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inside to search for Conner, she snagged my sweater and jerked me backwards. “Listen, go ahead and have your mercy sailing date with Conner—”
    I shoved her hand away and wondered how she even knew he and I were sailing. “I don’t need your permission.”
    My cheeks burned, but there was no way I was letting Tammy get to me.
    She held up her palm in a talk-to-the-hand way. “I’m still the one he’s taking to prom.”
    She flicked my hair, and I had a sudden urge to hurl my textbooks at her.
    “In one week, I’ll make
all
his dreams come true and beat you like the redheaded ugly stepchild you are.”
    A million insults flashed through my mind. Somehow, one of Mom’s annoying life lessons popped into my head, telling me to be the better person, and I tried responding appropriately.
    “Yeah, I get it. You’re prettier than I am,” I said. And she was, with her model tan legs, blonde hair with a cute inverted bob, blue eyes, and a chest too big to be natural. I was short, five-foot-two to be exact, with unruly long hair, fair skin with freckles dotting my nose and cheeks, glasses, and boobs that definitely couldn’t match her Victoria Secret double D size. “Now that I’ve admitted it, why don’t you get over yourself and get a life instead of messing with mine?”
    She threw her head back in mock laughter. “Is that the best you got? Oh, I
really
don’t have anything to worry about. You’re ugly, poor,
and
pathetic.”
    My mind snapped back to the present, and I heard the nurse tell Tammy she could see her father now.
    “Just beware. He won’t look good. His skin and eyes are a bright yellow, and his stomach is very swollen from the fluid. We’ll drain some of the fluid during the next three weeks, but the rest will need to drain on its own through alcohol abstinence. He’ll need you to be strong for him. It’s a lot to ask of someone your age.”
    “There’s nobody else. So, if you’ll excuse me.” The roughness was back in her voice, and I heard her high heels click past me and down the hall.
    “Sure is a beautiful girl.” From the sound of the soothing tone, I think it was the nurse who commented.
    “Yes,” agreed the elderly neighbor. “She models to help pay the bills. She’s quite successful though, even won a Lexus through some modeling contest.”
    My stomach slammed down to my feet, and I felt lightheaded as I tried to process all this new information about Toe-touch Tammy.
She models to pay the bills? She’s not rich? Her dad is an alcoholic? She lost her mom and feels responsible for her death?
    Maybe it was possible—even probable—we had more in common than anyone else I knew.
    I yelped as the doorknob turned and the nurse’s face showed she was equally surprised to see me.
    “Um… I’m looking for the bathroom?”
    She squinted, seeming unconvinced, then pointed. “One door down.”
    Of course.
Forcing a small smile, I muttered “thanks” and rushed into the stall.
    I didn’t walk back to The Bookman afterward. Instead, I took an extended lunch break. I didn’t want to stay indoors. I didn’t even want to stay in my skin, but I didn’t have a choice about that. So I headed to the hospital cafeteria for some coffee and then sat outside in the courtyard. I sent a text to Nic so she wouldn’t worry when I didn’t return for a couple of hours, maybe even for the rest of my work shift. I just needed some time to think, about eighteen things apparently.
    Thank you, Dr. Judy.
    The air was the stuffy kind of humid, and I should’ve ordered something cold. Still, it seemed fitting for the temperature to match my personal Hell.
    Was it too early to call it a day?
Truthfully, I just wanted to go home and sleep. I wondered if the saying ‘time heals all wounds’ still worked its magic if I slept through all my days. I didn’t feel like staying outdoors anymore, of hearing birds chirp and viewing the cloudless sky. But getting up seemed like too much work.
    “Got a