Page 157 of Things We Left Behind
Naomi:Normally I shy away from conflict and raise the de-escalation flag, however in this case I feel it’s important to present a relevant case study: Knox Morgan.
Stef:I’m not pulling a Knox Morgan. I just had business to attend to so I’m attending to it.
Lina:You forgot to put quotes around “business.”
“No emergency. Just busting on Stef for getting ready to make a grand gesture and then panicking and leaving town,” I reported.
“What kind of grand gesture?” Lucian asked, opening a cabinet and helping himself to a glass.
“He wants to move here and live with his hot boyfriend,but he got cold feet about actually admitting it to Jeremiah,” I said, still scrolling while Lucian got himself a drink of water.
Stef:Where’s Sloane? She’s always more fun to pick on than me.
Naomi:Sloane!
Lina:Yo, Sloane!
Stef:You don’t think she snuck off for another date without telling us and got murdered, do you?
Lina:Well, I do now.
Naomi:She’s not answering her phone. I’m worried.
Lina:Maybe she’s in the shower?
Stef:Maybe she’s in the shower with someone.
Naomi:She wouldn’t be taking a ninety-minute shower.
Stef:Not alone at least.
Lina:She’s probably working and left her phone in her office.
Naomi:I distinctly remember her saying she had today off. Chloe told Waylay Sloane had plans last night, but no one seems to know what they were.
Stef:Hopefully she’s getting laid.
Lina:We haven’t heard from her since 7:13 p.m. last night. Nobody gets laid for that long.
I smirked reading Lina’s text. I turned the screen so Lucian could read it. “Well,that’snot true,” I said smugly.
“You’d better tell your friends that,” he said, pointing to the next message.
Naomi:Maybe we should go to her house?
“Uh-oh,” I said.
Lina:Nash and I are naked but we could be unnaked in about ten minutes. Try calling her again and we’ll get dressed.
“Shit,” I muttered, thumbs flying over the screen.
Me:No need for a welfare check. I’m alive and well. Just busy!
“They’re going to know what you’re busy doing,” Lucian pointed out, running his hand down my ponytail.
“Damn it.” He was right. “I’ll tell them I’m cleaning the house.”
“Naomi will be over here with a truckload of cleaning supplies in five minutes,” he predicted. “Pick something they’ll all find unpleasant.”
