Page 108 of Even in the Dark

Yeah

Scarlett

u want company?

Dylan

no

Yes.

Scarlett

You just saying that?

Dylan

Go back to christmas w ur family

Scarlett

Where r u? I'm coming to meet u

Like I said, it's as if she knows. And when the hell did that even happen? That I let someone get close enough they can read my mood through a goddamn text exchange. And that I'd rather be with her when I'm reeling than alone with my stewing rage.

Scarlett

Hello??? Where r u?

Dylan

No idea. Just passed a school w a hugeass dragon in the playground

Scarlett

I'll be there in 10

She gets here in five. I climb in the passenger seat and crank the heat. Thought "freezing your balls off" was just an expression until today. It's no fucking joke.

I give Scarr the lowdown on the Braun Christmas lunch face-off. She listens. Nods. Then says, "Well… Your cousin sounds like a real peach."

No idea why, but it makes me smile. It's corny. Not at all the reaction I was expecting. Maybe that's what makes me smile. And maybe that's what makes Scarlett start to laugh. Makes us both laugh. And stops my heart from feeling like it’s about to blow right out of my chest. Deflates my thoughts from screaming level to normal.

"I don't know what that even means," Scarlett wheezes. I tell her I sure as hell don't either.

"Okay, look," she finally says, more serious again. "Here's what I really think."

I wait as she takes a breath. Then shares her advice.

"I think… just—fuck'em."

"Huh?"

"Fuck'em," she repeats. "Who cares what your perm-haired aunt and your peachy cousin think? They don't know you. And it's not like you're even going to see them again. I mean, until next Christmas. Probably not even then, based on how today went down." She lifts her shoulder. "So just—fuck'em."

"…Fuck 'em."

"Yup." She arches an eyebrow. "Also, full disclosure—your cousin is not entirely wrong about you being hot."

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