Read Online Make It Count by Megan Erickson - Free Book Online Page A

junker. There were splotches of rust among the brown paint, and the whole vehicle vibrated violently while they idled at a stop sign. When Kat pointed questioningly at a notepad with scrawled numbers on it, he explained his gas gauge didn’t work, and he kept track of his mileage on paper.
    She reached for the radio dial, but he waved his hand over the instrument panel. “Yeah . . . uh . . . it doesn’t work.”
    “You can’t listen to the radio?”
    “No. Well, at least, not usually. Sometimes when the moon is full and the stars align and I sit at just the right angle, I can get some gospel station.”
    “Silence sounds like the better alternative, then.”
    “Listening to music while driving is overrated.”
    She lifted an eyebrow at him. “Really?”
    The corner of his mouth lifted in a small smile. “No, not really. Driving without it sucks and it’s boring.”
    She laughed, and they lapsed into silence. Memories of the night before swirled in her head, but she clenched her jaw before she said something stupid like, where’d you learn to dance like that or jeez, how about this weather . She bit her lip as he pulled into a parking lot outside her apartment.
    “This is it, right?” he asked, gazing up at the building.
    “Yep. Thanks for the ride.” She climbed out of the car.
    “No problem, Kat.”
    She gave him a wave as she made her way into her building, aware of his car still idling in the parking lot, and the skin on the back of her neck tingling, like he’d branded her with his lips.
    She rubbed the spot with a wince and opened her front door. Shanna looked up at her from her video game. Again.
    Kat nodded at her and walked into her bedroom. Tara was tacking some pictures of her family on the wall. She gestured toward a box in front of Kat’s closet. “That came for you today.”
    Kat took off her coat and checked the return address label. “Oh good, my mom found my stuff.” She peeled off the packing tape and opened the flaps. On top of a pile of clothing sat a pair of almost pristine ballet shoes. She shoved the box over to Tara’s side of the room with a grunt. “It’s for you, actually.”
    “For me?” Tara said, dropping her pictures onto her bed.
    “Well, for Amy. My mom shipped all my old ballet stuff. I mean, I realize it’s, like, ten years old or something, but a lot of these things I never used, so . . .”
    Tara was already rummaging through the box. “Kat, I can’t believe you. This stuff is gorgeous.” She pulled out a light pink leotard with ivory trim. “Amy is going to look adorable in this stuff.”
    “I thought so. Anyway, I asked Mom to ship it so you could take it home for spring break. I hope some of it fits.”
    Tara dropped a pair of ballet shoes she’d been ogling and launched herself at Kat. “You’re the sweetest, Kitty-Kat.”
    Kat wrapped her arms around her friend’s waist and squeezed. Tara was the best big sister she’d ever met, sacrificing so much to help her family. If Kat could help in any way, she would in a heartbeat. “Anytime, Tare-bear.”
    Tara released her and tilted her head toward her wall. “You busy? Can you help me with these pictures on my wall? I think they look stupid, all up in a row. You have your side of the bedroom decorated so cool. Arrange mine for me.”
    Kat cast an eye over to her side of the room. Her comforter was a lavender with light yellow piping and she’d incorporated those colors around her space, finding different shades of purple and yellow frames to display her pictures. She had even managed to save up from her summer job filing paperwork for her dad to buy a purple laptop.
    Now comparing her side of the room to Tara’s, hers did look more organized. But that’s how she needed things to be.
    “Okay,” she said, taking the pictures from Tara she’d ripped off the wall. She leaned back, treating the wall as a canvas, and started layering the pictures into a big grouping on the wall. Tara’s family