Read Online The Duff: Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Kody Keplinger - Free Book Online

the carpet.
     I couldn’t cry. If I’d cried, it wouldn’t have had anything to do with the fact that my parents were getting divorced. That
     wasn’t a shocker. It wouldn’t have had anything to do with missing my mother. She’d been gone too long for that. I wouldn’t
     even have been mourning for the family I’d once had. I was happy with the way life was, just me and Dad. No. If I had cried,
     it would have been out of anger, out of fear, or something else entirely selfish. I would have been crying because of what
     it meant for
me. I
had to be the adult now.
I
had to take care of Dad. But at that moment, my mother, living like a star in Orange County, was acting selfishly enough
     for the both of us, so I had to put the tears aside.
    I’d just rolled the vacuum back into the laundry room when the cordless phone started ringing.
    “Hello?” I said into the receiver.
    “Good afternoon, Duffy.”
    Oh, shit. I’d forgotten about working with Wesley on that stupid project. Of all the people to see that day, why did it have
     to be him? Why did this day have to get worse?
    “It’s almost three,” he said. “I’m getting ready to drive over to your place. You told me to call before I left…. I’m just
     being considerate.”
    “You don’t even know what that means.” I glanced down the hall in the direction of my father’s snores. The living room, whileno longer a death trap, still looked rough, and there was no telling what kind of mood Dad would be in when he rolled out
     of bed. I just knew it probably wouldn’t be a good one. I didn’t even know what I would say to him. “Look, on second thought,
     I’ll come to your house. I’ll see you in twenty minutes.”
    Every town has that one house. You know, the one that is so freaking nice that it just doesn’t fit in. The house that’s so
     lavish that you almost feel like the owners are rubbing their wealth in your face. Every town in the world has one particular
     house like that, and in Hamilton that house belonged to the Rush family.
    I don’t know if it could technically be called a mansion, but the house was three stories tall and had two balconies.
Balconies!
I’d gawked at the place a million times as I drove past, but I never thought I’d be going inside. On any other day, I would
     have been a little excited to see the interior (of course, I never would have told anyone that), but my thoughts were so wrapped
     around the divorce papers on my kitchen table that I couldn’t feel anything but anxious and miserable.
    Wesley met me at the front door, an annoyingly confident grin on his face. He leaned against the door frame, arms folded across
     his broad chest. He was wearing a dark blue button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. And of course he’d
     left the top few buttons undone. “Hello, Duffy.”
    Did he know how much that name bothered me? I glanced at the driveway, which was empty except for my Saturn and his Porsche.
     “Where are your parents?” I asked.
    “Gone,” he replied with a wink. “Looks like it’s just you and me.”
    I pushed past him and walked into the large foyer, rolling my eyes with disgust. Once my shoes were positioned neatly in the
     corner, I turned to Wesley, who was watching me with vague interest. “Let’s get this over with.”
    “Don’t you want the grand tour?”
    “Not really.”
    Wesley shrugged. “It’s your loss. Follow me.” He led the way into the enormous living room, which was probably as big as Hamilton
     High’s cafeteria. Two large pillars held up the ceiling, and three beige couches, along with two matching love seats, were
     arranged around the room. On one wall I saw a huge flat-screen TV, and on another I found a giant fireplace. January sun spilled
     in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, lighting the space with a natural, happy feeling. But Wesley turned and started walking
     up the stairs, away from the comforting room.
    “Where are you going?” I