"Haven't you noticed," she sniffed, "that things have been different? Haven't you noticed, Lenie?" Of course I had. She'd been different, distant, for a while. She was busy all of the time. She had homework, so we couldn't hang out after school, or she was going shopping with her mum, so she couldn't come to the cinema, or she had to babysit Josh, so she couldn't come over that night. She's been different in other ways too. Quieter, at school. She didn't smoke anymore. She's started dieting. She seemed to drift out of conversations, like she was bored by what I was saying, like she had better things to think about. Of course I'd noticed. I was hurt. But I wasn't going to say anything. Showing someone you're hurt is the worst thing you can do, isn't it? I don't want to look weak or needy, because no one wants to be around someone like that.



Into the Water by Paula Hawkins