Curtis pulled me in, arms tight around me, his chin pressed to my hair. "I'll protect you, Immy. If you can't see the stars, the moon's always there."
Maybe he really had remembered our promise all along.
But the next morning, I watched Gretchen ordering Curtis around, loading him up with bag after bag of her things.
She turned back to me with a smug little smile:
"Oh, Immy—I wanted to sketch up on the mountain, and it'd be so boring by myself, so I brought you along too. You don't mind, do you?"
My face went cold. I looked at Curtis, who said nothing.
"And if I do mind, Gretchen? Why do you have to be everywhere?"
Gretchen glared at me.
"Wow, how can you even say that? I felt bad watching you mope around, so I talked Curtis into inviting you. Don't want to come? Fine. He wasn't planning to bring you anyway."
My nails bit into my palms, and the pain shot straight to my heart.
I stared at Curtis, waiting for anything. He gave me nothing. Eventually I had to look away.
"Go ahead, you two. Have fun. From now on, do whatever you want. Just leave me out of it."
Every word came out measured and deliberate: "Especially hiking. I hate hiking more than anything in this world."