Page 128 of The Hardest Fall

“I do like talking about Dylan,” I admitted.

“I know you do. We’ll talk about how fine he is and what fine friends he has that you’re obligated to introduce me to once you two kiss and make up, and then…”

I have no idea how long the walk back lasted, but I did it with my best friend’s voice in my ear, and I was finally breathing a little easier.

The feeling only lasted a few hours, until I got in my makeshift bed in Jared’s room and dreamed about Dylan.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Zoe

January 1st

Chris: Did you talk to Dylan?

Zoe: No, he blocked me. Why? Did he say something? Did you say something?

It had been a little over two weeks since I’d told Chris the truth, and while you couldn’t exactly say he was treating me like his long-lost sibling, he hadn’t completely ignored me either.

We’d only talked twice after the day at the diner, but it was still something. The first time he’d called me, it was just to give me a heads-up that he had talked to Mark, but not his mother; I didn’t think he was ever planning on telling her. I appreciated the warning. I’d already gone ahead and blocked Mark while I was staying with Ms. Hilda, but it was good to know what was going on. It had been a three-minute conversation—yes, I’d checked—nothing long, but that didn’t stop me from grinning like a fool for an hour after he hung up.

The second time was when I’d sent him a short Happy New Year text. He responded asking me what I was doing, and we ended up texting back and forth a few times. It wasn’t anything deep, but I was happy. He didn’t seem to talk much in general, at least that was the vibe I’d gotten from him when he came to the apartment with JP, so it didn’t surprise me when he didn’t suddenly turn into a chatterbox with me either. I chattered enough for the both of us anyway. I even managed to get a smiley face from him, which was the highlight of my day. Pathetic, right?

I blamed Dylan.

Okay, fine, not really, but I was missing him like I hadn’t seen him in years when it had actually only been a few weeks, and it was easier to blame him for everything since he was the one who’d walked out of that apartment instead of trying to take me away with him. The plan had been for my father to come spend New Year’s in L.A., but something came up and he couldn’t make it; that was Dylan’s fault, too. Then there was the time I couldn’t get pizza from my favorite pizza place because their pizza oven wasn’t working. What kind of pizza place has a faulty oven? All on Dylan. I’m thinking you can see the pattern there. All I knew about him was that right after the Cactus Bowl, he had headed home to San Francisco to spend the short break with his family.

Chris: It’s a good night to go out. Maybe you’d like to have a drink somewhere.

I read the text once. Then a second time, slower. Was he asking me to hang out?

“Read this.” I handed my phone to Jared, who was working on a sketch on the coffee table. “He’s asking me to hang out, right? I’m not reaching or anything?”

Jared gave me an amused look and handed my phone back. “Nope. That’s an invite, all right. Write him back.”

“You’ll come, too?”

He returned his attention to his sketch. “Sure. If you don’t mind me flirting with your brother, count me in.”

When he gave me a hopeful look, I grinned.

“Yeah, maybe not this time.”

He chuckled and threw one of his pens at me.

“You little cockblocker.”

A little excited and a lot nervous, I texted back.

Me: I’d love to. Where do you want to meet?

Chris: Uh…not with me. I think you should go by yourself.

At first, I didn’t get it, and I felt like crap, but after reading it a few times, my heart started beating faster and I jumped up from the couch, my laptop almost meeting an untimely end.

“What’s happening? What is it?” Jared asked when I bounced in place like a lunatic, one hand over my mouth, the other clutching my phone to my chest.

“I think Dylan is back,” I shrieked as quietly as possible, so I wouldn’t wake Becky. “Chris just told me I should go have a drink somewhere by myself. I think Dylan is at the bar. He’s back!”

Having trouble containing the bouncing, I let Jared steer me into his room. “Didn’t you already go to the bar to look for him though?”

“I did, but maybe he’s back now?”

“I thought you were angry at him.”

“I am. I’m so so angry at him.”

“Why are you still bouncing?”