Crossing the Barrier by Martine Lewis Page B

Sandra belied what she had just said. Sandra and David bickered all the time, but they loved each other deeply. Sandra could always count on her little brother to have her back, and David could rely on Sandra to have his.
    “Zoe came over last night,” Lily said, breaking the silence.
    “What? And you didn’t tell me that this morning? What did she want? Drown herself in your pool, I hope.”
    “She said Malakai was seeing Andrea.”
    “Yeah, right! I’ve never seen Malakai with Andrea. Besides, he likes you.”
    “How can you tell? I mean, I’m the empath, and even I can’t tell.”
    “Because of the way he looks at you.”
    “You’ve never seen him with me.”
    “Oh, but I know things,” Sandra said, mysteriously.
    Lily rolled her eyes. Sandra was reading way too much into this.
    A few minutes later, they pulled into the parking lot of a popular franchise restaurant in the area. They were about to get out of the car when Lily saw them.
    “Isn’t that Malakai and Andrea? With Wes and Zoe?” Sandra asked next to her.
    A redhead was talking to Malakai. Lily recognized her as Andrea. She didn’t know her personally, but from what she heard, the cheerleader was a nice enough girl who never made fun of band members.
    “Looks like it.”
    Lily and Sandra remained in the car, observing them. Wes and Zoe went their separate ways while Malakai and Andrea walked toward a car. They talked for a moment, then Andrea put her arms around Malakai’s neck.
    Horror struck Lily.
    They were kissing.
    What Zoe had said was true, well at least for this part; Malakai was dating Andrea.
    Lily believed the ground had suddenly opened underneath her, and she quickly looked away, staring pointedly out of her side window.
    “You know what, I’m not hungry after all,” she said after a few awkward moments of silence.
    She started the car.
    “Lily, it’s not what you think. I’m sure. Malakai likes you.”
    “Sure he does,” she said, putting the car in reverse. “In fact, he likes me so much he has his tongue down Andrea’s throat,” she added, shifting the car into drive and getting out of the parking lot.
    Lily’s heart broke into thousands of pieces. She should have seen it coming. After all, rumors rarely flew around without a bit of truth behind them.
    “There must be an explanation,” Sandra said.
    “Sure there is,” Lily said, flippantly. In reality all she wanted to do was cry.
    “We’ll find out,” Sandra said, crossing her arms.
    Even though her house was only ten minutes away, the drive felt like an hour to Lily. Once there, she got out of her car and ran inside her house before Sandra had time to say anything. She ran up the stairs, got into her bedroom, and, after locking the door, curled up on her bed and let the tears fall from her eyes.
    Letting herself like him had been such a big mistake.

 
     
    Chapter Nineteen
     
     
    LILY
    When Lily made her way to school with Sandra the next morning, she was surprised to see some of the cheerleaders and Zoe’s circle of friends close to the door. They usually hung out in the front lobby where it was cooler and the pedestrian traffic was higher. Rarely were they outside by the back door where it was stuffy and humid.
    “That’s strange,” Sandra observed, echoing Lily’s thoughts. “Something’s up.”
    “Yeah, and I think I know what it is,” Lily said, looking at her friend.
    Sandra gave her a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
    As they got closer, Lily felt the gossiping girls’ excitement. One of them, and Lily was convinced it was Zoe as it came from her general direction, felt like she wanted someone to know something.
    “There’s only one reason why they would be here, especially in this heat,” Lily said.
    When Zoe glanced their way, Lily was sure she was the one with an ulterior motive.
    “And we had a nice dinner. Then Malakai walked Andrea to her car, and he opened the door for her,” Zoe continued.
    “Did he kiss her?” one