Page 108 of Until the Ribbon Breaks

“One sec.”

My mother invites him in, but before she starts prying, I head downstairs.

“Hey,” Sebastian says when he sees me.

“What are you doing here?”

My mother looks between us, and when I hit the bottom step, he responds, “My phone’s dead or else I would’ve called.”

“I’m sorry,” she says to him, “you look really familiar.”

“Mom, it’s Sebastian.”

It takes a moment for the light bulb to go off, and when it does, her brows lift. “Sebastian West?”

He nods.

“Oh, my gosh. I haven’t seen you since you were in ... what? Sixth or seventh grade?”

“Something like that.”

“Look at you, all grown up.”

“Mom, please.”

She catches my hint and takes a step back. “Well, I’ll let you two talk,” she says before disappearing back into the kitchen.

“What are you doing here?” I ask again. “How did you even remember where I live?”

“I knew this was your neighborhood, so I drove around until I saw your car in the driveway.”

Taking this conversation out of earshot from my mom, who’s most likely eavesdropping, I lead him upstairs to my room.

As soon as he walks in, he breathes a heavy, “I’m sorry about what happened.”

I go right back over to my closet and pull out the hangers because I’m not sure what he wants me to say.

“At the mall,” he clarifies as if I need reminding.

“It’s fine,” I mutter as I drop the hangers onto the bed and start slipping a sweater onto one of them.

“It isn’t fine.”

“Just drop it.”

“I don’t want to.” He takes the top out of my hand and sets it down. “They’re dicks.”

“Trust me, I know.”

He sighs and sits on the edge of the bed. “This is complicated.”

“It doesn’t have to be.” I walk over and take a seat next to him.

“What do you mean?”

“Just ... go back to how it used to be.”

His brows furrow. “I don’t want to.”

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