Page 66 of Run
The three of us are awkwardly quiet before Sophie speaks up. “You want a lift?” she asks Ari, who darts her eyes to me and then rolls them.
“You’re really going to love this,” Ari says to me, as Sophie steps in front of her and hunches over into a half-squat. Ari leans forward and wraps her arms around Sophie’s shoulders, and Sophie grabs Ari’s legs and hoists her up into a piggyback.
I can’t help the laugh that escapes.
“Can you give me my crutches, asshole?” Ari asks, and I reach into the Jeep, pull them out, and hand them to her one at a time. She keeps one arm around Sophie’s neck as she holds both crutches in the other. “Thanks.”
“Anytime,” I reply with a wink.
“Sorry, gotta walk,” Sophie grunts out as she starts to walk up the path to the house. “She’s not as light as she looks.”
I laugh, then call out, “Wait, Ari, I need your new number!”
Her head shakes. “Is your number the same as it always was?” I nod. “Then I’ve got it memorized. Also, Fonz has it.”
CHAPTER 23
ARI
“Who was that?” Meg asks over the rim of her coffee cup as Sophie shuts the door behind us and I slide off of her back. Larry is at the window, hands on his hips, watching Ethan back out.
I look between the two of them, then at Sophie, who won’t make eye contact with me. “Oh, please. Like you don’t already know.”
Meg chuckles and sets her mug on the coffee table before strolling over to Sophie and pulling a folded up bill from her back pocket, handing it over. “I have to say, I really thought it was going to go south.”
“What the hell?” I watch Sophie take the money. “You made bets?”
Meg raises her hands in the air and shrugs. “I thought it was a bad idea. I didn’t think you’d want to be railroaded like that. But clearly …”
As she trails off, I look over at Larry who is leaning over, into the window, as if he’s waiting for the dust to settle from Ethan’s tires. “Clearly, what?” I ask, then realize what she’s insinuating. “Oh, no! We didn’t … It’s not like that. We’re just friends.”
Meg and Sophie share a look, and Sophie says, “See?” Meg nods.
“See what?” I ask.
“Oh, nothing.” Sophie heads toward the kitchen. “Just that I knew you would pretend like you didn’t want to see him when in fact your panties are melting.”
Larry coughs and turns around. “For goodness sake, Sophie.”
“Oh, please, Lars,” she yells from the kitchen. “There’s no kiddies here.” At the moment, the Millers aren’t housing any foster children. Well, none other than Sophie and me.
Deciding I’m not going to win this conversation, I settle my arms into my crutches. “Sorry I didn’t call or text. I really was surprised to see Ethan, and we had a lot to catch up on. He owns a house in Hilton and—get this—Fonz lives with him.” Meg and Lars don’t react. “You knew that, too.”
“Don’t hate us,” Meg begs.
“I thought this whole thing was a disaster,” Larry counters, standing before me, looking uncomfortable. “You going on a date, dredging up your past. You’ve come so far. I just hate to see you revisiting painful times.”
I smile. “I don’t hate you guys. And it wasn’t a disaster. Actually, it may be exactly what I needed. I didn’t realize how much I missed Ethan.”
My foster dad scratches the back of his head. “Was he, um … I mean, did he ever … I just want to make sure—”
“He’s not Sean or Axel,” Meg cuts in. “Ethan never hurt you, right?” She looks at me and I shake my head.
“No. Ethan was my saving grace when I was growing up.”
Larry relaxes. “Good. That’s good.”
Sophie comes out of the kitchen with her own mug of coffee in hand. “Awe, Lars, you getting all protective on us?”
