All the Broken Pieces (10 page)

Mouth hanging open, she stared, not sure what to say or do.

Sabrina glanced back, eyebrows knit together. She scowled at Liv.

“What are you looking at?” Liv said, surprised at how bold and snarky she sounded.

Sabrina rolled her eyes, gave an exaggerated sigh, and faced front.

Liv’s eyes remained fixed on Sabrina’s back. White spots were already forming where the mixture had hit the red shirt. She kept expecting Sabrina to notice, but with all the ruffled layers, she must not have felt it.

I should tell her before it completely ruins her shirt.

No way. She deserves it. Plus you know she’s going to freak if you tell her.

It
had
been an accident, none of the mixture had gotten on her skin, and it wasn’t like Sabrina would tell her if the tables were turned. Besides, there was a tiny part of her that got a thrill at what she’d done to Sabrina. Okay, make that a big part. Her body felt lighter than it had all day, and her lips twisted into a smile that was all genuine satisfaction.

If she’s going to hate on me anyway, I might as well give her a good reason.

…

After school, Liv sat on her usual bench to wait for Mom. The minutes were dragging, and after what seemed like a forever-long day filled with a whole lot of downs, she was eager to get home. The heat wasn’t helping her mood, either. She took a swig from her water bottle, but the warm liquid didn’t do much to cool her down. The
clang
of someone pushing open the door sounded, and she automatically glanced toward the entrance.
Spencer.

Twisting away from him, she dropped her gaze to her book.
The Great Gatsby
was as annoying as her day. People playing games. A stupid girl and a stupid boy.

When a shadow crept across her page, blocking her light, she leaned closer to the book.

“You know he’s a jerk.”

Without looking up, she said, “I hate it when people refer to themselves in the third person.”

“I’m a jerk, too.”

“I know you are. That’s what I just said.”

“What happened with your friends?”

“See, when you say friends, I’m not really sure who you mean. You’ve made it clear you’re not my friend.”

“I mean the girls you’ve been hanging out with,” he said. “You didn’t sit by them at lunch.”

“I’m sick of rude people, I’m sick of drama, and I’m starting to think I’m just going to go back to home school.”

Spencer sat next to her. “Don’t do that. You’ll go crazy. Besides, it makes kids socially awkward.”

“I’m not exactly excelling in that department anyway.”

He was quiet for a moment, then he leaned close enough that the tips of his hair brushed her cheek. “You ever gonna look away from that book?”

“Not until you’re gone.” It took all her self-control to keep staring at the novel. “See, if I don’t look at you and start thinking that we’re friends, I won’t be as disappointed when you go into jerk mode.”

“I admitted I was a jerk.”

“I know. And I agreed with you.”

His hand grazed her leg as he reached for the book. He pulled on it, yanking it out of her hands.

Nose in the sky, she crossed her arms and twisted away.

“Why’s your mom coming into the parking lot the wrong way?” Spencer asked.

Liv turned to see.

And saw nothing. She pushed Spencer. “Argh! What do you want?”

His glasses reflected her angry expression. It definitely wasn’t her most flattering look. Not to mention her hair was still a frizzy mess. “You were the one who said you wanted to go home the other night,” he said. “I just did what you asked.”

She clenched her jaw. “Don’t even pretend you were totally innocent. We had a good time, then you went all weird on me.”

The corner of his mouth lifted. “So you had a good time?”

That maddening touch of arrogance irritated her even more. “Until I told you I have no memory of my past, which you obviously couldn’t handle.”

“I swear it wasn’t that. I was thinking about something else. I had fun with you. More fun than I’ve had in a long time, actually. Then because of…some stuff, I decided it was best if I didn’t get too close to you. But then today…let’s just say I changed my mind.”

Liv studied his sincere expression. Her frustration faded, but the confusion was still there. “I have no idea what to make of you and your multiple personalities. Or the fact that you can’t ever just say anything in a normal way so that I can understand what it means.”

Spencer locked eyes with her. “I had fun the other night, and I hope that you’ll forgive me so we can hang out again sometime. Is that clear enough?”

Liv sat there, trying to decide how to respond. If he hadn’t grinned, she might’ve been able to keep her steely resolve. But she was a sucker for that smile. “Clear as mud.”

16

Tuesday, Liv stayed away from Sabrina and her group, avoiding everyone except Keira as much as possible. After she got her lunch, she eyed the so-called popular table, wishing she could sit by Keira without having to deal with Sabrina.

Spencer stepped next to her. “Still in a fight with the girls?”

Keeping a tight grip on her tray, she sighed. “I’m not sure.
Fight
’s not really the right word. More like fed up. Some of the girls are cool, but I’m not sure it’s worth dealing with the snide remarks and backhanded compliments from the rest of them.”

