Page 31

I closed my eyes, readying myself for his anger. I felt like I was twenty-two again, about to tell him I had slept with Stella. That had been one of the worst things I’d ever said to him, and while I promised myself I would never put myself in a position to have him that mad at me again, it seemed fate had other plans.
“Amma’s house.”
Nick went silent. “You’re at Amma’s house? Funny. I just sent Stella there.”
“Yep. She’s here too.”
“Amma must have her hands full.”
“She would if she were here. But she got stuck at the neighbor’s house.” There was only silence on the line. I couldn’t wait for his response, so I kept talking. “Anyway, I don’t know if I can get out of here, and this cold front is supposed to last for three days at the very least.”
“So it’sjustyou and Stella?”
I winced. My dedication to staying away from Stella had ensured that Nick and I could remain friends, but now everything was in danger.
“Yes.”
I waited for him to snap at me to stay the hellaway from her. Sure, he’d matured a lot over time, but this was still his little sister who he’d do anything for.
“Do you guys have food and water?” he asked instead. I hadn’t even thought of it yet. I’d been too focused on Stella to check.
“Y-yeah.” I checked the fridge. “Amma and Stella cooked a little, and it looks like Amma has a pile of ...” I went to the counter where boxes from a local bakery were stacked. “What are these, muffins?”
“Blueberry or chocolate chip?”
“Is that what’s important right now?”
“Your sanity is important, and if Stella doesn’t have chocolate chip muffins, she might kill you. Maybe that’ll happen either way.”
“You seem ... calm about this.”
“I’m putting up a front,” he said, an awkward chuckle escaping him. “I thought this storm would be kind of fun, but now I’m hearing the news say people could die, and I find it far less fun.”
“We should be fine here. The stove is burning, so it won’t be too bad when we lose power.”
“Whenyou lose power?”
“It’s inevitable out here. If it hadn’t been going when I got here, I would have made sure it was.”
“You guys will be okay, right? Like the stove will keep you warm and stuff?”
“We’ll be fine. I know how to survive in this. I’ll keep her safe.”
“Good.” He let out a breath of air. “Hearing about these kinds of things is way less scary than living them.”
“I knew it would be bad the second I saw the radar. It’s why I came to help Amma. We just lost track of time.”
“Amma does that to people. Take care of her, okay?”
“Who, Amma? She’s not here?—”
“No, Stella.”
Take care of Stella?What? Had he truly forgotten what happened?
“I will,” I said. “Like she’s my own sister.”
I hated calling her that. I certainly didn’t feel any sort offamilialfeelings for Stella at all, but I would pretend to if it meant Nick knew how serious I was about staying away from her.