“This is cool, yet so fracking weird,” Della said. She could feel herself but not see herself. She couldn’t see Jenny either. They stood on her porch looking into the window and listening to Kylie and Derek talk about his mom.
“Shh,” Jenny said, holding her hand extra tight.
Kylie offered Derek a drink and they sat down at the table. “Do you want me to call Burnett and find out how late Della will be?”
“Nah, I’ll wait a few more minutes and then I’ll leave the book. We can talk tomorrow. I know she’ll want to see this, but unfortunately it really doesn’t tell us much right now. But hopefully it will give us more leads.”
Kylie nodded. “So how are things with you and Jenny?”
Jenny’s grip tightened.
Della worried this whole thing might backfire on her. Not that Kylie and Derek still had a thing for each other, but if he said something about Jenny she shouldn’t hear … Oh, shit. Maybe Burnett’s rule was right.
“Slow.” Derek sounded disappointed.
“Have you talked to her?” Kylie asked. “Told her how you feel?”
Della relaxed a bit.
“Sort of,” Derek said. “I kissed her.”
“Kissing her isn’t talking to her. If you really like her, speak up.”
“And if she says she’s not interested, she’ll pull back. I don’t want to scare her off.”
“I think the only one scared is you,” Kylie said. “To quote Della on this one, ‘For God’s sake, grow a pair.’”
“She quotes me.” Della giggled.
“Shh,” Jenny said.
“What am I supposed to say to her?” Derek asked.
“I don’t know. Why don’t you start by telling her how you feel?” Kylie paused. “How do you feel about her?”
“I like her, really like her. I can feel her emotions clearer than anyone. I mean, even right now I feel her somewhere out there, feeling unsure of something.”
“Stop feeling,” Della whispered.
“I can’t,” Jenny snapped back. “And they can’t hear us when we’re invisible, so you don’t have to whisper.”
“But I’m trying to listen,” Della shot back.
Derek shook his head as if thinking. “She’s caring and yet amazingly spunky. Even though she’s new and everyone’s always looking at her funny for being a chameleon, she handles it with courage and poise.” He paused. “She’s beautiful, but not like one of those girls who knows it. She’s innocent, but at the same time she’s eager to experience things. She’s smart and sometimes a bit of a smartass.” He grinned, then sighed. “I love how she looks at life. And I want to be there to … well, to share in those experiences, and of course to make sure she doesn’t get hurt.”
“That’s so sweet,” Jenny said, her tone sounding like Miranda when she talked about Perry sucking her earlobes.
Della wondered if the chameleon knew that some of the experiences Derek meant were probably X-rated. But then again, it didn’t matter. Jenny was right. It was sweet.
Just because Della wasn’t ready to bask in all the gooeyness of romance didn’t mean she couldn’t admit it had its good sides. Someday she might even get her life straightened out enough that she could enjoy some of it, too.
“He really likes me,” Jenny said.
“Told you,” Della said. “Now can I go talk to Derek and check out the book that cost me a month’s allowance?”
At ten that night Della lay in bed flipping through the high-school yearbook. She stared at the faces of all the Tsangs, but especially those of her missing aunt and uncle. Before leaving, Derek had taken note of who her uncle and aunt had been seen with in photos and planned to contact them via Facebook to see if they had any more information.
“It’s amazing how many PI and police cases are solved using social media,” he’d said.
Della started feeling bad about depending on him and offered, “I could do that.”
“If you want,” he’d answered, “but you need to be sly how you ask, or it could backfire.”
In the end, she’d agreed to let him handle it. Besides, it wasn’t as if she didn’t have enough to worry about.
Her phone dinged again, reminding her she’d gotten another text when she’d been talking to Derek. She’d glanced earlier. It was from Steve. She hadn’t read it. Didn’t want to read it. Didn’t think she could read it without getting drowned in missing him, in getting super pissed at him for kissing Jessie, and even more pissed for allowing Jessie to call him. Three times!
Turning the page of the yearbook, she released a deep gulp of emotionally charged air. Nope. She wasn’t ready to deal with Steve. Maybe in a couple of years. Groaning, she buried her head in her pillow for a few minutes before returning to flipping through the book.
In one picture of the debate club, she noted a familiar face. There were too many in the photo to list names, so she wasn’t sure if it was her uncle or her dad. They had to be identical twins. She traced the face with her fingernail, wondering if she would feel the connection to her uncle she used to feel with her dad.
Or still felt. He’d been the one to give up on her, not the other way around.
She closed her eyes again, emotion tightening her throat.
Swallowing back the hurt, she heard someone walking in front of her cabin. Shit! What if it was Steve? She inhaled to see if she could catch a scent. Nope. Her nose still wasn’t working.
Her heart did a tumble. She wasn’t ready to face him.
Chapter Twenty-seven
Della concentrated on the cadence of the steps. Not Steve. Too light.
The footsteps sounded like … The cabin door opened.
“Anyone home?”
“In here.” Della headed to the door, remembering she still needed to apologize to the witch for getting pissy this afternoon about the whole bird-watching/aura issue.
“Hey,” Miranda said, and she didn’t even look upset.
Della considered letting the apology slide—she hated eating crow—but she owed it to the little witch. “I’m sorry about earlier, I was a bitch.”
“Yeah, you were. But that’s okay,” Miranda said. “I told you, I’m overlooking your pissiness due to all the crap you’ve got going on. I figure you’ve got a week or two of me overlooking your attitude. Then I bring my pinkie out.”