Read Online Arrows by Melissa Gorzelanczyk - Free Book Online

Thursday-night plans.”
    “But—how?”
    “Just followed the recipe,” I said. “Added a little love.”
    “Recipe?”
    Leah and I watched him for a couple of seconds before he said, “Oh. Recipe. Anyway, they’re really good.”
    “They’re for Danny. It’s our one-year anniversary tomorrow.”
    “He brought Jen to the party,” Leah said. She pushed her cookie aside on the place mat.
    “Jen who?” When my heart sped up, I pretended to be very busy fixing Nell’s shirt, which was always riding up above her baby stomach.
    “Jen from your class, the only Jen we know. Did he tell you they were going together? He didn’t, did he?”
    I held my sister’s gaze. “I’m not getting into this with you.”
    “I don’t think they expected me to be there.”
    “You shouldn’t have been there, that’s why.”
    Aaryn picked up another cookie without asking. What was he thinking of my life? My living room? The baby bouncer, the swing, the bottles I hadn’t had a chance to wash? I fit Nell into her swing, but she squirmed angrily. I jabbed the power button for the music. Electronic violins, some kind of reggae beat, played over the sound of the swing gears. “Did you say anything to him?” I didn’t want to seem like I was pumping her for information.
    I wanted to ask her so bad.

    “I called him an asshole,” Leah said, quite proud of the fact. “I told him he shouldn’t be at a party with another girl while you’re at home taking care of Nell.”
    “He’s just trying to have a life.” My throat felt really dry. “What do you think, Aaryn?”
    His eyebrows shot up. A few cookie crumbs fell from his lips. “Me?”
    “What do you think about Danny going to a party with another girl? A friend, maybe? Someone he’s grown up with?”
    “Oh, uh…I’m the one who invited Jen to the party.” He paused and grabbed a third cookie fast. “Not Danny. We rode in his truck, though.”
    Thank God. I faced my sister with my hands on my hips. “All that drama for nothing.”
    Leah’s eyes narrowed. “Why didn’t Danny tell me that? I called him out on it, and he acted so stupid.”
    Aaryn finished the cookie, holding the tip of his thumb in his mouth. “I wasn’t really paying attention.”
    Leah grabbed an ice pack from the freezer and held it against one half of her mouth. “Megan told me he was saying how hard it is to be a teen dad. Give me a break. Real hard, talking about it at drinking parties.”
    Nell started to cry, a nasally, coughing kind of cry, which usually meant she was really tired. “He does the best he can.”
    “It’s like you’re not even dating him anymore, you’re like, life-following. You follow whatever he wants, and he does whatever he wants. I’m sick of seeing him at parties. All I can think about is how he shouldn’t be there. He should be home with you.”
    I sighed, so, so tired of this conversation and of worrying. I hadn’t told her about Louisiana, but she was acting like she knew. Life-following. I stopped the swing. Nell smiled at me.

    “You don’t get it,” I said. She wasn’t thinking about all the good times Danny and I had shared. The school dances, the dates when it was just us two, and our double dates with Peyton and Nick. “But I guess I do hope that he’s not giving Jen a ride home. They’re not that great of friends.”
    “Right, while you’re sitting here with a kitchen full of his favorite cookies,” Leah said.
    Aaryn inched toward a fourth—yes, fourth—cookie.
    “Hey—save some for Danny,” I said.
    “Sorry. They’re just really good.” Nell cooed for his attention and he grinned. “She looks a lot like you.”
    My little babe. I picked her up and kissed her cheek, bringing her closer to him. She tried to whack him with her fist.
    “Can I hold her?”
    I shrugged. “Sure.”
    I fit Nell into his hands. She was wide-eyed and excited, pounding him with both fists. His chest appeared solid enough for the beating. “Hi,