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arm from his grasp. “I wanted to talk last night when I called you. That was then, this is now. I just want to get back to shopping with Kara. I want to find a beautiful dress, one so overpriced that no one should ever buy it, try it on, take it home, and forget that you had the nerve to just come in here and interrupt the one day that I had specifically set aside not to see you. How did you even find me here, anyway? I told Charlie not to tell you—”
    “I called Matt.”
    “Of course,” I rolled my eyes.
    His eyebrows pulled together as he watched me back away. “Julie—”
    “I’m done, Luke,” I said. “I’m not gonna be one of those girls.”
    “One of what girls?”
    “One of those girls who everyone feels sorry for,” I said. “One of those girls whose friends watch her with sad eyes when her boyfriend breaks her heart; one of those girls who gets kicked around.”
    “Who’s kicking you around?”
    “You are, idiot!”
    Luke’s eyes widened, and he took a step back. “Julie, can you stop talking for one second?”
    “No,” I said, “I called you last night. And I know I said that I didn’t expect you to pick up, but I did. Because you’ve been blowing me off for weeks! I know you said that you wanted to take the time to reconnect with your dad, and I gave you that time. I didn’t interfere, not once. And when you finally made time for me, I was thrilled; that’s all I wanted. But you’ve given me two hours of your life out of the last two months . And you’ve given more of your time— my time—to someone else.”
    “No, Julie, listen—”
    “I’m done, Luke,” I shrugged my shoulders. “I should’ve listened to Charlie when he said I deserved more than you. I should’ve listened to Derek.”
    “Julie, let me explain.”
    “It’s over,” I put my hands up to surrender. “Maybe you don’t have room in your life for my teenage drama , but I don’t have room in my life for a liar.”
     
    Monday, February 25| 3:00 p.m.
    I made life a living hell for Charlie and Matt all weekend. This, of course, wasn’t intentional. I could be adult enough to admit that I wasn’t a pleasant person to live with after breaking things off with Luke. My biggest problem was that I just couldn’t be adult enough to stop acting like a child. I moped around the house, slammed doors, and mumbled in response to every question thrown my way.
    “Alright,” Charlie stuck his head in my room, “if you slam this door one more time—”
    “What?” I asked. “If I slam this door one more time… what? You’ll threaten me? Lock me up and throw away the key?” Charlie scrunched his brow. “Take my phone? Here, have it.” I threw it at the door. “I have nowhere to be, and no one to talk to, so good luck coming up with a punishment.”
    “Julie,” he said, stepping in. He walked over to the bed, sat on the corner, and took my hands. “I’m not here to punish you, Pumpkin. I’ve tried talking to you all weekend, and you don’t want to talk. And that’s fine. But this attitude, this hatefulness, it has to stop.” He dropped his head to meet my stare. “What’s going on?”
    “Why did you pair me with Luke?”
    His eyes widened as if my question took him by surprise. “What do you mean, exactly?”
    “When you told me I could put in my job shadowing hours at the station… I thought you were going to give me a desk job,” I said, “but you paired me with Luke. Why?”
    “It was an opportunity for valuable experience.”
    “I didn’t need field experience, Charlie,” I said, “and you knew that . Dad taught me everything I cared to know about that job.”
    “I thought it would help you.”
    “No,” I stared at my feet, “you could’ve put me with anyone. Why Luke ?”
    “He was the best guy for the job,” he said. “He knew how much it meant to me.”
    “Or?”
    “What do you want me to say, Julie?” he asked. “I didn’t pair you together hoping you’d fall madly in