Mad Boys (Blue Ivy Prep, #2)(39)

It was the little things, but it helped with detente. I preferred the peaceful existence. It would be even more peaceful if Payton accidentally vanished one day, but I supposed we couldn’t have everything.

Frankie and Ian’s tour looked like it was going well. When Coop called to invite us to the Baltimore show that would “officially” launch their tour and their album, I was down.

“Does she know we’re coming?” I asked and Coop laughed.

“No,” he said, and there was a smugness in his voice. “It’s a surprise for her. Bubba knows. But we want this to be a really special night for her. It’s been a tough time.”

Yeah. “I know,” I said. “Don’t worry, we’ll be there.” I didn’t have to guess what Yvette and Aubrey would say. “Just send me the dates.”

“Thank you, she’s going to love having you girls there.”

“I can’t wait, Coop,” I told him. “Thank you for inviting me.”

“Yep. Talk soon!”

Then he was off the phone. I fired off a text to Aubrey and Yvette letting them know. Their answers were unsurprising. Mom was also back in the news—she’d had some meltdown at a club and a very public screaming match with Johnny.

Now she was back at that damn retreat and Johnny was miserable. I felt so bad for Johnny, yet why would Mom go back to the Sunshine Retreat? She wasn’t drinking… at least, I didn’t think she was drinking anything except the Kool-Aid. Teddy sent me a message about fan mail, and I made a face.

Then again, A Forever Fan had triggered a new review for all our incoming fan mail. If he wanted to talk this over with us, then maybe something new had come in. Despite not having any desire to deal with it, I messaged him back that we would set up a call.

While there were hours left on the West Coast for business, I didn’t want to do it today. I texted the girls, and Yvette answered by texting Teddy, along with Aubrey and me.

Yvette



Can’t meet today. Let’s schedule for next week?





Grinning, I sent her a separate message.

Me



I could kiss you on the mouth.





Yvette



I will put it on your tab.





Aubrey just put a thumbs up on Yvette’s message. Done, I headed up to my room. Aubrey had a date with Forrest, so I was going to work on some music, maybe some homework…or a movie.

No, I was gonna do homework then music. There was a note on my door. The handwriting was neat and it was addressed just to me. I glanced up and down the hall as I let myself in.

Once in my room, I changed out of my uniform and eyed all the clothes in my closet. It was weird that so much of it was new. Every once in a while, it hit me that I’d lost some of my favorite concert tees in that fire. Including the very first one we'd made.

Irreplaceable.

Shaking off the melancholy, I got changed into something comfy then slit open the envelope to read the letter inside.

Greetings and salutations,

You’ll need to head out for rations.

Avoid the hall, or making a call.

It’s better to take a walk, then we can talk.

I’ll be at a place in the open air, it’s beautiful when the weather is fair.

When the surface is calm, you’ll find it shimmering yet.

Don’t walk too far though, because you could get wet.

If it’s after three, then come find me.

Don’t worry if you’re late, this isn’t a date.

Yet.

I read the note three times. It was a riddle, clearly, but it wasn’t signed. A riddle and an invitation. The place in the open air? It had to be the reflecting pond. I passed it when running all the time, but who wrote the note?

It wasn’t Jonas’ writing. That I would recognize, at least now. Not Ramsey. Not that he would send a note like this. I rather doubted it was Lachlan. It was a little too poetic for Mr. Ninja Kiss.

Curiosity niggled at me, so I pulled on my running shoes, took a picture of the note, and sent it to Aubrey. Then I told her I was gonna take a light run out to the pond.

Thankfully, it wasn’t in an isolated area. ‘Cause with everything else going on, that would be a hard no. Jonas was just coming in as I headed out of my room.

He frowned at me.

“Going for a run,” I told him. One upside to the last few weeks, I wasn’t croaking anymore. “Not long.” Then, because it wouldn’t hurt to just cover all my bases, I said, “You didn’t leave me some riddle to come find you at the pond, did you?”

He stared at me, then shook his head slowly. “No. Was I supposed to?”

I grinned, and he looked a little startled. “Nope. Thanks. I’ll be back.”

“But I didn’t do anything.”

“I know.” I saluted him and then headed out. For all that we were sharing the same space, we were still isolating from each other. I wasn’t trying to get to know him, nor was he trying to get to know me.

Like I said, detente. It was working for us. It was a nice day, and I set off at a light run toward the path that wound closer to the administration buildings and the reflecting pond.

The breeze felt wonderful against my skin. Even better was the run. It was just nice to move. I’d given myself a whole extra week past when the doctor said I could resume light workouts. Part of that was babying my voice, and the other part was avoiding Lachlan.