I walk through the house but don’t find anyone.
Then I remember my gift from Chase.
Walking into my room, I find the phone he gave me and power it up. I have a couple of texts from Hailee, but I ignore those.
Instead, I find Chase’s number, pressing the dial.
It rings once before his voice comes over the phone.
“Willow?”
“Hey, Chase,” I say softly.
“Is everything okay?”
“I’m fine. You didn’t come home.”
He clears his throat. “I know.”
“When will you be home?”
“I don’t know.”
I let out a heavy sigh. “Soon?”
“Do you want me to come home soon?”
“I wanted you to come home last night,” I admit.
I hear some rustling from his end of the phone. “I need to finish some stuff, but I’ll come home as soon as I can. You sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine. Take your time.”
“Call me if you need anything.”
“I will.”
I hang up the phone, looking around at the house. After the fight with Chase, I realize I really think of this place as home.
I glance at my texts from Hailee.
Hailee: Where are you?
Hailee: Are you not coming to school?
I forgot about school.I guess Nate felt I didn’t need to go since he didn’t wake me up. I shoot her a text letting her know I’m okay. I haven’t missed a single day of school in years. I decide that taking a day off would be good for me.
That lasts all about an hour. I’m bored out of my mind.
Television bores me. There are no books to read. I wander around the house looking at different things until I find a layer of dust on the shelves. Deciding it wouldn’t take too long, I grab a rag and wipe all the shelves down. Then, I realize the counter in the kitchen isn’t as clean as it could be. Next thing I know, I’m on a full-blown cleaning spree.
That’s how Chase finds me hours later, on my hands and knees, scrubbing the bathroom tile.
“What are you doing?” he asks, amusement in his tone.
“Your bathroom grout was disgusting. I figured since I had time, I would clean it,” I say over my shoulder as I scrub.
“You don’t have to do that.”
