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I could hear Shelly squealing before I even set foot on the top step.
“Finally! I thought you forgot about me!”
I walked straight to the couch and dropped myself down. “Sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t want to be rude and run out as soon as dinner was over.”
“How was it?”
“Can we not talk about it tonight? Just for tonight.”
“Your eyelashes look flat.”
“So?”
“So that means you were crying. Did Chase say something to make you cry?”
“No. Tomorrow, Shell. I promise you, tomorrow.” There was no way I could put into words how I felt tonight after dinner with the Brooks family. My head was a racetrack of thoughts and emotions zipping faster around each turn. I needed to sort things out on my own before I could explain any of it.
She sighed dramatically. “Fine.” She walked over to the kitchen table and picked up a bowl of popcorn, wedging two soda cans in each of her elbows. “Our movie night extravaganza begins! Which one do you want to watch first?”
I draped my legs over her lap after she sat, and took the popcorn bowl. “Dealer’s choice.”
“Thelma and Louise, it is.”
“I don’t even know why you bother asking.”
“Shush. It’s your last night here. You have to be nice to me.”
I rested my head on her shoulder. “Fine. If I have to.”
“I love you, Toad.”
“I love you, Frog.”
8
Surprise
“Wow.” Shelly stared out her windshield with her mouth open. “Their house is so nice.”
“Yeah. You’re not kidding.” I lead her up the driveway and up the stairs. “Here we are.” I turned the key in my apartment door and pushed it open. The smell hit me before the realization did. I stood in the doorway, blinking, as two pairs of eyes looked back at me from inside my kitchen.
“Surprise!” Shelly shouted from behind me. She gave me a push to walk further inside.
“What’s going on?”
Brody and Chase were standing in the kitchen, both of them smiling from ear to ear. A vase of colorful flowers dressed up the table set for four.
“We wanted to welcome you into your first official day at your apartment.” Shelly pushed me towards a chair. “Brody’s making your favorite breakfast.”
“Wow, guys. Thanks. I wish my bedroom was done so I could show you the finished space.”
Chase sat next to me, and piled three blueberry pancakes onto my plate. “Oh, your room is done. Want some juice?”
My eyebrows furrowed. “What do you mean the bedroom is done? We still have another coat to do.”
“No, we don’t.”
I stood and made my way into the hallway, peering through the doorway. The furniture no longer sat in the middle of the room under plastic. Everything was placed perfectly in the room, with the bed situated in between the two windows. “Chase! It’s all done!”
