That simple question makes something soften in my chest.
ME: yeah. I’m fine.
ME: I probably looked like a trembling cat that got thrown into a bathtub earlier but I’m okay now.
His reply comes almost instantly.
RYAN: honestly? more like a stressed-out squirrel.
A quiet snort escapes me before I can stop it. I send him the middle finger emoji.
RYAN: sorry ;)
I glance down at the sleeves of the hoodie again. The fabric hangs past my hands, completely swallowing me. I tug it a little tighter around myself and catch the faint smell of his cologne mixed with laundry detergent.
ME: sorry for stealing your hoodie btw.
RYAN: don’t worry about it.
RYAN: looks better on you anyway
A small warmth runs through my body. Then my eyes feel heavy all of a sudden, the adrenaline finally draining out of my system.
ME: thank you :)
ME: I'm gonna try to sleep.
Three dots appear again.
RYAN: night, mads.
I stare at the message for a second before typing back.
MADDY: night, ry.
16
MADDY
I’ve never seen you organize like this. Or at all.
The next afternoon, we’re all at Hazel & Bean after class, cleaning up what’s left from the break-in.
The police already caught the guys—two teenagers who apparently thought trashing a café was a brilliant idea. All they took was two hundred dollars… and probably a very expensive lesson.
Still, the place looks like shit. We made Dad stay home and rest. He tried to argue, obviously, but Noah and I won that argument pretty easily. He didn’t need to see this place completely wrecked again. The place that reminds him of Mom. Where he met her, fell in love with her, literally named after her. I think he’d be better off with some extra sleep instead.
And if I’m being honest, I don’t think I slept more than a couple hours last night anyway. My brain kept running through every possible version of what could’ve happened if things had gone differently.
I push that thought away and focus on the table in front of me, dragging the cloth across the surface a little harder than necessary.
Around me, Noah is dealing with the busted lock near the door, Kiara and Ryan are working their way across the floor and Mel and Liam are at the windows, talking quietly while they clean. Music plays somewhere in the background, filling the space.
But every now and then, I notice them giving me these worried looks. They’re trying to be subtle about it, glancing over, then quickly looking away, but it’s obvious enough. So I just smile back. Hoping that will convince them I’m fine.
Noah walks over a second later, wiping his hands on a cloth as he stops beside me. “Hey,” he says, nudging my shoulder lightly. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I answer immediately, already nodding. “Yeah, I’m fine. This table just…doesn’t want to be cleaned.”
