Chapter Nine The Restaurant
The gray sweater Ella had chosen was itchy, reminding her of the real reason she rarely wore it. There wasn’t much difference between the oven temperatures of the desert scorching her skin and the uncomfortable scratchiness of the sweater’s material. Her skin tingled beneath the threads from the abuse of her fingernails. A deep breath escaped Ella’s lips as her mother pulled the car into a space across from the restaurant. Not only was she immensely anxious about the truth of Naoni hitting Archai tonight, but there was a weird vibe coming from Stephenie, and Ella’s stomach kept turning every time they made eye contact.
“Oh, honey,” Stephenie started just as she was about to open the car door. “The Suttons called about five minutes before we left. They won’t be
