I hear a growl before the screen goes black.
“Hey,” I cry, whipping my head around to find MJ hovering over me. “Turn that back on.”
She’s holding the remote in her left hand. I lunge for it, but she sidesteps me.
“First of all,” she says, shoving her hands on her hips. “We’ll talk about you basically accusing me of being my mother in a moment. Second of all, you’re not getting this remote back until you get your butt up off that couch and out the front door. You need some fresh air, and we need to talk.”
Her foot taps a steady pace against my hardwood floors, and she purses her lips in the same way Abigail does when she is determined to get her way. I figure it’s safer not to mention that to MJ, though. She looks a little deranged. So, with a giant heave and a grumble about her not being my mother—to which she responds with athank goodness for that—I get off the couch and follow her out the door.
MJ sits on the front step, and I try not to wince at the memory of sitting there with Theo. And when I can’t fight off that wince, I choose to stand.
“I’m out here,” I say, with zero emotion in my voice. “Now, what do you want.”
“Your neighbors thought you died.
It’s so unexpected that a bark of surprised laughter slips from my lips. “What?”
She levels me with a stare. “I am one hundred percent telling you the truth. Hayes received a well check for you, and when he called me to see if I’d heard from you, I told him I’d come over here and checkon you. Since you haven’t answered any of my texts or calls for the past two weeks, I figured I’d be walking into a dead body.”
I can hear the sarcasm in her voice on that last part, but I choose to ignore it.
“Well, as you can see. I’m alive. You did your civic duty. You can go now.”
MJ narrows her eyes at the hint of irritation in my voice. I’m being a bad friend. I know I am, yet I can’t seem to make myself stop. I wait for her to get up and leave me in my misery, but instead, she smiles, and it, too, is a little scary.
“You forget, Lily. I used to be the queen of pushing people away. I’m not going anywhere. I heard about what happened at court. Theo got custody, and Eric was arrested. That’s great for Tanner.”
“Yeah,” I agree. “It is.”
“So why don’t you look so happy?”
“Because while one family got their happy ending, another didn’t.”
Her brows smash down. “What are you talking about.”
“I assume since you’ve heard about the court case, then you also know about Zeb Ellis and his kids.”
“I know that Zeb was arrested at that ballgame. I couldn’t come to that one, but Hayes told me about it. I also know that his daughter ended up in foster care, but that’s about it—besides the fact that Zeb was working for Eric. What does this have to do with anything?”
I stare out toward my neighbor’s yard, the same neighbors who had called in a well check for me because they hadn’t seen me for a few days. My lips dip into a frown.
How did I get to the point of avoiding simple connections? My neighbors didn’t even feel comfortable enough to check on me themselves. What does that say about me?
“I’m the one who called social services.” My voice breaks, tears springing to my eyes.
“Oh, Lily, you had to. Is that why you’ve been hiding because you feel bad about that?”
I shake my head. “Not entirely.”
“Then why?”
Taking a deep breath, I finally let out the words I’ve been keeping inside. “Because I’m in love with Theo Sylvis.
MJ doesn’t react. She doesn’t even move. She stares at me blankly, as if I told her it’s sunny outside instead of a secret that has changed my life.
“Did you hear me?” I ask. “I’m in love with Theo Sylvis.”
She looks up from her nails, a bored look on her face. “Oh, I know that. I was waiting for you to get to the part I don’t know.”
