something. I didn’ t expect her to start the conversation as she did.“ People think I’ m strange, don’ t they,” she finally said, breaking the silence.“ Who do you mean?” I asked, even though I knew the answer.“ People at school.”“ No, they don’ t,” I lied.
I kissed her cheek as I squeezed her arm a little tighter to me. She winced, and I could tell that I’ d hurt her somehow.
“ Are you okay?” I asked, concerned.
“ I’ m fine,” she said, regaining her composure and keeping the subject on track.“ Will you do me a favor, though?”
“ Anything,” I said.“ Will you promise to tell me the truth from now on? I mean always?”“ Sure,” I said. She stopped me suddenly and looked right at me.“ Are you lying to me right now?”
“ No,” I said defensively, wondering where this was going.“ I promise that from now on, I’ ll always tell you the truth.”
Somehow, when I said it, I knew that I’ d come to regret it.
We started walking again. As we moved down the street, I glanced at her hand, which was looped through mine, and I saw a large bruise just below her ring finger. I had no idea where it had come from, since it hadn’ t been there the day before. For a second I thought it might have been caused by me, but then I realized that I hadn’ t even touched her there.
“ People think I’ m strange, don’ t they?” she asked again. My breath was coming out in little puffs.“ Yes,” I finally answered. It hurt me to say it.“ Why?” She looked almost despondent.
I thought about it.“ People have different reasons,” I said vaguely, doing my best not to go any further.
“ But why, exactly? Is it because of my father? Or is it because I try to be nice to people?”
I didn’ t want anything to do with this.“ I suppose,” was all I could say. I felt a little queasy. Jamie seemed disheartened, and we walked a little farther in silence.“ Do you think I’ m strange, too?” she asked me. The way she said it made me ache more than I thought it would. We were almost at