Despite growing up together, Catherine Simmons and Mattis Reed were never close.
Cat was inseparable from Mattis' younger sister, Chloé, while he was busy running around on the football field.
But when Cat's new dream drags her across the country du...
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"Have you heard from Emmy since the break?" I ask Ava, looking between her and my phone from my spot on her bed.
"Hmm?" She barely glances my way, wholly preoccupied with getting her outfit just right. Turning this way and that in front of her big mirror. You can say many things about Ava, but the girl's got style.
I lean forward and snap my fingers next to her ear, and her face jolts in my direction, blinking like she's surprised to find me here. "What?"
"Emmy."
"What about him?" A slight v between her brows tells me I've finally gotten her attention.
"He hasn't answered any of my texts this week, and when I went by his room, Derek said he hadn't gotten back yet," I say, the anxiety creeping in again.
Derek is Emmy's roommate. We've had surprisingly little to do with him, but he's seen me around enough to know why I'd come asking questions about Emmy.
"Chill," Ava says, blowing a lock of hair out of her face. "He probably just decided to stay home an extra week. He has a big test coming up, remember? No classes, lots of study time." She shrugs like it's entirely reasonable that someone would extend their visit home, given the opportunity. Maybe it is. Maybe I just lack imagination to envision such a healthy family dynamic.
"Right." I take a deep breath, trying to center myself. I have a bad feeling, although Ava's explanation seems plausible. It's times like these that I have a hard time separating what's intuition and what's doomsday thoughts.
"Did you want to drag him to your boyfriend's party, too?" Ava has turned back to the mirror, slowly applying a coat of lipstick, her mouth quirking in a smirk.
Boyfriend. A shiver races down my spine, excitement and possibilities mixed together.
Ava, of course, freaked out when she got the news yesterday. I've been officially coupled up for less than forty-eight hours, and I'm already getting sick of the teasing.
Oh, who am I kidding? Ava could exclusively refer to Mattis as my boyfriend for the next year, and I'd revel in it every time.
"Who else am I dragging?" I rise from the bed, bumping Ava's torso with my hip to adjust my dress in front of the mirror. "As far as I recall, it's your boyfriend's party, too."
Honestly, it's Cadin's party far more than it is Mattis'. Filling their house with loud, drunk college students are much more up the twins' alley. Mattis would've been happy for us to hang out here all night, but when he texted to invite me over, he said that he fears they'd burn the house down if not for him and Aran.
He might have a point.
Ava's eyes catch mine in the reflection, and her expression is all trouble. "Oh," she says, voice laced with suggestion. "We haven't labeled it yet. Not all of us can bag a hot football player that quick."
