“No, you’re not.” I shook my head.
“I am. I was.” Her puppy-dog eyes matched her costume perfectly. “And I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. Everything was so messed up.”
“Still,” she said. “Major BFF fail.”
“I should never have lied to you about James. I don’t know why I did that.”
“Maybe because I was acting like a complete lunatic? About a guy who barely even said hi to me?”
I smiled through my tears. “I was so afraid of losing you, and then I pretty much did everything I could to make that happen. I was such an idiot.”
“Me too,” she said.
“I’ve missed you so much.” I sniffled, then started full-on crying again.
She wrapped her arms around me. “I missed you, too. Willow nearly drove me insane these last few weeks.”
I stood back with a gasp. “You’re missing her party! She’ll never speak to you again.”
Reesa shrugged. “She’s going to have very few people to talk to then, because it looks like her entire guest list is here.”
I had been so focused on James, Lennie, and now Reesa, I’d hardly noticed how massive the party had become. Our tiny yard was packed, and the overflow had spread across the street to the playground. My dad was chatting with a neighbor by the gravel road, probably wondering when the police would show up and send everyone home.
I turned back to Reesa. “And you were at open mic night. You took that video.”
She nodded. “I was so proud of you. You know how hard it was not to run up on that stage and hug you?”
“How did you even know I was performing?”
“Molly told me.”
“Molly?” I shook my head. My friends had been rallying around me, and I didn’t even know.
I hugged Reesa again, still crying, and dragged her up toward my attic room. Mom had brought the twins in for bed and was trying to convince them to get their pajamas on. Brady started clapping when he saw Reesa. I couldn’t believe he still remembered how she’d helped him learn how to clap. She clapped back and gave him a hug, and Kaya, too.
It only made me cry more.
I took her arm and led her up to my room, and she twirled around in the little bit of space in the center. “I love it. You’re like Rapunzel, up here in your tower.”
I pouted. “More like Cinderella.”
“All you need is a prince.”
My laugh came out a sob. I hugged her some more and we fell onto the bed.
“Tell me everything. Who did this to you.” She motioned to my blubbering face.
“That’s the thing,” I said with a hiccupy sniffle. “I think I did it to myself.”
“Tell me,” she said.
I took a deep breath and filled her in on what had happened between James, me, and Lennie. After ten minutes of detailing everything, Reesa stared at me, her mouth gaping a bit. She shook her head. “Wow.”
“And I haven’t had anyone to talk to about it.”
She pulled my head to her furry shoulder. “What about Molly?”
“Molly’s great. But she’s not you.”
Reesa smiled. “Well, I’m here now,” she said. “And I’m not going anywhere.”
She patted my shoulder and rocked us side to side, saying “there, there” every now and then, like a mom. My shuddery sniffles quieted.
I stood up and looked out the dormer window at the light beneath the door of Lennie’s shed. “I don’t know what to do.”
“So.” She sighed. “Lazarski, huh?”
I nodded.
“And James?”
“I really like him, too. He’s just . . .” I paced circles around my tiny rug. It wasn’t that he’d done anything wrong. If he’d never gone away and I hadn’t discovered the fascinating puzzle that was Lennie, I’d probably be trying to sneak behind the hedges with him right now.
“He’s good-looking and sweet and funny and perfect in every way,” said Reesa. And she was right. He was. “He’s that guy on dating shows who everyone’s rooting for and they can’t figure out how the stupid bachelorette could possibly let him go.”
I nodded. “But she falls for the one nobody expects her to fall for. The one she never expected to fall for.”
“The hot, sexy bad boy.”
My mouth fell open a little bit. “You think Lennie’s hot and sexy?”
Reesa rolled her eyes. “Please. I may be a snob, but I’m not blind.”
My mother hollered up the steps then that people were looking for me and I wasn’t being a very good hostess, disappearing from my own party.
“Coming!” I hugged Reesa again and let her fix my makeup and hair, then led her to the drinks, where we found Jenna and Rigby and Molly and her explorer dude. I think his name was Seth. One of Seth’s friends, whose geek costume of thick black glasses and a button-up shirt didn’t hide how cute he actually was, asked Reesa what she was supposed to be.
