MARGOT:Same. Still stuck in that plastic box. And everyone wants to go in during visiting hours but there are too many of us so we have to pick and of course whoever I don’t pick gets their feelings hurt and then there is so much time just sitting around waiting for the next set of visiting hours
Oh God. That sounds miserable. As much as I want to be down there, I’m glad I’m not.
ME:Need me to fake an illness that will bring Mom and Dad home? It would save me from my date tonight.
MARGOT:You should be worried about that date. Seems too easy. Have you checked to see what’s playing?
ME:Yeah. There are a few good movies out so maybe I’m overreacting
MARGOT:I don’t think so
ME:Oh by the way, Griffin showed up here on Christmas Eve and then left me a gift
MARGOT:Hmmmm…how did it feel seeing him
ME:Weird. Like he’s so familiar but it’s also like I don’t know him at all anymore
MARGOT:Did you at least get something good?
ME:If a charm bracelet with our initials on it is good. Oh and he bought it AFTER we broke up
MARGOT:Ew. It’s not
“Sophie, you need to get dressed. He’ll be here any minute,” Aunt Maggie Mae says.
I look down at my clothes. I’ve got on my comfiest pair of jeans, which belonged to Jake when he was in middle school and are worn out in all the right spots, and a T-shirt I stole from Olivia two years ago. It is safe to say I did not dress to impress.
“Iamdressed,” I answer back.
Her forehead scrunches up and I know she’s dying to say something. Thankfully she refrains.
A loud cry from upstairs catches everyone’s attention. We look up to see Mary, one of Aunt Kelsey’s daughters, standing in the hall with tears racing down her cheeks.
“I can’t find Hannah Head!” she squeals.
Those five words get everyone moving. Hannah Head is what’s left of a doll our older cousin Hannah gave Mary for her birthday years ago. Mary named her Hannah, but then as she lost limb after limb, then finally the torso, Hannah became Hannah Head. The same head now accompanies her everywhere, and Mary likes to wrap the hair around her index finger so she can sniff it while sucking her thumb. Hannah Head has dried snot in her hair and one eye missing, but she’s Mary’s prized possession and we all know there will be no peace until she’s found.
My family scatters, each searching a different part of the house. I head straight to the family room, where she was watching a movie earlier, and get down on my hands and knees to search under the couch. I see the head, pushed back toward the center, and have to lie on the floor and stretch my arm underneath to grab it.
Once I have Hannah Head in my possession, I hurry toward the stairs.
But instead of finding Mary and my family, I see a guy standing there, looking a little lost. After my meeting Aiden and Brent, he’s exactly what I would expect one of their friends to look like. Very cookie-cutter—with the short brown hair, muscular build, and warm brown eyes—wrapped up in a button-down and khakis.
“Hey! I’m Sophie,” I say.
He looks from the doll’s head to me, and I can see the disgust there.
“Oh! This belongs to my little cousin. Hold on.” I move to the stairs and call for Mary. She comes racing down and launches herself at me when she sees what I’m holding. Within seconds, that crusty brown doll’s hair is wrapped around her finger, and her thumb goes straight to her mouth. I hear her take a big inhale as she walks away.
“That thing looked pretty nasty,” the guy says.
It is, but I hate him saying it.
“She loves that doll,” I say.
The rest of the family trickles back in and the Evil Joes push their way to us.
“Oh, Nathan! You’re here,” Mary Jo says. She pulls his arm, bringing him closer to me.
