Influenced Eva Robinson (polar express read aloud .TXT) 📖

breathed out slowly, deleting the message. “Sorry. I just… It turns out that lots of people hate Rowan, and they’ve already decided she’s a murderer, just because Arabella appeared in a photo with her.”

“It seems like she’s become a big part of your life very fast,” said Luke.

Did he sound annoyed? Maybe he was jealous. “I’ve known her since high school.”

“You never talked about her before a few weeks ago.”

“Well, I don’t talk about every aspect of my life.”

Luke shrugged. “It just must be such an odd life. Rowan’s sort of a celebrity, but… well, she doesn’t really do anything, does she?”

Was he jealous? “She’s actually quite talented at what she does. The portraits.” Feeling the urge to prove it to him, she brought up Rowan’s Instagram feed and handed him the phone.

Luke frowned at it. “Um, Hannah?”

“What?”

“You’re dressed just like her in this picture. Did you do that on purpose?”

She snatched the phone back from him, staring at the image he’d brought up—one from a few days ago. As she looked at it, confusion whirled in her mind. Rowan was wearing the exact same dress Hannah had bought for herself—styled with a choker, and her hair pulled up in the same messy bun.

Twenty-Seven

Hannah decided to keep the dress on, but she took off the choker and wore her hair down.

In Stella’s backyard, she sat in one of the Adirondack chairs, a glass of punch in her hand. They were supposed to be celebrating tonight, but the mood tonight felt dark, uneasy. Rowan had instructed them all not to talk about Arabella, but the unspoken news seemed to crackle around them like electrified air before a storm.

Daniel sat down in the chair next to Hannah and flashed her a bright smile.

“Hannah! It’s been ages.”

She smiled. “Yes, what’s your name again?”

“Today I’m American. Today I am Brad. I will be watching the NFL and drinking lite beer.”

Her nose wrinkled. “I’m afraid you just got significantly less interesting.”

“And you are?” he asked with mock sincerity.

“Starlene. I dream of moving out of my small town some day and becoming a real dancer.”

Peter came walking toward them, wandering up from the marshy water by the pond, and she felt her stomach sink. As he approached, he ate an entire brownie in about two bites, then wiped his hands on his jeans. “Hey, guys,” he said, mouth full.

“How are you?” asked Daniel.

“I am fantabulous. Can we get everyone here, please?” Peter’s voice boomed, too loud.

He crossed to the table behind Hannah, grabbing a champagne flute and a spoon. Then he clanged it a few times. “I have an announcement. Stella!”

Hannah turned to see Stella rushing down the stairs, her blond hair dressed with a floral crown. Rowan was behind her, barefoot and drinking straight out of a bottle of red wine.

Rowan waved at Hannah, then sat in the grass by her feet. Her golden bracelet glinted in the torchlight, and Hannah felt her own with a sense of pride at the symbol that bound them.

“I’m so glad you’ve got good news,” said Rowan. “Everything else is terrible. And sorry about your laptop, Peter. That’s dreadful.” She took a swig of wine.

Peter raised his glass. “First, I want to thank you all for your efforts in helping with the teen center. Through phone calls to donors, art auctions, and Instagram, we have nearly half a million to get started. So I just wanted to tell you what something like this teen center will mean to someone.

“I met a student recently. He told me about his older brother, Brandon. Brandon had a reading disability, and he felt like he was stupid, so he’d act out in school. You all know by now how it goes. He’d get suspended, miss more school, fall further behind. Then he’s totally lost. More behavior problems. More suspensions. His parents couldn’t pay for the extra tutors, and he was spending more time out of school than in it. And it keeps going until he’s not really a student anymore. He’s a drug dealer with a criminal record.”

Hannah cast a glance around the group, wondering if anyone else felt awkward that they were having this discussion while sipping champagne outside an actual mansion. But everyone else seemed fine with it.

Peter’s glass of punch gleamed in the light of the lanterns. “Well, Brandon didn’t make it. The world lost him to suicide. And that’s why the teen center isn’t just about education. It’s not just about hobbies. It’s going to save lives. Remember that. We’re saving lives.” He lifted his glass to toast.

Hannah lifted her glass.

“We’re getting more and more private donations now. And most importantly, my grant proposal was just accepted for federal funding. We now have enough money to start building, to start really saving lives! In just a few days, we’ll have it in the foundation account, and we can start getting to work on the building itself.”

Hannah grinned. It felt amazing to be part of something that was actually helping the world. She stole a quick look at Daniel, and he caught her eye, smiling serenely.

Cross-legged in the grass, Rowan grinned. “Well, I am feeling very impressed with all of us.” Then, on her knees, Rowan started refilling everyone’s glasses—straight from the bottle she’d been drinking out of.

When she got to Hannah’s glass, she looked up at her while she filled her glass. “Saving lives, one Instagram post at a time. Does that sound too grandiose?”

“Maybe we’ll keep it to ourselves.”

Just then Hannah’s phone buzzed, and she started rifling through her purse, looking for it. As soon as she saw Luke’s name, she caught her breath. He didn’t normally call when he was with Nora.

She nearly dropped her glass, rushing to get up. When she heard the sound of Nora screaming in the background, every muscle in her body went tense.

“Luke? What’s wrong with Nora?”

“Absolutely nothing, Annie. She’s just not interested in going to bed without a kiss from Mama. She wouldn’t stop asking for you, then screeching whenever