Page 41 of Missed Notes (Rixon High 5)

“Mya, we should cut her a little slack. It’s been a hard week.”

And it was only about to get harder.

“The important thing is, she’s here and she’s safe and she knows that looking after her mind and body is going to go a long way to—”

I tuned out again.

They meant well. They only cared. But I didn’t want to hear it.

I didn’t want to be here in the first place, gearing up for my cancer fight.

God, just saying the words broke something inside me. It had only been a few days. Hopefully, my positive mental attitude would kick in soon because all I wanted to do at this precise moment was crawl back into bed and sleep.

So when my cell phone started ringing, I shot off the stool and excused myself. “I need to take this,” I said.

“But we’re talking—”

“Sorry, Mom. Leigh said she would call to discuss the assignment for English. I really need to take it.” The lie came easily.

Too easily.

But I guess that’s who I was now—the girl who lied to her brother and friends and parents.

“Fine, but take some water up with you. You need to stay hydrated.”

“Sure, Mom.” I grabbed the bottle from her and ducked out of the kitchen, instantly relieved to be alone once more.

Cole’s name taunted me. It wasn’t Ashleigh calling at all.

It was him.

The boy I’d decided to avoid at all costs.

I guess he’d grown tired of me ignoring his texts and so had resorted to trying to call me.

I slipped into my room and closed the door, waiting for it to stop ringing. It did, but a text came straight through.

Cole: You can’t avoid me forever.

Me: Who says I’m avoiding you? Maybe I just don’t want to speak to you…

Cole: Ouch.

Guilt snaked through me.

Cole: Look, I’m sorry, okay? I know I hurt you, but I only did what I thought was best. I was worried about you, Sofia. I’m still worried…

I chewed my bottom lip,at war with myself. On the one hand, I wanted to tell him to get lost and never text me again. But on the other…

Well, the fact he cared. The fact that he refused to give up, it meant something to me. But letting him in was foolish, for both of us.

Sofia: I can’t do this, Cole.

Cole: See that’s where I think you’re wrong. We’re friends, aren’t we? Ezra has Ashleigh now. Aaron has Poppy. Seems to me like we’re all the other has left…

I fought a smile.Cole was persistent, I’d give him that. But it was more than that. There was something else there. There always had been but we’d never acted on it out of respect for my brother. Because everyone knew things had the potential to get messy when you hooked up with your brother’s best friend.

I needed to stay away, no matter how easy it was to get pulled into his orbit.

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