Chapter 22

Paige set down her pencil next to her test and smiled. Science was getting much easier for her now that she and Tommy had been studying together. He was great at science and had taught her all kinds of tricks for memorizing facts. That was the best test I've had all semester, she thought, glancing around the room and seeing that most of her classmates were still working. I feel confident about all of those answers I wrote down.

She turned to look out the window and smiled when she saw that snow was beginning to fall. How perfect for the last day of school, she thought. She was looking forward to winter break. There were all kinds of fun winter activities she wanted to do, like ice skating and sledding and snowshoeing. And she was looking forward to getting to work more hours at Tidal Wave Coffee.

"All right, class, time's up," said her teacher, glancing up from her laptop and looking at the class over the edge of her reading glasses. "Please set your pencils down."

As soon as the tests had been collected and class was dismissed, Paige and Tommy found each other in the hallway. They walked side by side as they made their way out of the school.

"I can't believe we actually did it." She laughed. "It feels like we're standing on top of a mountain or something."

He grinned. "I saw you putting your pencil down before most people. Science is getting easier for you, huh?"

She nodded. "You were right, flashcards are not kids' stuff. Those really helped me."

He pretended to bow, and she laughed.

"Are you excited about Christmas?" he asked as they stepped out into the frosty air. It was a cloudy day, and light feathers of snow were still whirling down from the sky.

"Yeah, I am." Her heart twisted a little at the thought, because she missed her mother, but she was excited to spend Christmas in Blueberry Bay with Josie. "Are you?"

"Oh, yeah." He nodded, his gaze on the sidewalk and his hands in his pockets. His eyes had a far-away look. "I haven't felt like this in a long time. Like I have a home at Christmastime."

She glanced at him, her heart going out to him. "I'm glad," she told him, and they shared a smile.

They waved to a few people that they knew as they walked. Everyone seemed in excellent spirits, and some of the other teenagers had started an impromptu snowball fight. Paige and Tommy had to dodge some snowballs that whizzed through the air past them. One finally hit Tommy square in the chest, and Paige retaliated by throwing one back at the perpetrator. She grinned gleefully as her snowball hit the guy right in the shoulder.

"Nice shot!" he called, and she gave him a pretend salute.

Finally, they made it out of the combat zone, glancing over their shoulders and laughing at the kids who were still hurling snowballs behind them. They reached the end of the sidewalk, where their paths split.

"We should hang out soon," Tommy said to her. "Go sledding or something." He grinned.

"Totally. Text me when you're free!"

"Will do! I'll see you later."

"See you later."

She waved and turned away, feeling grateful for their friendship. Tommy was a really special guy—always so kind without ever being fake about it.

"Bye, Paige!"

She turned and saw a girl calling to her from a passing car. It was Amber, a girl in her social studies class. She waved, returning the girl's bright smile. I'm making friends, she thought. Her heart felt light. I feel comfortable here now. Like I'm really settling in.

As she was striding down the sidewalk, lost in thought, her cell phone began to ring. She pulled it from her pocket, wondering if it was Tommy calling her already to finalize sledding plans.

It was a number she didn't recognize. She frowned for a moment, wondering if it might be a spam caller, and then decided to answer it anyway.

"Hello?" she said tentatively.

"Hey, hon. It's your mother."

"Mom!" Her mouth opened into a huge smile and her heart started beating faster. "Hey! How are you?"

She must be calling to wish me a Merry Christmas or something,she thought.

"I'm terrible." Her mother's tone was deflated, and Paige realized that she wasn't used to hearing people speak that way anymore—as if they didn't care, or they had a chip on their shoulder against the whole world. People in Blueberry Bay did things with intention, with energy, and Paige liked that.

She kept walking, holding her phone tightly and waiting for her mother to say something else. When she didn't, Paige said, "I'm sorry, Mom."

"I've got to get out of this place. And I want you to help me."

Paige stopped walking. She stared ahead at the sidewalk and the flakes of snow that were dusting it without really seeing what was in front of her. "What?"

"I want you to get some money from Josie and come back to Maine." Her mother spoke slowly, in a wheedling tone. "Then you can help me get out of rehab."

