Page 46 of Mad Boys


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“I’ll get it,” Soren offered.

“Thanks.”

“Don’t forget,” Sydney said. “Party this weekend.”

“Can’t wait!”

Totally planned to forget. Loved the girls. I even liked Soren and Finley. They had a good group. But parties meant Payton would probably be there and I’d sooner pierce my tongue.

“See you guys later!”

Aubrey and Forrest were coming in as I was heading out. She was flushed and her lipstick was definitely gone. I grinned at them and then patted Forrest’s chest. “That color looks way better on her.”

He grinned and Aubrey rolled her eyes as she gave me a playful shove. “Shut up.” Then she sobered. “Everything all right?” Her gaze dipped to the phone in my hand.

“Totally fine, just checking in before classes. Connecting has been kind of hard.”

Especially with Jackie’s schedule and Pen’s course of treatments. I worried about all of them, but Jackie would only let me do so much. I’d actually talked to Davina and she’d agreed to help out with Pen a couple of times a week.

Jackie scolded me, but there had been real relief in her voice, and in Bronson’s, when Davina got involved. She was the absolute best, too. Pen would be so spoiled, and I was glad for it.

“Let me know?” Aubrey asked, and I nodded. We were both circumspect about discussing any of this where anyone could hear us. I liked Forrest. Aubrey really liked him. But this was still a need to know, and no one needed to know about my baby sister.

She was too little and too sick to be dealing with press stupidity. I was out the door and had the phone to my ear before I’d gone three steps.

Jackie answered on the first ring. “You have a sixth sense for when my coffee is ready.”

I laughed. “If you mean survival skills, then I agree.” I spent the next fifteen minutes getting an update. Not that much had changed in the last week. I talked to Bronson nightly via texts.

“You sound much better,” Jackie said. It seemed almost surreal that the fire had been nearly three weeks earlier. It seemed like a lifetime and just the day before. “Are you taking it easy? Doing what the doctors say?”

“Yes, ma’am,” I promised. “I have another checkup next week. The coughing has gotten much better, and I’m still not singing…” Even if that was killing me. “Cause he wanted me to give my vocal cords a solid rest.”

“I know it’s hard honey, but it’s for the best…”

She wasn’t wrong. As much as I wanted to stay on the phone, I had to get to class. The next two weeks followed a similar pattern. Jonas and I developed something of a rhythm. As roommates went, he was pretty quiet.

While we shared a lot of classes, we didn’t share the same schedule. He disappeared on weekends. More of my favorites showed up in the fridge and the cupboards. I also found out that he preferred oat milk, so I made his coffee with that.

It was the little things, but it helped with detente. I preferred the peaceful existence. It would be even more peaceful if Payton accidentally vanished one day, but I supposed we couldn’t have everything.

Frankie and Ian’s tour looked like it was going well. When Coop called to invite us to the Baltimore show that would “officially” launch their tour and their album, I was down.

“Does she know we’re coming?” I asked and Coop laughed.

“No,” he said, and there was a smugness in his voice. “It’s a surprise for her. Bubba knows. But we want this to be a really special night for her. It’s been a tough time.”

Yeah. “I know,” I said. “Don’t worry, we’ll be there.” I didn’t have to guess what Yvette and Aubrey would say. “Just send me the dates.”

“Thank you, she’s going to love having you girls there.”

“I can’t wait, Coop,” I told him. “Thank you for inviting me.”

“Yep. Talk soon!”

Then he was off the phone. I fired off a text to Aubrey and Yvette letting them know. Their answers were unsurprising. Mom was also back in the news—she’d had some meltdown at a club and a very public screaming match with Johnny.

Now she was back at that damn retreat and Johnny was miserable. I felt so bad for Johnny, yet why would Mom go back to the Sunshine Retreat? She wasn’t drinking… at least, I didn’t think she was drinking anything except the Kool-Aid. Teddy sent me a message about fan mail, and I made a face.

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