Chapter 6
Despite getting off on the wrong foot back in junior high, Derek and I grew close fast. Part of it was probably due to how he was—from the start he acted like we were already friends, even when we weren’t. Though I still wanted to slug him from time to time, it was easy to fall in with him simply because it felt as if we’d always known each other. Soon I couldn’t imagine a time when we wouldn’t.
The family business might’ve scared off other kids—I know Lisa had to deal with a lot of crap from other girls, though we both learned to ignore the taunts and jokes early on. But Derek didn’t mind hanging out at the funeral parlor with me after school. He would sit in the basement with me and my sister and watch cartoons, even when we grew too old for them. It was mindless but it was f
