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Dante was being weird, too. Or maybe it wasn't weird for him to go horseback riding with his
sister at Rick's place. They'd obviously been friends before the Academy; Ms. Wright had
explained last night at dinner that they'd met at a summer camp as fourth graders and been tight
ever since. Maybe Lizzie was being weird for expecting things from Dante when she had no
right to.
After a few minutes, Ms. Wright and Edward strolled out the front door.
"Bring it in for a hug," Edward said.
Ms. Wright giggled and allowed herself to be folded up in an Edward hug. She pet his back
fondly. "I can see you and Rick will be the best of friends for a long time."
"I'm just befriending him to get to you," Edward teased. "Until next time."
"Soon, I hope."
Lizzie stood up and dusted off her jeans. "Thank you for inviting me," she said. The next
thing she knew, Rick's mom had also hugged her, her shoulders and arms all sharp angles, but
Lizzie could feel her soft heart beneath.
How could someone like Ms. Wright have a son as cold as Rick?
Edward and Lizzie maneuvered into the back of the car, and the driver started back to
school.
Lizzie's phone buzzed, and she looked down.
Sorry I've missed your calls this weekend! So much fun! Catch up at lunch?
"Is that from Ellie?" Edward asked.
"Yeah, just planning a lunch." Lizzie stuck the phone back in her pocket, not sure why she
felt the need to make it seem like everything was all right between her and Ellie. Not that
anything was wrong. Just not& usual.
How ridiculous was it that she felt closer to Dante right now than she did to Ellie?
Dante had listened to her. He'd helped her with her investigation. She'd actually felt like she
could trust him. With Ellie, she felt like one wrong move and the relationship was over.
"Want to play a game to make the ride go faster?" Edward asked.
"Yes!" Lizzie sat straight in her seat. "How about Truth or Dare?"
"Um, I was thinking more like Twenty Questions or I Spy& "
"I'll go first," Lizzie said. "Dare."
"Um& " Edward's eyes darted around nervously. "I dare you to stick your head out the
window?"
"No! I don't want to, which means we're back to truth, and I get to ask you a question."
"I don't think that's how "
"Why is Rick avoiding Anne?"
Edward glanced around nervously. "Are you sure this is how the game works?"
"Don't be a sore loser, Edward," Lizzie pushed on. "I asked a question, now you have to
answer it. Those are the rules. Why is Rick avoiding Anne? Don't pretend you don't know what
I'm talking about."
"I wouldn't say he's avoiding her."
"Don't make me break out a thesaurus, Edward."
"Okay, okay." Edward held up his hands in defeat. "I don't know all the details. Don't go
around saying I told you something like it was the whole story."
"Journalists always protect their sources."
"Something tells me this isn't for the paper." Edward leaned closer, as if someone might
overhear them. "Rick was losing his head over Anne, and the problem is, he's done it before.
They used to date back before he left for the Naval Academy."
Lizzie nodded, not wanting to tell him she already knew that part, not wanting him to stop.
Sources always gave up more information if you let them think you knew nothing and they knew
everything.
"But Dante warned him not to give Anne a second chance."
"Dante did?" Lizzie fought the surprise in her voice. "Why would he do that?"
"He reminded Rick that Anne is the one who dumped him the first time around."
"But isn't Rick the one who left for the Naval Academy?" Lizzie asked, forgetting she was
supposed to play dumb.
"Rick hadn't wanted to break up with Anne. He'd wanted to keep seeing her. Only her
parents had convinced her it would be a bad idea, so she dropped him. She's always doing
whatever her mom wants. Dante was doing Rick a favor by reminding him why they didn't work
the first time. Better than getting messed up over her again."
"But& but Anne would have been fourteen when that first happened. She's older now."
"She's nice," Edward said. "We all know she's nice and a great person. But do you really
want to put your heart in the hands of someone who's looking over her shoulder for what
mommy wants all the time?"
Lizzie sat back in her chair, taking in this new information. She'd assumed Rick had been
the one who dumped Anne. He'd been the one who'd left. Lizzie never would have guessed that it
had been Anne who had broken his heart.
Still, how could Dante have convinced Rick to give up on Anne? Without even talking to
Lizzie about it? Not that Dante and Lizzie were confidants, but she was still hurt. She couldn't
imagine how poor Anne felt.
"My turn," Edward said. "I get to ask you a truth now."
"Huh? Oh yeah. Sure. Your turn," Lizzie said.
"Why did you keep sneaking off into the other rooms of the house? Don't think I didn't
notice. No one needs to use the bathroom that much."
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