Marianne by Elizabeth Hammer (best books to read in life TXT) 📕

“I didn’t really think that; it’s just something I heard on a talk show.” She coughed. “So, is it scary, then?”

“No, it’s good. It’s all good. It’s just not what I expected.” Marianne saw that Sally and Georgia didn’t understand at all, but they wanted to. Wow. Maybe she had friends after all. “He loves me, but he doesn’t act like he needs me. I mean, Patrick wants me around, but he isn’t affected by me.”

“Well, you must be misreading him then,” said Sally.

“I’m not,” said Marianne, firmly. “He said it, even. He said that he’d love me no matter what I did. It really pisses me off.”

Georgia blinked hard and stared at Marianne. “Why would that piss you off?”

“I know it shouldn’t.” Marianne moaned pitifully and looked up at the trees above her. “I even yelled at him for it. I’m a dork.”

Sally laughed. “I think you mean selfish twit.”

“That’s rude,” said Marianne.

Sally shrugged. “It’s true.”

“Gosh,” said Georgia. She was working the rivet on her bracelet and looked truly worried about the end of this love story she was hearing. “What are you gonna do? Break up with him?”

“No.” Sally leaned back on the railing behind her. “She’s going to stop being a twit, of course.”

Marianne tsked and turned away. “Why should I? Since everyone loves me anyway, what the hell do I care? I’m gonna do what I want.”

“Geez, Marianne!” said Sally.

“I’m serious,” said Marianne. “I’m gonna smoke, and lie, and get drunk, and yell at him all I want. It doesn’t matter to him at all.”

“You are seriously messed up. Do you know that?” Sally put out her cigarette and lit another. “And I know that he didn’t say it that way.”

“Yeah? Were you listening in with your psychic powers or something?” Marianne leaned forward and clasped her hands together. “Please tell me, O Mystic One. What did he really say?”

Sally stared at her blankly for a moment and then turned to look at Georgia. “I need a better word than twit. I feel like that one’s getting old.”

Georgia lifted her hands up helplessly. “Moron?”

“No.” Sally shook her head. “That implies that she’s relatively innocent.”

“Jackass?” offered Georgia.

Sally shook her head and scratched her cheek—carefully, so she wouldn’t smudge her heavy makeup. “Nah, that’s too generic.”

Georgia chewed on her nail. “Well, how about something simple, but strong? Like... a demon or a leech.”

“Hmm...” said Sally. “Yeah, a leech could work. It helps illustrate my point, too.”

“I’ve got one,” said Marianne.

Sally waved Marianne off with her hand. “You don’t get to play this game, sweetheart. We’re going with leech. Marianne the Leech.”

“Okay,” mumbled Marianne. “But you’re missing the obvious.”

Sally cleared her throat. “Marianne, my darling, you’re a leech. Patrick is in love with you, but you’re still a leech.”

“Amazing,” breathed Marianne. “You got all that with your psychic powers?”

Sally threw her hands up. “Forget it. This place is closing, anyway. We should just go.”

“You’re the one calling me a leech,” said Marianne. “That’s bound to make anybody cranky. Besides, aren’t we all Goth, tonight? You guys are using the wrong word.” Marianne stood up and had to stop talking. She was swaying a little. “Um,” she said through the sudden pressure in her throat. “You need a ride, Georgia?”

Georgia looked all around her as if she’d find the answer printed on a sign somewhere and then seemed to signal something to Sally with the hand by her hip. Marianne turned to Sally in confusion. Sally was checking the time on the pocket watch hanging from her neck. “Georgia’s getting a ride, I think,” she said distractedly, almost like she wasn’t listening.

“A secret ride?” said Marianne. She might be swaying, but she still had some of her brain working for her. Did they really think they were smooth enough for her not to notice when she was being played?

Sally just bit her lip and stared at Marianne, like she was bound by a spell not to speak.

“Are you guys ditching me?” cried Marianne. “You’ve got plans after this, huh? You’re ditching me!”

“You know,” said Sally, her eyes boring into Marianne. “You can tell a lot about a person’s moral code by the things they assume other people are doing.”

Oh, good. They weren’t ditching her after all. But Marianne still made a face. “Just shut up and tell me what that secret signal was about.”

Sally sighed and passed the job off to Georgia by gesturing toward her like a game show girl. Marianne hadn’t looked at Georgia since seeing the original signal, and Georgia was looking like she might pass out. How long had she been panicking over there on her bench? It wasn’t very bright here, but Marianne could see that Georgia’s neck was all flushed, and the pink color looked even worse with her blue hair than her normal skin tone. Marianne almost offered right then for Georgia to come down to the salon on Saturday to get her dye-job fixed up. She didn’t though, because Georgia was upset and it was no time to be calling out how gross she looked. “Okay,” said Marianne. “Somebody spill it.”

Georgia sat up straight and crossed her ankles like the poised lady she wasn’t, and said in a dignified voice, “Alvin is going to drive me home.”

Well, that was the lamest secret ever. Seriously, did they think Marianne was so bitter and petty that she’d be bothered by someone getting a ride from him? Unless... Oh, gross! Georgia was still hooking up with him. “You’re lying,” said Marianne.

“What?” said Georgia, startled.

Marianne shook her head, trying with all her heart to hold on to some faith in her new friend Georgia. “You’re over that, right? You can’t still be answering his booty calls.”

Georgia took a little breath and looked down. “Not exactly,” she mumbled.

Sally gave Marianne an impatient look.

“Noooo,” said Marianne, leaning down toward Georgia. “You’re not actually dating him?”

Georgia looked up, seeming like she might cry. “I’m sorry, Marianne. I should have asked you first. You’re not mad, right? It’s cool because