all over again and get it out of their systems. I invited them to come to our dinner with Ben, but both refused. That was probably best. I was nervous enough for this evening and needed a night off from Rhett’s wiseass remarks.
It took us another hour to drive out to Malibu. When booking our hotel, I never considered how far we were from Ben’s old lady friend. And it was nearly eight when we pulled up in her driveway, way later than the original time for dinner.
Nathanial woke up the second the car stopped moving. “Thanks for letting me tag along today, guys,” he told the group through a yawn as we exited the car. “I hope the dinner with Ben goes well. I’m going to head home.” He nodded at me. “Bye, Ellie.” And then started walking off toward his house.
That’s it! ? I wanted to scream at him. The whole day had sort of felt like a first date and now he was leaving me with nothing else, not even a proper goodbye. Holding my tongue, I turned away and led the others up toward Mrs. Stone’s front door . Seriously? What the fuck was that about?
With a little too much force and aggression, I pounded on the front door. When Ben answered, at least for the moment, thoughts of Nathanial subsided.
* * *
“And Georgina is here too,” Ben said with a look of pure shock on his face. “I figured you’d bring Noah. You always bring Noah…but Gina too? How many other people have you told, Ellie? The whole OBX? No one was supposed to know.”
“It’s good to see you too , Be n . Alive and all.” Georgie pushed past me and surprised the daylights out of me by engulfing Ben in a giant hug despite his rude greeting. She clung onto him as a sob escaped her lips. I stood there like a dummy, too frightened to comment or react. Then Georgie pulled away from our brother and scowled at him. “Don’t you ever do something so stupid again,” she half-cried, half-laughed. “And nobody calls me Gina anymore. It’s Georgie or Georgina now.”
“In the eighth grade you said you’d tell everyone I wet the bed if I ever called you Georgie again,” Ben remarked.
“Yeah, well, things change.”
An old lady who I had to assume was Mrs. Stone came slowly walking up to us. “Hello,” she squealed, giving us all hugs as if we were old friends. “Come in. This way. Dinner is ready.”
We followed her down a wide hallway that led to a grand dining room. The table was made of a pale wood and the chairs were crisp white. A huge mosaic of driftwood, shells, and sea-glass hung on the wall. It was the prettiest piece of art I’d ever seen. And the aroma of whatever we were having for dinner…heavenly.
“Something smells delicious,” I whispered to Noah as we took our seats.
He let out what can only be described as a grunt as he sat down.
“That’s Ben,” Mrs. Stone gushed. “He’s become such an amazing cook. He does all the cooking around here. I’d probably starve without him. Anywho, I already ate, kiddos, so I’m going to be in the living room watching my favorite show , Dragon War s . Nate West is my neighbor, you know. Can’t miss his show.”
Shit. It was Sunday. I was missing my favorite show too.
“If you need anything, please help yourselves,” she called over her shoulder as she left us.
I liked Mrs. Stone. She had a warm smile and a happy way about her. As long as there was no hibbidy-dibbidy going on with her and my brother, God forbid because she was ancient, then she seemed like a cool old bird. Except now I was super bummed about missing Nathanial’s show. I had never missed an episode. This was upsetting on many levels.
I grabbed a roll and bit off a giant chunk, grumbling to myself.
As I was caught up wishing I could go watch the show with Mrs. Stone, a tense silence fell over the room. It brought my attention back to the task at hand. It seemed none of us knew what to say to each other and I couldn’t just blurt out , oh, by the way, Georgie tried to kill herself because of
It took us another hour to drive out to Malibu. When booking our hotel, I never considered how far we were from Ben’s old lady friend. And it was nearly eight when we pulled up in her driveway, way later than the original time for dinner.
Nathanial woke up the second the car stopped moving. “Thanks for letting me tag along today, guys,” he told the group through a yawn as we exited the car. “I hope the dinner with Ben goes well. I’m going to head home.” He nodded at me. “Bye, Ellie.” And then started walking off toward his house.
That’s it! ? I wanted to scream at him. The whole day had sort of felt like a first date and now he was leaving me with nothing else, not even a proper goodbye. Holding my tongue, I turned away and led the others up toward Mrs. Stone’s front door . Seriously? What the fuck was that about?
With a little too much force and aggression, I pounded on the front door. When Ben answered, at least for the moment, thoughts of Nathanial subsided.
* * *
“And Georgina is here too,” Ben said with a look of pure shock on his face. “I figured you’d bring Noah. You always bring Noah…but Gina too? How many other people have you told, Ellie? The whole OBX? No one was supposed to know.”
“It’s good to see you too , Be n . Alive and all.” Georgie pushed past me and surprised the daylights out of me by engulfing Ben in a giant hug despite his rude greeting. She clung onto him as a sob escaped her lips. I stood there like a dummy, too frightened to comment or react. Then Georgie pulled away from our brother and scowled at him. “Don’t you ever do something so stupid again,” she half-cried, half-laughed. “And nobody calls me Gina anymore. It’s Georgie or Georgina now.”
“In the eighth grade you said you’d tell everyone I wet the bed if I ever called you Georgie again,” Ben remarked.
“Yeah, well, things change.”
An old lady who I had to assume was Mrs. Stone came slowly walking up to us. “Hello,” she squealed, giving us all hugs as if we were old friends. “Come in. This way. Dinner is ready.”
We followed her down a wide hallway that led to a grand dining room. The table was made of a pale wood and the chairs were crisp white. A huge mosaic of driftwood, shells, and sea-glass hung on the wall. It was the prettiest piece of art I’d ever seen. And the aroma of whatever we were having for dinner…heavenly.
“Something smells delicious,” I whispered to Noah as we took our seats.
He let out what can only be described as a grunt as he sat down.
“That’s Ben,” Mrs. Stone gushed. “He’s become such an amazing cook. He does all the cooking around here. I’d probably starve without him. Anywho, I already ate, kiddos, so I’m going to be in the living room watching my favorite show , Dragon War s . Nate West is my neighbor, you know. Can’t miss his show.”
Shit. It was Sunday. I was missing my favorite show too.
“If you need anything, please help yourselves,” she called over her shoulder as she left us.
I liked Mrs. Stone. She had a warm smile and a happy way about her. As long as there was no hibbidy-dibbidy going on with her and my brother, God forbid because she was ancient, then she seemed like a cool old bird. Except now I was super bummed about missing Nathanial’s show. I had never missed an episode. This was upsetting on many levels.
I grabbed a roll and bit off a giant chunk, grumbling to myself.
As I was caught up wishing I could go watch the show with Mrs. Stone, a tense silence fell over the room. It brought my attention back to the task at hand. It seemed none of us knew what to say to each other and I couldn’t just blurt out , oh, by the way, Georgie tried to kill herself because of
Similar Books
