Page 31 of Love Unwritten
Julian’s name and contact photo pop up on my screen. I battle between letting it go to voicemail and answering before choosing the latter.
My cousin skips past hello and asks, “Is he okay?”
“Yeah. Just needed some stitches on his chin, no thanks to Ellie.”
“Thank God. What happened?” he asks in that no-bullshit tone of his.
I tell him the same story, although I go into greater detail than I had with my aunt, mentioning that I had taken his advice and opened up about how I was feeling, only to find out she betrayed my trust.
“Damn.” Julian whistles to himself.
“Yup.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Find someone to replace her after we come back from our trip.”
“Hm.”
“What?”
“Are you sure the trip is still happening?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Because Nico sent me a text not too long ago asking me if I was free and interested in going to Hawaii. I thought he was joking, but now it all makes sense.”
I scrub my face with a curse. “Whose phone is he borrowing?”
“Ma’s.”
My drawn-out sigh is one only a parent can muster. “I told her to monitor him for a reason.”
“Yeah, but you know how she likes to be a cool grandma.” My cousin laughs. “Anyway, Nico also let me know that his birthday party is canceled until his nanny is rehired.”
“He did what?”
“Dahlia and Lily got a text too. Oh, and you might want to check if his mother got one as well. Not that she was ever going to come anyway since she hasn’t made it to his last two.”
The base of my neck throbs from an incoming headache. “Fuck me.”
“Speaking of the little devil,” he says, “he just asked me if we could take my private jet instead of yours. Should I say yes? I’ve always wanted to visit Hawaii, and now I have the perfect reason to.”
I rub my pounding temple with my thumb. “Unbelievable.”
“You’ve got to admit it’s impressive how smart he is.”
“Yeah. If only he applied that same effort toward his homework.”
Julian lets out a soft chuckle. “What are you going to do with him?”
“I have no idea.”
Much to my annoyance, it turns out Nico isn’t the only one missing Ellie. I do too, although I never thought I would. Despite my best efforts to forget about her, it’s impossible with all the little reminders she left around the house.
A hoodie forgotten in the dryer. The stainless-steel water bottle, which she called her emotional support bottle, left to dry on the dish rack. Her guitar abandoned on the coffee table, untouched since Nico’s accident.
The last few nights, I have gone downstairs expecting to hear the sound of a guitar playing, only to be met with silence.