I paid Bao my usual amount. He looked at the bills like I’d scraped them off the floor at Gentleman Jim’s. I wanted to tell him to keep the change, but he counted it out precise to the penny, setting the coins on the counter instead of in my hand, his eyes cast down. Never on mine.
When I got home, the trailer was quiet. Mom’s breathy snores whispered through the thin walls of her room. I took the newspaper to my bedroom but didn’t lock the door.
I wasn’t sure what I expected when I thumbed to the Missed Connections that morning. I didn’t need to know where my father was, or even if he was thinking of me. I knew there’d be no mysterious ads today, and yet I couldn’t seem to find peace in Reece’s absence, or comfort in the fact that it was all over.
I scanned the ads quickly. One particular ad tugged at me, unexpected, and yet somehow familiar. My heart skipped as I read, and a peculiar feeling fluttered in the pit of my stomach.
Bad element seeks Nearly perfect girl.
I need you. Pick u up at 6.
❖ ❖ ❖
Acknowledgments
I am grateful for the support of so many people who have guided me through this journey. First and foremost, my extraordinary agent, Sarah Davies, who pulled Nearly from the slush pile and pushed me to make her better. Thank you for believing in me before I believed in myself, for taking my hand and venturing down an uncertain road together.
For my Genius editor, Kathy Dawson, who saw through the almost in Nearly to the everything she could be. I am so, so lucky. And for the entire team at Penguin and Kathy Dawson Books: Claire Evans, Regina Castillo, Greg Stadnyk, Nancy Leo-Kelly, and Penguin’s fantastic sales and marketing teams. Thank you all for bringing Nearly to life.
Special thanks to Lydia Kang, for her medical expertise regarding nasty acids and chemical burns.
To my earliest readers, Tessa Elwood and Tamara Ireland Stone, who fell in love with Nearly in her infancy and encouraged me to go on. And my critique partners, without whom this book would still be a mess of sticky notes and red lines on my floor. Ashley Elston, Tessa Elwood, and Megan Miranda— you made me laugh, pulled me off the ledge, and made me a better writer. I’ve learned so much from each of you.
It takes a village to write a book with young children in tow. Special thanks to Mary Behre, for taking my children out when I needed to write, and for taking me out when I needed a break. And for our Paamul friends, who welcomed our family with open arms, and encouraged and supported me.
To my parents, for building a writing room in a tree house in the jungle, and telling me to “go write a book.” I could never have achieved this dream without you.
To my brother, Shannon, for his service to our country, and for sacrificing to protect the freedoms I enjoy.
To Connor, for always believing, and Nicholas, for always asking why. I am stronger and wiser because of you.
To Tony, for supporting every crazy dream I chase, even when I turn our world upside down. I love you.
About the Author
Elle Cosimano grew up in the Washington, DC, suburbs, the daughter of a maximum security prison warden and an elementary school teacher who rode a Harley. She spent summers working on a fishing boat in the Chesapeake Bay, baiting hooks, scrubbing decks, and lugging buckets of chum. A failed student of the hard sciences, she discovered her true calling in social and behavioral studies while majoring in psychology at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. Fifteen years later, Elle set aside a successful real estate career to pursue writing. She lives with her husband and two sons in Northern Virginia.
Elle is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, and Sisters in Crime. She was selected for the 2012 Nevada SCBWI Agented & Published Authors’ Mentorship Program, where she worked under the guidance of Ellen Hopkins. She annually attends the Writers’ Police Academy at Guilford Technical Community College, Department of Public Safety, to conduct hands-on research for her books. You can learn more about Elle at her website: www.ElleCosimano.com.