“I know. Actually, I’ve been trying to call you for the last three days. Do you usually not answer your phone?”
Three days? He’d been trying to call me for three whole days? Was he serious? “Oh, I turned it off. I’ve been sort of busy.”
I stretched out on the bed again and pressed my fingers against my rib cage. Beneath it, my heart was bouncing around like a tennis ball.
“Oh.” He coughed. “So listen, I hope this doesn’t sound too weird or anything, but I was wondering if maybe you would meet me somewhere. Like at Mo’s downtown? We could get some coffee and…I mean, there are some things I want to tell you. Things I should’ve said the other night at Melissa’s party.”
I almost laughed then, realizing that he had no idea where I was, and wiped my eyes with the back of my hands. “No, actually I can’t.”
“Yeah,” he said, a little too quickly. “You’re still mad then, huh?”
“No, I’m not mad. I’m in Vermont.”
“Vermont?”
“Yeah, you know that little New England state that makes really good maple syrup and has all the different-colored leaves?”
“Did you go visit your sister?”
“Yeah, I did.”
“Oh,” Milo said. “Well, that’s cool. When’re you coming back?”
I paused. “Well, I was going to stay just for the weekend. But then I changed my mind. Just this morning, actually.”
“Oh.” There was a trace of anxiety in Milo’s voice. “So how long will you be up there then? Zoe said you had an internship. You’ll be back for that, right?”
At the mention of my internship, my throat got tight. I got up from the bed and walked over to the window. There was a tiny Laundromat across the street, right next to the House of Pizza. Rows of washers and dryers lined the opposite walls. I wondered if Sophie did her laundry there.
“I don’t really know how long I’m going to be here yet,” I replied. “Sophie and I…we’re kinda going through some stuff, that’s all. And we need time to figure it all out. The internship…well, I can’t worry about that right now.”
“Wow.” Milo’s voice was soft. Maybe even a little impressed. “Okay. Well, have you told your parents?”
“Not yet.”
“What do you think they’ll say?”
“I can’t even imagine.” I tried to laugh, but it didn’t come out.
“You think they’ll be okay with it?”
“No.”
“Yeah,” Milo said softly. “I don’t either.” He paused. “You’re okay, though. Right?”
“Yeah. I think I am.”
“Well, that’s what counts then.”
I could hear him grunting softly as if he was shifting his pillows behind him. “Are you sitting in that little window seat upstairs?” I asked suddenly.
“Yeah.” He sounded surprised. “How’d you know that?”
“Just a guess,” I said.
Neither of us said anything for a moment. If he were here in front of me right now, I thought, I would take him over to Perry’s and watch him eat breakfast. Maybe he would order the special, those horrible-sounding creamed chipped grits or whatever they were. Or maybe he wouldn’t order anything. Maybe we would just sit at the table by the front window and look at each other over the steam of our coffee cups.
“Listen, will you tell Zoe that I’m here?” I asked. “I haven’t called her yet and I don’t want her to…you know, worry.”
“Sure,” Milo said.
I could hear the sound of charged air in the phone between us. More than anything at that moment, I wished I could reach through it and touch his face. Even if he pulled away again.
There was a long silence.
“Listen, about the other night,” Milo said finally. “When I told you I…”
“Can you not?” I interrupted. “Not now, I mean.” I took a deep breath. “I don’t mean to be rude. It’s just that with all the stuff going on here I really can’t take one more thing on my plate right now.”
“Okay,” Milo said. “But…is anything wrong?”
My eyes filled with tears. “No.”
“All right. Well, will you at least let me know when you’re back in town and everything? I’d really like to…get together. Just for coffee or whatever. No big deal.”
“I’ll call you,” I promised.
chapter
22
I waited until Sunday to call home. After everything that had transpired the day before, the thought of any more excitement gave me a headache. I slept restlessly for most of the night, but when the first slivers of light peeked over the edge of the bedroom window, I slipped out of bed and headed outside. Poultney was still as a postcard. Not a car or a person in sight. Even the air was motionless, as if holding its breath until the sun finally made its decision to appear. I snapped open my phone, and held my breath as it rang.
“Hey.” Zoe’s voice was thick with sleep.
“Hi,” I said. “I just wanted to call and tell you myself that I’m going to stay in Vermont for…a little while. Maybe even a few weeks—I’m not sure yet. My sister and I are going through some stuff, and…”