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“Thanks.” She worries her bottom lip. “I also shouldn’t have said what I said.”
“Nah, you were right. I needed the reminder.”
“Good. I don’t like seeing you so down.” A pinkish hue creeps onto her cheeks. “A smile suits you so much better than a frown.”
Warmth builds in my chest. It’s not exactly unusual, but it only ever happens when Isla is around.
“Michael, Isla.” My dad’s voice cuts through the air, and I whip around. “How about you finish your conversation in the car?”
“Sorry, Dad.” I take off toward him.
“Yeah, sorry,” Isla says, following me a little slower.
I open the back door for her, and while she climbs in, I heft our stuff into the cargo area in the back. Her voice is soft and calming as she talks to my dad about her family’s plans for the weekend. It creates a lightness in my limbs that feels weird after such an intense practice.
It doesn’t feel bad, just strange. Hopefully, that means the sensation isn’t a bad one.
CHAPTER FOUR
the kiss pact
ISLA
Thirteen years old
It’s Aunt Ava’s birthday, and, like every year, we’re at the Thompsons’ house for a barbecue. The faces are all the same, just with more kids running around.
I’d never complain about spending time with our family friends, but the icing on the cake is that I get to hang out with my best friend, and we always have a lot of fun, no matter what we do.
I’m staying the night, which I don’t usually do, and from all the hints Michael has given me, I think he’s planning something. I just hope it’s nothing scary; I’m not the biggest fan of horror stories.
“Isla!” Ian barrels toward me just as I step onto the terrace.
My brother is six, just like Meghan, Michael’s little sister, who’s on his heels. They stop in front of me, breathing heavily, eyes wild, smiles splitting their faces.
“What is it?” I tilt my head to the side, surveying their flushed faces.
“We were looking everywhere for you,” Meghan says.
Ian narrows his eyes at me. “Where were you?”
I arch an eyebrow. “I was using the bathroom. What’s the emergency?”
They exchange a glance, and then Ian steps in and waves me closer, clearly ready to tell me a secret.
With a sigh, I bend at the waist so they can whisper in my ear. “Well?”
“Michael asked us to tell you…” Meghan murmurs.
Ian chimes in. “That he’s waiting for you on the second floor.”
Straightening, I blink. All this secrecy just for that?
“Why couldn’t he tell me himself?”
Ian rolls his eyes, as if the question is ridiculous.
Meghan is the one to answer me, hands on her hips. “Because he couldn’t find you, duh.”
