Private (Private 1)

We reached the top of the hill and already most of our team-

“The bill? Taken care of. I don’t give people presents they have mates were running drills on the field. Noelle dropped her bag at to pay for.”

her feet. She swung her thick hair behind her shoulders and

“Noelle—”

reached back to gather it up into a ponytail.

She stood and hoisted her bag. “Look, we can’t have you being

“If you want me to be there when you make the call, I will,”

unavailable, can we?” she said, walking backward toward the field.

Noelle offered. “I’m usually good at bringing out the ass-kicker in I blinked. The foreboding was back. Was this part of whatever

people.”

plan Noelle had in store for me? The plan Taylor almost mistakenly My incredulousness must have shown, because she smirked.

divulged? “What do you mean?”

“Don’t give me that,” she said. “I mean, if we daughters of fucked-

“Who knows? There may be some kind of glass-licking emer-

up families can’t stick together, than where the hell will we be?”

gency,” she said teasingly.

I smiled. I had no idea what was screwed up about her family,

“Lange! Brennan! Get your butts out here!” Coach shouted,

but it made me feel better. If she was going to start telling me little waving her arm at us.

bits about herself, maybe I could start to do the same. Maybe.

Noelle grinned at me, then turned and strolled at her own

Sometime.

leisurely pace toward the field.

“Oh. I almost forgot.” She crouched and reached into the side

pocket on her bag. She pulled out a small, blue cell phone and held it up in the palm of her hand. “For you.”

“What?” I said, picking up the phone. On the screen were the

words “Glass-licker’s Phone.”

No one had ever given me anything this expensive. Or this

extravagant. Even if it did say “Glass-licker” instead of “Reed.”

“You’re kidding me,” I said.