Page 69 of Beautiful Exile

I shook off the haze of emotions, doing my best to sock them away until I could bleed them into my art again. I sent a quick selfie of me sticking out my tongue, mask still flipped up.

Me

Some of us work for a living. We can’t be attached to our phones 24/7.

Kye

Burn, A. That wasn’t very nice.

Me

Says the guy who put a massive fake spider in Shep’s gym bag the other week.

Kye

He ratted me out about missing family dinner to hit the bar with the guys.

Shep

I didn’t know you told Mom you were working. If you’re going to lie to one, lie to all.

Kye

At least I didn’t miss last week. Lolli hitting on Linc is going down as a favorite family moment.

Rhodes

What do you think she’s diamond painting him right now?

Fallon

I got a little peek the other day, and it might be her best work yet.

Kye

I hope it’s elves fucking again. Always a classic.

Cope

Jesus. I can’t believe he’s still there after all of this.

Something about that text had pressure mounting in my chest. Linc’s time here was temporary. He’d get the house going and then head back to Seattle, only coming here on holidays or the odd weekend. I hated the idea that I wouldn’t be running into him at Haven, around the property, or in town. I’d been doing nothing but avoiding him for the past week, but I couldn’t stand the thought of him going.

Cope

How’s he seem, Arden? I know Ellie came to visit.

This felt like a test. Did he know I’d kissed his best friend? That I was still dreaming of the taste of bourbon on his lips and the scent of cedar swirling around him?

Me

He’s fine.

Cope

Please, stop. Too much text to read. I’ll never get through it all.

I sent him a middle finger emoji before anything else.

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