Page 64 of This I Know
coming over, biotch. we’ve got stuff to talk about.
That’s the first thing I see when I peel my eye open in the morning to check my phone. It’s nine o’clock. I stretch. Then, as I wake, I realize what the text actually said.
She’s coming over.
What time did she text me? Eight fifty-three. Good.
Not that it matters if Mara sees me in my pajamas, but I would rather get dressed in privacy, with no one else around to see me possibly make a fool out of myself in my bizarre, often-failing attempts to put on my own pants. That’s all.
I pull my phone back up to my face. There’s another text I failed to see the first time around. It was sent earlier in the morning, and it’s from Ethan. I smirk.
I got one. Me.
It’s actually the stereotypical good morning text, complete with sweet smiley face and all. As simple a thing it is, it’s something I’ve never gotten from the previous boy in my life.
I’m just swinging my legs over the side of my bed when there’s a knock on my bedroom door.
I stop.Who the hell is that?My mom works on Saturdays. The house should be empty, and I didn’t hear anyone come up the stairs. Which means … maybe they crept. And if they crept, then they’re definitely not a person I want to open the door for. On the other hand, they did bother to take the time to knock. That was nice of them.
Oh, stop it, Avery. You’re overthinking this.
I grab my robe off the corner of my bed and approach the door tentatively, swinging the robe over my shoulders. I creak open the door.
“You weren’t expecting me?” says Mara.
I let out a sigh of relief. “Mara, what the hell.”
She looks behind her. “What the hell what?”
“You don’t ring our doorbell anymore? You just walk in?”
She dangles a key in front of my face. “You showed me where you kept this spare a long time ago, silly. I knew your mom was out, and since I didn’t get a text back from you I figured you were sleeping.”
“So you’ll come on in while I’m sleeping? Creepy, but good to know.”
She shrugs. “I would have been quiet until you woke up. I justhadto get out of my house.”
I laugh. “My house … the new place to get away from it all. Ever hear of Starbucks?”
“Come on, Avery. You know I don’t drink coffee.”
“Fine. Well, you’re right about one thing – I was sleeping.” I rub my eyes. “How’d you get here so fast, anyway?”
She walks to my desk and sits down. “I was having a weekend breakfast with my parents. You know, the usual boring one? They let me cut out early, and I just had to come over.”
Alright, I don’t want to ask this. I really don’t. But I will. “Why?”
“Why what?” She’s flipping through my day planner, casually reading.
“Why did you just have to come over?” I cringe as I wait for the answer.
“You don’t know?”
“No.” I’m totally doing a good job of playing cool right now. All while my insides are screaming,OF COURSE.Don’t play me, Mar.
She slams my planner shut. “I heard about the party last night.”
I take a seat. “I thought so.”
