* * *
We fell asleep in one another’s arms, but she was gone when I woke up. Probably to get home before her parents noticed.
It was the best night’s sleep I’d had in years.
I walked down to the living room, and everything was spotless from the night before. The pizza boxes and the snacks we’d had were all tossed into the trash cans.
On the refrigerator was a note:Open me.
I pulled the fridge open, and there was the big box Shay had brought, sitting on the middle shelf. I pulled it out and opened it to find eight perfectly frosted cupcakes, each one with a letter written on it.
IH A T EY O U
A note was next to that, and I read it over and over again.
Happy birthday, ya filthy animal.
—Chick
P.S. Don’t worry, I still hate you, but every birthday boy deserves a cupcake.
I picked up a cupcake and took a big bite.
Fucking hell.
I loved her, and I’d always would.
I think I meant that.
I think I meant always.
23Shay
I got caught coming home late from Landon’s.
It turned out my father was also pulling in at four in the morning.
Mom and Dad sat in front of me on the living room couch. They stared my way as if they didn’t even know who I was anymore, but to be fair, I stared at them the same way. I missed Mima being at the house when I got home. I missed having her laughter, her warmth, and her wisdom so nearby.
“You’re grounded,” Mom said, her eyes burning with emotion.
“Tell me something I don’t know,” I muttered, crossing my arms.
“Don’t talk to your mother like that,” Dad snapped, pointing my way. “You’ve been acting out, and it’s not OK. So from now on, we are putting our feet down. You don’t sneak out anymore, Shannon Sofia. You do not speak back to us with that attitude. You don’t bring boys back to our household, and you definitely do not stay out until morning. Do you understand me? Do you hear what I’m saying?”
I didn’t say a word, and my silence seemed to piss him off.
He stood up and approached me. “I said, do you hear me?”
I gritted my teeth together. “Loud and clear.”
“Why are you doing this, Shay? You’ve never acted out before. You’ve always been a good girl,” Mom said.
“Yes, tell us why. It makes no sense that you’re acting out. We don’t understand why you’re making things more difficult for this household,” Dad added in, and that made my skin crawl.
I huffed. “I’m the one making this house difficult?”
“I don’t like the tone, Shannon Sofia,” Dad hissed, his hands gripping into fists.