Page 27 of Shadows Within

It’s not unusual for her to do this. We often show up at each other’s houses on the weekends, but something about tonight feels different.

“My toenails are wet!” I yell as she jumps onto my bed.

“Oh, cute color. Are you doing your fingernails to match?” She grabs my hands and examines them.

“Nah, I’ve been boxing too much lately. They’ll just come right off. Maybe you can do them next week?” Sophia is the best at painting nails.

My phone buzzes again.

Callum:It’s rude to ignore people.

I snort. It’s rude for him to assume I’m not busy. Sophia raises her eyebrows.

“Who is that?”

I try not to make eye contact with her.

“No one.”

“Um, Scar! I can tell by your face it’s not no one!” She moves closer.

“Fine, I’ll tell you, but I don’t want you to freak out.”

She smiles and stares at me, waiting impatiently.

“It’s Callum Mercer, but it isn’t anything and I don’t want you to get weird about it.”

She lets out a small yelp.

“Tell me everything!”

“I don’t know what it is yet, so please, let’s drop it.”

“Okay, but it’s more of a reason to come with me tonight.” She sighs.

“I don’t want to deal with everyone tonight. Plus, those parties can be so annoying.” I roll my eyes with my phone in hand, unsure if I’m going to reply yet.

“Well, I think you should. You can come with me and then we can say hi to your hot little problem.” She smirks.

“Ew, do not call him that. He’s not my problem.” I nudge her side.

“Oh, so you think he’s hot?” She won’t let that one slide past her.

“Of course, I think he’s hot. Have you seen him? He’s not just hot, he’s gorgeous.” I look down at my phone.

“Oh honey, you’re so done for.” She rests her head on my shoulder.

“Stop it, I am not!” I yell.

She jumps off my bed and walks over to my closet.

“I’m not even going to force you to put something fancy on, just jeans and a shirt. Come on… please?” She pulls out a beige tank top and throws it onto my bed.

I grab the top, dig my favourite pair of jeans out from the hamper, and change. From my closet, I pull out a pair of black heel boots and show them to Sophia, asking for her approval.

“Yes!” She screams.

“Jeez, calm down.” I laugh as I sit on the edge of my bed and slip them onto my feet. “I’m not staying for long.”