18
IT WAS AFTER SEVEN by the time I made it back to the cabin.
“Where were you?” Mom snapped when I walked through the door. “I’ve been trying to call you all afternoon.”
“Sorry, I think my phone battery died.” I stepped past her and toward the staircase. “I needed some fresh air, that’s all. I’m exhausted now, I think I’m just going to go and lie down.”
“You should have left a note,” she hollered as I proceeded up the stairs. “And, you shouldn’t have been leaving the house if you were sick!”
I didn’t answer her; instead, I went into my bedroom and closed and locked the door. When I turned around, Ethan was waiting for me on the balcony.
Crap.
He tapped on the glass, near the door handle.
We stared at each other for a minute, until he gave me one of his disarming smiles and I event
