Page 8 of Until Then

Sorry you saw my ass, it says.Best one you’ve seen, right?

With a shake of my head, I respond with a middle finger emoji. Almost immediately, he sends a crying-laughing one back. At least one of us isn’t traumatized by the situation.

I reply to Finneas next, apologizing for not checking in. I also fill him in on the accommodation situation and warn him that I might be back sooner than I expected.

Who knew the little town of Parkerville, Maine, was such a destination in the summer months? I’ve only been out here in the fall or winter, maybe the very start of spring, since I tend to travel more for brand trips or destinations I want to vlog in the summer.

Via’s texts are the last ones I read.

She feels terrible, of course, promising that if she’d known, she would’ve picked me up at the airport and we would’vehad a girl’s night. It’s not her fault. In my haste to get the hell out of LA, I didn’t make it clear that I was coming rightnow.

I’m fine.I tell her.I stayed the night with Layla.

Via: You couldn’t get a room at the inn?

Me: It’s booked until the end of time.

Rather than respond via text, my sister calls.

“Come back over here. We’ll figure something out.”

“No.” I pinch the bridge of my nose. “It’s okay.”

She and Reid go back and forth between their apartments. It doesn’t feel right to take over her space, now that I’ve really had time to think about it.

“I feel terrible,” she says, her voice wobbly.

“Via,” I say her name slowly, hoping she can hear the sincerity in my voice. “I’m a big girl. I’m all good here. Promise. I’m out with Wonton, but I’m heading in for breakfast now. Love you, bye.”

Before she can protest again, I end the call.

Now that Wonton has finished his business, he’s hovering at my feet. So I scoop him up under my arm and carefully climb the steps to Layla’s apartment. It’s not a bad place, but the stairs have definitely seen better days, so better safe than sorry.

Back upstairs, I hang Wonton’s leash on the hook by the door, alongside Lili’s purple raincoat.

“Just in time.” Layla slides a plate down the counter and peers at me over her shoulder.

Relief washes over me. The macaroni and cheese I scarfed down last night was barely enough to satiate my appetite. Since the tiny table in the corner only has two chairs, I take myplate to the couch and curl my legs under me while I eat my breakfast.

Wonton jumps up beside me, knowing I’ll share my bacon and eggs with him.

“I was thinking,” Layla begins. “If you’re okay with it, you could stay with my dad.”

Confusion curls through me at the suggestion.

Her dad?

Derrick Crawford?

The man I set my sister up on a date with, not knowing yet that she’d had a one-night stand with his son? The son she’s currently dating?

A pit forms in my stomach. I don’t think Derrick is capable of hating anyone, but his feelings for me probably hover somewhere close.

“Uh.” I swallow thickly. “That’s okay.”

“No, I’m serious,” she goes on, brushing a piece of hair behind her ear. “He’s all alone in that house now, and he has plenty of space. He wouldn’t mind the company.”

Go back to LA, go back to being miserable and hating every second of my life? Or tough it out with Derrick for a bit?

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