“Yourrelationshipdied.” Asha kept stressing random words as if she hoped one of them would suddenly resonate with me, and I’d realize I was making a huge mistake.
“We were never in a relationship,” I reminded her. Why was I always pointing this out to people? What was it about Alec and Inot datingthat people couldn’t wrap their heads around?
“Fine. Your romance, love story, whatever you want to call it. You and Alec are over, and that, my friend, is the definition of tragic.”
I wished she’d drop it already. Every time she said his name, I felt like someone had reached inside my chest and yanked on my heart. But I had a feeling she wasn’t going to let up anytime soon.
Even though I didn’t want to go home, we were already on our way back to LA. The only upside was Rose was coming too. She’d called in sick and packed a bag, all so I wouldn’t have to face Mom alone. Now that I knew the truth, she figured there was no point in staying away.
Without Alec to drive us, we were forced to find a new way home. Rose didn’t have a car, but she was able to borrow the tiny Mitsubishi Mirage Steven’s parents owned. The fit was tight—and if I was uncomfortable, I couldn’t imagine how Boomer felt—but it was our only choice.
The trip was supposed to take over sixteen hours, so we’d left at the crack of dawn in order to get back before dark. And that meant I had to endure Asha’s complaining for another seven. She’d been ranting like this ever since Alec left. When I told everyone what had happened between me and him, I thought she’d be up in arms, ready to fight for me like she had yesterday morning.
Not so much.
Instead, she freaked out and spent the rest of the night lecturing me on all the reasons why Alec was amazing. She was convinced there was no way he could be dating Violet James.After all, she argued,he helped you find Rose and introduced you to his friends.He cares about you, Felicity!There was a small chance she was right,but Asha hadn’t heard Alec and Violet’s conversation or felt the desperation in his voice as he begged her.
I had.
It was more than enough to convince me of his feelings for her, and I had no desire to be part of a public love triangle.
“If you called Alec,” Asha said, repeating the same phrase like a pull-string doll, “then I’m sure you guys could work things—”
“Hey, can we please drop this?”
“But, Fel, I really think—”
“I don’t want to talk about him,” I snapped. “Okay?”
Asha’s mouth set in a hard line. “Yeah, sure.”
She didn’t say anything to me for the remainder of the ride, but I didn’t mind the silence. With Boomer spellbound by his Game Boy and Rose focused on driving, I had plenty of time to read through my flash cards a second time. Studying helped keep my mind off Alec.
At ten o’clock that night, we arrived at Asha’s house. As she and Boomer unloaded, I texted Mom to let her know I was on the way home. It was the only communication I’d had with her since our fight, although it wasn’t for her lack of trying. There were five missed calls, two voice messages, and a handful of texts on my phone. The only reason I looked through them was because a small part of me hoped that Alec had tried to contact me.
He hadn’t.
Mom was camped out at the kitchen table when we arrived.
“Felicity!” she exclaimed, shooting to her feet as soon as she saw me. “Thank God you’re okay. I was getting so worried—” She froze at the sight of Rose.
“Hey, Mom,” Rose said. Her tone was tentative, testing the waters.
“Rosalyn,” Mom gasped, my sister’s name falling from her lips like it was something fragile. “You’re here.”
“Sorry to disappoint.”
“You know I didn’t mean it like that,” said Mom.
Rose didn’t bother with a response. She glanced around the kitchen and living room, as if looking to see what had changed in her absence. Not much had, although there was a lack of origami scattered across every surface.
“You look well,” Mom continued, trying to fill the silence. “How have you been?”
I cringed at the awkwardness of it all.
“Considering you’ve been reading my letters, I think you know exactly how I’ve been,” Rose said. “But why don’t we play catch-up later? Right now, you need to talk to Felicity.”
Hurt, guilt, then anger flickered across Mom’s face, but she was quick to square her shoulders and take charge. “Yes,” she agreed, her expression turning stern. “You’re right. Felicity, why don’t you take a seat? Rose, you can wait in your sister’s room.”