Reesa blanched. “I’m, uh . . .”
“The best friend ever,” I said. “Loyal, faithful . . . all that.”
Geek guy smiled. “I’m Reese.”
Reesa and I burst out laughing.
“What?” said Reese. “What’s so funny?”
“It’s just . . . I’m Reesa.”
Reese’s laugh was more of a guffaw, which only made Reesa giggle harder. The two of them quickly forgot I existed. I wandered the party, never stopping long enough for anyone to realize I wasn’t paying attention to a word they said. Molly dragged me over to dance with her and Seth and company, but didn’t notice when I wiggled out of the circle and into the shadows.
I stood at the edge of our yard, watching everyone, Lennie’s shed behind me. I could feel it there, though, like warm breath on my neck. When I couldn’t stand it anymore, I turned toward it. Toward him.
FORTY-EIGHT
On my way to Lennie’s shed, I cut through a dance line that was snaking around the backyard. He didn’t answer the door or even say anything, but I went in, anyway. He was still twirling around slowly in his chair. I pulled my arms through the straps of my butterfly wings and laid them on the counter, then walked around the workbench to where he was sitting. He still didn’t look up, so I stood between his knees and pushed his shoulders back. When his eyes finally met mine, they were red.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “Can you forgive me?”
He lifted his hands to my waist and pulled me toward him, so his face pressed into my stomach. He inhaled a deep breath and let it shudder out.
I wrapped my arms around him, holding him tighter, then slid onto his lap. His arms moved slowly up my back and into my hair, lowering my face to his.
“What are you doing with a loser like me?” His voice was low, a bass note that vibrated through me.
“You’re not a loser.”
He let out a single snort of laughter. “Said nobody ever.”
“Said me. Am I nobody?”
He smiled. “You’re somebody.”
I lifted Brady’s red Superman cape that sat crumpled on the counter next to Lennie’s chair. “You’re a hero.”
He grinned. “They don’t call me Wonder Woman for nothing.”
I laughed. “I’m sorry I looked down on you before, on this place. I don’t anymore. And you aren’t who I thought you were. Not at all.”
He inhaled a slow breath. “What changed your mind?”
I couldn’t hold his gaze, so I studied the collar of his shirt instead. “The way you are with Brady,” I whispered. “And with your mom.”
“Ah,” he said. “Nothing to do with you and me, then. . . .”
I shook my head, a shy smile coming to my lips. “Nope.”
There was no way I could admit that his touch practically made me forget my own name—the way he was tracing my face with his eyes, the heat of his legs under mine. If he didn’t kiss me soon, I was going to explode.
He stood abruptly and I nearly fell to the floor. “Hey!”
“Sorry,” he said, not sounding very sorry. He turned his back to me and leaned over his computer. “I just think we’re too young to be together because you think I’m nice to children and my mother. If that’s all you got, then . . .”
I grabbed the collar I’d been staring at a moment ago and spun him crashing into me.
“Whoa,” he said.
I stood on tiptoes, my whole body leaning into him, and kissed him hard.
“I changed my mind about you,” I said angrily, my arms still locked around him, “because you do this to me, you big jerk.”
“This?” He kissed me back hard, one hand tangled in my hair and the other holding me so tightly against him I could barely breathe.
“Yes,” I said when we broke apart, panting and laughing. “That.”
He grinned his crooked grin. “But I’ve never kissed you like that before.”
“Let’s not get hung up on technicalities, shall we?” I wasn’t about to confess that I’d imagined him kissing me like that quite a few times. And the reality was way better.
He sat down and pulled me to his lap, and I sank right into him like he was custom-carved to fit. We may or may not have kissed for a really long time before we heard a faint knocking at the door.
“Who is it?” Lennie called out.
No one answered, but the knocking continued.
“Brady,” I gasped. “It’s Brady.” I don’t know how I knew. But I did. I untangled myself from Lennie and lunged for the door.
The moment I swung it open, Brady dived past me, crying, and wrapped himself around Lennie’s leg. I rushed forward with soothing sounds, shushing softly in Brady’s ear.
