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“Fine. Maggie’s hogging the bathroom. She has a date with Silas later.”
I exhale. “Great.”
Regan is clearly waiting to shower and I’m sweaty and covered with dog hair.
I finish cleaning up in the entryway and then head into the kitchen. Sally is sitting at the kitchen table, her expression pinched with concentration as she alternates between eating cheese crackers and stringing beads.
“Hey, Sally.”
“Hi, Cassia.” She’s so focused on her crafts, she doesn’t even look up.
“Do you know where Mom is?”
“Upstairs, I think.”
I grab a banana off the counter and then head upstairs. The bathroom door is open, steam wafting out despite the heat outside.
I follow the sound of Maggie’s raised voice into my parents’ bedroom.
“Midnight!” Maggie tosses her hair over one shoulder, squaring off against my mom, who’s folding laundry on the bed.
“Ten thirty.”
“I’m starting college next week, Mom! I could come back to the dorms at four a.m., and no one would care! A littletrust, please.”
“You’re not at school yet, Magnolia. You live here right now, and I don’t want you coming home in the middle of the night. You’ll wake everyone up. And I want to go to bed, knowing you’re home and safe.”
“Silas is taking me to dinner at a new restaurant in Blackford. If I have to be home that early, it’ll ruin the whole meal.”
“Eat dinner somewhere closer, then,” my mom suggests.
“Ugh!” Maggie throws her hands up in the air, then spins and stalks toward the door, almost colliding with me. “Couldn’t you have rebelled a little bit, Cassia?” she asks. “Made this a little easier on me?”
My mom sighs as Maggie disappears down the hall, then keeps folding laundry. “Hi, honey. How was work?”
I exhale. “Fine.”
“Are you hanging out with Holden tonight?”
Oxygen stalls in my lungs. “What?”
She tosses some socks, then glances over at me. “He stopped by here last night. I let him know you were over at London’s. I thought you two might be spending tonight together. He’s welcome to come over for dinner.”
“Oh,” I say.
Fuck, I think.
Does it absolve him of everything? No.
But it makes a tiny difference knowing Holden came here rather than heading straight to the court last night.
My mom’s waiting for more of an answer. “He didn’t mention it?”
“Uh, no. He has a lot of other stuff to catch up on.”
She smiles. “I’m sure. So, should I plan on you for dinner? Planning to start cooking as soon as I finish this load.”
“Um, I’m not sure yet.”
