Page 31 of Styx & Stones

“Alaska,” Mom chides.

“But it won’t be the last.” He winks. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“I shall wait with bated breath.” I wave my arm as if I’m some tragic thespian.

“Cute, Stones. Real cute.”

“Go home, dork.”

“Good night.” Mom waves him off and closes the door with a dramatic sigh. “You two are adorable.” She frowns at me as I shake my head. “I’m serious. He likes you. A lot.”

“We’re just friends, Mom.” I stare at the now crushed corsage on my wrist and wonder if that’s entirely true. I was pretty sure how he felt about me, and if I hadn’t known before tonight, I definitely know now.

In a truly tragic turn of events, I think I might be falling for loner boy.

Wonderful.

Let’s see if we can stave off the Grim Reaper long enough to get to first base.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

STYX

Three days after homecomingand Stones is blowing me off. I’ve tried Facetiming a billion times, tried calling two billion times, and I’m finally at the last straw: showing up on her doorstep. I set my skateboard against the wall and knock.

Mrs. Stone answers and moves aside to let me in. “Styx, hi. Alaska didn’t tell me you were popping by.”

“She’s been avoiding my calls.”

“Oh,” she says, sipping her wine. It’s just after eleven on a weekday. “Well, yesterday and the previous one were hard on her. She had a migraine and a mild seizure.”

“Holy shit, is she okay?” I head for the stairs and take them two at a time as Alaska’s mom tries to keep up.

“Yes, she’s fine. We took her to the hospital, and they monitored her overnight. They released her early this morning.”

I yank open her bedroom door, not bothering to knock, and then I feel bad when she lifts her head from the pillow and glares at me with her sleepy eyes. “Hey, are you okay?”

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