Before I can spiral, a reply pings in my portal messages. From Milo.
“It looks good. Paragraphs 3 & 4 seem a little rushed, so maybe tidy those up. Overall, it looks like a solid B.”
A B? Oh my gosh! Aunt Maddy will be stoked. I can’t wait to show this off to her.
I rub the space on my chest over my heart. He read my essay right away. Things are still okay.
Thank goodness!
I still need Milo’s help with math and English, but I don’t want to push it. He’s working on his own assignments while looking after Gandalf and dealing with Kai’s mood. I sit back on the desk chair and turn my head toward the wall shared with the bathroom. My eyes squint as I try my best to prick my ears. I wonder if Gandalf is fussing. Hope Milo knows to ask for help if he needs it.
I turn back to my laptop and reply to Milo. “Thank you so much! I doubt I’ll get a B, but it means a lot. How are things with Gandalf?”
His replies hits two minutes later.“I’ve fed himnow,just rocking him against me as I type. Don’tworry,I won’t cut corners this time.”
His answer makes me laugh. I enjoy that there’s still ease flowing between us. However, it gives me pause. Are we ignoring that the kiss happened? Did it happen? Did I go crazy and imagine it? Was it just a higher level of fantasy and he ran out of the bedroom purely because I was comatose and drooling?
Oh my gosh. This is so embarrassing.
No, I didn’t imagine it. The kiss must’ve sucked and now he’s ignoring the subject.
Dang. It really felt good to me. I’m probably worse at kissing than him. Yet another thing he’ll have to teach me. Hmm. Kissing lessons don’t sound like a bad idea.
“If he gets annoying, you can drop him off with me. I don’t mind.”
“It’s all good. You’ve already done a lot.”
I close out of the school portal and stare at my King Lear notes. I push them aside. So not in the mood. Through my bedroom door, I hear the blasts and catchphrases from Shadow Quests coming from the TV. Should I go out and play with Kai to bury the hatchet? It’d be better than getting up in the morning and having harsh awkwardness between us.
I get off the chair and move to the door. I turn the door knob slowly and pull the door open without a creak. I spy the back of Kai’s head over the couch and hear him talking. His voice is low, and it takes a while to work out what he’s saying.
That is until he mentions dinner. Holy cow. He just spent the whole day with Tabitha, including a dinner date, and now he’s on the phone with her?
I close the door and storm over to the bed. I plonk face first and tug the covers over me. Screw this. He should’ve knocked on my door and made up with me. He chose to chat with her instead of making things right. He says he misses me, but he doesn’t act like it. He’s the one who’s changed for the worse.
My angry thoughts spiral in my head until darkness consumes me into a lulled sleep. I wake up groggily with the overhead lights still on. I check my phone.
2.30 a.m.
I pull myself out of bed and stagger to the light switch. When I flick them off, I notice light seeping in from under the door. I open the door and see the TV on with no sound.
“Huh?” I mutter as I tiptoe across the carpet. As I round the couch, I find Milo lying on his back with Gandalf resting on his stomach.
“Oh, hey?” he whispers, tilting his head questioningly. “Did I wake you?”
“No. Well, I don’t think so.” I rub my tired eyes. “What are you doing up?”
“Gandalf was crying, and Kai was about to rip both our heads off. It was safer to come out here.”
“I’m sorry he’s kept you up. Do you want me to take over?”
Milo sits up, fixing his glasses. “No, I’m good. You should go back to bed.”
“I feel bad.” I sit on the opposite end of the couch. “If you’re up, I should be up too.”
“We’re trading off. You already did your night.”
“But I also woke you up.” I smooth back my wild bed hair. “You calmed me down.”
