I'll Stop the World (7)

“Wait.” Shawn’s wallet was still in his hand. He took out the five-dollar bill and stuffed it through the slit in the lid of the can, giving Noah a small smile. “Fair’s fair, right?”

“Sure. Thanks, man.”

“You want me to come with you?” Rose offered.

“Nah,” Noah said. “I’ll see you later, Rosie. Bye, Shawn.”

Shawn and Rose stood side by side as Noah walked off, the can dangling limply from his hand. Once he was out of earshot, Shawn muttered, “I should’ve said something.”

“He didn’t want you to.”

“But maybe if I—”

“Shawn. Let it go,” Rose said firmly. Shawn was a smart guy, but he didn’t seem to get that some things couldn’t be fixed with a winning smile and a clever joke. Some things were bigger than that.

Shawn sighed, looking down at the posters and chairs. “I guess we should pack up.”

After loading everything into her car—or rather, her dad’s car, a brown Ford Escort that coughed and wheezed like a lifelong chain smoker—Rose offered Shawn a ride home. His house wasn’t far, only a few streets over from hers, and they spent most of the drive in silence.

“You okay?” Shawn asked as she pulled into his driveway.

Sure is what she meant to say, but what came out was, “I don’t know.”

He paused, his fingers on the door handle. “You know they’re not going to be together forever, right?”

“What?” Rose blinked, unsure what he was talking about.

“Noah and Steph. I mean, she’s a nice girl, but . . . he’s going to figure it out eventually.”

“Figure what out?”

He gestured vaguely toward her. “That there’s . . . a better . . . option,” he trailed off weakly.

“Oh. Oh. Shawn, I wasn’t—I mean, that’s not what I was thinking about.” Rose’s cheeks grew warm, and she sank down into the driver’s seat, wishing she could disappear.

“Oh.” Shawn’s face flushed, too, rapidly approaching the color of his hair. “Sorry, it’s just, I thought—anyway, what did you mean?”

Rose made a mental note to have a serious talk with Lisa about which topics were and were absolutely not okay to discuss with her boyfriend. “I just hate that I can’t do anything to help Mrs. Hanley,” she said, determined to change the subject.

“You did do something!” Shawn protested, but Rose made a face at him.

“Forty dollars isn’t going to get her garage repaired, Shawn. It’s not going to make the police care about figuring out who did it, or replace any of the stuff she lost.” She sighed. “I just feel so useless sometimes, you know? Like everything I do is just like . . .” She flicked her fingers wide and blew a raspberry, pantomiming an explosion.

“That’s not true,” Shawn said.

She glanced sideways at him. “Shawn, I can’t even get my own sister to make time for me anymore. And I’m pretty sure Noah was only there because he felt sorry for me, even though Mrs. Hanley is his grandmother. Everyone has somewhere they’d rather be than with me.”

“Not me.” Shawn flashed her one of his kilowatt grins.

“You’re telling me you wouldn’t rather be with Lisa right now than with me?”

He shrugged, his smile flickering. “I like being with you,” he said. “You’re my friend.”

She noticed he hadn’t answered the question, but he didn’t have to. She knew what she was to him, to everyone. A footnote in other people’s stories.

“Anyway, I better get inside,” Shawn said, jolting her out of the awkward silence that had arisen between them. “Thanks for the ride,” he said, unfolding himself from the passenger seat and climbing out of the car. “And hang in there, okay? I’m sure next time will be better.”

Rose gave him a tight smile as he closed the door. “Sure. Next time.”





Chapter Three


LISA

Lisa shut the fridge, a Tupperware container of last night’s leftovers in her hand, to find Rose gaping at her from the garage doorway.

“What are you doing here?”

“I . . . live here?” Lisa stammered.

“I thought you were at Charlene’s.”

Lisa’s heart sank at the note of accusation in Rose’s tone. She’d hoped that Shawn would’ve explained why she needed to go to Charlene’s instead of the fundraiser, but from the hurt in her stepsister’s voice, she could tell he hadn’t. Or at least, not very well. “I was,” she said carefully. “It was a last-minute thing. The whole planning committee bailed, and Char was freaking out, and—”

“So you decided to bail on me instead.” Rose kicked off her shoes and placed them by the door, keeping her eyes downcast.

“I’m sorry, Rosie. I tried to find you after school, but you and Noah had already left, so I asked Shawn to explain.” Lisa frowned, wishing Rose would put herself in her shoes for once. Did she really think that Lisa had just changed her mind on a whim? Lisa wished she had the luxury of acting frivolously and doing whatever she wanted, but she wasn’t that lucky. “I just thought there would be more of you guys at the Food Mart, so you wouldn’t need me as much.”