Me:Update?
Five minutes pass.
G:We’re at urgent care.
Fuck.I stare at her text.
Me:What happened?
She doesn’t respond. I set the phone face down on the bed and stare at the ceiling. I recognize the feeling in my chest. It’s the same feeling I had last night after I closed the door of her building and started walking. Same source. Different temperature. I don’t know what to do with it.
Blue knocks on my bedroom door. “You want to come down?”
“No, not really.”
“Okay.” He goes.
It’s four in the afternoon when the phone buzzes. I already sweated out last night’s alcohol the best that I could. It helped ease my mind a little too. I’m on the bed by then, on top of the comforter, fully dressed in clean clothes after a shower, lying on my back. I roll over and grab the phone off the desk.
G:Home from urgent care. She’s okay.
I close my eyes for a second and let out a Camdenth.
Me:Thank God.
G:Yeah.
Three dots. Three dots stop. Three dots again.
G:She asked me not to tell you, so you can’t say anything.
Me:Got it.
G:Thank you for waking me up this morning.
Me:Yeah.
I set the phone down on the comforter next to me.
She’s okay. That’s the part I needed. That is the only part that matters today.
I get up and go downstairs.
The house looks like it just had a party — somebody’s left shoe is by the back door, three half-finished drinks on the counter, a pizza box on a chair. Rowan is at the gym. Stanley is, presumably, somewhere. Percy is at the dining table reading. Blue is on the couch in the living room with the TV on low. Both of them look up when I walk in.
I sit next to Blue and watch the screen. The sun starts going down around seven, so I go out on the porch for some fresh air.
I have to be normal on Tuesday at four o’clock. I can’t bring up the fact that I know something happened today, even though I want to know what’s going on. I can’t just outright ask her without getting Gianna in trouble and risking the trust in their friendship. If Gianna knew that I kissed her last night, Gianna wouldn’t have been texting me updates. I rest my head in my hands. I’m not sure I can be normal at four o’clock on Tuesday.
But all I needed to hear was that she is okay.
I have three days until I see her again.
Three days is a long time.
Chapter 12
Lucy
