Page 84 of Fall at Once

Oh well. It was too late now.

My stomach growled, and I burst into tears because it reminded me of the night of our first kiss, his grumbly tummy, and our dinner together at the Skytop Diner.

He was my smushy Tater Tot. Damn it.

I got up to grab my purse to find my phone to order takeout, wiping away tears and frowning when it wasn’t there.

My mind raced to retrace my steps. I knew it wasn’t in my car…

Crap, I’d left it on the counter in the kitchen back in Cozy Creek. I’d set it down when I grabbed a can of Diet Coke fromthe refrigerator for the road trip. Whatever, I’d get it tomorrow or get ahold of my mom in the morning and have her call Kenzie to bring it with her when she picked up the cats.

But I wanted takeout, dang it. If there was anything left in my fridge here, I didn’t want to know about it—I mean, yuck. It had been months since I’d been here. But I always had emergency mac and cheese in my freezer and Cool Ranch Doritos in the pantry. It was time to stress eat and comfort rewatchGilmore Girlsfor the millionth time. I needed to get my mind off of everything and get some perspective.

I headed into the kitchen.

No more thinking. Only relaxing.

Or maybe I should think.

Maybe I should doallthe thinking tonight and finally make some damn decisions. Decisions for myself and what I want out of my life. Everyone else and their opinions could screw off. I was back in Colorado Springs. I was supposed to be Madison 2.0 right now, taking charge and being in control.

It’s funny how I’d gone to Cozy Creek to escape my life here, and now I was doing the same thing in reverse. It was time to handle my shit.

I nuked my macaroni while mindlessly munching on the Doritos. I decided to risk opening the fridge because I really needed a Diet Coke and was pretty sure I’d left a few in there. Yes! I had an entire twelve-pack.

Things were looking better; I would be okay. The little things in life always cheered me up, at least temporarily.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

My good thoughts flew away at the sound of my doorbell repeatedly ringing.

I wasn’t expecting anyone.

I grabbed my big marble rolling pin from my baking rack and crept to the door.

I looked through the peephole and saw my mother standing there, furiously texting on her cell phone and pacing back and forth. I stepped back—shit. I was not in the mood to talk to her, or anyone, right now.

I jumped a foot when she started pounding on the door.

“Holy crap, Mother!” I set the rolling pin on the table and threw the door open. “You scared the hell out of me!”

“Oh my god! You’re okay.” She yanked me into a hug. “I’ve been calling and calling and—” She pushed me back, hands on my shoulders. “Why haven’t you answered your phone, young lady? Always answer the phone when your mother calls. That’s the freakin’ rule!”

“I’m sorry.” I waved her inside and shut and locked the door. “I left it in Cozy Creek. And I’m thirty. Can we please drop the young lady thing?”

“You drove all the way up here with no phone? Madison Nicole Winslow! What were you thinking?”

“Well, I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking since I forgot it.”

“Did you drive the bug? Please tell me you took Gigi’s car or even Kenzie’s.”

“I drove the bug. But Quinn fixed it. It probably runs betterthan when it was yours.”

“Oh. Well, good. Okay then.” She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she looked me up and down, ensuring I was okay. “I totally freaked out.” Her eyes shifted to the side as she smiled sheepishly. “You’re fine.”

“You think?” I laughed. “And, yeah, I’m fine. Alive and in one piece, at least.”

“Oh, honey. I was worried about you. I knew from Gigi that you were upset, and then you didn’t answer your phone when I called you. And it’s dark outside. I’m sorry.”

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