Page 48 of I Stop Somewhere Waiting For You

CHAPTER 24

JONSIE

I shut my laptop before shoving it off to the side of my desk. Perhaps the one positive thing about virtual instruction is if you’re motivated you can finish the work ahead of schedule and have more free time.

Not that it matters, considering I’m locked away.

Six weeks. Six fucking weeks they’ve been looking for the rat. And though Mav claims they’re making progress, I think it’s a load of shit.

Nicky looks pissed most days. His once perfectly entrancing smile is now replaced with a scowl that even I can’t seem to cure. He sporadically blows in and out of this place like a hurricane, leaving nothing but chaos and confusion in his wake.

If you ask the boys, it’s the ever-rising tension with Mav that has him on edge. The ever-looming threat of an oncoming war. However, given they aren’t actually at war, I know better. Nicky’s new distribution suppliers won’t play ball with him until he can produce the individuals responsible for the heist, and if he can’t figure it out, it’s only a matter of time before they move on to a different option.

I can see him rattled at the thought of losing it all, everything he’s worked for. And with the upcoming motocross championship series only a month away, he really needs to settle this shit, or else he’ll never be able to leave for Cali. He already withdrew from the Supercross series back in January, so if he misses the summer, that’s a whole year of his career gone.

Meanwhile, I am losing my fucking mind. The only shred of sanity I have remaining is in place because Daphne’s locked in here with me, though it probably feels more like a curse to her than a blessing to me.

It’s still kind of mind blowing that Daphne’s parents haven’t once inquired as to why she’s been here for the last month and a half. Unfortunately, given their track record, I suppose it isn’t all that surprising. Daphne, while financially provided for, has always been significantly deprived in the areas of attention and supervision. Bottom line—her parents love themselves far too much to take an active interest in their only daughter’s life. The reality is, they may not have even noticed she left.

Our parents have been home on occasion, but the franchising has actually taken off and now three more stores are in the works, so they continue to be gone for long stretches at a time. Probably for the best, all things considered.

Daphne wanders into my room, auburn locks piled high on her head, rocking one of the motocross hoodies I’ve stolen from Nicky over the years. “Yo!” she hollers with a halfhearted wave.

“Hey.” I spin in my chair to face her as she collapses onto the bed. “You turn everything in?”

“Yeah.” She stares up at my ceiling. “Just finished some bullshit essay for English Lit. You?”

“History homework submitted. Officially on spring break.”

Propping herself up on her elbows, she directs her attention my way. “I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I miss school. Like actually going to school.”

“Fucking tell me about it, dude,” I scoff. “What I wouldn’t give for some human interaction aside from the same four faces we see every day. No offense.”

“None taken.” She collapses back onto the bed. “You wanna order some lunch?”

“Nah,” I shake my head. “My stomach’s been all out of whack lately. I think I’m coming down with something.”

“It’s probably just your cramps. You really should eat something. Plus, I don’t want to eat alone,” she whines.

“It’s definitely not cramps. I’m not on my period. I think I have a bug.”

Daphne pops back up, head cocked to the side. “You don’t have your period?”

“No, why?”

“Huh. Nothing, I just thought you and I were on a similar schedule. I’m halfway through mine right now.”

I open my mouth to point out how her period obviously came early when I freeze. Silently, I do the math, counting backward in my head, my jaw hanging lower with every week I backtrack through.

Oh my fucking God—I’m late. And not just once. I missed my entire last period and now this one as well.

Fuck.

Daphne takes note of my silent freak out and shifts her weight down to the end of the bed, allowing her feet to hit the floor. “Shit,” she whispers. “How long?”

“Over a month. I just realized my last period never came.”

She rises from the end of the bed, padding over to my location before kneeling down in front of me. “J, we gotta get you a test.”

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