looked she burst out, ?Holy crap! What the hell happened to you??
?I didn?t sleep well last night,? Helen mumbled.
?Your eyes look black and blue, Len. Like you haven?t slept in
weeks,? Claire responded, sounding seriously worried. ?Were you
crying a lot??
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?No. Not at all,? Helen said. It was true, too. She was sad, but she
never felt like crying when she was depressed. She felt like
sleeping.
?Can you tell me what the fight was about?? Claire asked
cautiously.
?There was no fight, really. Lucas just doesn?t want to be with
me,? Helen said. She rammed her fists into her pockets. She found
that if she tensed her muscles she could keep herself from giving
up on moving.
?I don?t believe that,? Claire said doubtfully. ?He punched Hector
in the face for just talking to you and pretty much announced to
the whole school that you were his girlfriend.?
?Well, I guess he must have changed his mind since then,? Helen
said, shrugging. She didn?t have the strength to argue. She barely
had the energy to turn the combination on her locker. She was so
tired from walking for weeks, but that had been a dream, hadn?t it?
How could she be physically worn out from something that had
only happened in her mind?
?You?re serious, aren?t you?? Claire asked, studying Helen?s
hunched-up body.
?Uh-huh. He doesn?t want me, Gig. He told me so himself. Can
we drop it now? I?m just too tired.?
?Yeah. No problem,? Claire said, rubbing Helen?s back. For a
second, Helen let herself lean against Claire in a sideways hug.