“Hey, Kara. It’s Ellis.”
“Oh! Hi, Ellis! How’s your vacation going?”
What.
Dad seriously told everyone I’m onvacation? So they’ll think I’m the type of person who just blows off a job to take an extended trip?
“It’s… okay,” I reply through clenched teeth. “Is my dad around? I couldn’t reach him on his cell.”
“He’s not, unfortunately. Is this an emergency? I might be able to reach him….”
“Oh no. No need to do that. Do you know when he’ll be back?”
She clicks around on her computer. “He has his schedule blocked off until four o’clock, but he’s at the club with Mr. Gableman, who, as you know, loves to hear himself talk. Plus, he’s showing his new intern the ropes, so I imagine he might be gone a bit longer.”
The wind is knocked out of me. “His… new intern?”
“Talia, yes. Has he not told you about her?” Kara says. “She’s only been here a week and a half, but she’s fantastic. She’s a sophomore in college. Very driven girl. And a fast learner.”
“I see,” I say, although I barely hear myself through the whooshing in my ears.
“Of course, you’ll always be our favorite, though,” Kara adds.
I squeeze my stinging eyes closed.
“Right. Okay, well, thank you, Kara.”
“Any time. I’ll let him know you called,” she says.
I nod even though she can’t see me, and I hang up.
Dad didn’t waste any time replacing me. After telling me my internship would be waiting for me when I get back. He found time to hire someone else—someone with more availability because she’s in college, someonefantasticanddriven—but hehasn’t found time to call me back. He hasn’t found time to even ask how I’m doing here.
Which, at the moment, isn’t great.
But I refuse to lie here and cry.
I crawl out of bed and head downstairs. Sloane and Asher are in the living room eating Pop-Tarts with notes scattered in front of them.
I should be doing homework, too. But Ineeda distraction, and there’s no way I can focus on school right now.
“Hey,” Sloane says, her head tilted. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. You guys want to go get dinner?” I ask.
Asher taps his phone, and the screen lights up. “At three fifty p.m.?”
I bite my lip. “An early dinner.”
“I can only eat dinner today if someone is spoon-feeding me while I highlight,” Sloane says, gesturing at her notes. “I copied these from Asher. I haven’t actually paid attention in class since school started, and we have our first quiz Monday.”
“But it’s Friday,” I say.
“Oh, that’s rich coming from you,” she says with a laugh. “We won’t have enough time to study this weekend with the fall events on both days, so we’re cramming now instead.”
“Sorry,” Asher says. “Mr. Winston is notoriously hard. I don’t want to start off in a hole I have to dig myself out of.”
“It’s okay.” I head over to the door and slip on my black leather boots.
