Page 93 of How (Not) to Conjure a Boyfriend
“Maybe! She knows them best. It makes sense, right?” I reason.
“See how that’s worked out?” Kaitlynn stares me down.
“Fine. You’re not wrong,” I admit. “Gods, I wish I’d never met Hayden. Like why did he have to come to the shop all the time?Andbe so dreamy?”
“You don’t mean that,” Kaitlynn says.
“I do! I mean it.” I’m not backing down from this. Had he not, I wouldn’t have followed them to the hospital, and then the nurse wouldn’t have repeated what I told her. If not for all that, I’d simply be happily single Mackenzie again. Okay, maybe not happily single, but better than whatever junk this is.
“But then you’d never have met Zachary.” Kaitlynn shrugs. “And don’t tell me you would prefer that. Don’t!”
“If I’d never met him, then I wouldn’t know what I’m missing,” I remind her.
“Yeah, but you have,” she says.
“Stop being wise, Kaity! I like crazy Kaity better.” I roll my eyes.
“So wise.” Kaitlynn poses with her hand under her chin all smiles. “So now what are you going to do about it?”
I slouch back and allow my shoulders to slump. If I do what she’s saying, I’ll have to face everything that’s happened the past month. But I have to do something. I can’t keep this up. It’s not getting better, it’s getting harder.
“Hmm… Text him? Hayden, that is,” I ask more than tell.
“No. Hell no.” Kaitlynn jumps.“You’re not breakingthisthrough text.”
“No! That’s not what I meant,” I say. It really isn’t. “I meant like text him, you know, to tell him I need to talk to him, to tell him something. Then I can admit it all in person.”
“Okay, now that’s better.” Kaitlynn calms. “I can get behind that.”
“So I’ll do that,” I tell her.
“Now.” She tilts her head expectantly.
“What?” I rebound. Now? Why now? Let me dwell on it and make myself sick first.
“Now!” she says again, pointing at my phone lying next to my arm.
“But…”
“Now!” she says again, all command this time.
“Fine.” I roll my eyes and pick up my phone. The text box has never looked this menacing. Hayden’s name sets at the top of the screen under a photo of him I stole off Instagram. I breathe.
“You got this, Kenzie.” Kaitlynn tries pumping me up. “You the man. No, wrong. You’re not the man. You’re the one! Oh shit, you’re Neo! You’re freaking Neo! You’re The One!”
I stop and look at her like she’s an idiot. Part of me wants to break character and laugh with her, because I one hundred percent got the reference and that’s so epic, but I refuse. I need her to think I can’t stand her right now.
“See! You’re the freaking one, you…” She stops, all grins. “Too much? Okay. Just fix this shit. Okay?”
“Not helping,” I say, even though it sort of is. Sure, my insides feel like they’re churning all I ate today into a massive mush theywant to expel from my mouth, but it’s not as bad as it was a minute ago.
I focus on my phone and start typing. After three different renditions, I get it.
I show the screen to Kaity so she can see I’m doing what she told me to.
“Now send it,” she says.
I hover my pointer finger over the little send icon and cough. Oh my gods! Once this goes out, I have to tell him something important regardless, and honestly this is the only thing that would warrant the message, so I’ll be stuck. Ugh! This is so not fun! I’m not having a good time, and I want off this ride!
