Everything We Keep: A Novel Read Online Free Page A

and expanded. White flakes dusted the floor. I grabbed my purse and keys.
    Dad’s brows pushed up in the middle. “Where are you going?”
    “Out. Home.” I shook my head. “Somewhere.” Confusion twisted inside me. I couldn’t think straight. A huge weight pressed hard on my chest and it hurt to breathe. Walls were closing in. I left the kitchen.
    Mom followed me to the parking lot. I fumbled with my keys. They dropped on the ground and my chin dropped to my chest. I sucked in a ragged breath and exhaled. My shoulders trembled, my chest tight with sobs straining to be released.
    Mom’s arm curved around my back. She pulled me into her chest. I tucked my face into the curve of her neck and cried. My fingers clawed at her back until I finally held on. She gently rocked us and stroked my head, urging in a soothing tone to let it out. To just let go.
    “I don’t know how.”
    “You’ll find a way,” she said.
    “I don’t know what to do.”
    “You’ll figure something out.”
    “I’m all alone.”
    She leaned away and clasped my face, wiped my tears aside with her thumbs. “You’re not alone. We’re here for you, honey. Call us. We’ll help, whether it’s references for a new job or a shoulder to cry on.”
    I appreciated her offer, but it wasn’t what I wanted to hear. Not yet.

    I was eight when I met James. He’d moved to Los Gatos from New York and was Nick’s new neighbor, two blocks from the ranch home where I grew up with my parents, Catherine and Hugh Tierney. On a midsummer Saturday morning, Nick and Kristen brought James over to introduce us. I remember details about that day more clearly than any others at that age, from the way James topped off his wave with a smile, revealing he was as nervous meeting me as he was eager to make new friends. He wore his hair longer than the boys at school, and I couldn’t stop looking at the thick, brown waves curving around his ear lobes under the rim of his New York Jets cap. He combed his fingers through his hair as though trying to flatten the unruly strands.
    Like most Saturdays in our neighborhood, the air was heavy with the scent of fresh-cut grass. The neighbors’ sprinklers droned on, white noise in the background. I heard the gentle hum each time Dad cut the engine to his mower. And like many summer Saturdays, I’d set up a lemonade stand to raise money. I was saving to purchase a pouch of Magic Memory Dust from the toy store downtown. The sales clerk had told me if I sprinkled a pinch over my head each night before bed, I wouldn’t forget where I’d put my shoes or when to do my chores. After hearing that, I had to have a pouch.
    But this particular Saturday morning was different from others, and not because Nick and Kristen were coming over with their new friend. Robbie, the kid across the street, and his cousin Frankie had seen me set up my stand. Robbie was enough of a bully on his own, but the two of them together meant hair-pulling and name-calling, damaged toys and angry tears.
    They’d just finagled a cup of lemonade from me, offering up shiny quarters that I wanted more than I wanted them to leave me alone, when Kristen and Nick arrived.
    “Hi, Aimee,” Kristen said. She motioned to the new kid standing beside Nick. “This is James.”
    I poured Robbie his lemonade and smiled at James. “Hello.”
    He grinned and gave me a short wave.
    “Lookie who’s here,” prodded Robbie. “Icky Nicky and Sissy Pants. Is that your new girlfriend?” He thrust his chin at James.
    James stiffened. Nick took a threatening step toward Robbie. “Buzz off, loser.”
    “Ugh!” Frankie moaned. The cup slipped from his hand. He gripped his neck with both hands and weaved. “She’s poisoned me. I’m dying.”
    “Stop messing around!” Embarrassed, I tossed James a panicked look. He scowled at Frankie.
    “Let me try.” Robbie downed his lemonade and the cup flew from his hand. “Oh no! It is poisoned.” He pitched forward across the