Page 78 of While You Were Trending

“Scared one of the English professors so badly that she had a heart attack.”

I don’t remember this, but I did a semester abroad junior year, and I wasn’t dating Alex yet then. “No.”

“Yes.”

“You can’t have a heart attack just from being scared.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. But I got credit for saving her life instead of credit for nearly killing her.”

“Please stop trying to make what I did any better,” I whisper.

“Give yourself credit for choosing to be a good person despite how your mother trained you, and I’ll stop talking.”

“We can be—friends—while you’re here, but this isn’t—we’re not—I don’t?—”

Flow howls.

Not whimper-howl-whines, buthowls.

Up on her feet, snout to the air, howling like she’s calling all of her fellow Bernedoodles to come save missing puppies.

Declan latches a hand onto her collar. “Hey, girl. Down. It’s okay.”

She howls again, then flops to her back on the ground in front of the steps, panting.

Declan rubs his brow. “Seriously?” he says to his dog.

“What’s wrong with her?”

“She doesn’t like it when people are upset.”

“I’m not upset.”

Flow howls again.

Declan pins me with a look as the door bursts open.

“What is that?” Cricket says.

“What are you doing to that poor dog?” Olivia demands.

“She hasn’t done that all day,” Samantha says.

“What the actual fuck?” Mabel says as Flow howls again. “Make it stop. Make it stopright now.”

Declan lifts his brows at me, like I’m supposed to fix this.

“I’m not upset,” I shriek.

Flow howls louder, and her legs flop out.

The dog is throwing a temper tantrum of the variety that I threw on that stupid TV show.

“Fine.Fine.” I rise, march down the steps, and squat next to the howling dog. “Stop that right now.”

The howl stops midstream, and Flow cocks her head to look at me.

“You’re messing up your pretty fur.”