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“Hmmm?” My friend answers, clearly half asleep.
“I need you to wake up, get dressed, and bring me some pizza. Major life decisions are being made, and I require the presence of my best friend.”
“Okay.” His voice sounds less sleepy, which miraculously makes me want to smile. I may not have hordes of friends, but the few I have are good ones. “Why do you need me to bring you pizza?”
“Because fried chicken is for misery. And pizza is for badasses.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Dash
“Hey, Luna. Have you seen my phone?” I set a cup of coffee down on the table in front of my sister.
“I plugged it in to charge over there.” She shoves her nose in the mug while waving toward the counter.
With the smell of coffee strong in the air, thoughts of Paige push into my mind. I’m tempted to snatch up my battered phone and flip it open to check for a call or text from her.
Instead, I sit down across from Luna and wrap my hands around my mug. Even if there is a message from her, I shouldn’t respond. Nothing has changed other than the amount I miss her, which only grows the longer she’s gone.
Who the fuck am I kidding?
The second I hear my phone ring, I’ll be lunging for it like a drowning man reaching for a flotation device. I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve navigated to her name in my contacts and just stared at those five letters, willing her to call me and tell me I haven’t ruined everything.
“Okay, so next on the agenda for getting you over this chick is leaving this house.” My sister’s stern voice snaps me back to the kitchen.
“She’s not just a ‘chick.’ And I’ve left the house.”
“Going to work doesn’t count. We need to do something fun. Camilla told me about a new band. You love live music.”
The last live show I went to was with Paige, where we danced pressed up against each other. I shrug. “Maybe. So, you and Camilla patched things up?”
My sister and her best childhood friend had a falling out I never really understood. Of course, I was two years younger than them and completely self-absorbed at the time, as is the way with teenagers.
“You think she’d be letting me crash at her place if we hadn’t?”
“You know you’re welcome to stay here.” Last night, after Luna listened to me spill my guts, she shoved me in the shower to quote ‘wash away the stink of my misery,’ then left to spend the night in her friend’s guest room.
Luna smirks. “I love you, little brother, but I’m not about to spoon with you. Invest in a full-size couch, and I’ll consider crashing at your place next time.”
As my sister reaches for the cereal box in the middle of the table, the sound of our halfhearted doorbell sputters through the house. With Cole at work, I’m left to answer it. Luna gives me a curious look as I move to stand. I just shrug and make my way to the front of the house.
When I open the door, I stutter back a step in shock.
“Really, Dash. I’m notthatscary.” Paige’s mom grins at me as she stands on my crumbling front stoop.
“Sorry.” I move to open the door wide. “I was just surprised. Would you like to come in?” My silent begging that she’ll refuse does nothing, as Mrs. Herbert crosses the threshold into my shit-hole house.
For a moment, we stand awkwardly in the small front room. Well, I’m awkward. Paige’s mom still has a gentle smile as she peers around. There’s not much to look at, just a worn loveseat Cole’s grandma gifted him, and a rickety card table I’ve piled random car parts on. Occasionally, I tinker with them to pass the time, the way someone else might work on a crossword puzzle.
“Do I get a tour?” Mrs. Herbert’s question makes me want to groan, but I stiffen my spine and offer a small nod.
“There’s not much to it,” I offer as I lead her deeper into the house. We pass through Cole’s room without stopping, but she lingers in mine.
“Green.” Her hand brushes the wall, just like her daughter’s had. “She must’ve loved that.”
And just like that, I’m stabbed in the chest. I actually glance down at myself to check if there’s a red stain spreading over my shirt.
Nothing. Must all be internal.