“There’s lots of room at my table.”

“Wouldn’t that mess up your loner rep?”

Spencer gave her a half smile and shrugged. “I’m not too concerned.”

They crossed the cafeteria to his usual table and sat facing each other. “Wow. You’re not even going to put your headphones in?” Liv twisted her spaghetti around her fork. “Now I really feel special.”

“The blood thing,” Spencer said. “Is that because of your accident?”

Fork halfway to her mouth, she froze. Looking down at the red tomato sauce, her appetite disappeared. “Really? You’re going to talk about blood while I’m trying to eat?”

“Sorry. I was just curious.”

She shook the noodles off her fork. “Salad it is.”

“Okay, no more blood. We’ll talk about something else.”

“How about we talk about you for a change?”

Spencer shook his head. “I’m not that interesting.”

“Oh, come on. How about the basics? Like brothers and sisters?”

“One sister. I live with her and my mom. Dad’s been out of the picture for a while.” He took a drink of his water. “How about you?”

“It’s just me and my mom and dad. They’re both doctors. Or were. My mom’s not working right now, and it gives her way too much time to worry about me.”

Spencer’s gaze drifted behind her. “If you weren’t in a fight with the girls before, you might be now. We’re getting some dirty looks.”

Liv glanced over her shoulder. When she saw the girls staring—Sabrina had an especially angry expression—she smiled and waved, then faced Spencer again. “Better or worse now?”

“I’d say shocked.” He tilted his head, a smile playing on the corners of his mouth. “Just when I think I’ve got you figured out, you surprise me.”

“Well, I’m just surprised you didn’t decide to revert back to your cold personality today. I’m not exactly sure what to make of you.”

“Oh yeah? What’s your opinion so far?”

Leaning forward, she raised an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

Spencer grinned, and she hoped that meant he did.

They talked through the rest of lunch and left the cafeteria together. Spencer said he had to grab something out of his locker. Unsure whether that was an invitation to join him, she told him she’d see him in class. As she walked toward Mr. Barker’s room, she was feeling pretty good about life in general.

Clay stepped up beside her. “So you and Hale? What’s that all about?”

“It’s not really about anything.” Liv turned to face him. “We share a class, we see each other around. We’re friends. Getting to be friends, anyway.”

His eyebrows drew together, and it looked like he was waging some kind of internal struggle. “Just be careful. One day he’s your friend, the next he’s not.” With that, he kept walking down the hall.

…

“So I had this idea.” Spencer sat on the bench next to Liv. “We write out a list of things you need to experience, and then we do them, checking them off as we go. That way, you make up for all the things you missed out on. Or don’t remember doing, anyway. And you might as well tell your parents that I’ll bring you home after school. That way they won’t have to worry about it.”

“My mom’s a professional worrier,” Liv said. “She’ll find a way.”

He pulled out his notebook. “Okay, we can cross off McDonald’s. I think bike riding should wait until your coordination gets better.”

She glanced over his shoulder as he jotted down the list.

1. McDonald’s

2. Catch a lizard

She read it twice to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. “I don’t want to catch a lizard.”

“That’s what you do when you’re a little kid. It’s fun, I swear.”

“Yeah, but I’m a girl, which means I don’t really want to catch scaly, crawly things.”

“I taught my little sister. If she can do it, you can do it. Now,
shh
. I’m trying to think.”

3. Sports: baseball, basketball, volleyball

He tapped the pen to his lip. “You know how to swim?”

“I don’t think so.” Swimming meant a bathing suit, which meant scars on display. “Better move that one to the end.”

“Why?”

“Because I asked you to.”

“These aren’t in any particular order. We’ll go through them however we feel like doing them. You’ve missed so many good movies. And music.”

4. Movies: Lord of the Rings trilogy. Matrix trilogy. The three Spider-Man movies.

“That’s a lot of trilogies.”

“This is just a start. We’ll add more movies as we think of them.”

5. Music: 30 Seconds to Mars, Radiohead, 311, Green Day, Shinedown

“I like a mix of old and new rock and alternative. Once I get a feel for what you like, I’ll be able to add more to that list, too. Oh, yeah, I still have to put swimming on here.”

6. Swim

7. Bike

8. Drive

“Your handwriting is really sloppy,” Liv said. “I can hardly read it.”

Spencer glanced at her, then wrote another item on the list.

9. Teach Liv to give a compliment once in a while.

He used the pen to point at i “Is that clear enough?”

“There’s plenty I could put on a list for you.”

“This is about you, though. Call your mom and tell her you’ve got to go lizard hunting right now.”

“Now?”

“Look at this list. It’s already pretty long. We should get started, and right now”—he tipped his head to the sky—“it’s a perfect day for lizard hunting.”

