I try a few more times. Still no answer. I pace the living room, racking my brain trying to think of where she could be. Her only friends were at the party, as far as I know. I can’t figure out where else she could have gone. I just hope she’s not with that goddamn Ethan guy and his bike…
“Come on, Lois. Pick up.” I try calling again, and it’s starting to stress me out.
What if something happened to her?Fuck!It’s only now I realize that I’ve been ignoring her for the past few days—not because of anything she’s done but because I wanted to get through this shitty month without taking it all out on her. Slow-clap, me. I fucked up the only good thing in my sad little life.
I head back to the car and drive aimlessly through the streets. I must have called a hundred times now, but there’s still no answer. I feel so bad—and for once, it has nothing to do with Mike.
“Hello?”
I screech to a halt and swerve to the right, car horns blaring behind me, but I couldn’t fucking care less.
“Fuck! Finally, Lois!”
“Watch your mouth, young man.”
I hold the phone away from my ear and check the screen. This isn’t Lois.
“Prudence speaking.”
“Where is she?”
“At our place. She’s in the bathroom, so I thought I’d pick up.”
I lean my forehead against the steering wheel, all my pent-up tension flooding out of me.
“I’m coming.”
“You better come up with a watertight excuse on your way over, kid. Otherwise you’ll have my sister and me to answer to.”
She hangs up, and I burst into nervous laughter.
When I pull up outside the apartment block, one of the ancient twins is waiting for me out on the sidewalk, and I have no idea whether it’s Hope or Prudence. Either way, the woman isn’t smiling.
“She doesn’t know you’re here,” she warns. “The only reason I’m going easy on you is the meal. We got to eat what she made for you, and let me tell you something—it was divine.”
I follow her inside, a wave of guilt crashing over me.
Stepping into the stuffy living room, the first thing I notice is another stony, wrinkly face glaring up at me.
“She’s in the kitchen, doing dishes.”
As I start down the hall, three dirty dishes are shoved into my arms.
“Watch out for the knives,” one of the twins mutters.
When I get to the kitchen, I find Lois at the sink with her back to me. My heart races.
“I’m nearly done here,” she says without turning around.
I lay the dishes down next to her. “Here.”
She jumps so hard her hand smashes into the stack of plates, and I instinctively lunge to catch them before they fall.
“What the hell are you doing here, Lane?”
Her face is pale and drawn. I really fucked up.
“The meal tonight, I—”
