Page 75 of Fragile Hearts

“Hey, done with lessons,” Nate says.

I look up from my phone. “Yep, all good,” I say, handing the paperwork to him, still distracted by Sloane’s message and what her mom showing up might mean.

“Cool, thanks,” he replies. “You wanna hang for a bit, have a drink?”

I blow out a breath, wondering if I should go and make sure Sloane is okay. A part of me wants to, but at the same time, I know I have to let her do this on her own if that’s what she wants. Even if every single part of me just wants to protect her. From everything.

“Yeah, sounds good,” I tell him, smiling.

I help Nate close up the shop, knowing he’s a little understaffed with Alana and Flynn away and Sage in class.

As we’re heading out back to grab a drink, Miles shows up, his board tucked under his arm and his hair wet.

“Hey, you wanna drink?” Nate calls, holding up a beer.

“Sounds good,” Miles replies with a nod as he walks over to join us. Nate hands it to him before running up the stairs to his apartment.

“You go for another surf?” I ask, knowing we were all surfing together this morning and Miles didn’t have any lessons booked this afternoon.

“Yeah,” he says, blowing out a breath as he sits in one of the chairs, taking a long pull of his beer.

“You okay?” I ask, knowing that as quiet as Miles is, especially compared to his brother, something feels different about him today.

“Yeah,” he says, repeating his earlier answer as he glances over at me.

I take in his face, the sadness that seems to be permanently etched all over it, which I am one hundred percent certain is because of him and Daisy and Isaac. He was only gone for six months when he went to the mainland, and although I don’t know all the details of their breakup, when Miles came back just before Mitch died, Daisy was hooking up with Isaac and Miles wasn’t speaking to either of them.

It’s weird because Daisy and Isaac make zero sense, while Daisy and Miles make perfect sense. Having watched them date for most of high school and afterward, it just feels weird to see them apart and Daisy with someone else.

“This about our convo last night?” I ask as Nate comes down the stairs with a bag of chips in his hand.

Miles glances at him before turning back to me with a shrug. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Maybe you should try talking to her,” I suggest. “Like just you and her, privately.”

Miles blows out a breath, sinking down in his chair as Nate joins us. “I don’t know if she even wants to talk to me,” he eventually says. “We’ve barely spoken since I came back, so...” He trails off, not finishing his sentence. “Sage in class?” he asks instead, changing the subject as he looks at Nate.

“Yeah. Where’s Sloane?” he asks, looking at me.

“At work, but um...yeah, her mom showed up, so she’s?—”

“Her mom showed up?” Nate asks, cutting me off.

“Yeah,” I reply with a shrug.

“Fuck,” he says, scrubbing a hand across his jaw. “She say what she wants?”

“No, I don’t know. Sloane’s gonna stay and talk with her. Why, is this, like, bad or something?”

“It’s not gonna be good,” Nate says, glancing at Miles. “Parents don’t just fuck off and leave you and then suddenly decide to show up again because they want to be in your life. She’ll be here for a reason, and I can guarantee it won’t be a good one.”

“Fuck,” I breathe out. “Should I go over there then? She said she was okay by herself.”

“Maybe just let her find out what she wants,” Nate says. “But be careful. She’s going to have an agenda for sure.”

“I remember a time when Sloane’s mom randomly showed up,” Miles says. Nate and I both turn to look at him, and he just shrugs. “It wasn’t like a secret or anything. I was there, saw it happen, back when...”

He doesn’t finish, but we all know what he was about to say. Back when he and Daisy were still together, and Daisy was living with Alana and Sloane, and Miles was a regular presence in their house.