Page 81 of Built to Fall
“Fine. I mean, I slept. That’s already an improvement.”
“True.” Meredith says, seeming slightly disinterested. She’s still lining up shoes in perfect pairs.
“Wait, but you were in bed when we left last night. How did you end up at Grant’s?” Kara looks me up and down, like she’s surveying my outfit for clues.
I wince. This was the part I didn’t want to tell them about. It’s the whole reason I didn’t change back into my running clothes before coming back.
“I went on a run,” I admit quickly, like ripping off a band-aid.
All of their faces downturn in disappointment.
“Jeez.” I hold up my hands in surrender. “Calm down. It’s not like I joined a cult.”
Eden tucks her lips into her mouth, like she doesn’t know what to say, while Meredith and Kara both level me with serious looks.
“I wouldn’t be shocked if you did, considering your decision-making skills recently,” Meredith deadpans. If I wasn’t expecting it, it would have hurt my feelings. But I knew if anyone would say it, it’d be her.
“Are running clubs considered cults? I think they could classify,” Eden adds, more as a joke, but nobody laughs.
Kara adjusts the picture frame on the wall, pretending like she’s straightening it even though it was already perfectly level. She’s avoiding eye contact. “You can’t keep doing that, Lina.”
“It’s okay, guys. Grant found me on the running path and convinced me to come back with him. That’s how I ended up in his apartment.”
None of them look surprised, and realistically, Grant finding me is probably the only reason they aren’treallyreprimanding me.
“Regardless, this is so exciting!” Eden claps. “Come on, we were just starting breakfast.”
“Oh, I already ate.” Still, I follow them into the kitchen.
“You ate breakfast at Grant’s?” Meredith asks.
“Yeah.” I smirk at the idea of having to explain what happened to them. “Along with his dad and sisters.”
“What?” Kara skids to a halt.
“The three of them showed up while we were still asleep. I somehow got roped into staying.”
Every time I step inside our kitchen, I’m reminded of why I love it so much. We have a collection of coffee mugs on the ledge above the sink that we’ve stolen from each cafe around campus. Our fridge is covered with whiteboards and Polaroid pictures. When you look around, there is no doubt that four college girls live here.
“No way!” Eden says as she stands on her tippy toes, grabbing a stack of plates out from the cabinet. “I didn’t know Grant had sisters.”
I would say his back scratches make it obvious, but I don’t necessarily want to get into that, so I say, “Yeah. They’re both older.”
There are already freshly made pancakes sitting out on a plate that Kara made, and Eden pulls a pan of croissants out ofthe oven. How she makes those from scratch, I have no idea, but I don’t tend to ask questions when I’m the one eating them.
“How was it?” Meredith asks.
“It was very awkward at first,” I answer, hopping on a barstool. “But they’re both super nice—so is his dad.”
“I can’t believe you’re already meeting the family!” Eden looks back at me from the fridge, narrowing her eyes. “But be honest, was it acuteawkward?”
“Why did I even come back?” I groan.
“Because deep down, you wanted to tell us.” Kara wags her eyebrows with a gleaming smile.
“Was it romantic?” Eden presses.
“No.”
