Chapter 48

Maggie

A drawing of a smartphone with a rectangular screen. There is a round button below the screen on the face of the phone.

By the time Maggie returns home, her excitement about the essay has fizzled. She made the mistake of checking her phone when her dad picked her up. Just like with the movie theater photo, Lexi has struck a blow meant to leave a mark. The picture is of her and Brianne with wide, openmouthed grins, at Tubby’s. The hashtags read #BFF #TwoIsBetterThanThree.

When she steps inside the house, things get worse.

“I bumped into Lexi’s mom,” Maggie’s mom says as she heats up her dinner. “She was buying snacks for their sleepover this weekend. She was surprised I didn’t know about it.”

Maggie’s face falls. “I wasn’t invited.”

Her mom winces. “Did you have a fight?”

“I—I don’t think so.” But as the realization sinks in, Maggie’s chin trembles. Two is better than three. “I don’t know.” What used to be clear to her has grown murky; her friendship, but also what she wants. She was used to going along with things, following Lexi’s lead, but now...

“Maybe they texted while you were at Brayside and you missed it?” her mom suggests.

Maggie shakes her head. She knows there’s not going to be a text. Maggie trudges upstairs to her room. She’s too wrapped up in thinking about the sleepover she hasn’t been invited to, that she doesn’t know whether she even wants to be invited to, to hear the jingle of Harvey’s tag as he follows her. When she gets to her room, she slips in and closes the door. Harvey is left in the hallway, staring at the door. Alone.