The Follower Kate Doughty (general ebook reader .txt) 📖

something more on the follower. A way to identify them from the crowd. Rudy wonders if he will somehow recognize them once they’re on-site. Would he look into the face that scarred his sister and just know?

Looking forward to it, the follower had said.

In his own way, Rudy is looking forward to it, too.

CHAPTER 22

Cecily

It seems like mere seconds until headlights streak down the driveway, and suddenly Bella and Jada are here. Cecily waits for them in the foyer, her one healthy eye done up to perfection, but she still feels so nervous, so scared. If Amber hadn’t had that look on her face when she told Cecily they were coming—half-hopeful, half-desperate—Cecily would never have agreed to meet. But seeing how happy it made her sister . . . well, she has to try.

She hears a door shut and light laughter as the two walk up to the porch. She realizes that her hands are shaking. What if they hate her? What if they take one look at her new face and run?

The door opens and they’re here.

Cecily freezes. So do they.

And then Bella pushes herself into Cecily’s arms, and her platinum hair smells like lavender shampoo. Cecily finds herself hugging Bella back as a wave of relief washes over her.

“I’ve missed you.” When Bella pulls away, she’s crying. Cecily realizes that she is crying, too.

“Me, too,” Cecily says.

Jada hugs her next. “It’s good to have you back.”

Cecily gives them both a warm, genuine smile, trying to hide how nervous she is. For a moment, she watches as both Bella’s and Jada’s glances flick to her bandages. She swallows.

“Thanks for having us!” Bella chirps. “It’s so cool to see the place—like a sneak peek!” She slings an arm around Cecily, and Cecily feels herself flush. She pushes their wandering eyes out of her mind; she’s going to have to get used to people staring at her face. For now, she just wants to bask in the relief. They are here. They are with her. After all the horrors of that night, they are still her friends.

“Everyone’s obsessed with the house,” Jada agrees. “Half the town is going to show up tomorrow, if only because you’re so viral.”

Bella looks toward Cecily. “Are you going to be there, and, you know . . . see everyone?”

Cecily’s face flushes. Bella and Jada are one thing, but—everyone? With their phones and cameras and comments and questions? She runs a hand over the gauze surrounding her eye and whispers, almost to herself. “No. I’ll be upstairs. I’m supposed to limit my light exposure, and . . . they don’t want to see me, anyway.”

Bella immediately jumps in to contradict Cecily. “Hey! Of course everyone wants to see you. Don’t talk like that.” She softens. “But I understand if you’re not ready. It’s fine.”

“Have you heard anything from your aunt, Jada?” Rudy asks, approaching from behind with Amber at his heels. Cecily shoots him a look of thanks for changing the subject.

“I talked to her,” Jada replies. “I was going to ask her to call you, but—she heard about the open house instead. She’s going to be here for it tomorrow.”

Cecily watches as Jada takes Amber’s hand and squeezes it. “Thank you so much,” Amber says.

Jada shrugs. “I mean, I don’t think she’ll know anything but . . .”

“Any little bit could help,” Rudy says.

“I can’t believe the open house is tomorrow,” Amber murmurs. The others shake their heads.

“Hey, want to know what football jocks to watch out for?” Bella asks. “I hear they’re all planning on crashing.”

And just like that, as they make their way upstairs, the conversation devolves into chatter about high school gossip and Amber’s new posts and complaints about Bella’s AP chemistry summer work. While Bella swears up and down that it is impossible, Cecily finds herself thinking that if high school is like this, it can’t be so bad. At least she’d have a teacher who isn’t her mom, and a lab to conduct science experiments in. Either way, it’s a welcome change of subject from Amber’s posts. Not that Cecily isn’t proud of Amber; it’s just that talking about their account . . . isn’t so easy right now.

Before Cecily knows it, they’ve gotten through two movies and three bowls of popcorn. As Amber and Jada head downstairs to say goodbye, Bella lingers in Cecily’s room.

“Can I talk to you?” she asks. “Alone.”

“Sure.” Cecily says, sitting back on her bed. She’s exhausted and loaded with carbs, but it was totally worth it.

“Have you thought about getting back into makeup?” The question hits Cecily out of nowhere.

“What?” Cecily asks, dumbstruck. Why would Bella even ask that?

“You know, Cecily, with your platform . . . this could mean a lot to people,” Bella says. “A lot of people have . . . scars, birthmarks, things. Don’t they deserve to see someone like themselves online?”

Her eyes—she’s so earnest. Cecily opens her mouth then closes it. She so badly wants to tell Bella that, yes, she would do something, that she could go forward with her scarring, that she could be the person that Bella wants her to be . . . but she can’t.

“I . . .” She hates how her voice breaks. “I can’t.” The word is a half sob.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Bella says, but that only makes Cecily feel worse. “It’s just—I saw how you looked when Amber was talking about her posts. As if you’d never take another picture of yourself ever again, and—don’t you deserve to see yourself online, if that’s what you want?”

Cecily averts her gaze, staring at the floor as tears well in her eyes. “I—I don’t know,” she whispers, and then Bella is hugging her again.

“I know,” she says. “I know it’s hard, but—I’m here for you. And things will get better, okay?” Cecily nods into her chest.

“Okay.” She forces a smile and walks Bella downstairs, where Amber is saying goodbye to Jada. The girls drive off into the night, promising to visit at the open house.

Cecily knows that she needs to rest up for the following day’s activities,