Page 68 of Claimed By my Frenemy

“But I already told you that I don’t know. My camera just shows it not there one minute then appearing in the next shot. My neighbor didn’t see anything either.”

“There areotherways,” Aurora says.

I haven’t even taken a sip of my coffee, but I grip my cup now as I wait for Aurora to explain herself.

“We just have to do some digging.” Aurora sits back like she’s just unveiled the greatest plan ever, but I’m still confused.

“Explain,” Stella asks, moving her hand in a “continue” motion.

Madison is already jumping to conclusions, though. “Do you meanspy? Like follow him around and make sure he’s doing what he says he’s doing? Because that sounds fun, but he alreadyknows all of us. I don’t think we could do it without getting caught.”

Aurora holds her hands out on either side and waits until we are all quiet again. “I do mean spying, but not like that. That’s the kind of spying we would have done in high school. Now, we have the internet at our disposal. I’ll assign each of you a person or area to investigate. You need to do your due diligence to get as much information as you can, and we’ll reconvene at Mia’s house tomorrow.”

Aurora doesn’t ask us if we are available tomorrow or if I’m up for hosting my friends, but of course, no one disagrees with her.

Zoey leans in closer. “We need to get to the bottom of this. If Theo is really planning something, we need to know for sure. As long as no one is doing anything illegal, then I think your plan will work, Aurora.” Zoey adjusts her glasses and gives her nod of approval.

“Madison? Are you in?” Aurora prompts.

“I’m in. Anything for Mia. But yeah, like Zoey said, nothing illegal please.”

Stella doesn’t wait to be asked. “I’m in. I’ll do whatever I can.”

Aurora smiles at me. “Let’s investigate. We’ll make some calls, do some digging. We’ll find out the truth. Mia, you don’t need to worry about anything.”

We spend the next few hours coming up with a plan. Each of us takes on a different task: Madison will contact some people in the community who might have heard something, Zoey will talk to a few contractors working on the project, Stella will reach out to some mutual acquaintances of Theo’s, and Aurora will look into the business side of things.

I can’t help but feel hopeful as we finally leave Groovy Grounds and head in separate directions. I stand by the trashcans taking one last sip of my mostly full drink. To be honest, I was too busy listening to Aurora to be able to drink much.

“You’re Mia, right?” a voice behind me says.

I turn and see our waitress behind me.

“Yeah, that’s me.” I drop my cup in the trash can and shove my hands in my pockets. We’ve come here often enough that we all recognize each other.

“Look, I promise I wasn’t trying to listen. I try to let everyone have their privacy when they’re here, but woman to woman, I’ve got your back if you ever need anything.”

I open my mouth to make out like it’s no big deal, but something about what she says hits me hard. This stranger, someone I barely know, is offering to look out for me, and it hits something sensitive inside me. I close my mouth again and swallow, finding a way to shove my feelings down inside me.

“Well, that’s kind of you. You don’t even know me.”

“I know what your favorite drink is,” Addison says.

And I smile. That’s one thing she knows that Theo doesn’t—one point in her favor so to speak. “Well, thanks. Honestly. I… Yeah. Kind of you.”

I turn and hurry out to the parking lot before I burst into tears in front of her. I need to get home and figure out what’s going on with Theo.

The next day,we reconvene at my house, ready to pool our information.

Everyone settles around the living room. I glance at the small box of memorabilia that Theo gave me. It’s sitting prominently on the shelf, and I keep thinking someone is going to open it up and say something about it. But no one does.

Everyone settles on the carpet or on the sofa. I see Aurora is carrying an important-looking manila folder.

“Well, thanks for coming. And I know you guys have jobs and everything, but?—”

“Not me!” Madison speaks up. “I’m still trying to figure out if I can start this surf school or if I’m still young enough to get extra tips as a waitress for being tanned and pretty.”

We all laugh. She managed to break the awkwardness.

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