“I’m still full from breakfast.” I close the fridge door. “Hey, if you see my uncle don’t tell him we were out this morning. I made up this story about going on a walk and dropping my phone in a storm drain.”
“Good idea.”
“Dropping my phone in a storm drain?” I joke.
“Not telling your uncle the truth.”
“Why?”
He tosses his banana peel in the trash. “Your uncle and I don’t get along.”
“Why? Did something happen?”
“I don’t want to get into it.”
“Why do you keep doing that?” I ask, opening my soda.
“Doing what?”
“Dropping little hints about something and then not explaining what you mean. It’s really annoying.”
“Trust me, it’s better if you don’t know this shit.”
“I’d rather you tell me. I don’t like not knowing what’s going on.”
“You’re only here for the school year, right?”
“Yeah.”
“So don’t get involved in it. Just lay low, get through school, and get the hell out of here.”
“Don’t get involved in what? What are you talking about?”
“The shit that happens at Twisted Pine.”
I don’t bother asking what he means because I’m sure he’ll just give me another cryptic answer that’ll lead to even more questions.
He grabs a bottle of water from the fridge. “I’m gonna go take a shower. You can go out back by the pool if you want. Or hang out here and watch TV.”
While he’s showering, I go into the living room and check my phone. No messages from Axl. He must still be at work, but why didn’t he call me during his break?
I call his phone. It goes straight to voicemail, which means he’s on the phone with someone else. Is it Senna? Would he really call her and not me?
This is really pissing me off. I call Senna’s phone.
She answers on the first ring. “Hey, Rumor.”
“Hey. Can you talk or are you busy?”
“I’m just hanging out at home, waiting for my sister. We’re going shopping later. How’s California?”
“Sunny.”
She laughs. “I’d take the sun. It’s raining here.”
“How was the concert last night?”
“Good. They weren’t the greatest band, but I knew the guitarist and promised him I’d go.”
