Out of My League - Sarah Sutton Page 0,47
I’d brushed it the past few days, but I couldn’t remember.
Edith snagged a lock of my hair and wound it around the barrel, focused. “Why are you here by yourself, anyway? You said you haven’t left the house in two days?”
The sunlight filtering through my window caught along the lens of her glasses, reflecting in the mirror. “I’m grounded, actually.”
Now Edith looked surprised and I couldn’t blame her. The news was shocking if you knew my parents. “I don’t even know what to say. Look at me, speechless. You struck me speechless. Why are you grounded?”
“They’re getting a divorce.”
Her silence was long and obvious as she searched for what to say. The heat of the curls was uncomfortably warm on my neck. In the reflection, her shoulders slumped a little. “I’m sorry, Sophia.”
“Well, I’m not,” I said, even though I wasn’t sure if it was the truth or not. “And when I said ‘sweet,’ they got mad.”
“You did not.” Edith, after moving the iron a safe distance away, smacked the back of my head. “Sophia! You were asking to get grounded!”
“Ouch! I wasn’t meaning to! But what was I supposed to say? I’m not like them, all theatrical and dramatic. And you know what, I am kind of glad they’re getting a divorce. I’m just ready for things to be different. Is that bad?”
Edith didn’t look me in the eye through the mirror; she just continued curling, no eye contact. “That is a little twisted. You could’ve at least shed a fake tear or two—you should know how to play their game by now.”
But I didn’t want to play their game. I didn’t want to play a game at all. I just wanted to go back to the way things were before they checked out.
My cell phone started to ring from my nightstand, the noise making me jerk straight. Not expecting the sudden movement, the hot iron brushed along the skin of my scalp. “Ow! Edith!”
“Well, don’t move!” Edith shouted back, pulling the barrel away.
The chirping noise continued to come from my phone, each ring twisting my stomach into tighter knots.
Edith already reached for it, scooping up the phone and pressing it to her ear. “Sophia Wallace’s phone. Oh, she’s right here, pretending not to be straining to hear every word you say.”
Now I rolled my eyes.
“Yeah, one sec.” She offered the phone to me, batting her lashes. “Some guy named Walsh Hunter? He wants to talk to you. Should I tell him you’re busy?”
I took the cell from her before she said something else that he probably heard. Now he finally called me, after two days? “Hey.”
“She lives,” Walsh greeted lightly. “I was trying to play it cool and not blow up your phone, but I couldn’t hold out any longer. I’m glad you’re not dead.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“Edith’s there. Does that mean you’re too busy to come with me to get a few last-minute things for tomorrow night?” He sounded hopeful. “Getty’s General Store was sold out of inflatable floaties—apparently everyone wants one for the Fourth of July—but they still have some in stock at the Greenville mall, at least according to their website. A long drive if you’re going by yourself.”
Psh, “long drive”? Greenville was only an hour roundtrip without traffic. Not that bad. “What kind of pool float are you wanting?”
“They’re the ones that fit two people. How cute would we be?”
Yeah, and Walsh probably wouldn’t be able to resist the photo opportunity. And as much as I hated to admit it, I could imagine the two of us on a pool float, coasting around the bay lazily. Me splashing at him. Walsh grinning, his eyes the same color as the water.
“I wish I could,” I sighed, disappointment welling. Disappointment at which part, though? The idea of missing the super fun pool float or missing out on spending time with Walsh. “I’m grounded.”
“Nerdy Sophie, grounded?” I could hear a smile in his voice. “What’d you do, read past your bedtime?”
“Ha-ha.” I wasn’t sure if he’d actually get it if he knew the real story, and I was too afraid he’d see me as a spoiled little kid for what truly went down. Would he agree with Edith, that my response was messed up? “I, uh, forgot to empty Shiba’s litter box.”
“Seriously?” Edith whispered, eyebrows pulled together. She didn’t look impressed. “Was that really the best you could come up with?”
“Jeez,” Walsh said from the other line. “Until when?”
I inhaled air through my teeth, my insides feeling like