…

Stepping over the cactus, she scanned the ground. Instead of mentioning the lizard hunting, she’d simply asked to hang out with Spencer. Mom had surprised her by saying yes after only a brief hesitation.

Liv spotted one of the little creatures sunning itself on a rock. Most of them had run off before she’d even gotten close. She was kind of hoping this one would get up and run, too. “I don’t think I can touch it.”

Spencer put a finger to his lips. “Talk quietly or you’ll scare him away. Now stop being a wuss and just do it.”

No way could she back away from the challenge now. One inch at a time, she crouched near the lizard. She hovered her hand over it for a couple seconds, then snatched it around the stomach.

“Ew, ew, ew,” she said as it wiggled in her hand. Its belly was soft, but the jagged scales on the lizard’s back rubbed against the palm of her hand. Its clawed feet swung wildly through the air. “Now what?”

The lizard whipped around and bit the fleshy part between her thumb and index finger. “Ouch!” She shook her hand until the lizard released its grip and fell to the ground.

Mouth hanging open, she looked from her hand to Spencer. “I swear, if it starts bleeding, I’m not going to do any more of these stupid things with you.”

Spencer stepped across a big rock, grabbed her hand, and looked it over. “I think you’ll live.”

She yanked her hand out of his grip and smacked his arm. “Why didn’t you tell me they bite?”

“I thought you were smart. Everything with a mouth bites.”

“I’m going to bite
you
.”

He gave her a smile that sent her pulse racing. “I think I’d like to see that.”

Heat crept into her cheeks, her heart went into overdrive, and as they stood there, looking at each other, she swore his gaze moved to her lips.

Then he looked over at his car. “So now that you’ve caught a lizard, we can—”

“Don’t even think you’re getting away that easily. We’re not leaving until
you
catch one.”

Eyes running over the ground, Spencer took a large step forward. “Watch and learn.”

…

“I still can’t believe that’s what you did for fun as a kid,” Liv said as Spencer turned onto Main Street.

“In case you didn’t notice, there’s not much to do here.”

Show-off that he was, Spencer had caught four lizards before calling it a night. Red scratches showed on his hand where the creatures had clawed at him. Two of the brown scaly things had bitten him before he’d let them go.

Spencer turned up the volume on his car stereo. “How about this? It’s a far cry from classical music.”

The male singer scream-sang the lyrics over heavy drums. “Sounds like he smashed his finger or something. Why is he so angry?”

“Maybe a lizard bit him and he’s making a huge deal about it.”

Liv laughed. “Okay, let’s listen to something else.”

Spencer pushed the scan button on his radio.

“Yuck. What is that?” she asked when it landed on a station.

“That’s country. And yes, it
is
horrible, so you get extra cool points for not liking it.”

She threw her hands over her heart. “Just what I always wanted. Cool points.”

Smiling, Spencer shook his head. They were back to this comfortable place she loved, laughing and joking, everything so easy and fun. It felt amazing to be the person she was deep down, when the past was in the past and her voices were stripped away.

He pushed the numbered buttons on his stereo, listening for a second or two, then pushing the next.

“Wait. Go back. That sounded good.”

He dropped his hand, nose all wrinkled up. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Chick power music?”

“It makes me want to go protest all the wrongs in the world. And maybe do a little headbanging.”

“Why is it okay when the chicks are screaming, but not the guy?”

Liv shrugged. “It sounds better.”

The song ended and a commercial came on. Spencer started hunting again.

“That sounds good,” Liv said.

“Katy Perry?” Spencer stopped at the light. “Don’t tell me you like this synthesized pop crap. This isn’t even music.”

“I want to hate it, but it’s kind of catchy. I hate it and like it at the same time.”

“You’re a little schizo.”

“I know. I can’t figure it out. I feel like…”

A huge grin spread across his face.

“What?” she asked.

“I was making a joke, and you start explaining how you’re schizo. It’s funny, that’s all.” The light turned green and Spencer accelerated through the intersection.

“It’s just that sometimes I feel like I’m living a life that’s not mine. I’m sure it’s because of my missing memories, but it feels like everything’s…off or something.” Her insecurities flared, and she leaned back in her seat. “Okay, now that I hear it out loud, I realize how weird it sounds. Just pretend I didn’t say it.”

A crease formed between his eyebrows. “No, I think everyone feels that way at some point. Memories or not. In fact, it’s probably nice to not remember all the crappy stuff you’ve done.”

“But what about the good memories I’ve missed out on?”

The song ended, and for a moment, silence hung in the air.

“Well, that’s why we have the list. Being out there tonight brought back good memories of how easy things used to be when I was a kid.” Spencer pulled up in front of her house and threw the car in park. “Tomorrow, I’ll take it easy on you. We’ll go with a movie.”

Suddenly tomorrow seemed way too far away.