UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE
HarperCollins Publishers
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Later, when I’d calmed down, Miles leaned over the side of the bed and grabbed his backpack. He unzipped it and took out a few things.
“Can I look in your notebook?” I asked.
He quirked his eyebrow. “What for?”
“Just because.”
He handed it over. Most of this notebook was in German, but there were still bits and pieces in English. June’s name was scattered through the pages.
“Why’d you keep your mom’s maiden name?” I asked.
“How’d you know?”
“When Tucker and I were looking up Scarlet in the library, June was mentioned in an article. She was the valedictorian.”
“Oh. Yeah. We switched to her name when we went to Germany.”
“Ah.” He didn’t need to give more explanation than that. I flipped through a few more pages of his notebook and said, “I have a confession—I’ve read this.”
“What? When?”
“Um . . . when Erwin died and you gave me a ride home. You went in the building to turn in those papers, and I peeked.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked, but he didn’t swipe the notebook away from me. I shrugged. Pain spiked my collarbone.
“Well, obviously I didn’t want you to know that I looked. You didn’t exactly seem like the most forgiving person.” I flipped through a few more pages. “What are these German parts?”
“Journal entries,” he said. “I didn’t want other people to read them.”
“Well, good job,” I said. “I did see my name a few times in that other notebook, though.”
“Ah, yeah,” he said, laughing again. “Yeah, I was a little upset on the first day of school. I didn’t think you were the right person. It was stupid, but I guess I didn’t think it was you at first because you didn’t act at all like I’d imagined you would.”
“Hah, sorry. I thought that about you, too.”
I turned to the last pages.
What you loved as a child, you will love forever.
“I think you’re an improvement on my imagination,” I said, flipping back through the pages.
“You, too,” he said. “My imagination—well, what little imagination I have—doesn’t quite live up to the real thing.”
“Agreed,” I said. “The real thing is much better.”