Page 186 of As It Was

“First of all, I don’t hate cats, but if I did ... Well, I would keep it. I missed out on a lot as a kid when I was bouncing around homes. Eric gets what he wants.”

“See?” Kerry said. “I told you.”

Nicole ignored her and slowly nodded.

Kerry gave a thumbs-up, but she wasn’t looking at me. She was looking out the window. I followed her line of sight and saw a flash of golden-brown hair.

Had everyone lost their minds?

“I hope that clarifies things,” I said slowly.

“Yes. It does.”

I looked back out the window again, but there was nothing. “I’m ... gonna go. Nice talking to you.”

“You too,” Nicole said.

“Are you sure there’s not a cat?” I asked. “If it’s outside, I could get it.”

“No cat,” Nicole said. “But at least I know who to call if there ever is one.”

I blinked, still unable to make sense of the purpose of that question. I walked over to Eric.

“Are you friends with my teacher now?” he asked as he grabbed my hand.

“No, I think this entire town has finally lost their collective minds,” I muttered. “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”

“You seemed mad this morning.”

I had been. The betrayal was fresh. It still hurt to think about, though I was more worried about how people would act.

It turned out the answer was far weirder than I expected.

I could deal with weird.

“I’m fine,” I said. “Let’s get you home and get you a snack.”

“Will Mollie be there?”

I hadn’t seen her since this morning. I wasn’t sure if I could handle it. “I don’t think so. It’s just the two of us.”

Eric sighed. “Fine. But I wanna show her my art.”

I didn’t blame him. Even while mad, I still thought about her throughout the day. I didn’t think I knew how to stop.

Which meant she and I needed to talk as soon as she got back from wherever she’d gone.

When Mollie didn’t come home, I grew worried. I’d asked for space, but she didn’t need to leave the house. Or worse, the town.

As time ticked by, I thought back to everything I had said to her. In my anger, I knew I hadn’t been the nicest, but I hoped there was nothing that would have made her leave permanently. Eric was attached.

So was I.

I sat on the couch as the night grew into the morning, hoping to see her come back. If she hadn’t by the next day, I would start asking people if they’d seen her.

I must have dozed off at some point, because my eyes flew open when I heard the front door shut. I was lying down when she walked in, a massive folder in her hand.

“Where were you?”

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