, could you please pass the salad?”

Instead of picking up the salad bowl, my brother just gave it a swift push past me and Mick. “Sure. Have at it,” he said, as the thing skidded to a stop just beyond Mick’s dinner plate.

My sweet, sweet Mickey D seized the opening in the conversation. “I like my classes,” he said. “It hasn’t been as difficult as I expected, adapting to a structured school environment. In fact, I like the pace of things. It’s much more predictable than I’m used to.”

I could tell by the perplexed looks on my parents’ faces that neither of them had a clue what Mick was talking about.

“He was home-schooled before,” I clarified. “This is his first year in regular school. And he’s doing great,” I said, turning to Mick. “Right?”

“I think so,” he agreed, with trademark humility. “All A’s and B’s so far.”

My mother beamed with satisfaction. “That’s an impressive feat,” she said, “for anyone. But especially for someone in your situation.”

Okay, so maybe my mother hadn’t done a complete one-eighty. I mean, considering the backhanded compliment, I’d put her at about a one-twenty. But it was still much better than I’d expected given her history of hating the love of my life.

Under the table, Mick squeezed my knee. Not in the creepy, lecherous way Lars had, but in the cute, reassuring, we’re in this together way. And secretly, I tangled my fingers around his, which, all at once, righted my universe. I guess sometimes you don’t know what you’re missing until you find it. And if you’re lucky enough to find it in the first place, do yourself a favor and learn from my mistakes: Don’t let go.