Shit, she can’t be gone.
But she is, and that feels much worse than her ghosting me. At least then I could convince myself that she might answer again, and it might eventually go back to normal, with questions and answers, songs and memes, with secrets both big and small. Now that’s over. I have an awful feeling that she doesn’t want to get any more texts from me, either.
She ran away from me. I don’t know what that means. I don’t even know if I want to know.
“East?” It’s Beck, his voice curious and worried. I turn around to see my best friend standing in the entrance to the shop. He’s making a face because it’s raining, harder than before, and it’s icy cold. “Is everything okay?”
I nod and then shake my head. No, it’s really not. Nothing is okay.
“Who the hell was that?” Shivering, he crosses his arms over his chest, holding the door open with one foot and obviously waiting for me to come inside. But I don’t want to move. I just stay where I am, even though it’s cold and raining. Birdy is gone.Rayneis gone.
Her name strikes a chord in me, as if I should know it. But I don’t. Or do I? Frowning, I stare at the street. Yes, I’ve heard that name somewhere before, but where?
“East? Hey, get in here already, it’s freezing!” Beck complains, sounding annoyed now.
I don’t answer. Her name. Damn, where have I heard it before? Or read it? Yes, probably read it. But where?
“East! Move it.” Beck comes over to me, grabs my arm, and drags me back into the store. “Colin will wring your neck if you get sick again. And maybe Jax and I will help him this time. We already missed two weeks of rehearsals before Christmas because of your tonsillitis. We really can’t afford to take another break right now.”
The door closes behind us, the bell jingling softly, and Beck tows me between the record bins to the back of the café. Evie is sitting at one of the round tables again, focused on her phone. She gives us a quick, annoyed glance as Beck disappears behind the counter and grabs a dry dish towel out of the cupboard.
He tosses it to me and points at my wet hair.
“Thanks,” I mumble, rubbing my head. The adrenaline is slowly wearing off, and I’m starting to shake.
“That was really stupid,” he says, and yeah, he’s probably right.
“It’s okay,” I say, waving him off. But Beck doesn’t let me off the hook so easily. I should have known better.
“Do you have another sweater here? The one you’re wearing is soaked.”
Despite everything, I can’t stop the grin from spreading over my face. “Yes, Mom, I’ll change it right away.”
“Go ahead and make fun of me, but someone has to look out for you.” He snorts and reaches for the cup next to the espresso machine.
“It’s just a little rain.”
“It’s freezing rain,” he corrects me. “If it gets any colder, it will definitely snow. Go get changed!” He shoos me away, and I do him the favor because I know he won’t let up otherwise. I go upstairs, cross over to the spiral staircase to the top floor where Rudy’s office is, as well as a small room where we can store our stuff. There’s a hoodie in my locker that I left here once as a backup, just in case it got cold unexpectedly. Today is obviously one of those days. I quickly change and go back downstairs, where Beck is standing behind the counter waiting for me.
He pushes a cup toward me. “So are you going to explain what the heck that was?”
“Birdy. That was Birdy.” I sigh and shake my head. “Her real name is Rayne.”
“Birdy? The girl you’ve been texting?”
“Yup.”
“She was here?”
“Looks like it.” I rub my forehead in frustration. I don’t understand how our first meeting could have gone so wrong.
“Why?”
“Good question. But it looks like she lives in Boston now.”
“What? Shelivesin Boston?” He puts down his cup so suddenly that coffee slops over the edge.
“Apparently.”
