Page 85 of My Infatuation with Isabella

14. Dylan

February 20, 2027

“Good morning, sunshine!” I greet chirpily when her face lights up the screen on my phone.

She’s disoriented for a moment, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “Dylan?” she says groggily, her whiskey voice gruffer than usual. “How did you get my number?”

“I think you should stop underestimating me.”

“Was it Scott?” She stretches her arm, then brushes her curls away from her face. “I swear I’ll stab him.”

“It wasn’t Scott. Even though he’smyfriend, the pact withyouis too sacred. Keith gave me your number.”

“What?” Even though she’s still waking up in stages, exasperated disbelief is evident in her voice. “I’m gonna disown him.”

“Don’t be mad at him. He said no a few times...but then I told him I wasn’t gonna leave until he gave it to me. He didn’t believe me at first, but I think that changed when he found me sleeping out on the porch this morning.” I pull the phone away from me so she can see that I’m on the porch outside her parent’s house. “And look who’s here?”

Her mother steps outside then. “Did Keith give you a toothbrush? You can get cleaned up upstairs.”

“Yes, I’m already done. Thank you.”

“Come in and have breakfast with Scott and Peter.”

“Nah, I’m good, thanks.”

Bella’s eyes narrow as she witnesses the betrayal. “Both of you are traitors, Ma!”

She continues complaining in Spanish and her mother simply shrugs. “What did you expect us to do,mi niña? He said he would stay all day and all nightagain. We didn’t want the neighbors to think we had a homeless squatter living on our porch. Besides...” She reaches up to pinch my cheek the way she used to. “...he’s so sweet, Isa.”

She walks back inside, and I look at my phone again. “I think she missed me.”

“So, you slept out on the porch?” Bella sits up in her bed and gives me the most heartwarming smile. “I can’t believe you’d do that for me.”

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