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Chapter 9

Over the days that followed, I tried to suppress the knowledge that my mom had called. I dove into my essays and studies. Especially since next week we’d have our first exams in literature.

Smoke was practically coming out of my ears. And given the countless books and notes strewn on the coffee table and floor, it was no wonder my inner alarm was going off.

Dawn heaved a deep sigh. She stretched out her legs under the table and leaned back on her arms. “I don’t think I can cram anything more into this head of mine. It’s full. No room on the hard drive,” she said and closed her eyes for a moment.

“Me, too.” I raised my knees, leaned my head against the seat of the couch and stared at up the living room ceiling.

“Maybe we should call it a day?”

As if to back me up, the apartment doorbell rang. I struggled to my feet, walked to the hallway and looked through the peephole. I startled: Monica and Ethan were cramming their grinning faces in front of the tiny window.

“Hey, you two,” I said, opening the door.

“Allie!” Monica threw her arms around me. Before letting go, she took a deep whiff of my hair. “I’m telling you, Kaden is exaggerating! She doesn’t smell bad at all.”

I drew back with a gasp. “He says I stink?”

Ethan nodded with mock seriousness. Then he bent over me and took his own deep breath. “But it’s not true, in case that’s comforting.”

Resigned, I shook my head.

“Spencer and Kaden will be here shortly. We wanted to spend a nice evening as couch potatoes.” Monica stood on tiptoes and looked past my shoulder to Dawn, who waved from the floor in front of the sofa. “You are both cordially invited.”

“Oh,” I hesitated. I was pretty sure that Kaden would have withdrawn this invitation on the spot if he had been in the apartment.

“Hey, I see my hiking boots!” She pointed to the shoes, planted alongside Kaden’s in front of the wardrobe. “Are they doing the trick?”

“Yes, thanks again,” I said with a smile.

Monica squeezed my arm and walked into the living room to introduce herself to Dawn.

I began collecting my stuff.

Since our hike Kaden and I had kept out of each other’s way, and I preferred to retreat before he got back. But just as Dawn was bringing the last loose-leaf binder into my room, Spencer and Kaden arrived in the hall, carrying large, flat boxes.

“Hey, Allie,” Spencer said, when he spied me in the living room.

“Hey, Spencer. How’s it going?”

“Can’t complain. I’ve passed all my exams so far, and there are two left to go. Keep your fingers crossed!” He and Kaden greeted Monica and Ethan, then dropped off the boxes on the kitchen counter.

“Good luck!” I said and hustled off to my room.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Kaden called after me.

I stopped and looked back over my shoulder at him. He was just about to grab plates and napkins from the closet.

“Dawn is here to study with me,” I explained. “We didn’t want to disturb you.”

He frowned and opened the first box. “That’s too bad. We bought pizza for you.”

I opened my mouth and closed it again. Was this a peace offering from him? My mouth started to water, as the scent of pizza began to fill the apartment. “Really?”

Kaden shoved the first pizza on a plate and handed it over the counter to Spencer, who set it down on the table in front of Monica and Ethan.

More relaxed, I went into the kitchen just as Kaden opened the next box. “Ah, here we go. Pepperoni and anchovies. By far the most disgusting pizza they had on the menu. I thought it was just the right thing for you and your warped sense of taste.”