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“Ah, thanks. I wasn’t aware.”
She laughs awkwardly and then goes stone-cold silent again.
“…was it the dress?” she whispers. “It was gorgeous, don’t get me wrong, but it looked like a beast to climb into.”
“Itwas. That’s why I cut it off. With scissors.”
She gasps. “Winnie! Are you serious?”
“Why not? It’s not like there was a man around to help take it off.”
“Well, no. But where are you? No, wait, don’t tell me…” She pauses dramatically. “I should have a little plausible deniability. I didn’t think you’d actually pick up.”
“So they’ve been hounding you about me? I’m sure they have.”
“Yeah, only about five million times. I’m guessing your dad knows you’re still alive. I’m pretty sure he would’ve sent every State Trooper on payroll after you if he didn’t. They’re kinda furious.”
I wince.
My stomach gurgles, angry because it isn’t full of meatballs and marinara, but I’m a little relieved that’s not the case.
“Tell me something I don’t know, Lyssie.”
“I’ve been worried sick, Win. They’ve been hitting me up about youconstantly, which is the only reason why I haven’t called more. I kept hitting you with texts, figuring you’d answerat your own pace. But would it have been so terrible to reply? You still have thumbs, right?”
“How do you know? Maybe that’s why I fled,” I deadpan.
“Pssh, like you’d give up your opposable thumbs. How would you ever deal with bees? Thumbs are the best body parts.”
My nose scrunches.
“Wouldn’t be easy. And the best, huh? Hmm, I don’t know, I can think of a few other—”
“Okay, okay! So we have a few other goodies, but I stand by my claim that opposable thumbs are our greatest asset, and in this case, you could have used them to message me. Just once, a friendly ‘hey, I’m not dead’ message. Just so I knew you weren’t rotting in a ditch somewhere.”
I exhale slowly through my teeth, closing my eyes.
My head dips forward until it touches the table—only to find I’ve put my forehead in a patch of tomato sauce.Beautiful.
I jerk up again.
“I’m sorry. How are things back home?”
“You wanna know the truth?”
That can’t mean anything good.
“Um, yes? I think so… No, maybe not. If you’re talking about Dad cussing me out behind my back, I already guessed that.”
“Oh, no.Publicly,he’s been making all sorts of excuses, surprisingly.” Lyssie’s voice is dry. Of everyone I know, she’s basically the only person who understands how I felt about the wedding and Holden and the entire gross situation.
“And privately?”
“Well, I heard from my mom that your parentals have been seeing Holden every day.Apparently—and take this with a grain of salt—Holden has vowed to hunt you down and bring you home.”
“Holden? What the hell? I can’t imagine that man hunting anything.” I snort and shake my head. “Also, I’m not some sortof deer. But if he wants to come at me with a rifle, I guess I get it.”
My bitter laughter hurts.