Page 128 of Run
“Sure. What have you got?”
CHAPTER 41
ETHAN
It’s a full house at the bar tonight for our usual meetup. Dee is here, and Tommy tagged along with Gino and Sophie. Lizzie and Knox just showed up, but Fonz opted not to come since he and Matt are on a break.
Well, another break. Apparently they have an on-again, off-again relationship. Now I’m just waiting for Ari. After getting a pedicure with Sophie earlier today, she made a trip to the mall with Meg. I called earlier but she didn’t answer. Although I expected a response by now, I figure she’ll get a hold of me when she sees the missed call.
“Hey, how’s that big project at the waterfront going?” Knox asks Tommy and Gino across the table, again checking in on his dad’s workers.
“Eh, it’s a little bit of a clusterfuck,” Tommy replies.
“How so?”
“Well, Jenny screwed up some paperwork big time, and it caused a whole bunch of setbacks …”
The table grows quiet as Tommy realizes he brought upshe who shall not be talked aboutand an awkward silence descends as the name of Knox’s former mistress hangs in the air. I look up at Lizzie, who is chewing the inside of her cheek and aggressively swirling a tiny cocktail straw in her drink. Knox puts a hand on her back.
“So, Dee,” I pipe up, grasping at anything to throw Lizzie a lifeline, “bang any weirdos from the Internet lately?”
“Two words,” she says without skipping a beat. “Inflatable. Penis.”
Gino spits out his drink while Tommy rubs his hands together. “Oh, this should be good.” The table erupts into questions and inquiries, and I catch Lizzie’s eyes across the table as she mouthsthank you.
I nod at her and see my phone dance across the table with a text. Grabbing it, I’m disappointed to see it’s my mom confirming my visit the following day. I check the time of my call to Ari and see it’s been hours, so I ring her again. When it goes to voicemail, I frown at the phone before hanging up and sending off a quick text.
Hey, just checking in. Haven’t heard from you in a while. Call me
“Was that Ari?” Sophie asks.
I shake my head. “No. I just texted her. She hasn’t answered two of my calls.”
“Weird.”
“When did you guys have your pedicures?”
She pauses, her drink halfway to her mouth. “Our pedicures? Today?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh. Um, they were earlier. Why? What did she say her plans were for later?”
I keep checking my phone, even though it hasn’t vibrated. “She said she was going shopping with Meg. But doesn’t the mall close at like, eight? She should be here by now.”
“Hmm.” Sophie pulls out her phone. “Yeah, well, maybe they stopped back at the house to drop off their bounty, you know?”
“Maybe.”
“I’ll call Meg.” She puts her phone to her ear as she steps away from the table.
“She’s probably stuck in traffic,” Lizzie says. “There was a snarl up on the highway tonight. I bet she’s caught up in that mess.”
“I just can’t understand why she isn’t calling or texting back.”
“Her phone could be out of reach in the car. Or it died. Don’t worry yet.”
Sophie rejoins the group, shaking her head at me. “No answer.”
