Page 41 of Massacre Monday

Ryan Cardell leans against the bar near the bookcases, with dishes of ice cream and various toppings spread before him, as he and my mother chuckle at whatever they’ve been chatting about.

I interrupt them with a frenzied demand. “What are youdoinghere? Let me rephrase. What are you doinghere?” Scanning for a weapon, I remember the Glock hidden in the radio cabinet, but it’s on the other side of him.

“Oh, hey, pink cheeks! Just thought I’d stop by and introduce myself to your mom. And now I see where you get your wanton determination to win any competition.”

My momlaughs. Like, full-belly guffaws. Sherarelymakes a noise like that, and I feel as if I just intruded on some inside joke. Which is bizarre, considering Ryan Cardelldoesn’t know my family!

“Are you serious right now?”

Mom’s eyebrows knit together. “What’s wrong, honey? Ryan brought ice cream.”

Along the bar top in fancy dishes is mint chip—the exact kind I always ordered from the shop downtown that stopped carrying it two years ago. A tiny jar of Amarena cherries, crushed waffle cone pieces, espresso dust, and that ridiculous coconut syrup I only mentioned once…in my group chat with the girls.

With a smirk, he showcases his spoils. “An entire bar of itwithtoppings. Want some?”

“No! I want to know why you’re here.”

My mom’s eyes narrow at me with a warning. “Your, um,friendcame by to introduce himself. Why are you beingrude, Penelope?”

I think about telling her that hecameon my lipsticks. That he fingered me in public in front of my cousin. And that he seems to be following me wherever I go, but before I say anything, he pulls up his phone and flashes the screen behind my mom’s head.

Like I’m on a roller coaster and just went over the big hill, my stomach swoops at the sight.

It’s the video from the night I blew him.

Ryan gives it a little shake as he smirks, then hewinksand makes a kissing face while my mom stuffs a spoon of hot fudge-covered vanilla ice cream into her mouth.

“Grab some dessert, and we’ll start the movie. Ryan, you’re staying, right?”

“Of course, Livy.”

Livy?! No one calls her that, except my uncle. “I’m not hungry,” I say, monitoring Ryan’s movements like he may bite me, infecting me with whatever spell he’s put my mother under.

“You can’t complain about the selection, Ryan. It’s girls’ night, so you have to watch what we want,” my mom explains.

Ryan grabs a bowl of popcorn from the machine, then strolls straight to me, laces his fingers through mine, and leads me to the loveseat. When he sits, he tugs me down next to him, snags the blanket behind us, and throws it over my legs.

“How aboutClueless? ’Cause I love a good rom-com,” he says, tossing a handful of popcorn in his mouth, chewing with a big smile on his face.

I narrow my eyes at him. “You don’t likeClueless.”

“As if!” He quotes it, and part of me wonders if he watched it recently in order to use some lines on me.

Shaking my head, I grab the remote and flip through the selections. “Cluelessisn’t my favorite movie,” I lie. “I want to watch something else.”

“Whatever you want, P.I.C. I’m just here to spend time with you.”

My eyes flash to my mom’s face, but she’s smirking, as if she’s about to bust out with another laugh. She lookspleased as punch. It infuriates me. “That’s a good man, Ryan,” she says.

Once we settle on something, I can’t focus. Ryan remains a perfect gentleman, only attempting to share popcorn with me, but never touching me. At one point, he puts his arm around theback of the sofa and tugs my hair lightly, but that’s it. Somehow, him not doinganythingmakes me even more angry.

As soon as the movie ends, I stand and say, “I’ll walk Ryan to the door.”

“Oh, it’s pretty late. He could sleep in one of the guest rooms.” My mom stretches, and Ryan cleans up our snacks.

“Nope. He needs to get back to Northview tonight, I’m sure.” I cross my arms and stare him down.

“Actually, it would be safer, I think, if I could spend the night here. If you don’t mind, Livy.”