Page 78 of Myla: The Hawthornes

“Sure.” Hot and cold. There was never anything in between.

“Call you when I’m back?”

“Yeah, drive safe tomorrow.”

“Always do.”

“Okay, bye.”

I hung up and set my phone carefully on the counter.

“Sweet Cian?” Frankie asked sarcastically.

“Yep.”

“You gonna fall into that again?”

“Are you joking?” I said, leaving my phone on the counter. I skipped back into the room and leaped over the couch, catching her in the side with my shins as I landed. “If it’s not a guywhose favorite shape is a star, flips pancakes in the air, and has different colored eyes? I don’t want it.”

“That’s my girl,” Frankie said proudly, pushing my feet off the couch. “Now we’re watchingScream. The original, obviously. If that doesn’t put you off men for a while, nothing will.”

I woke up the next morning with some kind of candy stuck in my hair, my hoodie on backward, and Frankie’s foot in my face.

“Morning, pretty girl,” Lou sang, laughing down at me.

“Not so loud,” I hissed.

“You two must’ve kept drinking after I fell asleep, because I feel fine and you look like garbage.”

“I feel like garbage,” I moaned, pushing Frankie’s foot away as I sat up. “What time is it?”

“Noon.”

“Ugh.”

“You called into work for the whole week, right?” Lou said as she walked away.

“Yeah. Told them we had a family emergency.”

“Good. Because I tried to wake you up at seven, but you didn’t even flinch.”

“We didn’t fall asleep until like four,” I groaned, following her into the kitchen.

“Your phone went off a few times. Your mom and Cian.”

“Did you read them?”

“I really wanted to, but I didn’t,” she said with a grin. “What did he say?”

I checked my phone. Mom wanted me to call her.

“He just texted to say they were getting on the road.”

“Oh.”

“He called last night.”

“Seriously?”

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