That theory had been debunked once she kissed me in January, and after I returned the favor in February. An inadvertent romantic rendezvous at the gas station. “James!” Her face had gone scarlet but soon melted into a smile.
From then on, we snuck kisses whenever we could. They never lasted long enough.
So I moved on to her notwantinga boyfriend. Isa had dated a few guys throughout high school, but none of those relationships had lasted very long. A couple months, give or take. Something always got in the way, something was always a dealbreaker. It usually had to do with time. “Well, of course he dumped me!” I’d overheard her telling Grace last year. “We haven’t gone out in three weeks. My aunt and uncle were visiting from Buenos Aires, we’ve had a ton of homework, and you know I’m trying out different ACT tutors….”
And as far as I could tell, she was never bummed about the breakups either. One week later, she had recalibrated and was Isa again.
There was only one breakup that hadreallywrecked her, and still wrecked her to this day. Nobody ever spoke about it, so of course I had to ask—on Valentine’s Day, of all days.
“J, are you kidding me?” Isa had said over the phone, laughing. She’d literally cracked up when I’d asked. “No, I amnotin love with Everett!”
“Then why are you still so…”
“Hurt?”
“Mmm,” I said noncommittally, a bit nervously. Because it was so obvious she was. Hurt—maybe even scarred.
“Because he fucked up,” she replied, voice so dead-serious that I got goose bumps on my arms. “You don’t dump your girlfriend outside a dance, in a parking lot full of people, and then act like everything’s all chill when your families have dinner three days later. You just don’t.” She went quiet. “I don’t shut Everett out because I’m still heartbroken, James. I shut him out because he was my friend first, and that night, even though he was breaking up with me romantically, he still could’ve been my friend.” She paused. “He was an asshole when I could’ve used a friend.”
Friend.
The word hit me.
Theissuehit me.
Isa tried to play the moment off, laughing again. “Do you feel threatened by him?”
“No,” I told her as I shut my eyes. It was no secret that Isa’s parents compared every guy she dated to the almighty Everett Adler, but that only slightly intimidated me. I didn’t feelthreatenedby that. Never had, never would.
Although thetruethreat became clear during that conversation. Isa wasn’t hesitating because of Everett, but because of mysister.She didn’t know how to break the news to Grace.
I mean, I did. Simply and straightforwardly, no need for nuance.
Grace, Isa and I are going to start dating.
There. Done. Band-Aid ripped off. Onward we go.
But we agreed Isa would tell her. For some girl-code reason, us being together was a Big Thing and she wanted to tell Grace when she felt ready.
I shifted on my sickbed. My sister would most definitely be shocked, but her blood pressure would return to normal. It had to, right? She loved Isa, and I was fairly sure she liked me. And last time I checked, Grace had never been one for holding grudges. Isahadto know that nothing could do permanent damage to their friendship. It just might take some time.
And then Isa’s ponytail,I thought, feeling myself drift out of consciousness.I’ll be able to pull out her ponytail, see her hair cascade down her back, run my fingers through it…
Someone gently shook me awake a while later. “James,” Mrs. Emerick whispered. “I just wanted to let you know that the period is almost over—no, no, honey, don’t worry about getting up. You can stay as long as you want, but I need to run to the main office quickly, okay?” She took the damp washcloth off my forehead. “Let me freshen this up before I leave. Again, I should only be gone a few minutes.”
I nodded, a bit disoriented from my nap, but by the time Mrs.Emerick had refreshed my cool compress and toddled out of her office, I realized what she’d left behind on her desk.
A phone.
Not her cell phone, but her school landline.
I ripped off the washcloth, basically fell off the bed, then jumped up and snuck through the dividing curtains into Mrs. Emerick’s office. Thankfully, it was deserted. No one was waiting for a temperature test and their ubiquitous Tums.
I picked up her phone and listened to the dial tone for a moment. My problem now was that I didn’t know anyone’s cell phone number by heart. Grace had a two-one-five area code while Isa had a two-six-seven, but beyond that? I only knew my parents’ numbers off the top of my head.
Ironically, I still had our old home phone memorized, but that wouldn’t get me anywhere. It had been disconnected since landlines were now all but obsolete. Besides my grandparents and this blessed institution of learning, there was only one residence I knew who still had one. “Memorize the Adlers’ phone number,” I remembered Mom saying to Grace and me years and years ago. “Everett’s mom and dad are your emergency contacts.”
If anything, calling the Adler household might help suss out where Everett had gone. I sighed, knowing it was my only option unless I wanted to call my parents and convince them to go home and check on Grace. Not to mention, the nurse would be back soon.
