Page 20

“Yes!” she moaned. “And there’s no escape. With school closed, I can’t even pretend I have an assignment or something to get out of it.”

I struggled to contain another bout of laughter.

“As my best friend, you’re supposed to share my pain, not enjoy it,” Zoey muttered.

“Sorry!” I said, briefly managing to contain my laughter. “I’m completely sharing your pain. This is horrible.”

“I know. But it’s okay because I have plans for sabotage. I’m going to hide one of the pieces, so when we get to the end, they won’t be able to complete it.”

“Zoey, that’s so mean.”

“Making me do a puzzle is mean. I never thought I’d miss school, but right now, I’d do just about anything to be back there. I’d happily sit through class—evenbiology. Hell, you could even throw in a lecture from Mrs. Bates on how I need to cover my bra strap, and I’d still prefer school to being trapped at home.”

“Is it really that bad?” Mrs. Bates was a stickler for the school dress code, and Zoey frequently had run-ins with her. Her lectures were the absolute worst, and one time, she’d completely flipped out when Zoey rocked up at school with her midriff showing. Things had to be pretty hard at home for Zoey to even consider Mrs. Bates as a better option.

“No, it’s fine,” she grumbled. “I’m just overreacting.”

“It’s going to get better, Zo. Life will get back to normal before we know it.”

“Maybe,” she replied. “But I miss you.”

“I miss you too.” It had only been a week since school closed for spring break, but it felt like a lifetime ago. Zoey was the one person out of all our friends who I struggled to be without.

I heard her mom’s voice calling out in the background, and Zoey let out a sigh. “I better go get ready for a fun-filled day of puzzles.”

“I should get up too,” I replied. “Talk later?”

“We better,” she said. “And think about what I said about living a little…”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll think about it.”

“And by think, I mean do. Go do Aiden.”

I snorted out a laugh. My bestie was nothing if not determined.

“Have fun with the puzzle, Zo.”

I hung up before she could say anything more about Aiden. Despite Zoey’s advice, I would definitely not be “doing” anything with the guy.

6

Clary

When I went down to the kitchen for breakfast, I found Aiden’s mom sitting at the counter, cradling a cup of coffee. She was still in her pajamas, and there were tired bags under her eyes. Jade didn’t look much like her two sons, but they shared the same light-blue-green eyes and tanned skin. Her hair was much darker than Aiden’s, and she had it piled high on her head in a messy bun.

“Morning, Dr. Moore,” I said, as I entered the room.

She looked up, and her face brightened in a smile that faded the worry lines creasing the corners of her eyes. “Clary, please call me Jade. It’s so nice to see you. I’m sorry I wasn’t here to welcome you yesterday. I got caught up at work.”

“That’s fine. I totally understand.”

“Can I make you some breakfast?” She moved to get up from her stool, but I quickly rushed into the kitchen to stop her.

“I can get it,” I said. “I’ll just have some cereal.” I opened the cupboard and helped myself to the box of Cheerios. Jade looked exhausted, and she was already doing more than enough for me. I didn’t need her fetching me breakfast too. Plus, after cooking dinner last night, I was getting to know where everything was kept in the kitchen.

“There’s coffee there too if you want some,” she added.

“Thanks.” I gave her a grateful smile. If there was one thing I needed to get me through today, it was coffee. The smell alone was enough to kick-start my senses. I hadn’t had my regular cup yesterday, and that was probably half the reason I’d been such a grouch all day.