Page 22 of Hearts in Circulation
Ifeel like I’ve been robbed. In books, when a character wakes up someplace other than in her own bed, she has a moment of confusion. A briefwhere am I?slice of time where she’s given a reprieve from the memory of all the events that have landed her in her current pickle.
I get none of that.
I open my eyes and know exactly where I am, exactly what led me to be here, and exactly what is awaiting me once I crawl out of this extremely comfortable bed and gather up enough courage to open the door and face Levi again. It’s a good thing big-girl panties are metaphorical and therefore always packed because I need to put them on, apologize in person, and get over this inconvenient attraction I’ve found myself a victim of.
Let’s hit snooze on that, shall we? My embarrassment will still be here in ten more minutes.
I roll over and grab my phone that I left charging on the nightstand. The screen awakens with a tap of my finger, and I’m surprised to see that not only is there reception on Levi’s mountain, but I have a number of texts waiting for me.
Mom was a little worried when I’d talked to her on the phone yesterday, but after I assured her I had my medication with me and that I hadn’t been hurt in the rockslide, she’dcalmed down. She also double-checked Levi’s claim that the Forest Service road was impassable. Their website said it was closed for maintenance and that the weather had delayed their progress. Dad had hollered from the background that he could borrow the sheriff’s four-wheeler and bring along his chainsaw, then dared the rangers to stop him from saving his little girl. As sweet as the offer was, I nipped that idea in the bud. The roads will eventually reopen. I’ll be fine until then.
Pulling the phone farther away from my face, I open the messaging app and tap on the group chat full of unread messages.
Evangeline:
Just checking to make sure you haven’t been murdered.
Evangeline:
Ok, that was originally a joke, but you’re not responding, so now I’m kind of getting worried.
Evangeline:
If you’ve been the victim of a vicious crime and I have to look at your homicide in miniature form in my grandfather’s basement every time I visit him, then...
Evangeline:
I should have had a good threat ready before I hit send.
Evangeline:
I don’t even think therapy would help if I had to deal with that.
I stifle a laugh. I don’t know if Levi is awake, asleep, here, or at work, and even though I’m technically avoiding him (momentarily!), I don’t want him toknowI’m avoiding him, so I’d prefer if he thought I was still asleep.
I hold my phone a little tighter, oh so grateful for the ridiculousness that is my friend. Only Evangeline would jump to murderous conclusions and then worry I’d be immortalized in her grandfather’s basement. Although, in her defense, her grandfather and sister’s hobby of recreating crime scenes in miniature form like little macabre dollhouses is a bit unsettling. So maybe it isn’t a stretch that her mind went there, especially if she’s been home to visit recently.
Evangeline:
Martha, you’re the one who talked to Hayley when she called the library. What specifically did she say? What was her tone? Do you think she was in trouble? I mean, more trouble than being stranded. More like, did she hide any type of secret message in what she was saying that would require a very specific set of skills à la Liam Neeson?
Martha:
You’re crazy, you know that?
Evangeline:
Yes, but you didn’t answer the question.
Martha:
She sounded stressed but fine.
Evangeline:
Then why isn’t she answering these texts?
Martha:
