The Rules of You and Me Read Online Free

The Rules of You and Me
Book: The Rules of You and Me Read Online Free
Author: Shana Norris
Tags: Romance, Contemporary, Family, Young Adult, High School, teen, love, friends
Pages:
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your plans?”
    I raised my eyebrows. “Plans?”
    “ For your visit. Did you have something you wanted to do or see while you’re here?”
    I shrugged. “I just came to visit.” I hadn’t really thought about what I’d do here in Asheville. My sole focus had been to get away from Willowbrook.
    “ Okay,” Aunt Lydia said. She said it in a way like my being there, without any specific goals, was an inconvenience to her. She furrowed her brow and tapped her fingers on the table. “Hey, you’re a good student, right? There are a lot of museums you can visit around here.”
    Visiting museums sounded exactly like something the Hannah I wasn’t supposed to be would do. She would waste away her summer learning while other seventeen-year-olds were out doing whatever it was normal seventeen-year-olds did. Steal beer? Watch R rated movies?
    “ My life coach says I should expand my experiences to new things,” I said. “So I think museums are out. I’ve been to plenty of those.”
    Aunt Lydia stared at me as if I’d grown another head. “What the heck is a life coach?”
    I stared down at my hands as a burning sensation crept up my neck. Apparently, Mom had never bothered to tell Aunt Lydia about Mark. “Oh, um,” I said, stammering for an explanation that wouldn’t reveal too much. “He’s someone who helps me figure out what step would be best to take in my life. You know, like when I’m confused about something or having a problem. He listens and helps me figure it out.”
    “ So, like a therapist?”
    I glanced around the room quickly to see if anyone had overheard her. “No, he’s a life coach . It’s different.”
    “ How exactly?” Aunt Lydia asked.
    I was saved from answering by the return of Mama Rita, who placed two glasses of tea on the table between us. “Here you go, girls,” she boomed. “Now, have you decided what to eat yet?”
    I looked down at the unopened menu in my hands. I hadn’t even looked at it since we sat down.
    Aunt Lydia must have noticed my look of panic because she said, “How about if I pick something out for both of us?”
    I nodded and set the menu on the table. “Okay.”
    Aunt Lydia ordered two plates of ravioli, Caesar salads, and mozzarella sticks. After Mama Rita left, we sat at the table in silence for a few moments. The other diners around us ate and talked and laughed, bits of their conversations drifting toward me over the silence at my own table. A long time ago, Aunt Lydia and I had been so close, I used to pretend she was my older sister. She had never seemed as old as she actually was. Even when things were structured and ordered to perfection at my own house, Aunt Lydia would always let me just be a kid when I was around her.
    But now I didn’t even know what to say to her. The silence stretched on until it became uncomfortable. I sipped my tea, then carefully replaced it, wiping away the bead of condensation on the glass. I reached over to adjust the little silk rose in the glass vase in the center of the table so that the leaves were aligned evenly on each side.
    Then I realized this was something my mother would do. I let my hand drop back to my lap.
    Aunt Lydia had been watching me without speaking. She sipped her own drink, then said, “How is your father?”
    My jaw clenched as an icy chill raced down my spine. “Fine. Mom says he’s enjoying himself at the…the center.”
    Even I couldn’t say the word rehab , but I didn’t want to call it a resort like Mom did. The old Hannah would buy into Mom’s lie and paint over reality with the rainbow brush of perfection.
    Aunt Lydia nodded. “That’s good. I hope he can get the help he needs there.”
    I waved a hand as if it didn’t matter. “He’s making a lot of friends. I’m sure he’ll come back all refreshed and ready to get back to work.”
    “ Do you think that’s a good idea?” Aunt Lydia asked. “Him going back to work so quickly? Maybe all the stress of his job is what caused
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