Grandma chuckles. “I remember when you two were newly dating. It’s nice to hear Kai is being so adoring.”
“Pfft.” It sizzles out of Milo.
His dad looks at him pointedly. “What was that, son?”
Milo looks up, face paling with regret. “Huh? What? No, nothing.”
“Don’t give us that,” Mrs. Nelson says sternly. “Out with it.”
Milo glances at me, and I gulp in response. Usually, I hate it when Milo blurts out Kai’s whereabouts. But, right now, Kai isn’t exactly in my good books.
“Should we be concerned?” Mr. Nelson asks. “You’re giving us that look like Kai has lied.”
Milo shrugs, looking down at his plate. “I just think it’s bogus that he’d be at some restaurant.”
Mrs. Nelson leans in. “And where do you think he’d be?”
Milo fidgets in his seat, visibly uncomfortable. “I overheard him talking on the phone. He mentioned Dead Left Cliff.”
I grind my teeth. Dead Left Cliff isn’t a place for the faint-hearted. We’ve gone there a few times and dared each other to get too close to the edge. It’s a place for me and the guys. I severely doubt Tabitha would be into it.
Mrs. Nelson slaps the table top in frustration. “That boy. How many times have we told him not to hang around there at night? I knew once he started driving, he’d stress me out further.”
Mr. Nelson squeezes his wife’s shoulder placatingly.
“He might not be there,” Milo offers. “I don’t know for sure.”
“Oh, please.” His mother smirks. “How often are you wrong about what your brother gets up to?”
Milo sits back in his chair, sighing. The frown on his face seems genuinely remorseful.
Is he always like this when snitching on Kai? Does he try to resist, but his parents get it out of him because he has a bad poker face?
After dinner, Milo is uneasy with me. He doesn’t make eye contact when he asks if I could watch Gandalf so he could take a shower and finish his calculus homework. No doubt he’s nervous that I’ll text Kai, letting him know Milo ratted him out. Lucky for Milo, I’m beyond caring about what Kai is up to tonight.
Mrs. Nelson suggests I go back to my homework, too. I know better than to mess with her on my first night here.
Once Gandalf and I were upstairs in Milo’s bedroom, Aunt Maddy called.Geez, I had no idea how much I already miss her. She could hear it in my voice and gave me permission to blow off some steam with one of my favorite rom-coms.
Milo needed at least an hour to work on his homework, so it was probably enough time to sneak in a quick ninety-minute movie. Kai wouldn’t even be home by the time the credits roll.
I pick Aunt Maddy’s favorite movie, Never Been Kissed, and curl up under the covers with the laptop resting on my thighs. I hug a pillow, hearing Aunt Maddy’s voice in my head reciting the lines the characters say. A happy warmth spreads through me, and by the time the movie is halfway through, my sadness has drifted away.
“Hey, you want me to take him?” Milo asks, walking into the room.
His sudden arrival causes me to jump. My fingers fumble as I hurriedly pause the movie.
“Are you all right?” Milo asks with caution, halting before he reaches Gandalf.
“Mhmm.” I slink under the covers as embarrassment flames my cheeks.
“What’s with you? You’re acting like you’re watching something you need to be over eighteen to access.”
“Oh lord, no.” Mortifying. I lower the laptop screen and tilt it further away from Milo’s gaze. “It’s nothing like that.”
Milo grins. “Then why are you turning it away and looking so pale?”
I huff and avert my eyes. “Because it’s super embarrassing.”
