More Than Just Roommates (Book 1)

40. Secret's Out

~ Josh

I was just relaxing on the couch in the living room, enjoying being home and stress-free, when my phone started ringing. It took me a moment to find it, but when I did, I smiled at the name that was lit up on my screen. But then I got worried. Leo's never been one to just randomly call. I hoped nothing serious happened with Kyle's family.

"Hey, babe," I said into the phone. "Everything okay?"

His voice sounded far away, but I could still hear him clearly. "Just stuck in traffic and needing to talk to someone."

He was driving! Of course he was. "Leo Graham!" I scolded. "Get off the phone right now!"

"Woah, chill. You're on speaker, baby. Both hands on the wheel, promise."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "I guess that's fine then. How'd everything go with Kyle and all that?"

Leo started filling me in on how his parents acted while they were there. I hated hearing that, but at least he's not staying there with them.

"I'm just glad he's not staying with them," Leo said, and I smiled. Sometimes we really think alike. "Oh! Speaking of, I actually already knew Kyle's friend, Freddy."

I sat up, confused. "What do you mean? How do you know him?" It's not like Kyle and Leo lived close enough to have the same friends.

"He's my cousin! Like, we haven't seen or heard from the Milton's in years, and then today, I find him again. How weird is that?"

Something seemed off about that last name, but I wasn't exactly sure what. Maybe I had misheard Kyle saying it earlier. I brushed it off. "What happened?"

"I don't know. He wouldn't tell me what happened, like six years ago. Yeah. We were freshman. One day, Freddy was taken out of school early, and we never saw them again. My parents never told me why they left. I figured they didn't know either, and just left it at that. But Freddy told me to ask them."

"That's really weird. Have you talked to them yet?"

"How would I have done that?" I shook my head and rolled my eyes, waiting for him to realize that he was on the phone with me and could have easily called them first.

He sighed after a moment, probably realizing the same thing. "I just don't know how to ask."

I would have helped him through figuring it out, but someone jumped out at me from behind me. I dropped my phone and it clattered to the ground.

Turning around, I saw Alyssa standing there. She wasn't supposed to be home until tomorrow.

"What are you doing home?" I asked, momentarily forgetting about Leo.

"I got my last final moved." She smiled.

Remembering my boyfriend, I reached for the phone. But Alyssa grabbed it first, glanced at the screen, then said, "Leo! Josh'll call you back later. He's busy right now." Then she hung up.

I stared at her with my mouth open. "You just hung up on my boyfriend! What could be so important that you hang up on my boyfriend?"

"This." She looked pointed behind me, where Mom was coming in with a birthday cake. Mama and my other siblings following her in. There were so many candles on that cake. Wow, I'm getting so old.

"I know it's a day late," Mama said, coming over to envelop me in a hug. "But happy birthday, my baby."

I smiled. It was really good to be back home.