If only Ozzie knew how cold and calculated I really am. I had one goal for a decade and I never had second thoughts about killing Bulletproof. I learned everything there was to know about Bulletproof’s empire and how he was ever in contact with my family. Just to be sure I was justified in my actions. Maybe not by the standards of the law or basic morals, but in my own mind. I still do not regret doing what I did. Even if it means I might have to keep everyone at a distance, so they aren’t involved with my life as a lie.
The last thing I do before I go to sleep is check my messages on my phone. A whole group thread on my screen has been going on without me.
I’m about to drift off when my phone screen, perched on the night table, lights up with another text. Fortunately, I’ve put my phone on silent, or the notifications might have awakened poor Ozzie.
Cassandra: “How’s it going?”
Ashley: “Yeah, tell us.”
Leela: “Did you go from fake engaged to engaged yet? Tell us everything!”
Meghan: “Mila, where are you? Let us know before I call the police.”
Cassandra: “Calm down, Karen.”
Meghan: “Don’t call me Karen.”
Ashley: “My mom’s name is Karen, and she thinks the whole Karen thing is hilarious.”
Meghan: “Well, it’s not my name, and for all we know, Mila could be dead in a ditch.”
Cassandra: “Why is it always a ditch? Why is that the expression? It’s never ‘dead in the tub’ or ‘dead in a meadow of wildflowers.’”
Leela: “True, but I do hear people say ‘buried in the woods’ or ‘buried in the backyard.’”
I text back: “You guys talk about murder a lot.”
Cassandra: “Mila!”
Leela: “We’re not guys; we’re ‘y’all.’ What in the Sam Hill have y’all been up to the last seven hours while we’ve been waiting on tenterhooks?”
Cassandra: “I thought the expression was tender hooks? Like as in meat tenderizer?”
Meghan: “OH MY GOD STOP.”
I think these girls are drunk. I check the time, and yep. It’s now two a.m. Definitely well into their cups on College Street.
I reply to the group: “Everything’s fine. I had dinner with his family. We played cards. His mom hugged me, and his dad wrote me into the will. Then Ozzie and I played video games, and now we’re going to sleep.”
Cassandra: “!!! Does that mean you’re in bed together?”
I choose not to give them the answer they’re looking for. Instead, I reply: “It means we’re all very sleepy and need our rest. Tomorrow we’re building houses with some former president I didn’t even know was still alive.”
Meghan: “Holy shit, are you serious?”
Me: “You guys—I’m sorry, y’all—should come out and help us.”
Ashley: “Lol, no, thx.”
Cassandra: “I just had my nails done, or I totally would.”
Leela: “You know, ladies, this could be a great service project for Beta Beta Psi.”
Me: “Agree. I’ll talk to Beau in the morning and see if there’s room for more volunteers.”
Meghan: “Who’s Beau?”
I smirk and reply, “My soon-to-be overachiever brother-in-law.”
Everyone replies with screaming or laughing or heart-eyes emojis. These sisters of mine are too much.
I go to sleep with a smile on my face. Both from my sisters’ enthusiasm and from the sweet sounds of the sleeping bear that is Ozzie, whose sleeping-bag-ensconced body, I notice, has inched closer. If he were any closer, he’d be under the bed.
Letting him go is going to hurt.