Paige's mind was whirring. She didn't even know what to say first. "Josie wouldn't do that. She's not going to give me money to leave when I've been legally placed here—"

"I'm not asking you to ask her for money. I want you to just take it."

Her bloodstream went cold for a second. "You want me to steal from Josie so that I can help you get out of rehab?"

"Yes." The word came quickly, and without hesitation.

"I can't do that."

"Oh, come on, Paige. I know you want to get out of there too—that dinky little town. Come on! We'll have lots of fun together, like we used to."

"Mom, I can't do that." She didn't know what else to say. She realized that she was still standing still on the sidewalk and forced herself to start moving again.

Her mother exhaled on a huff. "You need to do this for me. If you care about me at all, you'll do this little thing for me."

Her mouth popped open into an "O." "That's not a little thing. It's breaking the law. Twice."

"That place has been a bad influence on you. You used to do whatever I asked you to. You used to be my pal."

Paige felt her heart getting hot, and she felt a little nauseous. She felt guilty about not doing what her mother asked her to, but she knew that she couldn't do it. It was wrong, and—

And she didn't want to leave Blueberry Bay. She wanted to stay there.

"That's not true, Mom. I love you just as much as always."

"Your sister is turning you against me. Don't forget, she abandoned us. She doesn't have your back. Don't side with her."

Paige pressed her lips together, feeling suddenly very sad. She realized that all those years, she'd been wrong to listen to her mother and think that Josie had done something bad in moving away. Her mother didn't usually talk to her like this—but there had always been that hint of control under everything she said or did. She had made sure to keep Paige close, even though her habits had made their home life difficult.

She loves me,Paige thought, feeling tears spring into her eyes, but she doesn't have my back. How can she, when she can't even take care of herself? Josie actually has my back.

"Don't say things like that, Mom," she said gently. "You know it isn't true."

There was silence on the other end of the line as Paige's mom didn't know how to respond to those words.

"I'm not going to steal from Josie, okay? Don't ask me to do something like that. You need to stay in rehab, okay? You need to get better. I hope you have a good Christmas, and I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart." Her mother sounded suddenly tired, as if she'd been running to reach something and hadn't succeeded. "But couldn't you—"

"No." Her voice was kind but firm. "Absolutely not. I love you. Bye."

"Bye."

Her mother hung up abruptly, and Paige listened to the silence on the other line. Her heart stung for a moment, but then it felt light, as if something had been lifted from her.

As she kept walking, she kept turning the situation over in her mind. She felt as though she was suddenly seeing her mother in a new light, and it was hard to see her that way. By the time she reached her and Josie's apartment, she was close to tears.

"Hey, Paige!" Josie looked up, grinning broadly, from where she was scribbling something down in a notebook at the kitchen counter. Her face fell the moment she saw her sister's expression. "What's wrong?"

Paige walked over to her sister and gave her a huge hug. She tried to stop herself from trembling a little, but she couldn't help it.

"Is everything okay?" Josie asked as they finally pulled out of the hug.

"I want to stay here," Paige blurted.

Josie's eyebrows lifted and a light came into her eyes. "Of course you can stay!"

Paige nodded, sitting down next to her sister at the kitchen counter. "Mom called me," she said quietly. She glanced at Josie and saw that her eyes were wide. "She asked me to steal money from you and help her get out of rehab."

Josie sucked in a breath, but Paige kept talking.

"I realized that she doesn't have my back like I thought she did," Paige said, blinking back the tears again. "And you do. And I feel really sad about that—well, the first part, I mean—but it's made me realize that I really do want to stay here, in Blueberry Bay, with you."

Josie wrapped her arms around her sister tightly, embracing her again. "Paige, you can stay with me for as long as you want. I mean that. You're always welcome in my home."

Paige smiled, feeling a warmth fill her heart. "Okay." She nodded, and Josie patted her shoulder.

I guess I'm glad that phone call happened,she thought. It's hard to see things clearly sometimes, but it's going to be better for me moving forward. I love my mom, but I'm going to do what Josie did and make sure I follow the path that's best for me. And that's staying here in Blueberry Bay.