Page 59 of Ask No Questions

“Honey, that is simply wonderful. I am so very proud of you!” I cringed at her insincerity. I wonder who she was with that she would be this fake… a columnist maybe. “How is school? I haven’t heard much about what is going on.”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, Winter Formal is this weekend and I was nominated to the court, so campaign posters have been put up. I made some good friends, and I’ve been going on dates with one guy that I’m going to the formal with.”

“I am so happy that you have settled in so nicely, but we miss you back here.”

“I miss you guys, too. Tell Peyton I miss her.”

“I will, dear.”

“Is there any news about Morgan? I never heard about his trial or anything.”

“Oh honey, you know we couldn’t let that happen. We settled out of court a few weeks ago. We couldn’t let that dark story get to the press.”

“So you brushed it off... Is he even in prison?” Panic was rushing through my veins. He might actually be here. Maybe I wasn’t crazy when I thought I saw him.

“He is securely locked up. Don’t worry, dear. Well, I must dash. Kiss kiss.”

She hung up before I could reply. I sat staring at the phone. She wouldn’t lie to me about something so important, would she? No. Morgan was locked up far away from me.

As I was continuing to calm myself down, there was a knock on my door. I got up slowly to answer it and stumbled back when I saw who was gazing down at me with a slow grin growing from the corners of his lips.

“Mike! What are you doing here?” I was relieved it was him, but he had never stopped by my place before.

“Mckayla was having a ‘study night’ at her place, but she texted everyone and changed it to here. Did she not tell you?” He looked bemused as he pushed past me into the room.

“This is the first I’m hearing about it. I guess I can reschedule my plans.” I called to him since he was already in the living room looking at the TV.

“Yeah… sorry to interrupt your Project Runway marathon.” He laughed and sat on the couch making himself right at home. I sat down next to him and without missing a beat he put his arm around my shoulders.

I was confused with my reaction. My body leaned into his, pressing into his side. It was like an automatic response to being around him. I told myself it was because we had become good friends, but I felt guilty as I thought what Luke would think about this.

There was a knock at the door again, but before I could stand, it burst open as Mckayla led people in. Suddenly the condo was packed with my friends as Bear, Donny, Justin, Mark, Cassie, and even Tucker walked in. Talia and Alexis ended the masses, and each had an apologetic smile. Alexis rushed up to me and gave me a hug.

“I’m sorry if this is too much; Mckayla thought it would be a good idea for you to be more social outside of school.” That was odd, I didn’t realize I wasn’t.

“It’s fine, but what are we supposed to be doing? I didn’t plan anything, and I don’t even know if we have food.”

“Don’t worry about that. We have it covered. Some pizzas should be arriving in a few minutes. We’re just going to do homework together, and if Brandon doesn’t mind, maybe we’ll watch a movie.”

It sounded like a decent plan. I just wished someone would have clued me in. I didn’t mean to not be social, but between dance and homework, I’d been busy. I guess they didn’t realize I’d met up with Gage a few times and had gone out with Luke.

By the time the pizzas were delivered, everyone was scattered in the living room either on the floor or on the couch. I was having fun listening to them interact and noticed they made an effort to include me as much as possible. We had spent an hour on homework before the guys started complaining about being bored. They decided it was time for the movie, so we took a vote and were outnumbered by the guys for an action movie.

The room was crowded with everyone packed in, so half of us ended up on the carpet with pillows and blankets to get comfy. I was lying with my head on Mike’s chest and my legs over Donny’s back actually getting into the movie. Mckayla offered to make popcorn, and after the third bowl was passed around, there was a knock at the door. I looked up as Mckayla opened the door and spotted Luke walking in.

Mike groaned but didn't move. I sat up, leaving my legs draped over Donny.

"Hey, Luke."

His gaze drifted over the group, and he looked slightly uncomfortable. "Hi. I actually just stopped to see if you wanted to go get something to eat but I can see you're busy."

It was my turn to be uncomfortable now. I jumped up and walked over to him so everyone couldn't listen in. "Mckayla invited everyone over for a study night at her house then changed it last minute to mine. I didn't even know about it until people started showing up. I should have called you." I felt so bad about neglecting to even think about him this whole time.

"It’s fine. I had surf practice after school, so that’s why I'm coming over now." He was shifting on his feet like he was suddenly ready to run out the door.

"We have a ton of pizza left. Do you want to hang out here for a bit?"

"No, I can see you're busy with Mike and your friends. I'll see you tomorrow."