Page 22 of Advice from a Sunflower

“Who’s Aaron?” Gabby asks, earning a sharp elbow in her side from her sister.

“Not Aaron, idiot. Errands. She has things to do.”

“Ma said you can’t call me that anymore. I’m telling,” Gabby whines, tears welling up in her eyes.

I shoot Ally a warning look and leave them alone to play with their dolls again, their argument already long forgotten. I have the fleeting thought that I wish things were that simple with Marnie and me.

***

It doesn’t take long before I find myself at the center of town, parked in a random spot just outside of what was formally Joe’s Pizza House. The windows are boarded up now and there’s graffiti littering the historic red brick. Another abandoned, dead spot in a decaying town.

My phone vibrates in the cupholder of the rental car, and I don’t even have to look to know it’s my agent, Natalie, calling for the fifth time in a row. She had a meeting with the publisher to pitch my new idea today and is probably calling to share the good news.

I shove the phone into my bag and step out of the car, realizing how far out of place it looks on this dying little street. I’m catcalled from somewhere off to the side of the pharmacy that I’m headed into, and it’s almost appalling how quickly I fall into old habits and completely block it out, tucking my chin down and speed walking into the entrance before they realize I heard them.

Marnie has got to get her girls out of this place.

“Mouse?” A familiar, deep voice comes from behind, disbelief soaking its tone.

I spin around and nearly bump right into Eli’s chest before backing away with my hands up in surrender. His dark eyes have me immediately recoiling.

“Eli,” I sigh, my eyes roaming his body shamelessly. Time has been surprisingly kind to him.

I hate him for it.

“You're back,” he states, not really asking. His eyes stoically remain on my face, unlike mine which are still shamelessly taking in his new appearance. My cheeks heat with offense, which then quickly turns into embarrassment. What was I expecting?

Wake up, Lyla.

“Denise is getting married,” I state crassly, folding my arms over my chest.

“I know.”

Awkward silence falls between us as the doors slide open and closed, welcoming new guests and bidding others goodbye. I refuse to be the one to break it.

Look at me.

Seeme,I will mentally, screaming the words in my head the same way I had when I was a stupid, lovestruck teenager.

Turns out, the world isn’t any less cruel than The Hollow, and I’m still waiting for the happily ever after that I write about in all of my books. Maybe then, I can get over the puppy love I’ve always had for my childhood friend.

I stop at that thought, internally kicking myself for completely forgetting the man back home that I just broke up with right before I hightailed it out of here for Denise and Marnie. I hadn’t even bothered to call him since, although I wouldn’t let myself feel guilty for that part. Not calling is his specialty. Not acknowledging me outside of when it's convenient for him is also his specialty.

Eli clears his throat, his black brows so low, they almost cover his eyes. It’s odd. He looks like the same boy who dominated my every thought through my entire adolescence and stole my innocence, but there’s more now. A darkness that wasn’t there before.

“So, how are Marnie and the girls doing?”

“I’m not sure, she hasn’t talked to me much." Once again, I'm reminded why I had to leave her house in the first place, and I'm instantly irritated again. "I have to go, Eli…”

I adjust the strap of my designer bag on my shoulder to tuck it further under my arm just as Crank, an old panhandler walks through the door. He’s never stolen from me in the past, but I feel more like an outsider in this town than anything else, and I’m not sure he’d even remember who I am.

“Wait,” Eli calls, reaching out to grab my arm before he thinks better of it and recoils, his hand dangling in the air awkwardly. He looks like he's fighting some internal battle.

“What?”

I watch the thought pass across his face before he lets it go, shaking it away before he lands on, “tell Marnie I’ll be over soon,” and walks away.

***

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