I look at the clock. It’s just after eight in the morning. “We can try. She may have to work.”
* * *
I’m sonervous to see her, I’m practically shaking in my boots. Literally. The minute we get back to my place, I search for my phone and find it charging on the kitchen counter. Pressing her name in my contacts makes the nerves triple. What if she doesn’t answer? It rings twice, then I hear her voice. “Hey, Cody.” She doesn’t sound that excited to hear from him.
“It’s not Cody. It’s me. Eli.”
“Eli?” she squeaks. “Is that really you?”
I smile so hard it almost hurts. “It’s me. I’m back. Finally got my phone. The first thing I did was run into the house to find it and call you.”
Hell, my mom’s not even in the house yet.
“I’ve missed you.” Her voice goes quiet when she speaks.
“I’ve missed you too. So fucking much. How are things? School? What have you been doing?”
When she laughs, I smile again. “That’s a lot of questions at once.”
“Did you ask her?” my mom says as she steps into the kitchen.
Holding my hand over the phone, I nod. “I will.” With my phone uncovered, I ask Emma, “My mom wants to know if you’d like to have lunch.”
“Oh.” She sounds hesitant. “Is… um your dad with you?”
“No.”
“Oh.” There’s relief in her voice, which tells me my father wasn’t nice to her. And that pisses me off. “Okay. Sure. What time?”
“We’ll pick you up in half an hour.”
“I’ll be ready.”