“He must’ve gotten lost in the dark,” I said.
Lennie gently pried my brother off his leg and scooped him up. “I got ya, buddy. You’re okay.”
Brady clung to Lennie’s neck.
My mother ran up then, in a panic. “Oh, thank God. You found him. I tucked him into bed and then he . . . he disappeared.” She held her hands out to take Brady, but he only burrowed deeper into Lennie.
Mom looked to me with wide eyes.
I shrugged.
“Hey, little dude.” Lennie spoke softly into Brady’s ear. “You want to dance with me and Ivy?”
My brother pulled his face from Lennie’s shoulder and smiled.
Lennie carried him to the yard as I pulled my butterfly wings back on, and we danced around and around with Brady hugged between us.
Reesa and Reese joined us, and Molly and her explorer dude. Soon my dad came and took Brady up to bed. Lennie slid his arms around my waist, beneath my wings. He pulled me close and the music pulsed through us, and everything else seemed to disappear. It was just me and Lennie, and as his shimmery eyes smiled into mine, I finally knew where I belonged. And it felt like home.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Where to start? So many people have helped me achieve this goal of writing a novel and—even more challenging—getting it published! Perhaps the best place to begin is where the dream ultimately came true: with HarperTeen and my wonderful editor—Karen Chaplin. I wouldn’t be writing this sentence if she hadn’t pulled Ivy from her pile and helped me bring this story to life. Thanks to everyone at HarperCollins who played a part in making Between the Notes a real, live book, and to my agent, Steven Chudney, for his patience and expertise along the way.
There are many others I want to thank, and hope I don’t miss anyone: To author Mary Kennedy, who was the first to say “go for it” when I shared my wish to write a novel; to Annie Norman and Patty Langley at the Delaware Division of Libraries and to Janet Hughes for asking me to work with them on the Delaware Book Festival, where I was inspired by authors like Laurie Halse Anderson and Jon Scieszka; to Stacey Burr for all the brainstorming and for not telling me how terrible those very first chapters I ever wrote truly were; to Rhe De Ville for the twist on a kernel of an idea that got this story rolling; to my fabulous writing friends and critique partners—Tamara Girardi, Joy McCullough-Carranza, and Hilary T. Smith—for suffering through early drafts (and revision after revision) and for always being there when I need you, as well as readers Sarah and Cate Kastringer; and to the fabulous YA writing community, especially the TeenLitAuthors group and Fearless Fifteeners . . . thank you all so much! I am also indebted to Renee Bowers and Aaron Fichtelberg and their twins, Theo and Oliver, for giving me a glimpse into their very special life; to Little Invisibles’ singer-songwriter-pianist Gina Degnars and singer-songwriter Leah Awitan for insights on songwriting and stage fright; and to so many other friends and family members who have been cheering me on and anxiously awaiting the publication of this novel!
Finally, thanks, Mom, for the lessons in persistence, and Dad, for showing me that hard work pays off. Rich, I’m so glad you were totally on board with my decision to quit PR and start writing fiction. This novel probably won’t get us that house in France you’ve been wanting, but I’ll keep at it. Maybe someday . . .
And to Sebastian and Anna—thank you for inspiring me, believing in me, and always being eager to read my books. I hope there will be many more to come!
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo by Carlos Alejandro
SHARON HUSS ROAT grew up in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and now lives in Delaware with her husband (who makes fonts), her son (who makes music), and her daughter (who makes believe!). She worked in public relations for twenty years before deciding what she really wanted to be when she grew up. Between the Notes is her debut novel. When she’s not writing (or reading) books for young adults, you might find her planting vegetables in her backyard garden or sewing costumes for a school musical. Visit her online at www.sharonroat.com or on Twitter @sharonwrote.
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CREDITS
Cover art © 2015 by DAVID CURTIS STUDIO
Cover design & hand lettering KATE J. ENGBRING
COPYRIGHT
HarperTeen is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
BETWEEN THE NOTES. Copyright © 2015 by Sharon Huss Roat. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2015933430
ISBN 978-0-06-229172-1
EPub Edition © May 2015 ISBN 9780062291745
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